Dancing at the Rascal Fair

We rode the Ivan Doig highway today, 85 miles from East Glacier to Choteau.  Ivan Doig wrote several books about this part of the country; my favorite is Dancing, about early Scottish settlers who came here as sheep farmers.  I have a cousin who lives in Choteau, so it is fun to be back in a familiar town.

We had the East Front of the Rockies on our right for almost the whole ride, light traffic, and good winds.  Very nice conditions for a long ride.

We were loading the camper at sunrise for an early start.

As we were riding through Browning, we spotted a rainbow.

Wow, we were just on the other side of these mountains.

One more reminder of the Blackfeet Reservation.

Exploring Glacier National Park, part 1

Internet connection is a bit hit and miss, so I couldn't post this earlier.  I'll walk down to the fancy hotel after I finish the next post, as they are generous with their very good connection.

We had a short ride on Tuesday, just 18 miles on back roads to West Glacier, giving us plenty of time to explore the park a bit.  Good thing, as the Fourth of July crowds had not departed, and we waited over an hour for a shuttle to take us up Going to the Sun Highway to Logan Pass.  I had expected we would bike up, but as the number of people visiting the park has increased, so have some restrictions. Riding up the road, which has two lanes and no shoulders, as well as being long and steep, I was not unhappy that I would miss the experience.  Going up would be a major challenge, and I am sure coming down would have been terrifying.

Are we on a bike trip, or a ski trip?  Lots of snow at Logan Pass, and I forgot my snowshoes.  Some people were wearing sandals, just wishing for shoes.

Furry creatures at the Pass.

The only bear I've seen so far.

Visiting Glacier, part 2

Another pass, another rainy day.  We rode 55 miles from West to East Glacier, over Marias Pass, which is the lowest crossing point of the Continental Divide in Montana.  After Stevens Pass and Thompson Pass, we found this one almost easy.  Given that the day was wet and chilly, I was welcoming the uphill stretches, as they warmed me up.

East Glacier is very different from West Glacier, fewer big, fancy motels and more hiker hostels.  We are staying at something in between, a motel made up of individual cabins which I can't quite date.  Someone commented that the shower felt like being in a big tin can.  Hot water is plentiful, which is more important.

Today is a rest day.  In addition to doing laundry, cleaning my bike, re-organizing my gear, and relaxing a bit, I switched to a new mode of transportation and took a trail ride up into the hills for a couple of hours.  It was nice to let the horse do the work going up hill.

I've driven across the Divide, hiked it, and ridden a horse across it.  This was the first time on a bike.  

East Glacier village is on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation.

Spotted Bear looks like an Indian pony and may well be one, as the outfitter is run by a Blackfeet family.  The patriarch of the family told me about being taken to a boarding school for eight years as a child, where his braids were cut off, and he was forbidden to speak his language.  When I asked how he felt about that, he was quite philosophical and said that the closest school to his parents house was 35 miles away.  If he had lived at home, he would have had no education.  Quite a life.

Happy Fourth of July

We celebrated by riding 82 miles to Columbia Falls.  With a very early start, 6:30 am, we avoided a lot of traffic.  And thanks to a tailwind and temperatures in the 70s, most of us agreed that it was the easiest, and certainly most beautiful 80 mile rides ever.  My only regret is that on a ride this long, you don't take time to smell the flowers, or in this case, enjoy more of the wonderful views we had of Flathead Lake, which I was surprised to learn is the largest freshwater lake west of the Mississippi.

Some of our group take the Fourth very seriously.

Sunrise in Hot Springs this morning.  My friend Hope was the early riser who took this picture.

Looking down on Flathead Lake.

We rode in and out of the Flathead Nation Reservation today.

Gathering for lunch from the camper.  We didn't manage to meet up until mile 65, but we carry plenty of snacks.

Our motel uses old wash tubs for planters.  The old metal headboards decorating the yard were harder to photograph.

Riding into another culture.

Our ride today, 47 miles into Hot Springs, Montana, was a little longer, a bit more challenging, and hotter than we expected.  However, we made it into Hot Springs by about 1 pm, which gave us time to soak in a mineral hot springs pool and to relax in an old-fashioned tourist camp with a few, definitely not too many, modern touches.  The mineral spring pool was very hot, smelled a bit like hard boiled eggs cooking, and felt great on tired muscles.  I lack the skill to describe the town.  It has small, not too well kept houses, a few tepees, deer wandering through the yards, and kids cruising in ATVs.  All I can think is how very different it is from my life in Mount Pleasant.

Is this road going up or down?  My eyes kept telling me I should be going down, but my legs, which don't lie, we're definitely telling me I was starting a long climb.  After yesterday's work out, they weren't happy.

Some of our cabins had kitchens, so another volunteer chef prepared a great pasta meal.  Had my first marionberry pie (store bought).  It seems to be an altogether acceptable relative of blueberries.

Our funny little 1930s era cabins have a lovely veranda added, as well as solar heating.  Seems a bit incongruous.

Two passes to Montana

Our trip across the Idaho panhandle was the shortest visit we will make to a state.  We left Wallace this morning for a 55 mile to Thompson Falls, Montana.  The route involved going through two mountain passes, about 4000 feet of climbing and an equal descent.  The weather was slightly overcast and cooler than it has been, a good thing with all the heat I generate on a long climb.  

The crew having a hearty breakfast before our climbs.

Susan and Tom making their way up through some nice scenery.

 Susan and I at the top of Thompson Pass.  You can see part of the road we came up in the distance behind us.

Another view at the pass.  I think we were all a bit high on the sheer beauty of our surroundings.  

Blackberry pie is such a fine reward.

We ate dinner tonight on a deck just above the spot where I took this shot.

Rest day on the bike

No internet last night, so I'm late posting this entry from yesterday.

Two days ago, we had a rest day off the bike in Spokane, running errands, doing laundry, and just really resting.  Today was different.  We rode 50 miles from Harrison to Wallace, Idaho, almost completely on the Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes.  No real climbs, no traffic, slightly cooler weather and more shade, spectacular scenery, with water and mountains always in view.  The only disappointment was that we didn't see a moose.

Ponderosa pine

Any guesses on what this lovely flower is?

Wallace was a major mining town, with all the trappings.  This museum was an active bordello until 1987.