Things I've learned six weeks into my trip

It's been six weeks since I left home near Seattle. I have learned a bit about camping in America in the summer and getting online.

First, there are a zillion people camping this summer and the campgrounds are full. The RV industry is thrilled about the huge numbers of RVs being sold. The problem is that all those new RVers want to use their RVs, and in the busy summer season there are not enough campsites in popular areas to squeeze everyone in.

Finding a campground or RV park on a Friday or Saturday night without reservations is hard especially in well-known National and State Parks, where it is next to impossible. It's much easier Sunday through Thursday, when the weekend crowds aren't around. On these days, look for campgrounds that are first-come, first-served. Those that take reservations will likely be booked.

If you don't have a reservation for a Friday or Saturday and it's already Thursday, then plan on staying somewhere off the beaten tourist path, away from the weekenders.

Before you head off to a campground or RV park, call to be sure there is space. If necessary, make a reservation. What did we ever do before cell phones?

MY "GO-TO" SOURCE of campground information has been RVparkReviews.com, although I am disappointed that its listings are far from comprehensive. I carry a Good Sam Directory, and it is helpful, but it misses a lot of public parks. And I don't trust its rankings: If a park buys an ad I strongly suspect it gets an extra star or two. It's probably a good idea to bring along the directory anyway. When doing research I have used CampgroundViews.com, which is a growing website that provides video sneak peeks of campgrounds. I also use our own site FreeCampgrounds.com to find low-cost options.

If you enjoy camping at KOA, then pick up one of its catalogs at the first KOA you find. There are nearly 500 KOAs around the country. If you stay at the parks often, buy one of its Value Kards to save on fees.

If you camp more than a couple of weeks a year at RV parks, you should join the Good Sam Club to get a 10 percent discount at most campgrounds. Your AAA or AARP card will work sometimes.

My basic Garmin nuvi 55LM GPS is essential for navigation but also for finding a place to stay. I simply instruct it to search for nearby campgrounds and it shows what's ahead. Often this is the easiest and fastest way to find a place.

I belong to PassportAmerica.com, which enables members to camp for half price at a couple thousand campgrounds across the USA. So far this trip, I have only been able to take advantage of the program once. Most times I have tried there have been no participating campgrounds near me or the ones that were there restricted the benefit to midweek or the off season. I'll probably find the card more useful after Labor Day.

I have not yet had to resort to staying in a Wal-Mart parking lot, but that's an option when nothing else is available. Most stores allows overnight stays in RVs. Some RVers report they stay at Cracker Barrel restaurants with no problems. Ditto Cabela's.

INTERNET ACCESS
You cannot count on the Wi-Fi at RV parks, even when it's advertised as available. About one-third of the time it does not work. Another third of the time it's so slow it's worthless. About one-third of time it works okay. In fairness to other campers, never use it to stream Netflix or even YouTube videos.

I need to be online for my work, so I must do more than just rely on occasional Wi-Fi at RV parks or public spots like McDonald's.

I get online most of the time via my iPhone using its Personal Hotspot function connecting via Bluetooth (it will work as a Wi-Fi hotspot, too). My plan allows me to use up to 15 gigabytes a month.  Learn about Verizon's plans and rates here.

I also carry an ATT Unite Pro 4G LTE Mobile WiFi Hotspot (see photo), which without a contract costs $199. Instead of a contract, when I am on the road I pay $25 a month for 2 gigabytes of use ($50 buys 5 gigabytes). I only use the card when I can't get on through Verizon or a Wi-Fi source. 

So far, Verizon has been the hands down most dependable way to get online, especially in the rural West where coverage is often spotty or weak. On this trip, I have randomly tested both Verizon and ATT to compare access and speed. So far, Verizon has worked about 90 per cent of the time and ATT about 70 percent.  The connection speeds have usually been about the same, but sometimes ATT is screaming fast and puts Verizon to shame. Other times, Verizon is faster.

My conclusion: If you need to be online when you travel, get Verizon. And if you really, really need to be on, like me, get the ATT card, too, for those times that Verizon and/or public Wi-Fi is either not available or too slow.

North Dakota's "Big Things" lure tourists from the highway

Some states are not so lucky when it comes to tourist attractions.

Take North Dakota, where I happen to be now. There aren't any famous National Parks. There aren't any cities that anyone more than a state away would ever need to visit unless there was a relative present. Yes, there is a lot of farmland and rolling prairie. But those don't bring in tourists and their dollars. Nobody visits a wheat field on purpose except a farmer or tractor salesman.

