Leaving Glacier, Heading for Yellowstone

We enjoyed our stay at Glacier so much that we left reluctantly on Thursday. We enjoyed a final breakfast at Luna's and said our good-byes to Doris at Mountain Pines.
 

This is the interior of Luna's Restaurant. It's not fancy, but the food is good; and the folks are warm and friendly. It kind of reminds me of the bar in the TV show, "Cheers," where the slogan was "Where everybody knows your name."

There were some portraits of American Indians in this corner, but the primary decoration throughout the restaurant were colorings by children, each signed with the child's name, age, and hometown.

 

This shows Doug paying our restaurant bill at Luna's.

Here, we're checking out of the Mountain Pines Motel and saying our thanks and good-bye to lovely Doris.

In East Glacier, we found the same kind of relaxation and camaraderie that we used to find at the old Wonderland Hotel in the Smokies, starting with Doris' welcome and sightseeing advice when we checked into the motel.

On our first night in town, we ate at a Mexican restaurant. We were told there would be a 15-minute wait, so we went out to sit on the porch and wait for our name to be called. Well, the wait turned into an hour; but we hardly noticed because we were enjoying the company of the other people waiting for tables.

At Luna's, where we ate our meals during the remainder of our stay, it was commonplace for strangers to strike up conversations with each other. Most everyone was there because they love the outdoors and enjoy the magnificent scenery of the national park. They would share tales of sights they had seen or hikes they had taken.

Here are some other scenes from the town of East Glacier:

This is where we bought gasoline for our vehicle. The transactions were cash only, and change was given in Sacajawea dollar coins.

This is one of the many dogs that seemed to roam freely around town. We wondered whether they were safe from grizzly bears, but they all looked like they could take care of themselves.

Every place has to be known for something. I guess East Glacier's claim to fame is the World's Largest Purple Spoon. The lady we bought our gasoline from told us that the guy who owned this place used to be a stagecoach driver. We never got around to making his acquaintance, though, in spite of the gasoline lady's urging.

We left Glacier on Thursday and headed for Yellowstone. We hadn't gotten far when Doug spotted this horse, apparently posing for a picture. And, yes, it is a real horse and not a statue.

 

We spent Thursday night in Bozeman, Montana, then drove to West Yellowstone, Montana on Friday. We hadn't been able to get lodging in Yellowstone National Park, so I had done some internet searching (while we were in Bozeman and actually had high-speed internet).

We found a really nice place about 15 minutes north and west of West Yellowstone. It's called Hebgen Lake Mountain Inn and was apparently originally built as a condominium complex. For whatever reason, the condos were not sold as individual units; and the complex became a motel. It's a bit off the beaten path, but it's a perfect place for us to spend a few days while enjoying Yellowstone National Park.

 

Hebgen Lake Mountain Inn

The manager is a lady named Jeanine, who has a dog named D-O-G, which Jeanine pronounces "dee-o-gee," with the emphasis on the "o."

Jeanine told us about an earthquake zone a few miles up the road from the Inn, which had been the site of a 7.5 earthquake in 1959. It had blocked the Madison River and created a new lake, now known as Quake Lake. Twenty-eight people had died in the quake. The bottom of Hebgen Lake had tilted and sloshed water back and forth. Anyway, Jeanine suggested that we might enjoy a drive up to Quake Lake. We did.

This is Quake Lake. Even 51 years after the earthquake, there are still dead trees standing in the water.

This is the section of the Madison Canyon wall that collapsed and blocked the Madison River, creating Quake Lake.

My next post will include photos of Yellowstone National Park. What a great place it is!