Missoula MT
(Mucho photographs)
Saw
JB and Yoda in the morning and we agreed to meet for breakfast at the local
café about a block up the road. It is a
nice place and they serve a good breakfast and coffee. While eating we got to know each other a
little more. JB, in his 60’s, is a
Vietnam Army veteran and was in the Chu Lai territory. Yoda is in his late 70’s and I don’t remember
his military service. They both
commented on the previous evening…seems that numbnuts went to them and nicely
asked them to reposition their bikes.
They laughed when I told them about my encounter…..they assumed he had
been drinking. Bottom line? He moved his
car from one side of the gravel entry driveway to the other side by his room window…big
deal.
JB
and Yoda left for Browning and I finished a cup of java then sauntered out to
the bike. Once out of town I opened the
throttle to 70-75 because of speed limit and also because of the cold wind. And it was certainly blowing. It had to have been around 25 with gusts to
35! Cold blasts coming from the
northwest, tearing across the low hills and prairie of MT. Many a bike was coming the opposite direction
and they were leaned into the wind about 20 degrees….gave me an indication of
what I looked like to them. I passed two
windsocks….one next to two helicopters of an unknown make, possibly European. The windsocks were straight out which means
the winds were 28 mph or more…probably more because the gusts had no impact on
the sock. And did I mention it was
cold?? I stopped at a small
town…possibly Bynum, and switched to my leather jacket and donned the glove
liners. It helped, but by the time I
reached Browning I was frozen.
Upon
reaching Browning I reaffirmed what the bikers at the gas station had told
me….I never did see a motel….but then I think my eyelids were frozen. Seeing a gas station (I think the only one in
town) I pulled in only to find about 10 various bikers there…among them were
Yoda and JB. They were waiting for me
and we commiserated about the cold wind.
As they were departing JB shouted out that they’d see me in East
Glacier. Later, when I checked the map I
realized that East Glacier was not on the way to St. Mary, the east entry to
Glacier NP. Anyhow, it seems that
staying at Choteau last night was good advice I received from those other
bikers. And I am glad I took the 287
route. Had I taken the I-15 to Shelby
and then headed east on the US-2 to Browning I would have been in a tough spot.
No motels in Browning and St. Mary is a
tourist trap. If a room were to be
available at one of the few motels there it would have been pricey….and camping
was out of the question as the night’s cold termperature would have been lower
that what my bag is rated.
Anyhow,
I donned my raingear to act as a windbreaker and put on the face mask as well
as the hunting gloves that Doug, my brother in law in Portland, lent me to
withstand extreme cold. Wow! What a
difference. I now was able to ride much
more comfortably being warmer and not dealing with cold. No sooner did the highway turn north out of
town when I saw two big signs….one pointing west for East Glacier and one
pointing north for St. Mary. I took the
north route, had an excellent ride through the lower hills leading to the
mountains and caught some views of towering peaks in the distance.
Up
reaching St. Mary I pulled into the station and decided to warm up a little
while waiting for JB and Yoda….possibly they were still heading to St. Mary via
a MT connector road from East G to StM.
While waiting a Canadian gentleman and his sweetheart. I remember writing their names and email
addresses but now I can’t find them. I
hope they read this blog or find the card I gave them and perhaps email
me. Here is the pic we took at the entrance to Glacier NP.
The
ride to the mountains was a slow climb at first. Shortly after the entry I saw the turnoff
where I had originally planned to camp had I made it all the way to St.
Mary….so glad I stayed in Choteau!. Next
was a beautiful ride along Upper Lake St. Mary for about 7 miles or so.
Then the climb started…got a couple of pics of beautiful mountains These are not little hills gently sloping up to a peak…these babies are streaking to the sun and into the clouds…dramatically!
At
the peak I rode past the visitor’s center…didn’t realize it was the peak until
it started downhill. Fortunately I
turned around at a viewing area and went back because that is where I found the
sign with the information on it about
Logan’s Pass. Unfortunately is is set
back from the highway and it would probably not be appreciated by the Park
Police if I drove Sophia onto the sidewalk leading to the sign. Then again, would I probably have gotten away
with it?
