Hotel info for 2010 Rally in Kalispell

[landman]

looks like you guys have some great routes planned.as for me,
chainsaw and i are heading west from the rally to ride the oregon,
northern california coastal highway,then back by way of reno and
hwy.50[the loniest highway in america].i have ridden much of
alberta and b.c. and promise you guys are in for a real treat.

[Netnorske]

Originally Posted by landman

looks like you guys have some great routes planned.as for me,
chainsaw and i are heading west from the rally to ride the oregon,
northern california coastal highway,then back by way of reno and
hwy.50[the loniest highway in america]. i have ridden much of
alberta and b.c. and promise you guys are in for a real treat.

Provided of course it don't rain on our asses the whole time... !

[landman]

:) i predict it will only rain 85% of the time.

[drno]

My wife and I are planning on attending. Just making arrangments with the parents to take the offspring for that week. We would arrive 01Sunday, or possibly Monday and depart on the 05 Thursday. Will book a room shortly. If anyone is comming down through Alberta via Fort Macleod #2 thru Cardston/Piegan border crossing or via Lethbridge hiway #5 thru Cardston/Piegan border crossing we could meet up. We can adjust our day to Sunday or to Monday. We typically go through the Piegan border crossing #2- US89 then to St mary's and then across the logans pass into Columbia Falls then there are a few options to Kalispell, 206 just prior to Columbia falls then to the 35 to Kalispell is a real nice mellow backroad kinda ride. Looking forward to it and meeting new friends.

[Netnorske]

Originally Posted by drno

My wife and I are planning on attending. Just making arrangments with the parents to take the offspring for that week. We would arrive 01Sunday, or possibly Monday and depart on the 05 Thursday. Will book a room shortly. If anyone is comming down through Alberta via Fort Macleod #2 thru Cardston/Piegan border crossing or via Lethbridge hiway #5 thru Cardston/Piegan border crossing we could meet up. We can adjust our day to Sunday or to Monday. We typically go through the Piegan border crossing #2- US89 then to St mary's and then across the logans pass into Columbia Falls then there are a few options to Kalispell, 206 just prior to Columbia falls then to the 35 to Kalispell is a real nice mellow backroad kinda ride. Looking forward to it and meeting new friends.

Looking forward to meeting you guys as well...!! We will be coming down from Banff via 93 and Eureka on Monday the 2nd, but thats a ways out of your way. PM me if you would like some info about a rally t-shirt or two....

[Netnorske]

I called the hotel in Kalispell today to see how many of the 20 rooms we have set aside have been reserved. So far only 4 of the 20 rooms have been reserved... ::). I was a little disappointed in that, but I got over it quickly. It's now February....so firming up your plans would be a good idea. I'm just sayin'.... ;)!

I also confirmed our banquet room reservation at Perkins Restaurant for the evening of Thursday Aug 5th, so we are good there too. It just might work out better if we actually have some people to fill up the room... !

[ballast]

I'll be getting a room pretty quick. I just booked 4 nights in Glacier prior to the rally. Ava wanted someplace we could relax with a little less technology and do some hiking. We probably will not be around for the thursday dinner. Ava has reserves the following weekend. So unless she flies home, we will take thursday and friday to get home.

*****UPDATE******
Just booked a room.

[cyclecat]

I see a few comments about the weather in Kalispell and I would like to tell you about the weather in that area of Montana.

The usual weather in Kalispell from mid-June to the end of September starts out hot, gets hotter, stays hot, and hot. The last week in July to mid-August is usually very hot but the mornings are cool. Kalispell lies in a big valley between Flathead Lake and the Rockie Mountains, where Glacier Park is located, so the weather is dictated by the atmosphere of the lake and the mountains.

Everyone should still be prepared for bad weather, as in rain, sleet, or snow. We've gone for years without hitting bad weather in August but have been snowed on in August. We've actually hit snow every month of the year in the Kalispell area but that is a rare occurrence in the summer.

When the ride is made to the top of the Logan Pass, if the weather looks bad, it will be bad. We have been on the Going-to-the-Sun highway, the sun is shining and the weather will turn just like that. We've ridden over the summit in every kind of bad weather imaginable and have been a blinding blizzard so bad the visibility was zero and the temps below zero. We've seen the summit in fog so thick you can't see 2 feet, sleet coming down so hard is was pretty much an ice storm and the snow, you don't want to know how hard it can snow. Don't want to scare anyone, just want you to be prepared for what the weather can do on the Pass.

When the weather is good, the views on the Going-to-the-Sun highway are breathtaking. The highway is literally cut into the side of the mountains and the traffic is slow. The first week in August will be busy on the Pass since it is the height of tourist season. And the tourist do stupid things. Tourists will stop in the middle of the road and get out of their vehicles to take pictures of pretty much anything from flowers to bears. We've seen it all and been behind idiots that will stop on the steepest part of the road to take a look at the view with a pull-out 5 feet in front of them.

There will be a lot of traffic on the Pass since it is the height of the tourist season and the Glacier buses will be running full time. There should also be a fair amount of motorcycles on the Pass since most will be making the run to Sturgis which officially starts the next week after our rally. The Logan Pass visitor center, at the top, has a fair sized parking lot but I can guarantee it will be full and depending on how many take the ride, there might not be room for everyone to park although there is specific spots designated just for motorcycle parking.

There are dozens of pull-outs along the road and most tourists will pull over and let faster vehicles go by. Just be prepared for the idiots that decide at the last minute to pull off and will slam their brakes on at the last minute. Not that the Pass is a fast ride; the speed limit in most of the park is 45 but it is 25 going over the top and once you hit the west side the twisties start and is is fun at the right speed. The road is patrolled and we have seen motorcycles pulled over and getting tickets for speeding but most times the cops will flash their light as a warning to slow down and leave it at that.

Will continue later, if anyone is interested but right now I have to go to work.

[lomax]

Excellent information! Thanks. :)

[schoeney]

I will pack accordingly...Thanks!

[cyclecat]

Hey schoeney can you tell me if any of the rooms booked out for the rally are 'down and out'? That means they have an outside door so your Nomad can be parked right outside instead of having to walk, or ride as the case may be, through the motel to get to your room.

[schoeney]

Revised***************


Good question CC. The answer is yes(but they are all KINGs...no double queens)!

They have 9 rooms that are on the ground floor and they open to the exterior and the parking lot according to "Joe" at the front desk. BUT ALL THESE "DOWN AND OUT" ROOMS HAVE ONLY HAVE (1) KING IN THEM!!!! If anyone wants one they will need to request it when booking. Hurry to reserve them as it will be first come first serve for not just our group but other guests as well.

Originally Posted by CycleCat

Hey schoeney can you tell me if any of the rooms booked out for the rally are 'down and out'? That means they have an outside door so your Nomad can be parked right outside instead of having to walk, or ride as the case may be, through the motel to get to your room.

[schoeney]

UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE!!! As of today 6 rooms of the 20 have been "booked".

[lomax]

Greg

Thanks for the info on the ground floor rooms. Just talked to Joe and he has set me up with one of those.

C'mon spring! :)

Mike

[Netnorske]

Good call....I did the same... !