So what do you do to provide something interesting for tourists? Simple, you create things. One excellent way is to come up with something that's bigger than anything else like it in the world. For example, in Washington where I live, we have the world's largest egg and the world's largest frying pan. Last week in East Glacier, Mont., I visited the World's Largest Purple Spoon."

In North Dakota, in a span of about two to three hours driving time along I-94, you can visit three such attractions, which based on "big things per mile" is quite remarkable.

West of Bismarck in New Salem, you have the World's Largest Holstein Cow, then farther east in Steele you have the World's Largest Sandhill Crane, and finally in Jamestown — about 100 miles west of Fargo, you have the World's Largest Buffalo.

There's usually a reason for a big thing. For example, there's a lot of milk cows around New Salem, so Salem Sue, the giant cow up on the  hill overlooking I-94, is a local "big thing" to attract attention. A few of the tourists who pull off the highway to snap a photo may even wander into town for a sandwich or to fill up on gas, so some extra tax dollars.

In Steele, which has a mere 800 residents and a far from robust economy, the huge Sandhill Crane right along I-94 serves as a reminder of the great birdwatching in the area. A colorful brochure "Let's Go Birdwatching along the Steele Birding Drive" is dispensed at the site.

The giant buffalo in Jamestown, also visible from the Interstate, advertises the town as the home of the National Buffalo Museum and its nickname, "Buffalo City." Jamestown is the hometown of legendary western author, Louis L'Amour.

All these attractions are free. The Buffalo Museum charges to get in, but you can browse the gift shop for free. Its selection of buffalo tee-shirts, refrigerator magnets, post cards and stuffed animals is impressive. And don't miss White Cloud, the only certified albino bison in the world. It's right outside in the pasture.

Anglers dream or nightmare?

So you think catching a big trout or bass or walleye is a big deal? How about a whopper salmon or Northern Pike?

Well, that would be child's play compared to landing this fish — that is if it were still around, which it is not. It's extinct just like the dinosaurs.

Xiphactinus was the largest and bony fish of its era, some growing to a whopping 17 feet! Now, that’s a big fish! With its savage three-inch teeth, this big fellow was a smaller fish's worst nightmare.

With its giant jaws wide open, Xiphactinus could swallow a six-foot-long fish in one giant gulp! You wouldn’t want to be swimming in the same waters as this fellow, that’s for sure.

The ancient creature once swam in the sea in what is now Montana. I found the skeleton at the The Fort Peck Dam Interpretive Center and Museum near Glasgow.

Favorite photos from week of July 19, 2015

Here are a few things I found interesting as I drove on U.S. 2 from East Glacier to Glasgow, Montana.

Espresso stand in Browning on Blackfeet Nation.

Sears Motel, East Glacier. Very cute. One double bed $69 a night.

Looking west on U.S. 2 from just east of East Glacier.

Entrance to Blackfeet Nation. Made of destroyed material from flood disaster.

Open Range, East Glacier

Welcome to town penguin, Cut Bank

Welcome to town sign, Rudyard

Along U.S. 2 near Rudyard

Lake Shel-oole Campground, a Shelby city park. $25 a night with electric.

Dinosaur guards entrance to Malta museum

One of many abandoned houses on U.S. 2, this one 12 miles east of Havre.

Meth warning signs are everywhere, this one in Harlem.

Statues on hillside on U.S. 2 west of Glasgow.

Nobody home anymore. Along U.S. 2

The championship fight that nearly bankrupted a town

If you visit Shelby, Mont., you'll hear about "The Fight." You'll hear what a disaster it was, and how Shelby almost went broke. 

Heavyweight champ Jack Dempsey

It was 1923. About 2,500 people lived in Shelby, a backwater town that nobody had ever heard of. It was a stop along the Great Northern Railroad, that's all.

A local named James W. ("Body") Johnson read a news account that boxing champ Jack Dempsey was set to defend his heavyweight title in Montreal. He'd get $100,000 for his efforts. Johnson, who owned a some property around Shelby, figured that maybe Dempsey could be persuaded to fight in Shelby instead if the purse were sweetened.

The idea got traction and a deal was made. The world championship fight would be held on July 4th — Dempsey vs. underdog Tom Gibbons. Shelby would be on the map, prosperity to follow.

Dempsey's manager must have smelled a "sucker." He asked for $300,000 and got it, three times what Montreal offered. Nobody in Shelby questioned how the city could afford to pay it, which it couldn't.

