Allison Cafe

Part 3: While the dramatic splendor of Glacier could have kept us there longer, we did have to make it back to southern California, so the road trip had to keep on pace. We left Two Medicine in the morning, made a stop for lunch and internet access in Great Falls, and arrived our campsite just south of Livingston, MT by early evening. We camped for 1 night at a small campground with no services called Mallard’s Rest. It was funny how the cheapest sites, this one was $7 with a valid fishing license and $12 without, were the most amazing. We practically had the campground to ourselves except for one other campsite of fisherman. Our site was right on the Yellowstone River and was extremely relaxing. We made a campfire that night, toasted some marshmallows for s’mores and had the most amazing view of the stars.

The next day we (more…)

Part 2: The real road trip begins, as my parents fly back to southern California and Steve, Hayley and I begin our journey in the RV through Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada and back to southern California. On the first day of our trip we drove about 5 hours from Divide, MT to Whitefish, MT. We arrived rather late, after 8pm, so we stayed at the Whitefish RV Park behind the Cheap Sleep Motel on Highway 93 South. I have to say, from the road we were concerned about our decision, but once we drove into the RV park, it was actually pretty quiet and clean. The nice thing about an RV park versus a regular campground is that you usually have the ability to plug into shore power, water and emptying of your gray and holding tanks. The price is usually higher than a campground, in this case $35 for the night. But when living in an RV, you often have to stop at one of these parks every 3 or 4 days to replenish water and empty tanks, oh and take a real shower. The shower in the RV is nice, but imagine showering in an airplane bathroom, not a lot of space. We did find campgrounds along the way the provided the water and dumping services, which made for a nicer campsite with the services we needed, but more on that later.

The next day we treated ourselves to a Cafe Au Lait from a local coffee shop, and explored downtown Whitefish before heading into Glacier National Park through the West Glacier park entrance. Now, before I begin our detailed journey through one of the most spectacular places on earth, I have to stop to share with you a favorite treat of mine best experienced at the West Glacier Restaurant just before the park entrance. This diner style restaurant has an old fashioned soda counter with “a slice of heaven” scooped to order. For only $2.50 you can enjoy heaping scoop of huckleberry ice cream in a waffle cone, which is so good that it completely dictated our route for entering the park. Huckleberries are similar to blueberries, only a little smaller and not as sweet. They grow wild in Montana, and are a favorite treat of the grizzly bears as well. So even though you may be tempted by the plethora of huckleberry scented beauty products in Montana, don’t wear them in bear country!

Ok, so after my guilty pleasure of huckleberry ice cream, which I can still taste and wish I had more of, we (more…)