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Glacier National Park
Covey Meadow Loop
or The Adventures of Slick and Slack
Slick and Slack were adventurous young fellows. At least
Slick was, but Slack was the follower. They had been friends through
school, as far as Slack could remember, anyway. They had grown up in
the city and had never gone far from it.
One day as they were spinning bottle caps for fun, Slick told Slack
that he had heard about a place called Glacier National Park. It was
way up in Montana, and Slick had decided he wanted to save up his
money and go there. Now to convince Slack to find a job and do the
same.
Slack decided that it would be nice to see the place too, and took a
job at the car wash.
Since they had been used to city busses and subways, they didn’t own
a car.
They would have to fly.
Slack wasn’t sure he wanted to get on a plane but if Slick could
fly, he guessed he could too. Slick had courage enough for the both
of them.
They both worked for several months and even though Slick had saved
more, they set a date to go.
They arrived at the Dallas Airport, and started through the check
point. Slick had no problem but Slack was mortified {and so was
Slick} when Slack had to take off his shoes and lo and behold he had
two different colored socks on. Slick came to his rescue by telling
the lady that Slack had another pair ,just like those, in his bag.
After this troubling episode they went on through the crowds to find
their gate. As they were boarding the plane, Slack almost lost his
feeble courage but Slick gave him a good solid push and on the plane
he went. { Almost head first }
Slick knew that he needed to have Dramamine with him just in case
Slack felt sick. Well, going up in the air proved that it was a good
decision. It wasn’t long before Slack’s snores amused or annoyed
every one around him. Slick just leaned back and enjoyed the
clouds they flew through.
As they were arriving at the Glacier International Airport,
Slick shook Slack and told him it was time to wake up. At the gate a
bleary eyed Slack stumbled off the plane into the beautiful airport.
The first sights he saw were the large wall murals, he had never
seen pictures of such high mountains, and beautiful scenery before.
Slick made sure he managed the few steps down, since he was still
groggy from the medicine.
They picked up their luggage and found a taxi to take them to their
Hotel in Kalispell. As they arrived at the "Outlaw Inn" they were
met with such polite and helpful people. These were not unconcerned,
unfriendly attendants. These were "Down Home " western style, good
folks.
The next morning they were off to Glacier National Park. As they met
others at the McDonald lodge, they stood in amazement looking at the
decor around them. What a wonderful place with the heads of animals
on the walls and the "Old West" design everywhere. There was nothing
like this back in the city.
Since this was their first hike, Slick had chosen a short one to see
how Slack would like walking. No busses or Taxi here. They hired a
ride to the Covey Meadow Trailhead. The start to their hike is just
South of the Polebridge entrance station, on the Inside North Fork
Road. The East side of the road is the starting point. It’s very
easy to follow this trail. As they were leaving the Covey Meadows,
they went into a forest that is recovering from a fire in 1988.
These are mostly Lodgepole Pines and grow thick. Only a few taller
trees of Western Larch were standing there also. This is only a two
mile hike but a good one for starters. The trail will soon be near
the Polebridge Ranger Station.
Slick and Slack had easy walking because the underbrush had never
grown thick after the fire went through. After leaving the new
forest their trail leads them to an old river bench. They may sit
awhile along this dry creek bed if it is late summer when the creek
is dry. If it’s early Spring this may be a damp wet spot. Their
trail will lead them out again into Covey meadow.
Slick and Slack sat down for awhile in the forest and listened to
the unfamiliar sounds. For all of their lives they had been used to
traffic sounds with horns blowing and people milling about them.
What a quiet place this was, with bird voices and the wind singing
through the pines. And the sweet air !. No
exhaust here !. The air was so fresh and scented with
evergreen and moss. They felt as if they never wanted to leave this
wonderful place. The fast paced life in the city seemed so far away
---- But wait ---- there is more to see
!
As they left the forest and all of it’s beauty they once again see
the Covey Meadow. This time, they had been told to sit quietly out
of sight to watch for the animals in the field of wildflowers. What
beautiful flowers they were too. This is bear country so they were a
little nervous but had been told to never try and get closer for
pictures. Keep your distance and do not run if you do see one.
Calmly move away from them. They don’t want to be close to humans
any more than humans want to be close to them. As our friends sat
still and watched they saw elk and deer. There were lots of little
squirrels and Oh ! So many song birds .
As Slick and Slack sat, they had a great view of the Livingston
Range to the East. Slick wondered why he had waited so long to come
to this peaceful, wonderful place. But Tomorrow they would see more
of the mountains and valleys. He knew, from just this first day that
he would be able to get Slack here again. It was more than worth all
of the trouble.
The Adventures of Slick and
Slack, written by Verna Parks.
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