Post 3: Montana: Glacier, Helena, and Mom Joins the Adventure

Keith just took off on the Tour Divide, and I was heading back to Montana. I would be traveling towards and staying in Kalispell, MT. This was a new part of Canada and Montana for me. This section of driving was amazing! You have the dramatic landscape of the mountains that continue from Banff to Glacier National Park and beyond. What I hadn’t put together until in the moment was the scale of the mountain range that continued into northern Montana. I was in awe; I even saw a black bear walking along a treeline just off the road. It was then that I remembered Keith was up in the mountains with bears!

Glacier National Park

Since I left Banff pretty early and made good time, I was able to drive into Glacier National Park for a couple of hours in the evening. This worked out perfectly because timed entry was now required, which I didn’t have, but I arrived “after hours,” so it didn’t matter. It was still early summer, so Going to the Sun Road wasn’t open yet. Only something like 13 miles of the road was open, which I heard some of it closed again about a week later due to a snowstorm!

Glacier National Park is definitely on my list for hiking. On this visit, I only had time for scenic driving and stopping to grab some pictures. It was nice to get out of the car since I’d been driving all day, and it was starting to get dark, so it wasn’t crowded at most of the pull-offs. It made for a really enjoyable evening. I grabbed a burger at Great Bear Cafe and planned to get some rest since I’d have another day of driving.

Helena

I slept well, but was wide awake way too early for me. I decided to go ahead and get on the road so I’d have time to stop in Helena to stretch my legs and walk around Last Chance Gulch. I also ended up getting a call from Keith while driving the second leg of the day, and this was a real treat to hear from him and get a better idea of how he was doing. The rest of the day was getting to the hotel in Bozeman, doing laundry, washing the car, grabbing snacks, and getting ready for my mom to arrive the next day!

Solo Hiking

My mom was arriving in the early evening, so I had time for a morning hike. The College M for Montana State was the perfect workout. You can hike this as a loop with 2 miles and 825 feet of elevation gain. I took the steeper, more difficult trail up and the easier, more meandering trail down. This was a great combo. I was treated to fields of wildflowers on the way down and stopped to take pictures at every turn. The wildflowers were starting to die off, but it was still an amazing experience.

I still had a couple of hours before I needed to shower and get to the airport, so I decided to check out the Bozeman Creek Trail. This was basically a walk on a forest road more than anything. It was quite busy, and people were walking the trail or riding on their bikes. It was pretty flat and wide, so great for kids and pets. There were also a few people fishing in the creek. It was busy and pretty hot, so I just walked about a mile and a quarter out and then went back.

Mom Joins the Adventure

My mom flew into the tiny Bozeman Airport, just a few minutes from where we were staying. This was super convenient. We decided to catch up over dinner at Montana Ale Works. As you can imagine, we were just so happy to be with each other and talking in person!

Upcoming Post

Check back next week as my mom and I enjoy some mother-daughter time while adventuring and relaxing! We hike to a waterfall, visit an alpaca farm, relax at a hot spring, and ride the 8-person chair lift at Big Sky Mountain Resort!

Have you vacationed in Montana? What are some of your favorite places in Montana? Let us know in the comments section below.👇 💬