Route Recommendations Western ND to Glacier NP

[wingnut]

Bill,
Are you going up to Waterton as a day trip or are you pulling you TD as well?

Jim

[Bill and Elaine]

Jim,

We plan to go to Waterton as a day trip and leave the TD back at Glacier.

Bill

[wingnut]

Bill,
I thought that was what you'd do, just wanted to make sure I wasn't making the wrong assumption. That's why I didn't give you the run down on the camp grounds in waterton.
Jim

[Pizzaguy]

Saw these on the Glacier National Park Facebook page..... thought you might be interested.

Pics from this years snow removal on Goin to The Sun Highway.

https://www.facebook.com/#!/media/set/?set=a.10150613412894912.389532.74553624911&type=1

[Bill and Elaine]

Thanks Pizzaguy for the snow removal picture link. There are some great shots in that collection.

Elaine gets weather updates from the area on her phone so we've been aware of recent winter weather advisories and days of spring weather as well. It is 57 there today with an expected low in the mid 40's tonight. Things are warming up! By the time we get out there the temps here in the mid-Atlantic will be in the 90's and the humidity will be high. The cool, dry weather in the Rockies will be a welcomed relief. We can'tr wait!

Bill

[wingnut]

Hi Bill,
We just got back, Monday night from A 5 day camping trip in eastern Montana and can tell you that MY 200 from the junction of US 87 west to Great Falls is very good roads. There is one construction projected going on, but the paved detour road is every bit as good as MT 200. Sorry I cna't give you a recent first hand road report on MT 200 east of the junction of US 87. We also drove US 89 from Great Falls to Browning and that highway is very good with no construction zone at this time. US 89 will be chip sealed north of the Kiowa junction, that is north of East Glacier, but that projected should be done by the time you get here. MT DOT has not listed any other construction on MT 200 other than the one I mentioned.
I'm not sure if you are planning on making the stops in Great Falls at the Charlie Russell museum and the Lewis & Clark center, but I found out that the Russell museum is closed on Mondays. We returned home through Great Falls to see the new watercolor exhibition. I had forgotten that Mondays was the one day a week that they are closed. I guess I was thiniking that they were open 7 days a week in the summer. Been to the Russell museum many times, just never in the summer.
Wishing you good roads and safe travel,
Jim

[tamnalan]

I was on MT200 east of US 87 all the way to Glendive last summer -- Glendive is where you would intersect Interstate-94. MT200 was in pretty good shape overall - there was some exceptionally bad flooding throughout Montana a year ago in May and a lot of secondary roads were damaged, but MT200 weathered it pretty well (at least the stretch from US 87 to Glendive did).

I grew up about 15 miles from Grass Range, where US 87 and MT 200 split. I met a fellow two years ago at my current job in Ohio - turns out he is from the Grass Range area too. What a small world! Grass Range is a thriving megopolis of about 50 people.

[wingnut]

Bill & Elaine,
The Going to the Sun Road opened for the season yesterday about noon.
Thought you might like to know.
Jim

[Bill and Elaine]

Thanks Jim and Alan for the route reports and on the opening of the highway. It appears that we'll have clear sailing all the way.

Elaine and I met Doris last night at a local Tearjerkers camp gathering. Doris and her family live close by us in MD and traveled to Glacier NP two years ago. She has posted some tips and recommendations on this thread.

After talking with Doris we decided to make reservations at the St Mary's KOA. As you know its only one mile from the entrance to the park, five miles to a location for "nightly campfire talks" has showers and electric sites. Of course it does cost way more money to stay at the KOA than in the park.

[Bill and Elaine]

Thanks Jim and Tamnalan for all of the good suggestions and advice. I have printed all of your posts and now hold a thick packet of things to do and avoid on our trip thanks to you guys. We are so excited about this trip in a few weeks and know it will be a great experience. I have been keeping track of the weather in ND and MT where we will be and it will be a welcome change for us from the blistering 100+ degrees we have been experiencing in the Washington DC area. Elaine

[tamnalan]

You're most welcome! I'm leaving Ohio next week myself for the Kalispell area (Flathead Lake). I'll spend a week there and then head north of Edmonton for a trip up the Alcan Highway to Fairbanks.

I'll "trailer" this jeep and teardrop trailer to Dawson Creek, and then drive it from there:

[Bill and Elaine]

Alan-That Jeep and TD are sweet! Wow! I love it!

Kinda makes me miss my old Army days.

Is that TD homemade to beautifully match the Jeep or did the Army actually have TDs? Either way, it must be one of a kind.

Bill

[Wolffarmer]

Tamnaian

That is a slick looking set up you have there. Original motor and transmission? If it is you really will be doing the Alcan on teardrop time.

My first vehicle was a 1952 CJ3A. And in 1993 I drove a late 50s surplus Jeep on a job that summer. When I was a Senior in High School I over hauled the motor in my CJ and that spring I took it to school and pulled a wheelie with it. It was said to have been the first pulled by a 4 wheeled vehicle in that school's history. This was 1968. I did that at lunch time and the guys with their fancy cars could not be showed up by my ugly old jeep so they tired to pull wheelies. When school let out that day there was about 6-8 cars that couldn't move. Broken drive shafts, u joints, transmissions, burned clutches.



Somebody estimated there was about $3000 worth of damage done.

Have fun on the Alcan. I would like to drive it some time but my Suzuki Sidekick is probably about as close to a Jeep as I will get. At least it doesn't have AC.

Randy

[tamnalan]

Thanks! I built the trailer last winter with a huge amount of help from this forum, which I appreciate very much! I'm joining a group of about 100 old military vehicles taking part: http://www.mvpa.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/MVPAAlaskaConvoyPressRelease.pdf.

The jeep has the original-type motor and drivetrain. It's a 1943 Willys MB. There are 14 other jeeps like it in this convoy, but I think I'll have the only teardrop trailer. That trailer is 3' x 7' inside - basically just a bed and some storage. It's sized on an "M-100" Korean war-vintage trailer which simplifed the trailer-jeep tow interface and let me use suspension components common to the jeep. The jeep only has about 60 horsepower so I needed to keep the trailer weight down.

[tamnalan]

Randy - you and I have something in common! I learned to drive and took the test in a '50 CJ3A. I still have that jeep at our place near Kalispell.