MONTANA TRUCK CAMPER RALLY JULY 11TH-14TH 2013

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

Truck Campers

the_tc_life
Explorer
Jul 22, 2013
btggraphix wrote:
Wow - what a great trip for us as well. A great big "thank you" to Rich and Joanne as well as everyone there we got a chance to spend a little time with. Looking forward to reading about your hike of the Highline Trail.......I want to go back and do some more hiking. We didn't do enough while we were there this time.

2Blazers - Glad you made it to Eddie's. We rode there on the dirt bike that last morning to eat one more time before we left as well.

We put right about 2800 on our rig for the trip, but what a great time.

Pezvela - we actually camped at the first good spot into the NF which appears to be a staging area for snowmobiles in the winter and maybe other stuff in the summer. There was a sign on the ground in the grasses we found that said "no parking January 1st - 3rd for the dog sled race parking" or something like that. It was getting late and we were ready to stop. We were right above the river and the willows along it, and were still within sight of many of the nice homes/ranches outside the NF to the south. In the morning we pulled the dirt bike off the bumper and rode the 20 miles or so each way up to the lake. A beautiful drive. It didn't seem like the road was too washboarded except for a spot or two up near the lake.....but it's easy to not notice the road quality much when you are on a dirt bike.

i missed the chance to say good bye to you. the night before you left i laid down on the bed in my camper and was out.
i do have the blog link for our glacier trip on here. the highline trail was AWESOME!! cody did that long hike with flying colors too.
btggraphix
Explorer
Jul 22, 2013
Wow - what a great trip for us as well. A great big "thank you" to Rich and Joanne as well as everyone there we got a chance to spend a little time with. Looking forward to reading about your hike of the Highline Trail.......I want to go back and do some more hiking. We didn't do enough while we were there this time.

2Blazers - Glad you made it to Eddie's. We rode there on the dirt bike that last morning to eat one more time before we left as well.

We put right about 2800 on our rig for the trip, but what a great time.

Pezvela - we actually camped at the first good spot into the NF which appears to be a staging area for snowmobiles in the winter and maybe other stuff in the summer. There was a sign on the ground in the grasses we found that said "no parking January 1st - 3rd for the dog sled race parking" or something like that. It was getting late and we were ready to stop. We were right above the river and the willows along it, and were still within sight of many of the nice homes/ranches outside the NF to the south. In the morning we pulled the dirt bike off the bumper and rode the 20 miles or so each way up to the lake. A beautiful drive. It didn't seem like the road was too washboarded except for a spot or two up near the lake.....but it's easy to not notice the road quality much when you are on a dirt bike.
69_Avion
Explorer
Jul 20, 2013
We just got back today. Another thanks to Rich and Joanne for your wonderful truck camper rally.
We put on around 5,000 miles on the TC/Trailer with no issues, over a 2-1/2 week timeframe. It actually towed quite well. We were very conservative with our water and were able to finish the trip with the original water that we took with us. Keep in mind, we took a few showers at 2 campgrounds along the way, but all our stays except for one night didn't have dump connections at the site.
countrycampers3
Explorer
Jul 20, 2013
Just got home tonight about 5pm CST. Just about 4,300 miles. Only about 350 of it interstate. Its amazing how much more you can see on the backroads of this great country. So many different types of terrain.

The wife just told me how much we spent on fuel figured out to .36 cents a mile. Haven't figured the mpg yet.

Thanks Rich and Joanne for such a wonderful Rally. All the way home we were missing the fellowship of everyone. We met so many different people from all walks of life. All down to earth. We enjoyed the fellowship the most. Hope to meet all again someday.

If you all are having Truck Camper Rally withdrawals you can all just tell the boss I'm leavening on a T/C and I'm Heading to Iowa for the Midwest T/C Rally.

Going to The Sun Road. Glacier National Park 2013 Truck Camper RAlly.

Please note, maximum photo width=640
the_tc_life
Explorer
Jul 19, 2013
deltabravo wrote:
the tc life wrote:

next little gathering im doing is the fall festival up at Schweitzer mountain in sandpoint Idaho. that's on labor day weekend.

That sounds cool.

Last time I was up there was when I was stationed at Fairchild - I used to ski at Schweitzer occasionally - that was back in 88-91.

i am also working on a central washington rally for 2014 but im not for sure yet. going to look at a campground and try to make an agreement with them tomorrow. grand coulee dam area.
deltabravo
Nomad
Jul 19, 2013
the tc life wrote:

next little gathering im doing is the fall festival up at Schweitzer mountain in sandpoint Idaho. that's on labor day weekend.

That sounds cool.

Last time I was up there was when I was stationed at Fairchild - I used to ski at Schweitzer occasionally - that was back in 88-91.
the_tc_life
Explorer
Jul 19, 2013
deltabravo wrote:
I'd really been looking forward to going, but I've had so many other things going on, I had to skip the rally. I do want to hit the next local gathering (campout or breakfast gathering) though.

D

next little gathering im doing is the fall festival up at Schweitzer mountain in sandpoint Idaho. that's on labor day weekend.
deltabravo
Nomad
Jul 19, 2013
I'd really been looking forward to going, but I've had so many other things going on, I had to skip the rally. I do want to hit the next local gathering (campout or breakfast gathering) though.

D
2BLAZERS
Explorer
Jul 18, 2013
the tc life wrote:
2BLAZERS wrote:
We got home last night about 9PM. Stayed at Glacier Campground until Tuesday morning and stayed one night in ID on the way home. Had a great time and can't wait to go back to Glacier for more.

we missed saying goodbye to you. after our long hike we were in bed at 9pm and we left early while you were asleep.
hope to see you again sometime.

We ended up eating at Eddies (sp?) for a late late dinner then sleeping in. We usually stay up late and sleep in when camping :)
the_tc_life
Explorer
Jul 18, 2013
2BLAZERS wrote:
We got home last night about 9PM. Stayed at Glacier Campground until Tuesday morning and stayed one night in ID on the way home. Had a great time and can't wait to go back to Glacier for more.

we missed saying goodbye to you. after our long hike we were in bed at 9pm and we left early while you were asleep.
hope to see you again sometime.