Glacier and Banff Day 8: Are You Gonna Go My Way?

July 4, 2025 – Two Medicine Campground, East Glacier National Park to Sweetgrass, MT (U.S./Canada border)

We may be lacking in cars and lacking in sleep, but spontaneity? That’s alive and well. Plans shifted and a national holiday played into some unexpected complications. But, when one border crossing closes, another one is a full three hours away. Something has to go our way!

July 4th in the National Parks should be a cause for true celebration! What’s more American than exploring the wild west and grilling out over a campfire? Though no one wanted to admit it this morning, we were all a bit tense and unsure about the progression of our vacation now that we were without the Jeep. Not having a towed vehicle would make our visit to Banff infinitely more complex. Luckily, we had a day around Two Medicine planned, so we took our time getting ready and making our way down to Two Medicine Lake, where we had scheduled a boat ride for the early afternoon—eager to explore the park from our campground.

Before our boat ride, we each broke off for a bit of adventuring. Rob and Alyssa tried their hand at fishing in Two Medicine Lake, near our camper. Marlie and I canoed across the lake and took in the amazing views from the middle of the water. I’m a pretty decent kayaker but a hopeless canoer. We were amazing on the way out—wind at our backs—but got spun and pushed around pretty dramatically on the return. No one capsized, though, so we’re counting it as a win.

Around 12:30, we checked in for our 1:00 boat ride on the Sinopah, the passenger boat that ferries hikers across Two Medicine Lake to the more remote trailheads. Rob and Alyssa didn’t make the boat, but Marlie and I forged ahead. The ride was short, maybe 15 minutes, but our guide, Abi, packed it with stories and information.

Two Medicine is considered the most sacred part of Glacier by the Blackfeet Tribe. According to legend, a wise elder woman selected the site of a medicine hut each year, but one year, two women were chosen—each building their own hut on opposite sides of the river. Thus, the name: Two Medicine.

Abi also shared the legend of Rising Wolf, a white trapper who became part of the Blackfeet tribe, and Sinopah, daughter of Chief Lone Walker. Rising Wolf, so named for the way he stretched and growled like a wolf upon waking, wanted to marry Sinopah but was terrified of her father’s two pet grizzly bears. On the day of the wedding, Lone Walker spat into Rising Wolf’s hand and placed it over the bears’ snouts, so they would recognize his scent. What a wedding gift! Today, all three names—Rising Wolf, Lone Walker, and Sinopah—are immortalized in the names of the towering peaks that ring the lake.

We picked an easy two-mile hike to Twin Falls. Abi offered a guided hike up to the falls, sharing insight on local plant life and wildlife. We stayed with the group for a bit but eventually peeled off to avoid the bottleneck of eager hikers.

Bear Grass is everywhere in this part of the park—odd, tall, cottony tufts that make the terrain feel vaguely like the forest moon of Endor. Abi told us Lewis and Clark thought bears ate it (they don’t—deer do), hence the name. The meadows were full of wildflowers. We crossed narrow bridges and a wobbly suspension bridge that added just enough thrill. The forest felt storybook-perfect. We reached the falls, dipped our hands into the frigid water, and made our way back down in time for the return boat ride.

On the way back across the lake, the group spotted a mountain goat and a grizzly high on the ridgeline of Rising Wolf. I wish I could say I spotted the grizzly myself, but I didn’t. Still, pretty thrilling to know it was up there, watching.

Back at the camper, we had some tough decisions to make. We didn’t drive nearly 40 hours to turn back now. We could tow the Jeep even if it didn’t run, and if need be, we could drive around in Kevin. Not ideal, but doable. Our dreamy vision of a July 4th barbecue was quickly drowned by rain, so we pivoted.

We did the only logical thing: packed up Kevin, and left Two Medicine,  heading to Browning to pick up the Jeep (still broken) from the tow yard and continued on to Calgary. Why not? If we crossed the border tonight, we could get to the campground early and be ready for a full day at the Calgary Stampede tomorrow. Long hot showers and laundry were calling. I even reserved a rental car online so we’d be mobile in Banff. Things were looking up.

Until they weren’t. We picked up the Jeep, hitched it up in ankle-deep mud, and drove to the Del Bonita border crossing around 8:00 PM—only to find it closed. Of course. A holiday. Because of course. The nearest open border was in Sweetgrass, nearly three hours away, and the backroads were a carnival ride of bumps, gravel, and washboard.  It’s likely little bits of Kevin have been scattered across Montana’s finest county roads.

So, no, we didn’t cross into Canada on July 4th. We had not one but two campground reservations we didn’t use and ended up half-parked in a ditch next to a row of idling tractor-trailers, about a hundred yards from the Canadian border. I mean, if you don’t spend at least one night at a truck stop, questioning your personal safety, have you really taken a road trip?

It wasn’t the day we planned, but it pulled us out of our self-pity and pumped a little adrenaline into our veins. Tomorrow, the Stampede… YAHOO!

End of Day Stats:
Mileage: 65 miles to one border and then 75 miles to a different border
States Today: MT → MT
Rubber Ducks Deployed: 0
Hippos: Giving haughty looks of derision
Wildlife Spotted: One long-eared jackrabbit at the Del Bonita border crossing, mountain goat, grizzly (ok, I didn’t spot it, but it was there, I swear)

Cue: Are You Gonna Go My Way? by Lenny Kravitz, for when the path ahead makes no sense but you go anyway.