Over the hill and through the woods...

...and down a dirt road at a top speed of 35mph (because that's about as fast as you can go and miss more potholes than you hit) is the small (understated), town (overstated) of Polebridge, Montana.

The first time I heard of Polebridge was my first season working in Glacier. I would hear rangers and interpreters and camp hosts telling each how they had just made a trip to Polebridge.

Ranger- "Are you guys talking about Polebridge? I went up there Thursday!"

Camp host- "Did you stop at the-"

Ranger- "I don't make the trip unless I do!"

Interp- "I love the cinn-"

Camp host- "Aren't they the best!"

All- "YES!"

What?! What are they talking about? Where's Polebridge? What's so fantastic about it? Why haven't I been yet? I didn't even know why I wanted to go but I did want to go. So my next lieu day, I went. And boy was I glad.

Polebridge sits right beside the northwestern part of the park called the North Fork, named for the north fork of the Flathead River which forms it's western border. The winter population is only about 25 and grows to around 200 in the summer. Polebridge is like stepping back in time. There are no stop lights, only a few buildings and people get their electricity from generators, kerosene, propane, solar or do without. As you drive up the dirt road to the town, no, village, no, maybe settlement or community, yeah, community, the one building that you immediately notice is the Polebridge Mercantile (mainly because it's the tallest and it says Polebridge Mercantile in big white letters across the front.)

This building, or rather what lies inside, is the reason that big scruffy rangers giggle with delight at the mere mention of Polebridge. Inside this nearly 100 year old building lies the absolute best baked goods I have ever, in my entire life, including hot Krispy Kreme donuts, had. I know, pretty strong statement, but it's true. This place is in the middle of nowhere and to hear people talk, its like the neighborhood drug dealer. "Oh, man! Did you say you're going to Polebridge? Would you snag me one of those sweet parmesan foccacia buns? Come on man! I could really use a fix. I'll pay you back! Promise!" I don't even like telling people that I'm going anymore or I'll be inundated with orders from everybody from maintenance to the guy in site C115, who would go himself but he's afraid he might blow the shocks on his brand new 38 foot rv on that "blasted" dirt road.

I've been telling Chrissy about Polebridge for two years now and finally I was able to take her and Lauren there today. We each picked out what we wanted to try, payed and drove to the river to enjoy. After Chrissy's first bite of a huckleberry macaroon I heard, "Oh wow. mmm. Wow. This is soooo good. It's not even chocolate! We have to stop on our way back and get more." Yes, Chrissy is now an addict and I am her pusher.

The inside of the "Merc", as locals call it.

Lauren picking her poison.

This is happiness.

Then we went into the park...

and drove to Bowman Lake.
This is the face of someone coming off a mochachino chip cookie "high."
This probably won't last past tomorrow...sad.

Fish Creek is OPEN!

So today the campground finally opened for the season. We had a grand total of three campers come in and two of those were reservations. Fish Creek is a reservation campground, one of two in the park. The other is St. Mary campground on the east side of the continental divide. If you'd like to make a reservation to camp, you can log on to http://www.recreation.gov/ and search campgrounds throughout the National Park Service. Glacier National Park has thirteen frontcountry campgrounds. The other twelve are available on a "first-come, first-served" basis. Out of those twelve, four are full time primitive campgrounds (no potable water or flushable toilets.)

After the work-day ended, the fam and I drove over to the Apgar boat dock on Lake McDonald. Even though the high today was only in the fifties, Lauren wanted to go swimming. I told her that the lake is fed by glacial runoff but she wasn't listening.

Lauren going in...

and coming right back out!
The two sensible parents who stayed dry.

After dinner we decided to take a drive up the Inside North Fork Road (as opposed to the Outside North Fork Road. No really, there is one.) We're driving along, enjoying the scenery, when what do we see?

This guy!

Not a bad way to end the day.