Not many of these ringside seats sold. Too expensive!

A sprawling wooden, octagonal arena was quickly built to accommodate 42,000 fans. Hotels were erected specifically for the fight, to be torn down later.

Tickets went on sale. But they were priced way too high to cover costs. Few people bit.

When Shelby couldn't come up with Dempsey's advance on time, his manager leaked word that the fight was off. Now, nobody bought tickets. By the time it was announced the fight was on, it was too late to buy one and get to Shelby.

Then it was fight day. A fraction of the seats were sold. An admission ticket was lowered from $25 to $10, which helped a little. At the bell of round one, thousands of locals decided they wanted in. They stormed over the barbed wire fence. Four thousand freeloaders saw the fight in what was still a mostly empty arena.

Tom Gibbons' gloves.

The match went 15 rounds, the only time Dempsey went the distance.

Then reality set in. The town couldn't pay the bills. The arena was ripped up, the wood sold for scrap. Look closely today in the attics of some old houses in Shelby and you'll see seat numbers on the lumber.

Four banks went bust. It was disaster to all but Dempsey. Shelby managed to survive, but it wasn't pretty.

The site of the fight is now anchored by a Pizza Hut. The town is trying to fund a "Championship Park" complete with a replica of the arena and bronze statues of the fighters. Memorial bricks are $100 to $200 each. Or buy a "Ringside Sponsorship Tile" for $1,000.

Learn more about the fight at the Marias Museum of History and Art in Shelby.

Treasures await by the World's tallest purple spoon

Jo Wagner and a few of her spoons.

If you're into wooden spoons, then head to East Glacier, Montana where you'll find The Spiral Spoon. I bet the store has more hand-made wooden spoons per square foot than anywhere else in Montana. Maybe the USA. Maybe the World.

You’ll find the World’s Largest Purple Spoon out front. You’ll want to snap a selfie in front of this impressive 14-foot tall kitchen implement.

There are a lot of wooden spoons at the Spiral Spoon, all made with various woods with loving care by Jo and Charley Wagner with a few helpers. I have never seen more impressive spoons. Most sell for $10 to $50, but you can pay more. I bet there are 300 to 400 spoons on display in the store’s three small rooms.

Jo even makes left-handed spoons, something you don’t see every day.

She’s all about the feel of the spoons. She holds each one lovingly, rubbing it. “It’s calming,” she says. “My best customers are blind people.” She says they appreciate the texture.

If you visit, be sure to look up at the ceiling where there are spoons to view, but not to buy. Many were used in TV shows or movies. Charley’s favorite is a spoon from the TV show Bonanza.

Many of the store’s popular spoons have a name. There’s Linda, Doris and Jack to name three. They’re named for friends. The idea is when inventory is running low someone can just yell, “Six more Lindas” to the spoon maker on duty.

Jo and Charley live year round in East Glacier. Most tourists (and customers) arrive in the summer. So in the winter, when it’s too cold outside to do anything but shiver, they hole up inside and make spoons.

The shop is open every day. If the door is locked, a sign says to ring the bell, which plays a nice rendition of Home on the Range. Usually the first to arrive will be Buddy, a friendly black and white dog of small stature and uncertain breeding.

JO WAS AN ENGLISH TEACHER before she took up spoon-making. She never even gave a thought about making something — a spoon, for example. But then she made one and the rest is history. “I never thought I had any talent,” she said, which is pretty funny when you see her beautiful creations.

Besides making spoons, she makes wands. After Harry Potter became popular the local kids started “badgering me to make wands,” she said. After resisting for awhile she did.

Today they fly out nearly as fast as she can make them, each with a certificate explaining what makes it special.

Some have a copper core. Some have buffalo hair. One has wolf hair. She calls the wands “magic” — not because of what they do, but how much profit they generate. “You see that car out there?” she asks, pointing out the window to her Ford Explorer. “What I made from the wands in the first two years I could have used to pay cash for that.”

At age 69, Jo is a whirlwind — "doing" the showroom, talking the talk, smiling, laughing, having fun. She’s one heck of a sales person. I listened to her as she rang the register for one customer after another. She looks at each person's name and then tells a story. “I’ve had several Elizabeth Taylors in here,” she says. “Jimmy Hendrix was in last week.” I asked her if the name was spelled the same. It wasn't.

After leaving the Spiral Spoon, be sure to go next door to Brownie’s Hostel and Bakery and get a Huckleberry milkshake.

