Week 8 of our 48 state, 52 week adventure found us in the great state of Montana! We got to take in the wonder of Glacier National Park, the amazing waters of Flathead Lake and Lake McDonald and live a bit of history at Little Bighorn and Last Stand Hill. But the best part was meeting up with some great people for a day of boating, tubing and swinging.
Memory #1 – Flathead Lake
Our first scheduling blunder of our trip occurred in Montana. I completely blew our reservations for our stay at Flathead Lake. After a long drive from Spokane, Washington – this was not what we needed. But the folks at Rollins RV Park were so great and found us a place to stay in another park for the days we were actually going to be there. We left Rollins RV in favor of Big Arm RV Campground in Big Arm, Montana.
This was a brand new park. Like, it just opened. It was a really nice place with great views of the lake, but they were still working out some bugs. We got checked in and found our spot. Backed in and got everything hooked up except the power…
Then I hooked up the power. Well, I tried. Only problem was the outlet was upside down and there was no way to plug in… We tracked down the maintenance guy who gladly turned to 50 amp plug in the right direction, but now I was being very cautious. I drug out my handy dandy circuit checking plug thingy, plugged it into the newly rotated outlet and… Nothing… Not only was the plug upside down, but it was also wired wrong… Our choice was to pack everything back up and change spots, or try to get by with 30 amps for a day. This was an easy choice. I plugged in our 30 to 50 amp adapter and we were golden.
Flathead Lake was beautiful. Our campsite faced the lake and a short walk had us right at the marina. All in all, we ended up in a really nice spot!
Memory #2 – Great Friends
Tuesday was a lot of fun. We have friends in Colorado from when our kids were in pre-school. Our kids shared some similar traits and Kari and Ann hit it off and shared a lot of stories with each other that only they could appreciate and have kept in touch ever since. Fast forward about 10 years. Kari and Ann got together a few months back and, while talking, realized that our families would be in Montana the exact same week. They took an annual family vacation in Montana and had been for years and years. It just so happened that we would be in Montana, and relatively close to them on the 8th week of our adventure.
A few months later, and we arrived at Lindbergh Lake to enjoy the day with some really great people. Ann, her husband Derek, her parents, sister, cousins, spouses and all the kids made us feel like part of the family.
They took us out on the boat, pulled the kids around on the tube, let us jump off the swing, fed us and most importantly, laughed with us. What a great day!
Memory #3 – Glacier National Park
The next day we drove up into Glacier. But, because of our reservation snafu, we were about a half hour further away than we would have been otherwise. This meant an hour extra on the road. Not only that, we had to pick up tools and supplies to do some maintenance on Zeke… Add in some wildfires that started burning the day before, creating a thick haze and you end up with a less than optimal time at a great park.
Even with all of that, our drive up Going to the Sun Road was still great. And coming back down, we decided to take in the views and enjoy the cool water at Lake McDonald. While we didn’t get to see Glacier in all her splendor, we got enough of a glimpse to know that we want to come back to take it in minus the smokey haze.
Memory #4 – Repair Oops!
After the miles we had put on the trip to date, it was time to give some love to Zeke. Oil and filter change. Fuel filter change. Make that two fuel filters. And to top it all off, the brakes that I was told were fine before we left were not fine. At least the rears. After picking up all the tools and parts on our trip up to Glacier, it was time to gett’er done.
First up, the brakes. These went on without a hitch, thankfully! I got some sleep and early the next morning I started with the oil change. Again, piece of cake. Lastly, the fuel filters.
I had not done these before, so I turned to YouTube. After watching a video that made it look so easy, I broke out the breaker bar and our newly purchased socket and commenced to detaching the fuel filter housing. A quick, stern push moved the housing a little bit. The next one, well, was a disaster.
The housing was plastic with a built in nut. Made out of plastic. And now, the nut was no longer a part of the housing… And diesel fuel was gushing out. I freaked out and shrieked loudly for Kari to come help. I had horrible visions of 30+ gallons of fuel emptying out beneath my truck. Fortunately, that did not happen and only what was in the housing came out into a makeshift bucket below.
After calling around, I found a Ford dealership 30 minutes away that just happened to have this obscure housing. But they couldn’t deliver. We brainstormed a way to get the part we needed and could only really come up with a cab. That did not sound ideal at all. And then I spotted a fellow camper across the road from us. I walked over and asked him the crazy question. Would he possibly be willing to drive me 30 minutes away to pick up this part?!?!
Before I could even finish asking, he had pulled the key to his brand new truck out and was dangling them in front of my face. He told me to take it and do whatever I needed to do. I offered cash, gas, anything and he wouldn’t take anything. What a blessing.
Scout and I jumped in the truck, got the part and a couple hours later – Zeke was up and running again!
Memory #5 – Little Bighorn and Last Stand Hill
We left Big Arm and made our way to Helena, Montana to check out the Capitol. It was another longer drive and we were tired of paying for RV parks when we are only there for a few hours. So we thought we would test out boondocking at a local Walmart.
I called the Walmart to make sure they were cool with us doing it, which they were, and off we went.
When we arrived, we became quickly aware of how hot it was in Helena. 100+ degrees. Then reality hit us on the way to the Capitol building. There was no way we could boondock with 4 humans, 1 dog and 1 chicken in a RV that was sure to be approaching 100 degrees inside. We made the decision to snap a few pictures, extend our stay in Hardin, Montana one more day, do some shopping at Walmart and get out of Dodge.
When we got back to the Walmart, our decision became even more easy. As I waited for the family to finish up their Walmart shopping, some thug decided to hurl a shopping cart at Gipzee. Thankfully, a very nice fellow camper to the south of us in the parking lot caught a glimpse if the cart speeding toward our 5th wheel and ran over to stop it. I hadn’t seen anything, but as I rounded the RV to lock up, this fellow camper met me with an odd look on his face. Once he had explained what had happened and showed me the crazy man, who was still cussing his face off as he walked away staring at us – I couldn’t have been more thankful for this guy saving Gipzee another scar. And we absolutely knew that we were NOT staying in Helena that night. 5 hours later, after a 11 hour day, we were finally in Hardin.
The next day, after the kids finished school, we drove over to Little Bighorn. It is impossible to describe how we felt being there. Understanding only a bit of the history. The Indian Warriors defending the only life the knew. The American Soldiers following orders of a man who seemed to have a death wish. Forced up onto a hill, surrounded and without hope. Eventually breathing their last breath. To put yourself in that moment is a little overwhelming. Another experience that is impossible to put words to, but will forever will be remembered.
The Wrap
Montana was amazing. But we know we have to get back to Glacier when the haze is gone. We loved our time there, but know there is so much more to see. Unfortunately, we won’t be back for a while as we still have 44 weeks left of our adventure, but who knows. Maybe we will get back around week 50 or so if we decide to take in our 49th state. Alaska?!?