The
ride down the other side was pretty awesome.
I will confess that this ride captured my inner spirit. Others rides of the 15 Challenge have been
exciting, interesting, scary, long, short, yadayada. But this one got me. The towering peaks with slopes plummeting
vertically to the depths of valley streams.
Everywhere I looked there were awesome rugged, jagged peaks piercing the
atmosphere! And snow packs provided contrasting
colors of whites, greens, browns and greys upon the slopes….I believe these white
snow packs are what are left of the glaciers….still there despite it being
August!
But
the end was soon to come….and it did at McDonald Lake Lodge. From here it was to don the raingear as the rain
was starting and then ride to the Kalispell H-D store to get an oil change
before it closed.
Glacier
Harley Davidson is an awesome place.
This is one of the smaller H-D stores I’ve been to, but they’re the BIG
on customer service and relationship. I
have put Glacier H-D on parity with Irvine Ca, Barre VT, Boerne TX, Tigard OR
and Hughesville MD as top H-D service stores to get your bike taken care of
when traveling cross country like I’m doing.
Somehow my watch (an old USMC windup issued to me in Vietnam) had the
wrong time and I arrived 30 minutes before closing when I was supposed to be
not less than an hour before closing. Tim,
the Service Manager, called to the back asking if anyone could stay and change
the oil. And this beautiful young lady
mechanic, Rachel, volunteered to take care of Sophia. I was ready to buy Rachel flowers and treat
her to the best dinner in town (made me wish I was 50 again….oh wait, I would
still be too old for her J.
)
Tim
is one of our finest…not just for being a great guy but also because he served
in our country’s community police force.
He was with the Jefferson County CO Sheriff’s Dept (home of Denver) and
took four rounds in the chest while doing a residential drug raid. When I
expressed the hope that the druggie was put in the slammer for a very long time
he replied….”naww, he didn’t make it that far in life”. J
There was still plenty of daylight left so, after saying goodbye’s to the great folks at Glacier Harley, I got back on US-93 and headed south towards Missoula. Sadly, in my anxious state of mind focus on reaching a destination, I failed to invite the two of them outside for a blog photograph. It is at these times when writing my blog that I become disappointed with myself for not remembering these important times in life.
I was hoping to make it all the way to
Lolo. I enjoyed this ride on the winding
climbing and descending 93. I found that
Flathead Lake, named for the Salish (Flathead) Indian Nation is very long lake
and US-93 rides all along its western shore affording some nice views of the
lake and surrounding communities. Past
the lake there is a bit of climbing through a pass that crosses over a range
and I also think this is all part of the Flathead Indian Reservation which I
found to be different than when I went through Browning to the East of Glacier
that is in the Blackfeet Indian Reservation.
There I saw that most of the residents were of the Blackfeet Nation
whereas along the 93 I saw no one that appeared to be of the Salish Nation.
There
is much that intrigues me of this area…this is the area that I read as a youth
about the early mountain men, settlers, all the various Indian tribes. It is
both a joy and a frustration riding through this historical land. A joy because I am now seeing it, but a
frustration because I do not have the time to stop, stay a week, research their
history, and then visit those historical sites.
Perhaps next year if I am able to get up this way to do some fly fishing
J.
When
I arrived in Missoula it was already getting dark. I asked at a convenience
store if there were any motels in Lolo and the Indian (from India) owner said
that there was a Days Inn there.
However, as I turned the corner back onto 93 I saw a motel named GuestHouse
Inn right on the corner where the 93 does a right angle to head to Lolo. I pulled in there and got a good price for a
room, did my laundry on the premises for a buck a load, took a hot shower and
called it a night.
Tomorrow
I ride the Lolo Pass. Many a rider that
has ridden this highway has given me some great comments about its beauty so I
am looking forward to seeing what it has to offer.
My
last thoughts were of soaring over Glacier, over its peaks and through its
valleys and gorges….not sure if I was back in the helo or imaging being an
eagle.
C ya mañanaGonzo
Twitter: @GonzoCrossUSA
Email: GonzoCrossUSA@gmail.com
Cell: 949-433-0761
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