6/22 Great Plains Education

We woke up and packed up the bikes and talked one of the weirdest dudes I have ever met as we were leaving the motel.  We descended away from East Glacier with sunny skies, frequently looking back to view the mountains.  We were headed down to Browning, where we wanted to check out the Museum of the Plains Indians.  We descended into the town of Browning and checked out the Museum of the Plains Indians.  We checked out the displays of native clothing and took some notes about the history and movement of the many tribes of native peoples in the Plains.  We rode through Browning and received no trouble from any "dangerous indians" that someone had warned us about earlier.  On the way out of town we spotted a hail storm coming our way.  I tried to ride as fast as I could to "out bike" the storm but storm systems can move quicker that bikes and soon all of us were on the side of the road protecting themselves from the hail.  I felt a bit brazen for thinking that I could outrun the storm and looked back to see my better prepared comrades taking cover under Goody's tarp.  After the vicious hale storm passed by we got back on the road.  The country was wide open and we rode all the way to Cut Bank, Montana, where we grabbed some food and protected ourselves from the thunderstorm. We got back on the road and traveled to Shelby, where we found a burger stand and a public park to throw the disc in and sleep.  Will found a bar that was open early the next morning to show the US-Algeria World Cup game.  

Aidan snaps some shots of the Rockies

Patching a Tube

Outside the Museum the rest of the guys found a very friendly dog who just wanted to Chill

Retrieving the Frisbee

America!

Grazing Land

We rode into Shelby, where we found a burger stand and located a public park that would be suitable for our purposes.  

Aidan took some great photos of a very large metal tube on Great Northern Railroad that runs through Shelby

6/21 Maria's Pass

We woke up early to a gray skies as we rode back out of the park.  I got on the road a bit later than everyone else and road alone to West Glacier.  I soaked up the last few miles on the remarkable road  We stopped ate a big meal at the West Glacier Diner.  We got back on Rt 2 going east, which we would follow to the upper peninsula of Michigan.  The ride to Maria's Pacewas extremely well graded with no steep climbs.  We stopped in Essex for a free sauna and some sodas at the Izaak Walton Inn  We rode east towards the pass expecting some steeper incline to come at some point.  But it never came.  Maria's pass was chill the whole way, and we rode together and celebrated at the top.  It was the summer solstice and we we were on the transcontinental divide.  It was a remarkable coincidence.  We put on our warm clothes and the sky opened up and were treated to a speedy descent under blue skies.  At some point Will's rack broke and he fixed it with a bungee chord.  We rode into East Glacier and decided to grab some food at the Glacier Park trading Post.  We stocked up and soon discovered that we could rent a motel room for ~$40 bucks.  We enjoyed the amenities and prepared for the next day.

Goat Lick

Will's rack broke, and we fixed it with a bungee

We feasted outside the Glacier Park Trading Post in East Glacier

6/20 Going to the Sun?!

We woke and began riding east on the Going to the Sun road not knowing if we would be able to get over Logan Pass.  We had heard rumors over the previous days that the crews were working all day at clearing the pass and we hoped that we would be some of the first riders across.  The ride was epic along Lake McDonald before stopping at Avalanche Lake Campsite for some food, frisbee and sweet grass.  We locked up the bikes and climbed the 1.5 miles up Avalanche Creek to Avalanche Lake.  The well travelled trail was stunning and we found a place on the beach at the snow fed Avalanche Lake.  We took turns jumping into the refreshing near freezing water and then took a nap on the shores.  Staring up at the glacier carved rock cathedral was truly awesome.   We hiked back down to the bikes and started are way up the pass. We rode past the weeping wall until we finally reached a sign that told us to turn back.  We debated for a bit on weather to throw caution to the wind and attempt the illegal pass but we feared the potential fines and thought of maybe riding on icy roads and turned back.  We knew a meal awaited us at the McDonald Lodge, which we had visited on the way up.  It started raining and we pushed the pace to get back to the lodge before dinner service ended. We feasted after a long and exciting day.  We were pretty sure we would have to ride back to Apgar Campground in the dark but were overjoyed to find a spot close by at Sprague Creek. 

We chill by Lake MacDonald early in the day

We hiked up Avalanche Creek

Man reflects on Water

Mule Deer love urine

Avalanche Lake

Dan jumps in

Will soars into the frigid water

Goody porpoises

Aidan

Pete

Maps are good

Hey look its nature!

The last forested section before the climb

Near the Loop

We climbed

Glaciers were here

The road was closed just past Big Bend.  We were sure we could get to the top of Logan Pass but we heard the other side had snow drifts and we didn't want to get fined.