We made two quick Montana stops before entering Canada (our goal was sometime before Memorial Day). And we had two major things to take care of – a follow-up visit to a veterinarian for Angel, and another visit to the car shop for the Subaru. Plus a visit to Costco to pick up a refill on a prescription for Angel.

The town of Helena has a Costco, a Subaru dealer and a veterinarian who was equipped to run the type of blood tests Angel needs, and was not too expensive – not so easy to find.

So we drove to Helena, where we stayed at the Lincoln Road RV Park. Check out my review of the campground here.

Angel in fact was the first order of business. We took her to the Apex Animal Hospital. Whenever we take Angel to a veterinarian in a new state, they require an “office visit” – a check-up, before they can run any kind of lab tests even though we have a referral from California. We have tried avoiding this but have ultimately given in.

I have also learned to call around in advance to get pricing on the visits and the lab tests – they have huge ranges! I also find out whether they have an in-house lab and are able to have results quickly. One day I will write a post on our veterinarian experiences – we have been to six veterinarians in five states since November.

We explained the entire complicated story of Angel’s issues to a very sharp Veterinary Technician. Then we spoke to Dr. Matthew Evans, who had a great rapport with Angel – he used to have an Alaskan malamute. I have to say I was very impressed with the Apex Animal Hospital – they were not the most specialized nor the largest there but were the only ones who quickly understood the tests Angel needed, had somewhat reasonable rates and spent quality time with us.

And a quick update on Angel – she is doing great! Her calcium level is up a little into a strong normal range, her energy is back to the way it was before the surgery, her appetite is good – we are thrilled!

That first night in Helena I came down with a nasty stomach flu, fever etc. so poor Hector got stuck doing laundry and shopping by himself. In fact, we delayed one extra night because I was not up for traveling the next morning. Fortunately, I was fine after 48 hours.

We crafted a protective car cover for the Subaru expecting lots of gravel roads ahead. Thanks for the idea to Steve and Mona Liza who did a similar setup when they went to Alaska.

We had planned to go to Glacier National Park but realized that it was a bit early in the year. The Visitor Centers were not open, and many of the RV parks were just opening. Glacier doesn’t really ramp up until June. But we stopped there anyway.

We stayed at Johnson’s of St. Mary. Check out my review of the campground here.

The weather was a bit rainy, and the Going to the Sun Road was closed, so we decided to just make a couple of short drives to Two Medicine and Many Glacier and enjoy the views. That also gave us a little time to catch up on the blog.

We drove over to the Two Medicine area of the park with Angel. Two Medicine is a beautiful lake bordered by mountains.

The store by the lake used to be a chalet, and is now a registered historic landmark. Boat tours begin in a few weeks, but all was pretty quiet when we were there.

Planning for a future trip, we took a brief driving tour of the campground which was open, they have a vehicle maximum length restriction of 35 feet. But we think we can squeeze Island Girl’s 39 feet into a couple of the spaces. Hmmm.

On our return we spotted two moose on the road – our first moose this season! They seemed young by their size, and stopped to take one last look at us before they bolted into the woods.

We also drove over to the Many Glacier area. The Many Glacier Hotel is a lovely hundred year old building that sits in a gorgeous setting. We saw bears there last year, but none this year. We toured that campground as well, and confirmed that there are absolutely no spaces for big rigs there.

A restaurant I wanted to try, Two Sisters, was still boarded up, but I did indulge in one of my favorite things at the restaurant on-site at our campground – huckleberry ice cream. I discovered this guilty pleasure last year, and am completely hooked.

Our stop at Glacier National Park was just barely enough to take in a few of the beautiful views but no more. We definitely will need to return soon. But on to Canada we go.

P.S. You may have noticed some ads on our site. We are playing with the format a bit, so you may see some changes.

~ Brenda