Day 24
June 9th
Tuesday
38 Miles
Whitefish to Glacier National Park
Stayed at Apgar on Lake McDonald and took an extra day to explore the park.
Before leaving Whitefish we stopped for breakfast and filled our water bottles with ice water. The weather this week has been cool in the morning and warmer than usual for this time of year in the afternoon reaching 80's and 90's. We made our way back on route to the back roads with light traffic. We enjoyed an easy ride through rolling hills and meadows. A short time into the ride we saw wild turkey beside the road ahead of us, as we approached they ran for cover followed by about 10 baby turkeys.
Getting close to Glacier we started seeing places to stay. As we passed the Recluse Moose Cabins the owner rode up beside us on his bicycle asking about our trip. He was excited to see us touring on a tandem but said he and his wife could never ride one (we hear that a lot). He also invited us to stay with him next time we are in the West Glacier area.
We arrived at West Glacier around 2pm. After buying a few groceries we saw a couple ride up on a tandem. We enjoyed meeting Mike & Paula from Wyoming that are also riding the Northern Tier. They are riding impressive miles each day and plan to finish in August. Their blog is: ChainedTogetherTranscon.wordpress.com. We wished them safe travels since they planned to move on the next day.
Our next stop was in Apgar where we planned to stay two nights. Our first look at Lake McDonald and the mountains left us speechless. Snow covered peaks framed the lake, with water so clear you could see the bottom.
After settling in we went to the visitors center to find out the status of crossing Logan Pass to continue our trip to Waterton and see Glacier in Canada. The Ranger informed us completion of road construction on the East side is scheduled for June 19th, so we will be taking an alternate route. Waterton and Glacier National Park in Canada will be a trip for another time.
That evening we attended a Ranger presentation on "Into the Wild". The presentation was filled with great information about the Glacier National Park wilderness and wildlife. The Ranger giving the presentation is passionate about preserving wilderness not only for wildlife preservation but also for humans to enjoy. After the presentation we enjoyed meeting her father from Oregon and also met three of her friends that are biking from Seattle to Boston. It was great meeting these three young men and hearing about the fun on their summer journey. They are not following any particular route but taking time to see things they want to see and friends they know along the way. They went to Mt Rainier, then visited the Adventure Cycling Headquarters in Missoula on their way to Glacier. We hope to hear more about their adventures and look forward to seeing their photos in future Adventure Cycling publications.
So many cyclist, all traveling to different destinations, for different reasons, at different paces. It is great fun to hear the stories.
Stayed at Apgar on Lake McDonald and took an extra day to explore the park.
Before leaving Whitefish we stopped for breakfast and filled our water bottles with ice water. The weather this week has been cool in the morning and warmer than usual for this time of year in the afternoon reaching 80's and 90's. We made our way back on route to the back roads with light traffic. We enjoyed an easy ride through rolling hills and meadows. A short time into the ride we saw wild turkey beside the road ahead of us, as we approached they ran for cover followed by about 10 baby turkeys.
Getting close to Glacier we started seeing places to stay. As we passed the Recluse Moose Cabins the owner rode up beside us on his bicycle asking about our trip. He was excited to see us touring on a tandem but said he and his wife could never ride one (we hear that a lot). He also invited us to stay with him next time we are in the West Glacier area.
We arrived at West Glacier around 2pm. After buying a few groceries we saw a couple ride up on a tandem. We enjoyed meeting Mike & Paula from Wyoming that are also riding the Northern Tier. They are riding impressive miles each day and plan to finish in August. Their blog is: ChainedTogetherTranscon.wordpress.com. We wished them safe travels since they planned to move on the next day.
Our next stop was in Apgar where we planned to stay two nights. Our first look at Lake McDonald and the mountains left us speechless. Snow covered peaks framed the lake, with water so clear you could see the bottom.
After settling in we went to the visitors center to find out the status of crossing Logan Pass to continue our trip to Waterton and see Glacier in Canada. The Ranger informed us completion of road construction on the East side is scheduled for June 19th, so we will be taking an alternate route. Waterton and Glacier National Park in Canada will be a trip for another time.
That evening we attended a Ranger presentation on "Into the Wild". The presentation was filled with great information about the Glacier National Park wilderness and wildlife. The Ranger giving the presentation is passionate about preserving wilderness not only for wildlife preservation but also for humans to enjoy. After the presentation we enjoyed meeting her father from Oregon and also met three of her friends that are biking from Seattle to Boston. It was great meeting these three young men and hearing about the fun on their summer journey. They are not following any particular route but taking time to see things they want to see and friends they know along the way. They went to Mt Rainier, then visited the Adventure Cycling Headquarters in Missoula on their way to Glacier. We hope to hear more about their adventures and look forward to seeing their photos in future Adventure Cycling publications.
So many cyclist, all traveling to different destinations, for different reasons, at different paces. It is great fun to hear the stories.
Ranger that did the presentation, her father on the left
and her friends that are riding cross county
Ranger presentation
Music by Lake McDonald
Mike & Paula riding the Northern Tier
on a Santana Tandem
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