Woke up to a dreary day, but hoping for better weather this afternoon. Walked Sara in the campgrounds this am, which she loves because there is lots of open land and lake area to run around. We checked out the restrooms and decided these are 10 star bathrooms - warm, knotty pine walls, pergo floors...could sleep here if the heat goes out in the RV! We then readied our backpacks with trail supplies to ward off wild animals (you know it's bear season with lots of moms and their cubs coming out on the trails) - so packed the mace, our bear bells, my hunting knife, water, and our vocal cords. Now the campground host did say those bear bells don't work because bears have become immune to the sound of all the bells, so she recommended constant talking and chatter! But we took bells/voices and headed to the designated hiking area - Many Glaciers and Swift Current areas of East Glacier National Park. The drive in is gorgeous, along river and Sherburne Lake, with a stunning waterfall just off the road. We then parked at the Many Glacier trailhead (leaving Sara in the RV with a good dog bone since pets are not allowed on the park trails) and had to choose between a couple trails - we took the trail "less chosen" since it appeared on map to run close to Lake Josephine; and proceeded to "chatter, sing, and jingle" our way along the trail. We were surprised to encounter obstructive trees across the trail and patches of snow, but tackled the obstacles one by one! The park is not officially open yet, so guess they have not done any trail maintenance yet - we helped out where we could by bending branches, but could not lift the trees off the trail! We hiked about 5 miles in, seeing gorgeous lake and mountain views, plus wildflowers beginning in the forest. The sun came out mid afternoon and warmed us up to 60 degrees (from low 30's this am) so we were actually stripping down and putting away the gloves! We got back to RV about 3 hrs later and drove to the Swift Current lodge and started a short hike around the lake there-lakes here are so clear you can see the rocks at the bottom. We were pretty exhausted from the first hike, so were just aiming for a quick view of this area. We met up with a nice couple from Great Falls, MT (the only people we encountered on the trails) who said we were really lucky to be seeing the area at this time of year - said they have come different times, even October, when there were lines of cars and no parking available,, and crowds of people; he described seeing Grizzlies and black bears with cubs that he saw through his binoculars today, but said we could encounter them and elk/moose on these trails at any time. It was down to 40 degrees now at 5pm, so we headed back to the RV at a fast clip. Just as we approached the parking area, we came by a lake, and there in full glory was a moose!! I saw it first, whispering and hiding behind Linda, reminding her that we are not supposed to disturb wildlife in their habitat or they may charge at you!! She takes out her camera while I continue whispering and eyeing the moose, who is now staring at us - fortunately, he chose to walk across the lake instead of charging at us, but I was in full flight mode - never got my camera out of my pocket!! But Linda got a couple good shots of the moose and we lived to tell about it! While she was feeling lucky, I let her drive the RV back to campgrounds - on the job, live training! She passed, but let me back into our spot, where I had a close encounter with a water connection at campsite next to me - actually removed some wood from the post connected to the water line, but don't think I have taken out the water system for the whole campground! No TV here, so another quiet evening, checking in at home and cooking dinner. And, one more run for Sara, who promptly retired to our bed as soon as she got back. We'll be awake doing our blog for awhile now!