“Ten Miles of Bad Road”

Friday, July 18, 2014

A leisurely morning -  with some computer time before we go downstairs for breakfast.  There is a resident pussy cat!  I’m happy! And there is a chipmunk right outside!  What a lovely way to start a day! 

Looking down into the breakfast room from the lounge.

Walkway behind the lodge.

 We chat with Jennifer about our plans to go to Polebridge today and she suggests a hike and the huckleberry bear claws at the Polebridge Mercantile.  As the conversation continues she mentions that she would like to offer some of their pastries at the lodge and we say we’d be happy to pick up an order for her.  After some logistical discussions, plans are made.

Not Australian opal - just water!

We stop back upstairs just for a moment and we’re off.  The route starts off on a smooth, paved road and just before we leave the park, and the good road, we stop for a hike on the Huckleberry Nature Trail.  The sign says it is only 0.6 miles long, with a small hill in the middle; but we’ve already learned that these signs have questionable accuracy.  

The purpose of this exploration is to examine what happens after a fire.  There was a huge fire here on August 31, 2001.  Now, thirteen years later, we can see the lodge pole pines which germinated after their cones burst open from the extreme heat.  They are all about the same height, about thirteen feet or one foot a year.  The volunteer plants are going strong and as we climb the “small” hill we can see a change due to either the elevation or the amount of water available to them.  The flowers are as beautiful as anywhere else in the park!

Fireweed

 We see a couple of birds – which is pretty unusual.  We can hear them but they are really hard to spot!  And there are butterflies that seem to be posing!

Sitka Valerian with winged decoration!

Marilyn videos me coming down the kind of steep hill and that’s the time that my foot goes out from under me!  Natalie, you should be proud!  My derriere never hit and ground!

The path loops around and we emerge right where we started, feeling virtuous and invigorated!

Onto the gravel road to Northbridge…It’s the Outer North Fork Road.  Apparently the Inner NFR is even worse.  We are driving along the river and, due to the fire, we can see it in some places.  The smoke from the fires in Washington, Oregon and Canada have created such a haze, that we can’t see the mountains, though!  Later, on the news, we hear that children and people with allergies should limit their outdoor time.  Oh well!

We haven’t been on the gravel stretch for very long before we notice a beautiful wood fence on both sides of the road and a sign that says the next 35 miles are through private property and to please respect the property owners!  Thirty-five miles!

There is a “little library” alongside the road and some cool old places.  The dust from the road permeates everything.

 Here we are at Polebridge!  There are some signs on the entrance road, like "Dust - a four-letter word" and "Slow down - people breathing"!  We’d been told there are only four buildings and that’s about right!  In addition to the Mercantile, there is the Northern Lights Saloon which serves food from four o’clock on and has live music by Fresh off the Vine at five.  There are a few places to rent and some recreational facilities, like a volleyball court and swings.

The Polebridge Mercantile in on the Historical Sites registry!  Inside there are souvenirs and foodstuffs, sandwiches and – BAKED GOODS!  Several people told us to get the huckleberry bear claws, which we do, as well as lunch and a specialty roll each.   Mine has blue cheese and spinach and some other wonderful stuff that I can’t identify!  It’s destined to be dinner!  We also pick up Jennifer’s order which fills two large bags!

 We picnic in front of the café, wander around a bit taking photos and decide that we aren’t brave enough to take the six-mile dirt road to Bowman Lake.  It is a rental car, after all, and we’re responsible for damages!

We retrace our footsteps, figuratively, and head to Apgar Village.  Along the way we see the entrance for the Rocky Bar O, at 8500 North Fork Road. There is one shop there we haven’t explored and it has Montana handicrafts.  Pretty stuff!  Then it’s time for a huckleberry cobbler at Eddies.  Marius, our Romanian waiter, is on duty again and brings us the gooey delights.  He assures me that vanilla ice cream is a better choice than huckleberry.  I have a hard time passing up anything huckleberry, but he’s right.  It’s delicious!

We take a short walk to the lake and head back to the car.  There is a farmers’ market with a three-piece band and the cutest German Shepherd on the planet!

Back to the lodge – we deliver Jennifer’s pastries and promise we’ll be early for breakfast so we don’t miss out!  Tomorrow is an early morning, so we are in for the evening.  Time to blog and check photos and watch the news.  We’ve been so out of touch and I have to admit that I don’t miss all the drama!