Day 9: We Split the Party

   Heather and Jim decided to head back a day early.  We had already cut the trip short by one day when planning previously.  Bill and I still had some stuff we wanted to do so we stayed back.
  On the way in to the Park we were asked if this was the first time we had used our pass.  It was the first time we got that question.  The Park Ranger made a note on her clipboard.  

  On the way back up to the Polebridge Mercantile & Bakery we saw some deer that still had the velvet on their antlers.  We also found out the answer to our question.  The road was an unfinished road and was also due for some maintenance.  Heavy equipment was going up and down the road, spraying it and raking the gravel flatter.  It was a much smoother ride and they weren't even done with it yet.

 

  While there we got to pet a bear.  It was a dog named Bear, but I still think it counts.  Bear was being very good and casually coming up to people to see if they would give him a pet or share their food.

  Here is the full array of goodies you could get.  I got another Huckleberry Bear Claw, a Spinach Blue Cheese, and a Pesto Rollie.  The Bear Claw got eaten really quickly and I decided to save the other two until a bit later.

  Bill had wanted to go to Bowman Lake when we had gone to the Bakery before, but we couldn't get the website to work that told us what roads were open.  Since we had time and it was nice out, we decided to see if the road was open.  It was!

  On the way to the lake we had a deer go darting out right in front of us.  I think all three of us were startled.  There were also some more chipmunk and weasel/mink sightings.  The road was one lane with a few bump-outs and a lot of blind corners.  It was exciting to see another car coming the other way.  Luckily it didn't get too exciting and everyone was able to make it past in the same condition as they were in before.

  Bill thought that this location would make a really nice spot for a sun-rise photo.  I think it's just a plain good place to get any photos.  The views are great and there were a bunch of butterflies flying all around.

  We thought maybe the trail was a loop because though the camp grounds were behind us but the trail marker claimed it was 7.1 miles to the camp ground.  Turns out there is a second camp ground.  I told Bill I could probably make it out to the second camp ground, but not there and back.  From the looks of the map it didn't look like there was an easy way for him to come and get me either.  So we just hiked out a bit and then went back to the car.

  As we left the one lane road we noticed that one of the Road Closed gates had been closed.  I don't know if that was because the parking was full up there or what.  I guess we just had good timing.

  During the drive we saw two sedans who didn't look to be having the best time and a motorcyclist standing while riding.  It would be interesting to see how different the road feels in the different vehicles.

  I had to stop and see what the sign with the pie on it said.  It was interesting that you are allowed to pick the berries in the Park.  It's probably also amusing to watch the large bears eat the small berries.

  We stopped by Huckleberry Lookout but it was a 6 mile hike.  We didn't do it because we were already a bit tired from the Bowman Lake hike and we wanted to catch the 3pm boat tour.

  It was probably because it was a Monday, but we saw a lot less people in the pull over areas.  It might have made more sense to visit during a week when the locals have to work.

  We were put on the wait-list for the boat tour since we didn't get reservations ahead of time.  While we waited to see if our name would get called we watching one of the employees, Kyler, run around and help two paddle boarders and a family in a canoe.  Turns out she was also the one to piloting the boat.

  During the tour we learned a little about the boat.  The DeSMET is allowed to only have six people sitting on the top at a time.  She was also built in 1928, and it only took six weeks to build her.  She gets dry docked every winter and that is when they do any repairs.  Our tour guide, Ethan, was the one who got to spend two weeks watering her.  Since she is all wood, if they didn't water her the gaps between the boards would let water in and she would sink.  Since we were taking a tour, it seems he did a good job.

  Ethan said that the boat has three lift rafts and if the boat started to go down we would all just hop on those and continue the tour from there.

  We learned some interesting information about the forests around Lake McDonald.  Some of the trees are the kind where when they burn they shed a layer, lose some lower branches, and are fine.  Others are the more resiny ones that burn really well and have pinecones that only open at higher temperatures.

  We asked for some funny bear stories from Ethan.  His goal is to run all the trails in the park and he says he is about 33% of the way there.  He was running along at one point, paying attention to his feet because of the trail difficulty when a branch smacked him in the forehead.  He hit it so hard he fell down and then noticed the black bear twenty feet down the trail from him.  If that branch hadn't been there he might have run into the bear.

  As we were just driving around exploring more we found the Lake McDonald Ranger Station.  We also found the driveways of all the lucky people who get to live in the Park along Howell Ridge.  There were also a few more hiking trails at the end of the road.

  Because I've fully accepted the huckleberry hype, we had to stop at the Huckleberry Hut.  We got some huckleberry teas and a I Saw a Bear pin.

  For dinner we tried to go to the Wondering Gringo, but they were closed.  We considered going to The Tavern, but they were also close.  So we went back to Paul Bunyan.  The waitress, Roxy, asked if we had eaten there before and if we were the "steak people."  We were not the steak people but we were warned that the kitchen was way behind and it could be over an hour for our food.

  They are open until 10pm, but around 6:30pm she was telling people the kitchen was closed, probably in an attempt to not kill anyone or to not have the kitchen staff quit.  At one point Roxy said "maybe after I serve this table I'll take more patients."  It was about another half-hour before the kitchen was caught up enough that she was bringing people menus and had another sever show up.

  When we got back to the hotel I did go look for a Geocache that I thought was a lot farther away than it actually was.  The clue said it was going to be at eye level.  As I was looking an employee of the Lodge asked if I was Geocaching.  I told him about it and mentioned that though the Geocache was on the ground, the hint said it was eye level.  He said he was going to come back and fix it.  I also found a little Travel Bug to come back with me.