OK, so another spot we found that is a must re-visit before we leave, Polebridge and Lake Bowman. We had been hearing this area was a must visit, although a little hard to get to, so we saved it for a day when we had enough travel time.
Getting there was an amazing drive around the West side of Glacier. You can start in Columbia Falls and hit the Outside North Fork Road or drive along Camas Road from Apgar to the Camas Creek Entrance of the park, and then hit the Outside North Fork Road. That is the route we took as we wanted to see Lake McDonald from a different angle, and we had been told the scenery was remarkable. It was! If you look at this route on a map, you may say, ‘What about the Inside North Fork Road?’ It was closed. 🙂
Fire damage and restoration.
Much of this section of the park had been devastated by two fires over the last 15 years. It did, on first glance, look barren and stark, but as we drove, we could see how nature was recovering. We stopped at several turnouts to take photos, like the one above, and to learn more about the fire damage and the natural recovery of the region. In fact, the fire played, and plays, an integral part of the life system in much of the area. Several varieties of pine trees drop cones that are so thick with waxy sap they can’t germinate. That is, they can’t until the heat from a fire melts the wax and allows the cones to open and start the creation of a new tree.
Information about the decades previous fires.
Much of the route to Polebridge is unpaved and very washboard! We were happy to have our big four wheel drive truck and also amazed at the smaller cars and sedans along the route. Polebridge is an ‘off the grid’ community. What electricity they have is either solar or by generator. None the less, the Polebridge Mercantile is also the world’s best bakery!
The best bakery around!!!
Sean is seriously considering ways to find land within walking distance so he can continually sample the baked goods. We did buy a Huckleberry Bear Claw and a sticky bun! Yum.
- YUM!!!
Leaving Polebridge, it is a short drive to the Park entrance. For this trip, we knew we wanted to get into Bowman Lake and explore a bit. Once through the gate it was a 6+ mile trip along a single lane (maybe lane and a half) dirt road. We found ourselves scraping bushes more than once to allow a car going in the other direction room to pass. 🙂 
Once we arrived at the lake, we could see why it was considered one of the park’s better secrets. Near the trailhead was a primitive campsite and another very helpful park ranger.
Tree trunks at the bottom of the lake. Wish we had been there for a better angle on the light.
Bowman Lake
A family of ducks we startled while walking the trail.
After standing at the beach and soaking in the view around the lake, we took a short hike up the trail around the lake. We highly recommend making this trip if you are ever in the area!
In addition to our hiking, we have also been doing what we can to continue making our home on wheels more homelike. On a trip to town Sherry bought a tomato plant.
Sherry gardening.
We figured it would travel with us when we leave and maybe provide some fresh tomatoes. I think we both miss the large garden we had at home. Funny thing, when the owner of the RV park saw the plant, she brought two more and gave them to us for our new ‘garden’.
Our pups have adapted well to life on the road. Bates does miss a big fenced-in yard but we try to make it up to him in other ways. Here he is ‘learning’ how to swim.
He loved it.
Maggie has been our little greeter. While Bates lays around waiting for us to come home, Maggie is always at the door when it opens and then into our arms for some puppy snuggle time.
Our baby girl greeting us when we come home.
We are all adjusting to this new life and enjoying it!
Here is a link to some higher quality photos from the last few weeks. We do have some from our trip to St. Mary Lake in here as well. Ignore those until we post about it. 🙂
http://www.loveyphotography.com/Traveling-Photography/Polebridge-Bowman-Lake-St-Mary/
Lovey Photography 