MONTANA TRUCK CAMPER RALLY JULY 11TH-14TH 2013

[the_tc_life]

MONTANA TRUCK CAMPER RALLY

JULY 11TH - 14TH 2013

GLACIER CAMPGROUND

WEST GLACIER MONTANA





the montana rally will be at Glacier Campground this year. it is 1 mile from the west gate to glacier national park. link: GLACIER CAMPGROUND

here is a link to show pictures of the campground. the first picture is a map layout of the place. if you enlarge the picture you will see some notes i made about it.GLACIER CAMPGROUND PICTURES

here is a link about the g.n.p. entry fee: entry fee options


you must call the resort and make your reservations after you have signed up for the rally. they dont use email so you have to call. they are in off season until april but still check the voice mails. so be sure to leave a message and they will get back to you.
we get a 10% discount off the rates for the rally.

on thursday the 11th we will meet and greet. people get to the campground through out the day so nothing is formally scheduled on thursday. we will just gather and mingle at will.

friday morning the 12th for those interested we will do a hike to avalanche lake with in glacier national park. entry fee to the national park is required. we will do a ranger led hike that starts at 9:00 am at the trail head. those that can "truck" pool to the trail head will be helpful. there is limited parking at the trailhead.
here is some information about the hike:

Discover how the power of water and other

geologic forces have shaped this unique

environment on the way to glimmering Avalanche

Lake. This hike gains 500 feet over 2 miles.

Participants should wear hiking shoes and bring

water and a snack or lunch to enjoy at the

lake. Meet at the roadside parking lot on the

Going to the Sun Road across from Avalanche

Campground.


4 miles (6.4km) - 3½ hours



friday evening we will have some music and karoake for those who wish to show off their talents.

on saturday morning we will have a red bus tour. i have 2 buses reserved for us. the tour will be the western alpine tour. it starts at lake mcdonald lodge and goes to the top of the going to the sun road. it then returns back to the lodge. its about a 3 hour tour. we will caravan to lake mcdonald lodge to meet the red buses. the buses leave promptly at 9:30am. the cost for the tour is $33.12 per seat. if you wish to go on the tour please send me a message with how many seats you would like. i have to take pre-payment for the tour. paypal works well with transfering funds. if you dont wish to use paypal we can make other arrangments. each bus holds 17 passengers. the seats are reserved for you first come first served. here is a link with some information on the red bus tour: RED BUS TOUR INFORMATION

saturday evening we will have our potluck dinner followed by prize giveaways.

sunday morning we will have a farewell breakfast.

sign up for the rally: RALLY SIGN UP LINK



we hope to see you at the 2013 montana rally!


the tc life - rich

[pezvela]

btggraphix wrote:
Moab Utah, Uinta mountains, Green River all the way to its source and now Salmon, Idaho.....see you guys soon, after Yaak MT! 🙂 Great trip so far!

You took the dirt road up to Green River Lakes? How was the road? It can be hellacious washboard.

But it's worth it. That view from the campground up towards the upper lake is almost as good as anywhere in Yellowstone or Yosemite.

[the_tc_life]

Its been a great rally. Wonderful people to spend time with. The farewell breakfast will be here shortly then most everyone will be heading out. A couple of us are staying another day or two.
Tomorrow my wife, son and I are doing an all day hike in glacier.
I will post a blog of the rally and our trip in the next week.

Thank you to those who were able to attend and it was fantastic to meet you for the first time and see those who we have met before once again.

[dubob]

We spent another day in Paradise yesterday which is known locally as West Glacier, MT just outside the West Gate to Glacier NP. We are located in Glacier Campground at Site #7 of the Horseshoe Loop which Rich (The TC Life) secured for the rally participants. The campground is set on a heavily wooded hillside and advertises 175 sites. They offer water & electric hook-ups but no sewer. However, they do have a dump station. There is also an outdoor café that is open on Wednesday through Sunday that has a Wednesday breakfast special of either a biscuit & sausage/bacon gravy for $2 or a pancake for $1. Yum yum! All the early rally arrivals were there this morning for the specials and a very big cup of joe.

After breakfast, some of the folks headed into the park for some adventures of their own. My bride and I are just relaxing at camp today. I’m catching up on my forums and emails and my bride is reading and our little companion Mr. Mugsy is doing what he does best – knapping.

And just for those of you who like pictures, here are a couple for you enjoy.

This is what our campsite (H-7) looks like.





And last but not least – Mr Mugsy.



And safe travels to you wherever today’s adventure takes you.