You'll find the Spiral Spoon on the Web at TheSpiralSpoon.com.

Not a smooth ride with this wooden wheel bike

Back at the turn of the 20th century, bicycles were the rage. Cycling had become an important means of transportation, and in the United States an increasingly popular form of recreation. 

Bicycling clubs for men and women spread across the U.S. and Europe.

This bicycle from the early 1900s made by the Davis Sewing Machine Company of Dayton, Ohio, could not have been much fun to ride. With wooden wheels, no shock absorbers and only a thin layer of solid rubber covering the wheel, it must have been a jolting experience to take for a spin.

Lucky for us, our automotive tires today don’t ride on wooden wheels and solid rubber. Pneumatic tires changed everything. We can thank the bicycle industry for inventing them. By the time cars came along, the tires were already in production and improving.

Interestingly, the first pneumatic tire was developed in 1887 by John Dunlap for his son's tricycle. Commercial production began in late 1890 in Belfast, Ireland. Dunlop partnered with William Du Cros to form a company that would later become the Dunlop Rubber Company. 

I found this bicycle at the Marias Museum of History and Art in Havre, Montana.

Talking 27-foot penguin has lost its voice

The giant penguin of Cut Bank, Montana has lost its voice. For years, the roadside icon greeted visitors with "Welcome to Cut Bank, the coldest spot in the nation."

But no more. "It's been gone for years, said Dixie, a Cut Bank native and grocery checker at Albertson's where I stocked up with provisions in preparation for my journey east into the never never land of the far north of the Lower 48.

The statue by artist Ron Gustafson was erected in 1989. Until a few years ago it talked at the push of a button. Look it up in directories of roadside America and there it is, usually billed as the Giant Talking Penguin (or something like that).

Yet even without its voice, at 27 feet tall and weighing in at 10,000 pounds (of concrete), the massive bird lookalike is impressive. I'm thinking this must be the world's largest penguin.

You can't miss it when you're passing through Cut Bank on U.S. 2. It's right on the east edge of town by the Glacier Gateway Inn.

Ron GustafsonT

The sculpture, by Ron Gustafson, is in a style and made of material that might make it appear to be a classic -- 70 or 80 years old. But it was built more recently, in 1989. And it has a hidden feature -- when working -- it talks! - See more at: http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/14586#sthash.G0S8w4AN.dpuf

The sculpture, by Ron Gustafson, is in a style and made of material that might make it appear to be a classic -- 70 or 80 years old. But it was built more recently, in 1989. And it has a hidden feature -- when working -- it talks! - See more at: http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/14586#sthash.G0S8w4AN.dpu

The sculpture, by Ron Gustafson, is in a style and made of material that might make it appear to be a classic -- 70 or 80 years old. But it was built more recently, in 1989. And it has a hidden feature -- when working -- it talks! - See more at: http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/14586#sthash.G0S8w4AN.dpuf

The sculpture, by Ron Gustafson, is in a style and made of material that might make it appear to be a classic -- 70 or 80 years old. But it was built more recently, in 1989. And it has a hidden feature -- when working -- it talks! - See more at: http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/14586#sthash.G0S8w4AN.dpuf

Sleep in a diesel locomotive

There are many places where you can sleep in a caboose. But to my knowledge there's only one place where you can stay in a locomotive — at the Issac Walton Inn on the southern edge of Glacier National Park.

From the outside, the Great Northern Railroad locomotive looks pretty much as it did when it was rolling on the rails. It's the two large picture windows on the north side that hint something is different.

It's been converted into a luxurious accommodation. For between $329 and $379 a night (lower rate in winter season) it can be yours. It's in big demand so make your reservation at least six months in advance.

The GN441 locomotive has been immaculately renovated into a plush lodging suite with luxury furnishings and fixtures unsurpassed by any other lodging options in the Glacier Park area. The living room features a stone fireplace. The bedroom has a king-size bed complete with a Hudson Bay blanket.

The kitchen is as fancy as in an upscale home or million dollar RV.

YOU CAN ALSO RENT CABOOSES of various sizes as well as traditional hotel rooms. The Issac Walton Inn with its rustic Swiss-style design is a gorgeous place, right along the tracks, which adds to the charm as well as attracts railroad buffs. Amtrak stops twice a day.

The inn, a National Historic Landmark along U.S. 2, was originally built to house workers building the railroad. Today, it's the hub of many outdoor activities. In the winter, cross country skiers converge to explore the 22 miles of local trails.

