This was our first time to visit Glacier National Park, a bucket list item for sure. We drove Mae, not Phannie, as vehicles longer than 21 feet are not allowed. There is a good reason; Phannie would still be up there, wedged in one of the hairpin curves on the two-lane Going to the Sun Road. This was no place for a big RV, for sure.
Since we weren't able to drive the Beartooth Highway last week--allegedly the most scenic in the U. S.--due to bad visibility from forest fires--this was certainly a worthy contender. The Going to the Sun Road, constructed between 1921 and 1932, traverses the park for 50 miles west to east. From this road, there are many turnouts where you can view a million acres of one of the most scenic areas of the northern Rockies. I'll let these photos speak for themselves:
We feel very blessed to be able to witness such beautiful surroundings in perfect weather here in northern Montana while our beloved Texas bakes in the July and August blast furnace. We could get used to this!
While we have certainly enjoyed this trip, we have not enjoyed the struggle to find RV parks with vacancies. We first noticed the problem two years ago when we had similar experiences on a much smaller scale. Since then, RVing seems to have mushroomed in popularity, the price of gasoline is low, and few new RV parks are being built. That has created quite an undersupply of RV parking spaces, and I have to expend many hours on the telephone searching for a parking spot everywhere we go. We can usually find a space for a night or two after much calling, but forget about longer periods than that. And we are at a point in our RVing that we don't like to do one- or two-nighters, in favor of spending several days at most locations. We also don't do boondocking, so that increases the pressure to find an RV park every night.
The problem has become so acute that we are abandoning our plans to travel farther west. We're going to make our way slowly down to Colorado to see if we can find some longer-stay places down there. We'll keep you posted on where we are, but we always have a good time, wherever that is!
Thank you, Lord, for this wonderful life; please forgive me if I don't appreciate it enough each day.
I would rather own little and see the world than to own the world and see little of it. --Alexander Sattler
Some amazing scenery that you are enjoying. Too bad you are having so much trouble finding campsites, that is an issue that we have never had to deal with very seldom make reservations, but have no problem staying over night somewhere boondocking.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with the rest of your tour.
I admire you for your ability to find nice parking places at a bargain. We don't seem to have the knack, George.
DeleteWe did a Trip in 2008 that was 7,000 miles in six weeks. Before we left our house Kathy had already made reservations for the entire trip. Making reservations months ahead is always a crap shot and heaven forbid you have mechanical
ReplyDeleteproblems.
Like George we have no trouble Boondocking if the need is there. There are many more RVs on the road today then in 2008 so that is how we can stay longer in an area then a few days at a lower cost.
This past winter there was an "A" class Diesel Pusher with enough Solar Power his wife was running the A.C. on the hot days in the desert. Something to think of!
Be Safe and Enjoy!
It's about time.
I'm really a terrible planner, Rick. I admire anyone who can do that with success; something always seems to happen to mess up any plans I make, especially long-range ones. I've already got a workaround. We are going to make reservations a year ahead at a favorite park in Colorado and hang out there for most of the summer. Then, when the kids go back to school, that's when we'll do some traveling.
DeleteYou are right on the massive increase of rv traffic. In the last two years even my favorites boondocking sites has gotten a HUGE amount more traffic.
ReplyDeleteI think some people are missing out on a good business opportunity: Build an RV park!
DeleteHi guys. I agree. This is the first year where we have had trouble making reservations. It's not too bad, but not good and we think a harbinger of the future. RV's are selling very well, and towables are selling like hot cakes (trailers, and 5rs). The park we are in right now has 221 sites, and will be full this weekend and very few class A's are in here now. We are seeing this ratio all over! They are not building many new RV PARKS. maybe we need to get in a new business! Looks like you are having fun! Maybe more remote areas are still okay, but places like National Parks, especially the most popular ones and lots of other popular places are getting harder to do in the summer months while school is out. We new Glacier is being over run as are the most popular ones. Note that Art And Shirley are somewhere in Colorado. Might be able to meet up with them! Have fun guys!
ReplyDeleteYeah, we knew Glacier would be a problem, Hank, but in the park itself it wasn't too bad. Our problem was finding an RV park near the western entrance. We finally found a spot in a really run down place, but it served its purpose. We do intend to look up Art and Shirley when we get to Colorado.
DeleteGreat pictures. We were so close while on our Lewis and Clark caravan, but did not have the time to spare to see the park. Thanks for sharing the pictures:)
ReplyDeleteThanks; we really enjoyed this trip through the park. It wasn't too long a drive, and is wasn't really scary. We even found empty parking spaces at the top of the park at Logan Pass. I think it would be worth your time to visit this one.
DeleteWhat awesome scenery your pictures show and I know they just don't do justice to the real thing. Too bad about the difficulty finding spots to camp. I'm sure the summer months are much harder than what we've dealt with so far during the winter months. Many more people are turning to this lifestyle so indeed, we need more parks!
ReplyDeleteSo true, Patsy; if I were younger, I think I would look at building one.
DeleteHi Mike,
ReplyDeleteThe wife and I are workcamping at the Pueblo KOA. The owners have told us they have never been as busy as this summer. We rarely have a 50 amp site available. Maybe a 30 amp. It's been like this since Mothers Day. Some available this week but the State Fair starts on Friday and already folks are arriving. Then the Chili and Frijole festival in September.
I think we have learned our lesson about trying to go to the popular parks when kids are out of school. I think the shoulder months would be a much better time.
DeleteAccording to the Recreational Vehicle Industry Association (RVIA), 2017 was the year that the highest number of RV units were shipped from the manufacturers. No wonder you were having difficulty finding RV parks with available sites. Some months ago, Alan and I both got up at 3:00 a.m. EST to try to reserve an ocean view site at an Oregon State Park for a trip later this year. (They become available at midnight on the west coast.) One of us was lucky enough to nail our first choice, and we promptly went back to sleep. By the time we got up a few hours later, all of the remaining ocean view sites that had become available that day were gone. By the way, I love all of your mountain vista pics. Glacier is one of our favorites!
ReplyDeleteI feel your pain. This summer, we're going to try to do the Beartooth Highway that we missed during this visit. We're also doing a caravan with friends to Yellowstone. We made reservations months ago for our RV spots. But we'll be going there in middle of summer, so the kids will be out of school and everything will be crowded. We promised ourselves we wouldn't go to popular parks again while all the kids are on summer vacation, but friends are friends. We will get through it.
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