We said goodbye to Missoula and headed north to Glacier. We had wanted to stop overnight at Flathead Lake State Park- but either could not fit our camper or they were already booked. Flathead Lake is a beautiful large lake (largest lake west of the Mississippi in the lower 48) about an hour south of Glacier. The lakes out west are very deep- we have encountered numerous 300-500 foot deep lakes. We took a beautiful road up the east side of Flathead Lake, Highway 35, that skirts the lake for most of its length. The land and climate must be ideal for cherry farming, as I noticed many family farms along the road growing cherries and then selling them. We arrived at our home for the next 3 nights, the West Glacier KOA at exactly noon- right at check-in. We were all excited since this was one of the nicer RV parks we were staying out. The kids, especially V, were so excited to see green lush grass, that they rolled around in upon arriving at our site. There was a restaurant, a heated pool, two hot tubs, ice cream parlor, video arcade and more- The kids did not even want to leave the campground! We drug the kids away from the campground and headed to Glacier National Park (GNP) to the Apgar visitor center to get acquainted with a plan for Saturday and Sunday. GNP is a large NP at over 1M acres, but has one of the smaller road systems- GNP is truly a hikers and backcountry paradise we would find out. The Apgar area (inside the park) had more of a yuppy latte-drinking vibe to it than I cared for but was very nice. The kids were chomping at the bit to get back to the KOA, so we went back and all four of us got in the hot tub and then the kids were doing cannonballs into the pool. We grabbed showers and headed off for a nearby dinner and early night in bed. Off to explore Glacier and beyond tomorrow!
