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.

... and the campers aren't even here yet.

WOW! So much has happened in the last few days, I'm not sure where to begin. I tend to think more chronologically so I'll just put things in order that way.

This season I am the supervisor of the Fish Creek campground. I am actually staying at the campground in the housing unit that is attached to the ranger station. When we arrived on the 15th our building didn't have the water turned on so we were put in a unit near headquarters. I was told we were in the unit that they used when dignitaries and VIPs visited the park. Really, really nice place compared to all the park housing units I've been in. Though it was nice, I was anxious to move into Fish Creek and left most of my stuff packed in the Jeep.

That weekend we went for a small hike to John's Lake.

The next week was spent organizing and cleaning up around the ranger station and helping a fellow ranger install six bear boxes in various campgrounds. For those who don't know, a bear box is a large metal box that visitors can use to store food and anything that might have an odor that would attract animals. They're big and heavy and can be a pain to install, but they work. By Friday we still hadn't moved into Fish Creek and I was getting tired of not being able to unpack. My wife, Chrissy, was scheduled to fly into Kalispell on Tuesday and I really wanted to be unpacked and settled before she arrived. I was told that day that the water was on but the housing coordinator had left early. Ok...I guess two more days won't kill me.

That weekend Lauren and I hiked to Avalanche Lake. It is probably the most popular day hike on the west side of the park and for good reason. The trail is 2.1 miles to the foot of the lake and only gains about 500 feet in elevation. The payoff is spectacular. The lake sits at the bottom of a cirque (a bowl-shaped, steep walled basin) with numerous waterfalls flowing into it from the glacier, that sits hidden, above.

Lauren at Avalanche Lake
It started raining on the way back.

Avalanche Gorge at the beginning of the trail.

Monday we finally got to move into our place at Fish Creek. Yay!! Ok now I can go buy groceries and get everything ready for Chrissy to come. Lauren and I are really excited and in a good mood, driving to the supermarket, when the phone rings. It's Chrissy. She asks me about my day and I can immediately tell somethings not right, so I ask her what's wrong. "I'm not gonna be able to come," she says and I can tell she's trying not to cry. She tells me that she's in the hospital about to have her appendix removed before it bursts. "What?! Are you serious?!" Good mood, gone. Excitement, gone...but, not for long. God was watching over her and she went through surgery fine and is healing well. Whew! We are hoping, with the doctor's approval, that she will be able to fly out this Saturday. I'm glad too because I have a little girl here that really wants to see her mom! Me too!

And so it begins.

Ok, so this is my first post on my first blog. I don't know how often I'll be able to post on here. Definately not daily. My life's not that interesting, but I will try to post at least once a week.

This is my third season at Glacier, my second season as a Visitor Use Assistant Supervisor and my first living at the Fish Creek ranger station. The drive from Tennessee is about 2,400 miles. I usually take four days and do some sightseeing along the way. This year's trip was great for one main reason; my 10 year old daughter got to come with me. We had a blast! We stopped and saw Mt. Rushmore frosted with snow and stayed at a hotel that was connected to an indoor water park. Uh...yeah! Talk about fun! One of the coolest stops on the trip was the ghost town of Garnet. Montana is full of ghost towns and I've been wanting to visit one for awhile. When they say getting there is half the fun, they're right. Garnet is about ten miles off of I90 on a one-lane dirt road through the Garnet Range. After the first six miles the road winds up First Chance Gulch (I love western place names) on one of the steepest sections of mountain road that I've ever driven on. Uh...yeah! Awesome! The town is nestled near the top in a small valley. There are several intact buildings from the late 1800's.

View of the mining town of Garnet

I felt like I was in a John Wayne movie!
Lauren in the general store.

The Well's Hotel

What is really cool is you can go inside most of the buildings and even upstairs to the second and third floor of the hotel. I sound like a commercial for the place, but it really was cool. It was definately a great way to start off the season.