Note: Photos for this day have not yet been posted.
Missoula, MT
Missoula was a stopping off point to rest for the night. It was the closest hotel to Kalispell (without going all the way to Kalispell) in the chain I use. The city is a mega shopping area, at least in the part where I was. There were lots of people and getting on I-90 was a bit slow.
Today's Destination
The destination for today was Glacier National Park. There was supposed to be a little over two hours of driving and then I'd have the rest of the day to spend in the park. I had a hotel room reserved in Kalispell, which was the closest city to the park (about thirty miles southeast). Originally, I planned to spend some time in the park and then take a long trip to Sandpoint, Idaho (2 1/2 hours away). Thanks be to God that I had the inspiration to stay in town for the night and change my reservations around.
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The drive to Glacier National Park
It took probably close to four hours to get up to Glacier National Park. Most of the driving was not on an interstate. I stopped several times to take photos. There was gorgeous scenery. Additionally, there was a lot of road work which slowed things down considerably. This is a big tourist area. Kalispell has an international airport. So, there were quite a few tourists, slowing things down even more.
This part of Montana has tree covered mountains. Some of the mountains have snow near the top. I can't say "snowcapped" because the very top did not have any snow; it was on the sides close to the top.
Lake Flathead
Lake Flathead was also along the route. This is a beautiful lake with gorgeous blue water. I tried several times to stop and get pictures but every chance I had to stop did not provide an area with a clear view to the lake. I finally found one spot with a small viewing area. As I was driving along at higher speeds (not as many tourists were around at that point), of course I found other spots. But I was going too fast to reasonably stop.
Green Grass
Since this area was a bit cooler, I actually got to see some grass that was still green. All the other grass I've seen in Montana up to this point was scorched and yellow or brown.
Glacier National Park
Glacier National Park is huge. There is so much to do that one afternoon was not enough. I decided I would spend some time there the next day. I had hotels reserved up to August 17th. I called Choice Hotels to see if I could shift every one down by a day and stay an extra night in the area. This would sacrifice some of the big bonus points I planned to get via all my hotel stays. But, I felt it was worth it since I may never get to this area in the future. Because the reservation change window had expired on the hotels for the next two nights, I could not do this. I was frustrated at first. But, it would work out better that way later on.
Narrow, twisty road with a steep drop-off
People in North Dakota told me that the Going to the Sun Road has some very narrow and twisty parts with a 3,000 foot drop off. A park ranger told me exactly where that began. She said there was a shuttle bus which could take me through that part if I did not want to drive it.
I visited a number of areas in Glacier. There were a lot of trails going off into the woods. I'm sure there are a lot of beautiful sites there. But, my agenda did not include possibly being mauled by a bear so I stayed on the Going to the Sun Road.
There is a lake surrounding mountains. I took several photographs of that area and then continued on. There are beautiful streams with waterfalls which I photographed. At one point I did briefly step into the woods. A doe sort of allowed me to photograph her. After I got a bit too close she ran away.
Along the Going to the Sun Road there were several hitchhikers. Of course, there is a shuttle bus going by. If they were simply hiking and didn't feel like walking back to their cars, the shuttle bus would be the most appropriate ride.
At a certain point, I decided to call it quits for the night. I planned to see more of the park the next day. I turned around and started driving towards the entrance about 25 miles away. The speed limit was 35. A doe walked out in the road. I came to a stop easily. She slowly walked across, not even thinking about the line of cars waiting for her.
Dinner
After leaving the park, I needed dinner. There was a place with Native American gifts and a restaurant. I had a delicious eggplant steak. This was an eggplant cooked as if it was a steak.
The end of the rental car
The restaurant was along US 2. The speed limit is 70 and there are a lot of cars there so one must keep pace. It was about 9:30 PM or so. Suddenly, a deer appeared in the road. I was going at 70 and couldn't stop fast enough. He seemed to charge the vehicle. I saw his head go into the driver's side mirror and break the mirror off. All that was left were some wires and a bit of plastic. The deer dashed off into the woods.
