Yesterday’s weather hangs on, so it is very overcast this morning, with low clouds in the mountains and valleys. The first day or two of this, we thought this was interesting, but it is getting old. We decide to do another run up to the road closure here in east Glacier. We pass this cyclist heading up Going to the Sun Road - it is open a little further for cyclists and hikers than it is for cars, but still not totally open.
The only wildlife we see is a young deer. We stop at a pretty viewpoint and have fruit and cereal for breakfast (and coffee for Greg).
The town of Browning is about a half hour to the east. We check to see if they have a library, and it says they open at 10:30, so we head that way. Browning is a majority Indian population and to get there we cross miles of the Reservation. Rolling hills and plains with lots of cattle and horse ranches.
When we arrive in Browning we find the library closed. I pop into a business next door – a radio station I believe – and ask if they know anything about the library but they have no idea why it is closed. We get gas and stop for a few items at the grocery store before going back to the library – no luck.
There is another Roadtrek parked in front of the library and we meet and chat with Linda Willcox who is from Billings, Montana via "back east". She is traveling alone and mentions that she is going to have lunch at Two Sisters Café, near Babb, before heading to the Roadtrek Get-together. We decide to do the same.
Two Sisters, supposedly one of the 10 best diners in Montana, is a small place with simple décor and an odd and limited menu. Greg has fish ‘n’ chips, while Beth has “mile high” broccoli quiche and homemade potato and corn soup. The quiche is especially good. They also have chili, Vietnamese sandwiches, and for desserts, Huckleberry everything.
We have a nice visit with Linda, who shows up just a few minutes after us. She attended last year's Glacier Roadtrek event and some of their other ones as well, so fills us in on some details.
Chewing Blackbones Campground, which is run by the Blackfeet Indians, is only a few miles up the road and is the site of our gathering. I say Roadtrek, but there are other types of small rv’s there too. Many of these folks get together semi-regularly at various locations but this is our first time.
We get a nice site next to the lake, while many others (those who wanted electric) are in a large grassy area.
The campground is in poor repair with tall grass, one of the two restrooms out-of-order, no tp or towels, and not very clean. Disappointing.
To say this get-together is loosely organized is being very generous. We were told there would be a general gathering at 5:00 but no one is sure where and people mill about in the rain.
Mike Wendland, who does a popular website and podcasts tells people the person who organized things isn’t here yet. A few people from the Roadtrek organization say they are there to film people’s stories and another man is a tech who will be available to answer rv questions and consult.
Soon, we are told there will be a white board, under a pop-up tent, that will list events and times. And there are a few things people signed up for months ago when registering – we have a boat ride Thursday afternoon - so hope the weather will be better by then. The business office is the only place under roof and it is rather small. It has wi-fi, though we have no phone service anywhere. AT&T sucks here – apparently Verizon is the best in this area. Greg goes there for a meeting later in the evening and gets a little more info.
Later, the board appears as promised. There is a hike tomorrow morning that we will try to attend. There are limits on many of the events, like photography hikes, and some are already filled! There are 65 rigs here, so probably 110 or so people. There seem to be many folks who do these gatherings regularly and so form little "cliques". We know a few people through a facebook group, but none personally. We do find out that one couple was at the Texas Rally we attended last year, but we didn't actually meet. The weather isn't conducive to mingling.
TP and towels appear in the restrooms. There are a few showers, though not the cleanest and the water smells very metallic. I come to realize that the restrooms may be cleaner than I first thought because the heavily metallic water leaves stains which may or may not be removable. There is hot-ish water.
A representative of the campground later apologizes for the condition, blaming the weather and a very large event at another campground which took most of their efforts. (Campgrounds here generally don't open till mid-late May.) But, it isn’t like they didn’t know we were coming…. He offers a free extra day of camping as compensation.
We stay inside and dry for a quiet evening. We're snug as a bug in a rug as the temps fall.
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