Glacier Park trip

[pirate]

Hi NW members. My wife and I returned home last night from a week in Glacier Park. I had originally planned on going there when you hold your NW Rally in a couple of weeks, but my wife's work plans changed, and we are unable to go that week.
I know several of you have already been to the park, but I thought I would share a few pictures and give you an update on some road construction. I see Kris posted my pm on the board, so I'll try not to repeat much.
We stayed in Kalispell, although not at the Holiday Inn Express. We ate supper at Famous Dave's one evening (ummmm, ribs...) and I saw the Holiday Inn Express is right by there. It looks like an awesome place, and it's right off the main highway into town from the north. It's right behind the Lowe's store, so look for that.
Tuesday we went to Whitefish and rode the ski lift to the top. If you have time to do this, I'd highly recommend it. The view of Whitefish, Whitefish Lake, and the entire Flathead Valley is amazing. A roundtrip lift ticket is only $10 per person. A great place to eat in Whitefish is the Bulldog Saloon. The burgers are great, the beer is cold, and the bathrooms have some great pictures on the walls! (You'll see what I mean!)
On Wednesday, we rode up the Going to the Sun Road. The two pics on my signature line are taken there. Here is a picture of Lake Mcdonald, the biggest lake in the park:
http://i298.photobucket.com/albums/mm269/reraas/IMG_2316.jpg

We brought a picnic lunch with, and we ate at the top at Logan's Pass. The sun broke through the clouds and it was really nice. We continued up to St. Mary before turning around and coming back down. On the way down, a small grizzly bear ran right in front of us across the road. It was gone before we could take a picture. In my 5 times of being in Glacier Park, this was the first time I'd seen a bear there. (hey, that rhymed!) This picture is taken just below Logan's Pass, looking to the west:
http://i298.photobucket.com/albums/mm269/reraas/IMG_2334.jpg

There is a little road construction just below Logan's Pass. They are putting up some new retaining rock, so the road is one-lane for a short period. We had to wait for the pilot car on our way down, but it was only about 10 minutes. It provided a great chance to take some pictures.

On Thursday, we rode around Flathead Lake, the largest freshwater lake west of the Mississippi River. We rode on the east side in the morning to Polson, MT, before coming back north on the west side. We stopped in the small town of Lakeside and took a ride on the boat, "Far West." It is only $15 per person for a guided, 1.5 hour trip. It was really relaxing, I'd highly recommend it. There is a bar on board, so you can relax and enjoy a cold brew. The afternoon cruise leaves every day at 1 pm. Here is a picture of the Far West:
http://i298.photobucket.com/albums/mm269/reraas/IMG_2350.jpg

Finally, here is a picture of Flathead Lake from the east shore, facing west. What a beautiful place!
http://i298.photobucket.com/albums/mm269/reraas/IMG_2346.jpg
Definitely make sure you eat as much huckleberry ice cream as you can. In the Apgar Village just inside the entrance at West Glacier, Eddie's is the place for ice cream.
We put on a little over 1800 miles on our trip. 400 of those were just from the day trips we took while out there.
I hope you all have a great rally in August. Sorry I won't be there, but that's how life goes. I enjoy "lurking" in your NW board, as there are always good stories and pictures.
Take care everyone!

Ryan
Prairie Cruiser

[cyclecat]

Brian and I just got back from 3 more days in Kalispell and checked out the construction on the GTTS and it's not as bad as last year. There is only about 2 to 3 miles of road ripped up right now and it's not that bad. The pavement is stripped and we could avoid the large holes on the Nomads whereas the cars had to hit them because the road is so narrow when it's down to one lane. It's slow going but well worth the ride. There is a lot of the west side of the GTTS that has new pavement so the ride is quite a bit improved from other years. We also had about a 10 minute wait which is nothing compared to last year which was a 30 minute wait.

Probably a good thing that the rally is in the middle of the week - the traffic on the week-end doubles on the GTTS since all the locals make the drive to the top of Pass to have a look around.

The ride to the top of the ski hill in Whitefish is worth the ride. The view is great and the road is nice. Never rode the lift since heights almost make me throw-up but I can imagine what the sights are up that high.

Eddies is definitely the place for ice cream when coming down off the pass on a hot August day. The coffee shack in West Glacier is a great place for a hot or cold drink and there are places to sit and watch all the motorcycles go by.

There is a chance the visitor parking lot at the top might be a bit crowded so we might have to do some fancy maneuvering to all park there, but it can be done. There are actually quite a few spots set aside specifically for motorcycle parking so hopefully we can all park in the right spots; if not, there is another parking option that we've seen and the rangers have never told the motorcycles to move, so it would work also.

We have been told by a couple of the local orchards that the Flathead cherries should be in season the first week of August and they are some of the best cherries ever. The ride down the east side of Flathead Lake is right through orchard county so the number of places to stop and buy washed cherries are numerous.

[schoeney]

Thanks all. I will diet so I can have some of Eddie's ice cream!

[duneseven]

Thanks for the great pics prairie cruiser Glacie Park is an amazing place

[ballast]

Ava and I head out next Tuesday and will do 4 nights at the park before heading to the rally. Can't wait.

[Netnorske]

Ava and I head out next Tuesday and will do 4 nights at the park before heading to the rally. Can't wait.

You should make a good tour guide by then.... http://s2.images.proboards.com/grin.gif!