East Glacier (or at least that was the plan)

Since we began the trip, we have been worried about the weather on this leg of the trip, as late in summer as it is and as northerly as it is.

Well . . . we came up against it on Sunday, September 30. Temperatures have been predicted in the teens and twenties with chances of rain, show showers and snow. But where we are, in Essex, and in West Glacier it has been in the thirties and forties with little rain.

This morning we came out onto Highway 2, turned north and east, began to climb, and almost instantly the temperature began to drop and there were snow and ice everywhere. Now, last time I checked Rocinante did not have a four wheel drive option but did have four great wide shallow tread-depth tires. So the first time I touched the brakes in the wrong place we began to yaw, side to side. For what seemed like two minutes but was probably thirty seconds, I spun the wheel first left than right and then left again until we slowed and I got control again. What fun! When we left the Cenex station a fellow in another car gave me a thumbs-up. I guess I controlled the skid more elegantly than I thought.

For the rest of the drive to Two Medicine entrance to East Glacier I was about the slowest thing on the road.

We did not get very far into the park before the road was closed at the Running Eagle Falls Nature Trail. The trail was too nasty for me to want to walk it, but the road ahead was open to walkers, so I went up a little bit to get a good look at what I think was Rising Eagle Mountain. Sharon sat in the car and read.

The rest of the day was given over to a ride to nearby Kalispell where Rosa posed, Sharon began her holiday shopping, and I found yet another knife, this one made by Ken Largin of Kelgin Knives. It was a fine day.