Sunday, September 9, 2007

Leaving Glacier National Park Area for Washington

The closest helicopter is the one we toured the park in.
If you plate an ATV you can drive it on the roads. Here's one at a mall in Kalispel, MT.
I think this guy likes bumper stickers.
We wanted to go here as we left the area today but they meet tonight (5:59 PM) is what the sign said
Kim with the 4.5 ton clearing ball.
It has become a habit to journal when we leave an area. It puts a wrap on what we have experienced. Today we leave the Glacier National Park area. The temperatures her have been ideal. Temps have been about 75 to 85 in the day and 50 at night. This is great sleeping weather. As I write, it is 44 degrees at 6 AM. Our MH has two rooftop air conditioners that also work as heat pumps. The heat pumps are efficient down to 40 degrees and then the electronics automatically switch to the LP gas furnaces. We have two of those also. Because it is 44 degrees the heat pumps are running constantly now. The heat pumps are efficient in that they operate off the electricity that the campground (or our generator) provides. There is no additional charge for the campground electricity so we get to heat for free. Other than cooking with the stove top and using our gas grill (which I plumbed into the coach tank) we use very little LP gas. We left home June third and a few weeks ago I filled the LP tank and had only used 8 gallons. I believe it is about a 30 - 35 gallon tank. I probably won’t have to fill it again till we get home in the spring.

Here are a few more things about the area that interested us. There is a town named “Hungry Horse” down the road a few miles. In the winter of 1900 – 1901 there were two freight horses named Tex and Jerry that wandered away from their sleigh and when they were finally found, they were so weak they had to be fed and nurtured before they could be led back to civilization. Hence the name of a mountain, creek, lake, town and area are named Hungry Horse.

The Hungry Horse clearing ball (see picture above) weighs 4.5 tons and was pulled with two tractors using cables to clear land. The reason for the ball is that it allowed the cables to maintain a height above the stumps and still kept the cables low enough that they pulled down trees. This was much faster and more efficient than cutting all the small trees. It was used in 1950 to clear 6,207 acres for the Hungry Horse reservoir.

We went hiking again yesterday but as usual we came to some fresh bear droppings. This makes Kim want to turn back. The local people caution us travelers about the dangers of bears. The two big dangers are startling the bear or finding a mother with cubs. They have a newspaper article on the counter of our campground that tells about a father and 19 year old daughter that got attacked. They walked around a turn on a trail and walked between a mother bear and her two cubs. The mother bear was only protecting her cubs but I guess that doesn’t make the people any less injured. We did purchase a can of pepper spray at the information station at Glacier National Park.

This is an area we would highly recommend to visit and we know we will come back to see again. We would recommend coming earlier in the year as many of the streams and waterfalls are either running low or have stopped altogether. Probably the highlight of the area was the helicopter ride. Well, we're off to Washington.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Mitch and Kim:

We talked about you yesterday. :-) The HalfTime cabinet went to Iowa for the weekend and thought how much you would have enjoyed it. Maybe in the future. We are now changing patterns and doing full weekend ministries of staying in people's homes, working along side the people and giving and getting them to give testimonies. We had an awesome weekend helping the Dallas Center Church. You would like it. Good to know how much God has been using you. We miss seeing you. Awesome pictures you have too. Ed

Mitch & Kim said...

Brother Ed,
It is soooo good to hear from you. It's great to hear about the ministry you're doing. I hear Goshen has the 412 Commission up and going. That is great! Kim and I are having the trip of a lifetime. Everyday we have the opportunity to impact others - many times to encourage believers and other times to plant seeds. Keep us posted and know that you are always invited to fly where we are and stay with us. We have an extra bed. God Bless, Mitch

Mitch & Kim said...

(We got this commnet from Tomas) The town of Hungry Horse was indeed named after two draft horses used for logging the area when they wandered off during the severe winter of 1900. The horses, Tex and Jerry, were found a month later, all scraggly and hungry but very much alive. As visitors today drive through Hungry Horse on their way to and from Glacier National Park, there are statuesque reminders of the hungry horses.

Today the town has a population of 900 and is a small community that is likely to be overlooked as visitors make their way onward to Glacier National Park, which lies just 10 miles to the east. The town is worth a stop, either for a traveler's rest break or a place to spend the night prior to a full day in the park. Worth checking out are the several roadside stands offering various concoctions made from native huckleberries. The best are the huckleberry milk shakes that leave you wanting more. A worthy side trip is a visit to the Hungry Horse Dam. The town's post office was established in 1948, when the federal government began planning to dam the South Fork of the Flathead River. The dam was completed in 1952
HI...the web site and the horses wanted you to know the name of "Terry"....is actually "Jerry". Keep up your informative trip info.

September 12, 2007 7:21 PM

(Mitch Here) Thank you so much. I changed the blog to correct Jerry's name. I had taken a digital photo of the stone marker and wrote my notes from that. It was kind of hard to make out. You have a lovely area and I am sure we will return soon. Thanks for the informative post! Mitch