Days 4 through 9 (Aug 7th to the 12th.)

We spent the 7th white water rafting with White Cloud Rafting along a portion of the Salmon River East of Stanley.  The trip was great, there were a few class 3 rapids but mostly it was more of a float trip.  Very relaxing with lots of time for conversation.  They served a fantastic lunch of Enchilada's, Salad, Spanish Rice, Corn and Bean Salad.  They started with fresh cut fruits and ended with Peach and Blueberry cobbler topped with Ice-cream.  Overall it was a very very enjoyable rafting trip.  

Rafting the Salmon River just east of Stanley, Idaho.

We headed back to the camp and noticed the smoke was starting to come our way from the fires.  It started to obscure the views of the mountains from the lake.

After waking up to that bright red sunrise we packed up our ash covered tent and headed back out highway 75 from Stanley to highway 93.  Highway 75 is a great motorcycle road, the ride back out was just as great as the ride in!!  Highway 93 winds northward between the mountains and is a great ride with fast sweepers and numerous twisties to enjoy.  The view slowly changes from arid hillsides to tree covered slopes as you head north toward Montana.

We never did escape the smoke as we wound our way north to Hamilton, MT.  We stopped to adjust the GPS for our trip over the Skalkaho Pass and a local biker stopped to talk to us.  He informed us that Skalkaho Pass was dirt and heavily rutted out.  The roads department had not yet had a chance to grade the road this year.  We decided to go on into Missoula and then double back to Georgetown Lake where we would camp for 2 nights.  The whole way was hot and smokey.  The temperature hit 100 several times but typically hovered around 96 while we were on the road.  As we headed toward Georgetown Lake the temperature dropped into the low 80's and felt fantastic.

 Wow has Georgetown changed in the last 10 years.  The grass and tree covered hills around the lake where you could drive off road and camp have been replaced with million plus dollar resort homes.  The properties are now fenced off making access to the lake quite a bit more difficult.  Even the local Ski area (7 Gables) is now heavily developed.  The whole flavor of the area has changed from that enjoyed by the outdoors type to that of the weekend camper/resort visitor.  It is not bad, just different from what I grew up with. 

I didn't take any pictures of Georgetown Lake as I was disappointed with the way the landscape had been changed.

We headed north through Missoula to Flathead Lake where we stopped for the night at Wayfarer State Park.  We took the time to go see "The Bourne Legacy" in Kalispell and then on back to the park to get ready for Glacier National Park.

If you have never been to Glacier the drive in to the town of West Glacier is gorgeous. We took the time to introduce Rick and Nancy to McDonald Lake, the old McDonald Lake resort building, and the Going to the Sun Highway.  The views are fantastic, it is just a shame there a no longer any glaciers in the park.  We gave them enough of a taste they want to go back at some time in the future and spend more time exploring.

Lake McDonald near the west entrance to Glacier National Park.

As we came to the West Entrance to the park the line was backed up about 1/2 mile. Suddenly the traffic just started flowing quickly into the park.  The people from the Park Service were letting everyone in for free!!  Evidently if the line is backed up to far to where it interferes with traffic in West Glacier they just open the gates and let people in.

The day started out clear and slowly clouded up as we made our way through the park. We had lunch at Logan Pass with fantastic views of the mountain peaks in the park.

Headed out toward the East Entrance of the park after having lunch at Logan Pass Visitors Center.

As we came out at St Mary's the clouds covered much of the sky and it was cooling down.  We crossed the border without incident and made our way to Waterton Lakes National Park.  Just like the last time we visited Waterton I found the drive in to be stunning. We set up the tents at the Townsite Campground and noticed some hikers high up in the mountains behind the campground.  Apparently they spend the night up there as part of a back country hike.

Set up at Waterton Town Campsite

We saw some lights high up on the mountainside, I used my telephoto to get this picture.

This puts it in perspective of where the hikers are going to spend the night.

After getting everything set up we went back into town to do a little shopping for breakfast. Prices in the park are quite high, a liter of milk cost us $2.50 Canadian ($9.63 gal).

We did have a chance to visit Cameron Falls just at the edge of the townsite, and walk down along the lake shore.  Introducing Rick and Nancy to the joys of the Rocky Mountains has just started and it appears they have really enjoyed their trip so far.

Cameron Falls, just at the edge of the campground!!

Cameron Lake at the end of Akamina Parkway.