Glacier Rocks!

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[Ben at Libby Dam]

[Star Wars bunker bathrooms]

[Who's that idiot?]

[The bridge over Lake Koocanusa]

[Butch - need I say more?]

The past two days of riding have finally taken us to the outskirts of Glacier National Park - one of the most beautiful locations in the United States.

Yesterday, Saturday June 26, was by all accounts almost the perfect day. We bagan by riding out along a river that wound its way through some mountains near Libby, MT. After a relaxing 15 miles it was time to climb up a couple hundred feet to the top of Libby Dam. It was a most impressive feat of engineering and had a very Star Wars feel to the construction, right down to the bathrooms. From there we followed along the shore of Lake Koocanusa on a highway that was nearly empty of traffic. We wound our way up, down, and around the hills/mountains by the shore of the lake for about 40 miles. From there we had a slight hill to crest before coasting down into Eureka, MT - a very aptly named town as that was the cry I had to stifle in my throat as I saw it from the top of the hill several miles away. We found the city park campground to be a most agreeable spot at an incredible price. It was nestled right behind the old fire house next to a river (where we all sat up to our waists to enjoy an ice bath) and within walking distance of a gas station and a quaint little mom and pop pizza shop. We enjoyed a dinner of pizza followed by rhubarb pie desert. What a great day. Oh, and we met Butch!

Butch was just finishing his bike ride which started in Mexico and followed the Rocky Mountains all the way north to Eureka, which was an easy half day ride from the Canadien border. Butch was an east coast guy whose voice brought images of Rodney Dangerfield to mind and he had a personality to match. Now that he was done with his ride, Butch was taking a couple of days off before leisurely making his way to Kansas where he was to meet his son returning from Iraq. The best thing about Butch was that he had STORIES. The young hippies he rode with a few days that were pulling a homemade Rubbermaid trailer behind their bikes that held their gear and their dog. The Spaniard that drank like a fish every night and rolled his own cigarretes with "added ingredients" and rode down hills at 50 miles an hour without fear. He also liked to talk basketball, which Ben and I delighted in. He was a character to say the least. The icing on the cake of a 71 mile day.

Today, was not so perfect. We started out of Eureka on one of the roughest and most hilly roads I have ever been on. The hills weren't terribly long, but wow were they steep. Then we had the pleasure of riding on a very busy highway with not much of a shoulder and a stiff wind in our faces. We took a wrong turn (#2) that added 4 miles, Ben had a bee fly into his lip and sting him, and the final 2 miles into Whitefish was huge hills with zero shoulder, tons of 60 mph traffic and deep cracks in the pavement. That was all before lunch. After lunch things got a little better. The east side of Whitefish was much better riding - smooth rodes and little traffic. From there we rode on to West Glacier and it was quite nice, despite the gradual climbs and 2.8 miles of gravel roads. We reached Glacier Campgroud (a privately owned campground just west of West Glacier) and were greeted with kindness, a good price, warm showers, and a home cooked meal on a BBQ. 90 miles and I'm glad its over. My legs are tired. Tomorrow we will skirt just south of the park on highway 2 and climb over our last mountain west of the Mississippi. I won't miss the climbs, but I sure will miss the vistas.