Back on the Grid

Ready for a three mile descent into Saint Mary’s 

A short rest after climbing to to 6,000 ft.

Jimmy shows off his new sun hat

Waiting for a short lift through the construction zone

Anne, Adam and myself in the back of the pilot truck

Tim fueling up for the climb 

I haven’t had cell service for a few day while camping in Glacier National Park. I’m now with my lovely wife, Cindy in Whitefish, Montana. A beautiful ski town in the Northern Rockies. After riding through Eastern Montana she has been a sight for sore eyes. I really miss her on these long trips but I’m luckier than most riders in that Cindy has had the opportunity to visit me while I’m riding. Cindy came to see me at the little town of Cut Bank just before we began our windy and cold ride into Glacier. The wind was still howling directly into our faces most of the day even when we turned a little north to begin our steep climb up the Rockies to Saint Mary’s. We finally got off of the dangerous Rt. 2 and had much less traffic on Rt. 89 to Saint Mary’s. However, the road was under construction about two or three miles after we started our climb. The paved road ended and a pilot truck had to drive us about two miles up through the construction zone. Our driver was a large jovial Native American who said once we reached the top of the summit (6,000 ft) the ride was all down hill to Saint Mary’s. I think he loved telling bikers this to lift their spirits or crush their souls because it wasn’t all down hill until the last four miles. However we did zoom into the park entrance at Saint Mary’s and after getting everyone through the park gate we went about setting up our tents on the outer most edge of the campground where most of us felt certain we’d be a late night snack for a grizzly bear. Some of us walk a mile and a half back to the lodge for dinner and drinks. It turned into a long evening of eating and drinking because no one want to get eaten by a grizzly. Banning together and talking loudly we walked back and we jumped into our tents for a very cold and restless night.