After a few stops in small central Montana towns I arrive at the east entrance to Glacier National Park in St Mary around mid-morning. Temps were in the high forties when I started out for the day so I had dressed warm. In hindsight I should have shedded gear when gassing up in St Mary because the long slow ride over Going to the Sun Road was HOT. Typical NP bumper to bumper traffic – mostly in first and second gear over the 60 or so miles over the pass. I’m not a fan of Disneyland style crowds but to see Glacier you have to put up with masses. The views along the road were definitely worth it. I missed Glacier on the ride last summer as the wildfires had closed the park when I was in the area. So far this season has been much wetter so fire dangers are currently at low to moderate in the area.
I arrived in Whitefish late afternoon after doing a short loop ride on Camas and N. Fork Roads adjacent to the park. There was almost no one but me and just a few other cars and motorbikes on the route which was half dirt. I’m not really equipped with the proper tires for dirt but they have performed decently in the small amounts of gravel roads I have encountered so far. I want to swap out at some point before I get on anything too rough as these tires are almost 5 years old and just hit 10,000 miles. I got them put on in Milan during the RTW trip with Ken in 2014.
Anyway, I made the stop in Whitefish for a purpose – to see a friend and co-worker, Diane, from Vail, Colorado. She left the Vail Valley in 2005 to move to Whitefish. I haven’t seen her since so was excited to be able to catch-up. She has a cool little lock-off overlooking Whitefish Lake and the ski mountain. Good little spot! We grabbed some dinner at a Latin themed restaurant in Downtown Whitefish and then stopped for a beer at a bar with a nice outdoor patio to enjoy the pleasant evening. Although it was a bit hot during the day it cools off nicely by evening in Whitefish – much like the mountains of Colorado. It was great to see Diane and I am glad she is doing well and enjoying her life in Whitefish!
I’m starting to settle into life on the road and beginning to enjoy the new places and faces I encounter each day. Yesterday in St Mary I met a gentleman from Canada that had come down to ride the Going to the Sun Road. He had recently sold his farm and was enjoying his early retirement. We chatted at the gas station for 20 minutes or so and again at one of the turn-outs along the road where we both ended up at one point during the ride. Then, back at the little motel I chose for the night, I got to meet the couple from California that had just bought the motel 10 weeks ago and were in the process of procuring much needed updates to the property. They were so excited to be a part of the Whitefish community and improve what was pretty much a dive motel. It’s still one of the cheapest options in Whitefish (Whitefish is expensive!), but I could see what they had done and listened with interest with their plans for the future. I think I have a secret dream to own and operate a little roadside motel somewhere that caters to overland travelers so was really interested in their story.
I’m leaving Whitefish this morning. Where will I be at the end of today? Not quite sure yet but can’t wait to get there!