About 75 miles from Great Falls the route takes us through Valier, notable because of the name's similarity to our family's two Valeries. Also notable because the town celebrated its centennial two days earlier. When we got to GF we saw a newspaper story about this celebration and if we hadn't gone to Fort Benton on Saturday, we probably would have been here.
We stopped to look around and to get some ice cream and coffee. I asked waitress how the centennial went. Great, she said. Someone estimated 1000 people watched the parade. One lady was counting parade entries and got to 75 when somebody asked her a question and she lost track.
A few more miles along we stopped because the holding tank needed some deodorizer. Pulled over at a historic marker about the Blackfeet Nation. A guy pulling a fifth-wheel stopped and walked up to the marker I was reading (while Susie was doing deodorizer duty). I said, Hi. He said Hi and just kept talking. He had retired five weeks earlier from a job in Michigan and said, I'm getting out of here. Let the tax collector have this lousy state. Taxes are terrible there. He used to pay $200 property tax; now it's $3000.
Next topic: Had his 8-yr. old grandson traveling with them. They had been into British Columbia. These kids today, they're not interested in anything. At museums he looks at guns, but nothing else. Ignores the great pictures and the history displays. (I wanted to interject that my 9-yr. old grandson wasn't like that, but couldn't get a word in edgewise.)
Next topic: We visited areas in BC where a gold rush took place after the gold rush in California had dwindled. Bought a book about gold mining in BC. Lots of interesting stories. He told me a long one about a priest, an Indian, a miner, and some unusual rocks, I believe. Ended up with a silver discovery and a local Indian tribe getting a chapel and a school out of the deal.
After that story ended and as I was about to get back into Tuzigoot I made the mistake of asking where in Michigan he was from. But, actually, the answer was interesting: Wyoming, it turned out, which is essentially part of Grand Rapids and is where son Matt and family lived before moving to New Mexico last summer. I didn't get a chance to mention this connection, though, because he launched into a story about the incompetent city government. They don't plow his street after a snow, but they do plow the sidewalks. Why should they do that? Every resident should shovel their own sidewalk. I do. Then the city comes along and pushes snow from his neighbors onto his yard, one direction or the other. I complain but they keep doing it, he says. I suggested he move to New Mexico. Or, Arizona, he says (everybody thinks they're the same). I didn't pursue this opening. Didn't dare ask him if he worked for a packaging company like Matt's, but he was wearing a cap with some sort of law enforcement association logo on it, so I didn't think it likely and, frankly, didn't care that much. Didn't dare ask about his cap. Wished him safe travel - nice talking to you - and hurried into Tuzigoot.
Where have you been? Susie asks. As I'm telling her this story I miss a turn-off. Can't find a place to turn around. The GPS shows a 4.6 mile connection back to our desired highway. It's washboard, dirt, and gravel, but beautiful. We're right up against the east slope of the Rockies and Glacier NP.
A little Indian boy comes out to the road to watch us go by. I give him a blast on the air horn and that gets a smile. (One of my little Tuzi-thrills is to exchange horn blasts with passing trains.)
I just missed a chance to get a real classic picture, especially for my sister, Verla. There was a group of six paint ponies standing on a little hill, mountains in the background, but back a ways from the road. Made a snap decision to pass it up. Been regretting it for two days since. Here's the best approximation I found on the web. Just do a mental photo-shop to insert these into one of the pictures above.
We're soon back on our designated route, US 2, and follow it to the KOA at West Glacier, just outside the west entrance to the park. The weather is great and we've got a very nice site - note the front yard - with Big Sky satellite TV access, too!
We take a short, evening drive into the park along Lake McDonald just to get a park preview. Tomorrow we'll spend the day driving the Going to the Sun Highway through the park.
Beautiful, huh.
Cheers,
Susie and Rob
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