Got up at 5:30 this morning, and went looking for something to eat. Most everything was closed, so we grabbed a cup of coffee and a pre-packaged muffin at the gas station. Sat in the parking lot at McDonald’s and mooched some free wifi.
When we got back to the campground, Don and Bob were up. They had already packed up their stuff, and just needed to have something to eat before we headed on to St. Mary, our stopping point for the day. It’s off the ACA route, but we wanted to stay close to the entrance to Glacier National Park. That way, first thing in the morning, we could head up to Logan Pass and then down to Whitefish. That was the plan, anyway.
Bob wanted to get some breakfast at McDonald’s, so I went with him and had a hash brown and some OJ. Don showed up a little while later and we started out on the road. Happily, it started with a downhill run. I waved to Chuck who was sitting up on the cliff by a giant metal statue of Jesus. I wish I had a picture of that, but he took a picture of me with his phone. Can’t wait to see how that turned out. The winds weren’t bad in the beginning and we went along at a pretty good pace. After a while, I needed a bathroom break, and there weren’t a lot of options, so we stopped at a grain elevator. The office was empty and I spotted a bathroom, so I helped myself. I made the mistake of filling up my water bottle with water from the sink and it was so awful, it made my water almost undrinkable. Shouldn’t have done that…
We continued on, just in awe of the Rocky Mountains. It was nice to have something that incredible to look at as we rode along, and the winds began to pick up. We passed a guy coming from Browning, heading east. He had a big grin on his face and hadn’t even worked up a sweat, since he had a strong wind at his back. We were all surprised to hear he had stayed in Browning, since we had been warned about that town. The general consensus was: whatever you do, don’t stay in Browning. He had stayed in a motel though, not camping, so I guess that’s safer. Originally Chuck had planned to drive me past Browning, but we decided it was OK for me to ride, since I had company now.
We all agreed that the wind never seemed to be that bad until we ran into that guy from Browning. Perhaps it was mental, but after he left (taking his big grin with him) the wind slammed into us harder than ever. I looked at my speed, and it went down to 6 mph. We were all feeling the pain. At one point, I turned my bike around and rode with the wind…just to see what it was like. It was AWESOME. I barely had to pedal! Oh, well. I turned back around and caught up with my new friends.
Rode for a while longer, and Chuck showed up. Time for a change of plan. We were all exhausted from the wind. Every muscle in my body was aching, and I had a splitting headache from the combination of strong wind and bright sun beating down on me. We all agreed that we were done riding when we got to Browning, but none of us really wanted to stay there overnight. Chuck graciously offered to drive everyone from Browning to St. Mary, but space was a problem. Don and Bob waited in Browning while Chuck took me to St. Mary. We found a campground, and again, they gave us a small (but appreciated) discount on a tent site. It was a really nice KOA campground and we were lucky enough to get a site in the trees, so the wind was blocked. I don’t think our tent would have survived being out in the open with the way the wind was howling. I was sincerely hoping those trees were sturdy and none of the tops would blow off and land on me. Chuck dropped me off at the pool and I went for a refreshing swim and sat in the hot tub for a bit. Maybe I was just imagining it, but it seemed like the mosquitos at St. Mary were the most ferocious of the whole trip. They were just awful.
I went back to the tent and read my book for a while and closed my eyes. Moments like that are really nice. When you feel the breeze blowing through the tent and you look up and see the tops of trees and smell nothing but fresh air. It’s a very peaceful feeling.
Chuck showed up with the boys, who were very grateful for the ride. They set up camp and got cleaned up, and we all went to town to have dinner together at a lodge near the entrance to Glacier. Dinner was OK, but not worth the price we paid. The company was excellent, and we all had a good time. Chuck finally found a piano, but then he only played two songs! I, and the rest of the people in the room, were very disappointed. He did play my favorite song however: Moon River, so I can’t be too upset with him.
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