To learn more about staying in the locomotive or in the other accommodations call (844) 845-3629.

The layout of the locomotive. Click the image to view it larger.

Same scene, different camera lens. What a difference!

I took these two photos from the exact same spot along U.S. 2 west of Browning, Montana on the Blackfeet Reservation. The top one was shot with a very wide angle lens. The one below it was taken with a long telephoto lens. Look at the difference! What this illustrates is how easily you can alter the appearance of a photo with your choice of camera lenses.

Mom and Pop radio station operates from front porch of Montana famhouse

Along Montana Route 35, near Kalispell, there's a lonely yellow farmhouse with a few giant cottonwood trees out front. If you look closely as you pass, you'll see a small neon sign in the window that reads "On Air!"

This is the radio home of Montana Radio Cafe, 101.FM, a 100-watt radio station operated by Scott and Marie Johnston from the front porch of their farmhouse of 29 years. The radio tower out front is 100 feet high, the maximum the FCC allows for a low-powered station. The signal reaches nearby Kalispell, Columbia Falls and the west entrance to Glacier National Park. But that's about it. As radio stations go, this one's tiny.

Montana Radio Cafe is billed as "Front Porch Music Served Fresh Daily." Scott, with help from Marie, is the only staff.

Scott started KXZI-FM 11 years ago after working as a DJ at local Kalispell stations. He was frustrated by the short playlists —the same songs played over and over. He was bored, but it was a paycheck. After he began putting his tiny station together, he got fired from his job — "competition," Scott figured, although he couldn't fathom why anyone would be threatened by such a small-time operation.

THE FIRST NIGHT ON THE AIR he and his engineer drove to Kalispell and then other places, searching for the station on the car radio. Hearing it, said Scott, "was like a miracle."

There were no sponsors the first week. Scott wondered what the heck he was doing. How would he make money? Then, the second week, $800 showed up. "Hey, this can really work," he thought. And it has, although today it's not enough to support him and Marie all by itself. Scott figures it cost him about $16,000 to get the station up and running. Nowadays there is almost no overhead beyond a few hundred dollars a year in music licensing fees.

The station is a labor of love for Scott, 64, who has accumulated a playlist of 30,000 tunes — blues, folk, country, bluegrass, jazz — and lots of "miscellaneous" material too hard to categorize. Young and old tune in. "We span the generations," he says. Many of the artists are local, but there are big-time names, too. The programming is a hodgepodge. It's eclectic. It's one man's love of music shared over the airways.


Early on Scott set up templates to automate what was playing with some sense of order. One time, after a computer crash, the programming got screwy. Christmas songs were playing in the summer. Some people thought Scott was doing it on purpose, that there was some brilliant reasoning behind it. There wasn't.

Montana Radio Cafe is streamed on the Web at kxzi.com, expanding the audience well beyond the nearby small towns and farms. People listen from all over North America and around the world. Some make donations. A couple from Germany show up on occasion with a gift of homemade plum liqueur. Scott doesn't know how many people listen to his station, or where they listen — on the air or the Internet. He doesn't care. "I like being low key," he says. "I like being a creator more than an everyday business guy."

Musicians and bands stop by occasionally to perform. Sometimes Scott remembers to record what they play, and it ends up on his ever-expanding playlist. But other times he forgets. He plays guitar himself — he supported himself early in his career by performing — and he airs some of his own work. Few people know it's him.

THE STATION IS MOSTLY MUSIC. Scott breaks in during the day to thank sponsors, a few dozen who basically pay his bills and help the station earn a modest profit. Most messages are prerecorded. They're not ads like you hear on commercial radio but more like Scott just saying why he likes a place and then thanking it for its support.

Scott and Marie supplement the station's income by renting out a cottage in the back yard. Scott has sold cars out by the busy highway for a commission. He once sold a Porsche in 45 minutes. In a couple of years he'll have Social Security. Through the years he and Marie have raised six children, who have spawned 14 grandchildren.

Running the radio station is not a high-power, high-stress job. Each day, after getting his morning coffee, Scott heads to his front porch studio where he putters. The studio and a corner of the basement is his space. The rest is Marie's domain. That's fine with him. He has his music.

Honk your horn if you should pass by the station (those are Scott's orders). For now, just listen in by clicking here.

A toilet you won't find in today's homes (or RVs)

This is where you would have spent your toilet time before flush toilets became popular.

