Sprague Beach Campground, West Glacier NP, MT

Sprague Beach Campground located on Going to the Sun Road is primarily a primitive tent camping recreational area. The actual tenting areas appear to be well kept with a large bathhouse consisting of bathrooms and showers (note that the showers are cold water only). The road sign always indicates ‘full’ as this is a popular campsite on the shores of Lake McDonald. What we discovered by driving in to explore is that it also provides a very nicely landscaped area to the right of the entrance set up as a picnic area with picnic tables and shade trees for day use. To our surprise the picnic area was practically empty so we planned a return trip with provisions for a picnic in the afternoon as a day off from hiking Glacier. We did indeed return and found a shaded site by a little creek that flows into Lake McDonald. A wide path from the picnic grounds winds down to the Lake offering a wide expansive beach composed of a mixture of pebbles and coarse sand-perfect for an afternoon of swimming and sun.

Colored Stones of Lake McDonald, West Glacier NP, MT

The colored stones of West Glacier NP are primarily found in Lake McDonald; however they are also found in other lakes within Glacier NP. Because the water is so clear in Lake McDonald it should be easy to spot these rainbow colored pebbles…though not necessarily so. The reason is that they appear brilliant and multicolored when viewed at the correct angle with light refracting through the clear cold waters of Lake McDonald. The color of the stones tells their history; the amount of oxidized iron in the stone determines the color. The green rocks were formed in deep water with little oxidation; red rocks were formed in shallow water subject to much more oxidation of the iron in these stones. Please note that one picture is of Glacier colored stones without refracting thru the water and no photo enhancement; the other photos are presented with refracting sunlight and photo enhanced. Enjoy the pictorials of our rewarding search for the Glacier NP Colored Stones. Happy hunting when you visit West Glacier NP.

Iron Horse RV Resort & Campground, Elko, NV

Iron Horse RV Resort & Campground is located along I80 in Elko, NV. This not a resort as there is no restaurant nor bistro; and the outdoor spa features a thimble size hot tub and similarly undersized wading pool.  The entrance from Idaho Street offers a wide boulevard leading down to the office and main building. The interior streets are wide with no obstructions so navigating our 45’ motorcoach to a pull thru site is easily accomplished without unhooking the tow vehicle. The pull thrus are piggybacked with utilities between each rig; rv’s are positioned in opposite directions. To say that your slides are therefore close to your neighbor’s is an understatement. The entire campground is on flat sloping land and therefore the hard packed site with gravel will require a side-to-side adjustment as well as rear to front to obtain level. The sites offer a cement patio and picnic table separated on your patio side by a wide swath of irrigated green grass. The FHU is standard and water pressure is very good. The 50 amp service supported 50 amps maximum. WiFi had difficulty retrieving email; it did not support streaming music nor movies using our Winegard ConnecT  with signal of 70% and -61dBM. The WiFi broadband had problems as at times there was no or slow response so not sure what the issue is; appears to be a latency problem (speed test: 0.10Mbps download, 0.01 Mbps upload, and Latency [loaded] 3.3s). Using our Winegard Rayzor Automatic enabled us to pull in the local tv channels on our OTA. Cell phone service was 4G with three bars. The main building houses the office, a large game room with a ping pong table and a billiards table, and a separate great room for lounging and social gathering. This building also contains the bath/shower rooms and laundry. The bath/shower room is spacious, utilitarian and clean as is the laundry room. Adjacent to the main building is a playground; a dog park is also provided at the far end of the park. The pictures may appear to be washed out; that is due to the dense smoke in the area from the California wildfires, namely the Dixie Fire.

The Takeaway: not a resort as lacking a restaurant or bistro and offering a tiny outdoor spa with a petite hot tub and wading pool. The wide streets make navigating easy with vehicle in tow to the pull thrus. Pull thru graveled sites are piggybacked to your neighbor with utilities in between; a cement patio and picnic table complete the site amenities. WiFi internet is poor allowing only email retrieval, and over-the-air antenna captures a couple of local TV stations. Go to  www.rickpicks.com for more photographs, other reviews, critiques and essays with links to area attractions and a more detailed review of this park,etc.

Iron 

King's Saddlery & Museum, Sheridan, WY

King’s Saddlery, Sheridan, WY is a find…if you are a cowboy. For visitors it is an experience into the world of horses and rodeo. Everything in this store is serious horse merchandise (and I know as a former horse owner and whose daughter competed in dressage). You might even end up rubbing elbows with an actual rodeo cowboy. And the rodeo gear, custom ropes, and saddles by King Saddlery, are impressive. Why I even bought a new cowboy hat which they custom sized for me. Do not pass by exploring this store and all it has to offer in beautiful Sheridan. In addition exit the back of the store, cross the alley, into King’s Museum-you do not want to miss this (see my article Unicorns-Fact or Fiction?). 

 

Antelope Island State Park, Great Salt Lake, UT

Antelope Island State Park located in the Great Salt Lake, Salt Lake City, UT is a campground for both tent and rv primitive camping. In addition the Island is home to a herd of bison, mule deer, bighorn sheep and pronghorn antelope. The Island boasts an informative visitor’s center, the Island Buffalo Grill, and a small marina. There are 15 different hiking trails and the historic Fielding Garr Ranch established in 1848. The Island is composed of three primitive and distinct campgrounds: White Rock Campground for tents and rv’s with gravel roads and some sites with covered concrete patios, all are back-in; Bridger Bay Campground for rv’s and tents with all asphalt roads; all are pull-off pull thrus with covered concrete patio, picnic table, cook/prep table and in ground fire pit; Ladyfinger Campground, all tent only with level tent pads and picnic table. We would like to boondock and have found it difficult due to our 45’ size; Antelope Island provides paved roads easily navigated with vehicle in tow. The Bridger Bay Campground offers a patio view of the Lake on the lower side of the one-way loop. As of 2021 they are in the final completion stage of adding 26 rv sites, mimicking the arrangement and amenities of the Bridger Bay Campground below, which will include water and electric (50,30,15 amp pedestals). Vault toilet houses are conveniently dispersed around the campgrounds and in addition there are two separate bathhouses with showers located down by the beach area. The food concession is in a standalone building down by the beach access area serving basic burgers, hot dogs and soft-serve ice cream. This campground is off the grid; accordingly no OTA TV stations and no WiFi on our Winegard ConnecT. Although once the rain and low storm clouds moved out we did experience cell phone connection, albeit a weak signal. Note that pictures may appear misty due to both the surprisingly inclement weather during our stay in August and the impact of dense smoke from the California wildfires, namely the Dixie Fire.

The Takeaway: a primitive tent and rv campground affording access to big rigs (45’ long, 13’ height) on narrow and driveable asphalt roads. Pull thrus in the Bridger Bay Campground offer patio views (only patio views are on the lower level due to a one-way loop road) of the Great Salt Lake and include a covered concrete patio, picnic table, cook/prep table and in-ground fire pit. There are many hiking trails to explore and of course wildlife abounds-bison, antelope, etc. Vault toilets, two shower buildings, a restaurant, and an informative Visitors Center complete the facilities. This campground is off the grid. Go to  www.rickpicks.com for more photographs, other reviews, critiques and essays with links to area attractions and a more detailed review of rv parks as well as reviews of restaurants, etc.