[the_tc_life]

btggraphix wrote:
Moab Utah, Uinta mountains, Green River all the way to its source and now Salmon, Idaho.....see you guys soon, after Yaak MT! 🙂 Great trip so far!

Sounds great.

We have a few people here now before the rally at the campground. A trip up to polebridge for some of us today. Its been a great time meeting people from all over the country.

[btggraphix]

Moab Utah, Uinta mountains, Green River all the way to its source and now Salmon, Idaho.....see you guys soon, after Yaak MT! 🙂 Great trip so far!

[2BLAZERS]

the tc life wrote:

2BLAZERS wrote:

the tc life wrote:
Yeah..only one seat left on the bus. I was worried a month ago when I had 11 seats left.
Had a couple others sign up today also. You all must have known I was out buying prizes today.

If you still have the one seat left on the bus, I could use it as we added my 13 year old niece to our trip.

No problem..you got it.

Great!!

[the_tc_life]

2BLAZERS wrote:

the tc life wrote:
Yeah..only one seat left on the bus. I was worried a month ago when I had 11 seats left.
Had a couple others sign up today also. You all must have known I was out buying prizes today.

If you still have the one seat left on the bus, I could use it as we added my 13 year old niece to our trip.

No problem..you got it.

[2BLAZERS]

And just confirmed our reservations, somehow we are now in site H8 instead of H2....as long as I have a parking space....

[2BLAZERS]

the tc life wrote:
Yeah..only one seat left on the bus. I was worried a month ago when I had 11 seats left.
Had a couple others sign up today also. You all must have known I was out buying prizes today.

If you still have the one seat left on the bus, I could use it as we added my 13 year old niece to our trip.

[the_tc_life]

we hiked up to apgar look out this morning. a good hike of 3.7 miles one way (they changed the trail at some point from what my book said, you can see where the trail changed) and it had an elevation gain of just under 1900 feet. what an incredible view! worth every step.

[the_tc_life]

we are here at Glacier campground. just got all set up now relaxing and having a beverage. just as a reminder please keep your food stored inside at night. There are two black bears that are walking around in the area here the last couple days.
see you soon

[the_tc_life]

in libby Montana right now. staying here for the night. then we will mosey on into glacier campground tomorrow.

pretty funny...the place we are staying is a good sams park and it has cable tv hook ups. whats funny? we have used the cable hook up maybe once and I forgot how to program the tv. after 20 minutes I figured it out. lol. not use to having all these fancy hook ups.

it is fantastic weather here in libby. should be great weather all the way through next week too.

[the_tc_life]

here is our plan for hiking in glacier before the rally in case anyone comes early and wishes to join us.

sunday (7th) apgar lookout - 5.6 miles round trip, moderate rating.

Monday (8th) hidden lake overlook - 3 miles round trip, moderate rating.

then after that ...

st mary falls / Virginia falls - 3.6 miles, easy rating.

Tuesday (9th) otokomi lake 10.4 miles, moderate rating.

we will be parking at the apgar shuttle parking and using the free shuttle to take us to these trail head areas. as of today, all these trails are open but any trail can close due to bear or cougar activity. no shuttle to apgar lookout trailhead but it is a short drive from the west gate.

[the_tc_life]

I was asked how the weather will be. here is the forecast as of Thursday morning:

Fri Jul 5

Partly Cloudy
78°

47°

Partly Cloudy

Chance of rain:20% Wind at 6 mph

Sat Jul 6

Mostly Sunny
78°

47°

Mostly Sunny

Chance of rain:10% Wind at 4 mph

Sun Jul 7

Sunny
81°

48°

Sunny

Chance of rain:0% Windat 4 mph

Mon Jul 8

Partly Cloudy
81°

48°

Partly Cloudy

Chance of rain:10% Wind at 5 mph

Tue Jul 9

Sunny
83°

50°

Sunny

Chance of rain:0% Wind at 4 mph

Wed Jul 10

Sunny
87°

53°

Sunny

Chance of rain:0% Wind at 6 mph

Thu Jul 11

Sunny
85°

53°

Sunny

Chance of rain:0% Windat 7 mph

Fri Jul 12

Mostly Sunny
82°

50°

Mostly Sunny

Chance of rain:10% Wind at 9 mph

sat july 13

Sunny
84°

48°

Sunny

Chance of rain:0% Wind at 8 mph

[the_tc_life]

just got all the prizes set out and put together. got the welcome bags put together too. it didn't seem like there was as much at first as there ended up being in the end. all I can say is...my camper weight will be a lot lighter after the rally when it all gets given away.

remember to get with me at the campground so you get a welcome bag for each truck camper. I have 2 extras just in case of a last minute arrival.