I was shaking, and pulled off to the side of the road. At first I thought it was just the mirror. I noticed it in the road and watched as other cars going at high speed smashed it into bits. I purchased the liability damage waiver so I knew I could just swap the rental car at an agency and be on my way. I was still very nervous after the experience. Thanks be to God, I was not injured at all.
The first police officer
A sheriff's patrol car saw me and pulled up behind me to see if everything was okay. I started to get out of the car and found that I could only open the door wide enough to stick my hand out. I motioned to the officer. He came out and I explained that I hit a deer. He said he figured that, seeing the debris in the road and my car on the side. He had to pull very hard on the door to allow me to get out.
We took a look at the vehicle. There was massive damage. The driver's side was caved in. The driver's side door was dented. The left headlight was smashed. A warning in the vehicle notified me that I should "check the headlamp."
The officer asked me if it was a deer or elk. I couldn't tell the difference. He looked at the hairs still on the vehicle and assumed it was a deer. He asked if I saw where the deer went. I assumed he went completely across the road and into the other side. The officer said the deer would be in a lot of pain judging from the damage done to the car.
The officer said a highway patrolman had to write the actual damage report. He phoned in to have someone come over. He stayed with me for a while. He looked at the vehicle and felt it would not need a toe. He had me turn the wheel so he could examine the tires. He pulled the bumper away from the tires so I could drive it. He asked me to pull over to wider section of the shoulder and see if the car gave me any trouble. Also, it would help to make sure I didn't get hit by another car.
After a while he said he needed to move on and that the highway patrol officer would be there in about twenty minutes. He drove off. I noticed him pull over to the opposite side of the road and put his lights on. I heard a gunshot and assumed he had found the deer. He then drove away.
While I was waiting, a motorist stopped to ask if everything was okay. He wanted to know if I needed a ride anywhere. I told him I was fine and had to wait for an officer to come to write the report.
I called the local rental agency where I picked up the car. The agent confirmed that since I had purchased the liability damage waiver, it would just be a matter of swapping out the vehicle at the nearest agency. She said that if I was not comfortable driving it to the agency, it could be towed there by roadside assistance.
The Second Officer
The highway patrol officer showed up about ten minutes later. He was very friendly. He told me there were four incidents like this yesterday though they were elk. He said I would probably be the first in a long night. He looked at the car and photographed the damage. He then asked if I knew what I hit. I explained that I didn't. But I explained that I suspected the first officer had dispatched the animal. I told him where it happened. He went to the area and confirmed that it was indeed a deer. He said most people hit elk around there. Apparently, there are herds of them going through and collisions with vehicles are a nightly occurrence.
After writing up the incident, he gave me an information exchange sheet. He said it would take two weeks to get a real accident report and it had to be obtained from the state capital.
The officer was concerned about the fact that the airbags had not yet deployed. He said that they could just deploy while I was driving back to my hotel, thirty miles away. He encouraged me to get a tow. I didn't want to wait around this area at night any further. I declined. He said that the roads had wide shoulders and suggested I drive about 40 mph. If people got angry because they wanted to do 70, I could just pull off to let them pass. He gave me his direct number in case something happened along the way.
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Both officers were very polite, professional, considerate, and helpful. Had the first officer not been going by, I might not have even realized the extensive damage to the vehicle. Since the deer went back to the woods, I assumed it was a minor collision and the deer was not seriously hurt. Likewise, I assumed I just lost the mirror and that was it. I may have gotten to the hotel and actually not been able to get out of the car. I may have had an accident along the way because part of the bumper may have been pushed into a tire.
Fueling Up
The car only had half a tank of gas. At first I figured this would be an extraordinary event and I would not need to fill up the tank. But I remembered the rental agreement warned that if I did not return it full, they would charge me $7.30/gallon. Yes, that's right. Since there was a gas station right before the hotel, I figured it would be safer to fill it up and avoid that risk. The $3.95/gallon I paid saved me $3.35/gallon.
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