Once again, we’ve been skunked.
The day after Labor Day, we planned on driving through the east gate of Glacier National Park.
We tried a traverse back in 2020, but the Blackfeet Tribe had closed down access to the reservation from the east gate. We really didn’t feel like waiting in line to drive in line to return in line to exit the west gate, so we passed.
But this year, no issues. Until we entered the east gate, only to find that we’d only be able to drive 13 miles in, as the Going to the Sun road was closes due to rockslide dangers (it had been raining hard on the mountains for a few days). So we punted and drove around the park. Again.
What we could see was beautiful, especially with a fresh dusting of snow on the highest peaks. But apparently half the world had the same idea that we did – pop into the park after Labor Day. All of the surrounding roads and highways were packed all the way into Kalispell, Montana.
Ah well, another time.
Ao we made our way to the old stomping grounds, Spokane, Washington. It had been almost two years since we left, but quite a bit had changed.
Our first order of business was to drive the old neighborhood. Just a month prior, an arsonist set fire to the forest below the neighborhood and the ‘hood was ravaged. Our old place was unscathed, but the folks less than 3/4 mile away couldn’t say the same thing. It was pretty eye-opening. Out of respect for those mopping up, we took no pictures.
Then we walked some of the old haunts.
The pavilion was built for Expo ‘74, the World’s Fair held in Spokane. It was refurbished right before COVID hit and is now a cozy outdoor concert amphitheater.
One pleasant surprise was finding that they rehabbed the Great Norther Clock Tower so that it would actually chime. That feature was unveiled on Independence Day this year. It was nice to hear it chime in every hour, reminding us of our travels in Europe.
So, for us it was a good, albeit short, visit. But we are thankful for the short time that we got to catch up with friends.