You probably would have had an outhouse, too. But this chair would certainly do the job without you heading outdoors first. You’ll notice the pot below, which would be removed for dumping and cleaning.

Scotsman Alexander Cumming patented the S-trap toilet in 1775, which laid the foundation for the modern flush toilet. But it was only until the turn of the 20th century with growing levels of urbanization and industrial prosperity that the flush toilet became widely used. In America, the chain-pull indoor toilet was introduced in the homes of the wealthy and in hotels soon after its invention in England in the 1880s.

If you travel to England today, you will often see a sign that says WC, which stands for “water closet.” The term "water closet" originated there indicating an interior or exterior room with a flushing toilet in contrast to an earth closet usually outdoors and requiring periodic emptying.

I found this toilet/chair in the Miracle of America Museum in Polson, Montana. Watch my three-minute tour of the wonderful museum.

Finally, justice at the pump!

After seven years, there is justice for me at the gas pump. Or should I say the diesel pump?

I bought my Winnebago View in 2008. It burns diesel fuel, not gasoline. When I bought it, diesel was less expensive than gasoline. I chose the View in part because of its great mileage (about 15 mpg), but also because diesel was cheaper. "I will save some major money," I figured.

Then, only months after I bought the motorhome, I was suddenly a very unhappy camper when the price of diesel began creeping up, and then soaring higher than gasoline — at times more than a dollar a gallon. It wasn't fair! And, ever since, that's the way it's been.

Ah, ha! Until now. Now, finally, the price of diesel has dropped below unleaded gas. Is this a trend? I am crossing my fingers and hoping so.

I'm not sure if diesel is cheaper where you live but it is here in Montana. And do you know what I say? I say, "This is mighty good for me ol' pocketbook!"

Visiting Glacier National Park? A few tips for RVers

McDonald Lake from the Apgar area.

Glacier National Park, created in 1910, is one of America's beauty spots. Bird Grinnell, co-founder of the Audobon Society,  described the area in 1908 as the "Crown of the Continent." Don't miss it if you have the chance.

Bighorn Sheep at Logan Pass

There are 13 gorgeous, primitive campgrounds, but if you don't have a reservation, stay at Apgar at the park's west entrance. Many sites will accommodate big rig RVs.

In the busy summer, when the park is crawling with vacationers, arrive early in the week in late morning to snag a recently vacated spot. If you arrive later, you'll likely be out of luck. If you can plan ahead, make a reservation at another campground. There are many private campgrounds on the west side of the park in the nearby towns of Hungry Horse and Columbia Falls.

Red Bus on Going to the Sun Road

It's a 10-minute walk from the Apgar Campground to the Visitor's Center, where you can pick up a free park shuttle for a ride to Logan Pass on the incredible Going to the Sun Road, a narrow two-laner and engineering marvel cut into the side of mountains. Arrive early for the shuttle: they leave every half hour. You may have to wait an hour or longer in late morning. Vehicles 21 feet and longer (or more than eight feet wide) are prohibited on the Going to the Sun Road, so the shuttle or a 1930s-era Red Bus ($55 per person for a guided tour) are the only way to go if you don't have a personal vehicle.

If you take the shuttle, get off at the beautiful and historic Lake McDonald Lodge for lunch. You can hop on another bus to the summit.

Red Bus passengers snap photos.

The shuttle and Red Buses also depart from the St. Mary area on the east side of the park. It's possible to go from one end of the park on the shuttle, but allow seven hours.

On the Going to the Sun Road and elsewhere, keep your eyes open for Deer, Elk, Moose, Bighorn Sheep and Mountain Goats. If you're lucky, you'll see a Black Bear or Grizzly (if you do, keep at least 100 yards between you and the animal).

Columbian Ground Squirrel

If you hike on trails or ride a mountain bike, rent a can of bear spray in Apgar Village for $5 a day. Or buy a can for $42. Be sure you study up on how to avoid meeting up with a bear and what to do if you encounter one. You could also come across a Mountain Lion, so study up on those, too. There are Wolves in the park, but they're elusive.

Keep your camera ready for small wildlife. Columbian Ground Squirrels are everywhere and are easily photographed. One of the best spots for seeing wildlife of all sizes is at Logan Pass. Bighorn Sheep graze right by the parking lot. Take pics but keep at least 25 yards away from these large and unpredictable animals. From the Logan Pass visitor center, set aside two hours to hike to and from Hidden Lake.

Learn more about Glacier National Park at its website.