June 10, 2026  Bowman Lake, MT to Wasa Lake Provincial Park, BC

Deb here. Wow, darkest night ever last night. I think there were perhaps three of us camped in the campground and it was super quiet and unbelievably dark.

When we woke up it was in the 40’s and drizzly. I walked to the lake and the clouds were low and no sign of sun. After coffee and tea in the van we came to the decision that the weather wasn’t going to improve so we decided to move on. We packed up and headed back down the narrow dirt road and through Polebridge. We stopped at the ranger station on the way and had a great talk with the two rangers on duty (one from Rutland, VT and a Castleton grad) and they confirmed our weather suspicions. They also told us that instead of the 20 miles of rough road ahead we could cut through a piece of Glacier NP on our way back for an easier ride. We followed their recommendation and came out at the Apgar Visitor Center, where we stopped for a passport stamp and sticker.

Back on 93, this time with a stop in Whitefish. Fresh bagels are something we don’t get in Bisbee, so we looked for a bagel place in Whitefish and found Cutthroat Bagels. Delicious salty seeded homemade bagels.

On up the road on 93, eventually coming to Eureka where we stopped to fill up on gas before crossing the border into Canada. The border crossing was easy, with the border patrol agent only concerned that we weren’t carrying any firearms. Rte. 93 in Canada turned out to be jawdroppingly beautiful, with huge snowcapped mountains on our right and more mountains everywhere you look. We stopped at a McDonald’s for drinks mid-afternoon in Cranbrook (note to self, Canadian McDonald’s actually offer Earl Grey tea) and decided to find a camping spot nearby.

Lots of provincial and other parks up this way and we chose Wasa Lake Provincial Park. The campground wasn’t full at all and includes showers, flush toilets and level spots. We picked a site and went for a walk down to the small lake. The camp host and a ranger later came by with a golf cart to collect our money. The site is $30, but we were charged an additional $20 as a national park fee. Apparently anytime we camp at a provincial park we’ll have to pay the additional non-resident fee. Still, $50 Canadian translates to about $35 US, so not outrageous for a decent campsite. The two women were really nice and we made it clear we’d rather spend our money in Canada with the way things are going in the US.

Fresh corn as an appetizer, then steamed broccoli with rice and sausage for dinner. We finally had a campfire and actually tried plugging in our small (old) microwave for some popcorn later. After looking at maps we decided we’ll keep heading up on Rte 93 all the way to Jasper.