Log for Monday, July 7, 2003
(Posted from the road)
Greetings from Glacier National Park, Montana!
Today the SUV's odometer registered 3,136 miles. It had 14 miles on it when I picked it up at Avis on June 27. Thank goodness for unlimited mileage from Avis!
Today I drove north of Kalispell to Polebridge, a remote village near Bowman Lake in Glacier National Park. The only access to Bowman Lake and Polebridge is via a difficult road out of Glacier National Park. The Camas Road at Apgar in Glacier National Park is paved for the first 11 miles, then the unpaved, rough and narrow North Fork Road goes the rest of the way to Polebridge. I drove very slowly, watching the kayak so it didn't bounce around too much, and the 25-mile drive took two hours. My kayak and I arrived in one piece, but we were a bit dusty.
As you can probably tell from the photographs I posted on this page that the trip to Bowman Lake was well worth the effort it took to get there. Bowman Lake is a large glacial lake surrounded by mountains and pine trees. The water is so clear that the depth is at first deceiving. It looks as if the bottom is very close as you look down at the rocks. However, if you dip your paddle straight down you don't touch the elusive bottom.
It was 83 degrees and very sunny when I launched at the boat ramp area. The launch area is made up of small pebbles and is not very steep. Several very tame deer were grazing near the shoreline and didn't seem bothered in the least by my kayak launch. Although this is bear territory I luckily did not see any signs of bears. On the drive back however, a mountain lion crossed the dirt road in front of me. He moved on quickly, as did I.
I paddled Bowman Lake for two glorious hours in solitude and when I returned to the launch area to land some very nice kayakers who turned out to be from Helena, Montana were just launching. One of them was originally from New York, so she started talking about how she and her husband came out to Glacier National Park twenty years ago. They ended up liking it so much that they moved out to Helena. She was kind enough to offer to take a few photographs of me kayaking on Bowman Lake. These are my most treasured photographs form the trip because they really capture my joy at paddling in such a magnificent place.
My New York license plate has been the catalyst for many such conversations and as I have been traveling alone I have welcomed the conversation. At Big Arm State Park, a husband and wife team run the park. The wife works at the Ranger station taking the entrance fees and the husband makes the rounds at the campground seeing that everyone is comfortable and safe. The Park Ranger husband came over to my campsite in the morning as I packed up and started talking about kayaks, canoes and fishing. You can learn a lot about an area by listening to folks talk about fishing and boating.
After padding Bowman Lake I drove the first six miles back down the narrow road to Polebridge. There I stopped in at the Polebridge Mercantile, an old store with a surprisingly wide selection of food and supplies, including freshly baked cookies and pastries. Polebridge seems to be a required stop, at least on the way back from Bowman Lake and the place was buzzing with about twenty people in the whole town. That was more people than I had seen the entire day.
Tomorrow morning my brother and his son will be flying into Glacier International Airport, trying to escape the 115 degree heat of Phoenix, Arizona. I am looking forward to having them as my travel companions. We will head directly to Glacier National Park which is 32 miles away from the airport.
We will stay on the St. Mary side of the park for three nights at Rising Sun, then head out to Seattle, Washington, to hook up with my other brother, Bob and his family, and my husband, Jack, who is flying out from New York. From there we will take the ferry at Anacortes, Washington, over to Friday Harbor, San Juan Island.
In the San Juan Islands some real serious kayaking will take place!
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Today's Featured Photo - Bowman Lake, Glacier National Park
Latest Photos from the road
Launching at Bowman Lake
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Glacier National Park Entrance Sign
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Rafters on the Flathead River
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Bowman Lake view
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Late afternoon at Bowman Lake
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Kayakers from Helena, MT
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Photo of me taken by other kayakers on Bowman Lake
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Kayak bow on Bowman Lake
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Another photo of me on Bowman Lake taken by my Helena friends
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Northwestern shore of Bowman Lake
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Launching at Bowman Lake
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Other kayaks at launch site
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Deer near Bowman Lake
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Sign for Polebridge, MT
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Cabin near Polebridge, MT
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Part of unpaved 23 mile road to Polebridge
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Road to Bowman Lake
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Mountain on Bowman Lake
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Mountain Range on Bowman Lake
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Road to Polebridge through burned out area from 2001 fire
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Polebridge Mercantile
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Sweet Loretta's at Polebridge
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Wildflowers at Bowman Lake
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View from Bowman Lake
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Click on a photo above to view a larger image.
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