Day 13 Heading home... Kalispell to Bozman

We head out today going down Route 35 along Flathead Lake. It was really beautiful, Cherries for sale the whole route.  Saw my first ever Golden Eagle. It almost flew into Mike's motorcycle!!!

We Stopped at Stella's for something to eat. It was run by Mennonites. Everything was house made and sourced locally.

Everything was really good... Soup and a Sandwich for $8.50 Route 93

After lunch we gassed up... then hit the road again. We went about 40 Miles and the skies in front of us darkened as we got closer the temperature started dropping.  We pulled over and put on our rain gear. good thing because not long after we hit with rain and hail... 

Once we rode out of it. We pulled over so Mike could clean his glasses. Then the wind picked up. We got back on our bikes and head out, the wind lasts for about 20 or 30 miles, the lets up. Then we find ourselves right in between two storms.  We rode between them.

We go to Bozeman and call it a day.... I'm glad we did... the Storms were to the south of us and were heading up to Route 90.  I walked around the parking lot of the hotel and watched the storms,

They are all around us... 

I think we are going to get an amazing sunset!!!

Why.... Yes, we do.... The Sunset was amazing all the way around.... a 360 Sunset... 

Amazing!!! Just Amazing...

Yes, I was a crazy lady in the parking lot running around trying to capture it!!!! 

We will see what tomorrow will bring! 

Day 12 Many Glacier

Sir Luis left around 7 am. I was able to say goodbye to him. He's headed to Deadwood, there is a Road Glide Rally there. He'll have to haul some butt to get there. 800+ miles.

Then there was two

Mike and I head out to Many Glacier.. We take the road to the Sun to get there, it is on the east side of Glacier. It's really nice out only 10% chance of rain. It's a little cool, but, we are dressed for the weather. We want to get to St Mary's without stopping.

We Get on the Road to the Sun, and we are glad there are not as many cars in like to get into the park! We get past Lake McDonald, we start gaining altitude and we get behind a very slow car and truck.  It was very frustrating and dangerous on the motorcycles. we were in 1st gear going around hairpin turns and we were almost had to put our feet down... I was following Mike and he was having a tough time too.  On a bike you have to throttle going around turns to bring you though it. We weren't able to do that. It wasn't fun, and we had to really pay attention. It was very frustrating.

The "Slow" cars didn't pull over till after Logan Pass.  When they did, we had no problem into St. Mary's We get to Many Glacier, and a storm starts rolling in. We head to the Lodge parking lot and the hail and rain hits. We run to the Bathrooms for shelter. The storm passes fast, we go back to the bikes and get my camera.  I turn off the GoPro... (I will regret this for a long time) We go into the Lodge, and another storm blows in …. and then another Storm blows in with some great lightning. (My GoPro would have caught all that... But.... I turned it off)We wait out the storm, it passes, we head back to St. Mary's

From the Lodge at Many Glacier

At St. Mary 2 more storms blow though... I get a warning on my phone of another storm coming over Glacier …. and that is where we have to go.... We decide no matter what... we have to leave at 7 pm from St Mary to get back to the hotel before dark...

We make a run for it.... get back on the Road to the Sun... It doesn't look that good to one side, but, blue sky on the other side... It all depends upon how the road turns to whether we get wet or not.  Don't you know it.... We get behind another slow car... we do a bad... and pass on a straight away.  we start making some good time and then we.... yes.... behind another slow car that drives in the middle of the yellow line.... Needless to say it was a very long 50 miles to Route 2.. With threatening weather all around us... but, we seem to miss it all.... Thank the L-rd!

Once on Route 2 we made some good time.... we are almost to Kalispell.... and there is another huge and very charged with lightning storm ahead of us... We are heading straight for it... Not again, we are about 3 miles away from the hotel, and big drops of rain land on my windshield. I'm thinking.... Not now... come on.... we are almost there... The lightning getting more frequent … The drops stop.... and I head up route 93 to the hotel.... where there are 4x4 metal plates covering the road.... I go over one and I feel my bike slip.... it's ok.... under control.... now I know to avoid them at all cost....

I see the sign for the hotel.... I pull in park... get all my camera equipment off my bike.... get into the room... within 4 minutes.... I hear rain loudly pelt the window of our hotel room.....

Home safe and sound..... What a day..... Tomorrow we hit the road and start heading back home....

I'm pooped....

Day 11... Sunny at Glacier National Park

We set out again for Glacier. It's sunny and not a cloud in the sky.
We get closer to Glacier and I see clouds lifting from the mountains. I say I'm not going to pull over and take pictures till Logan's Pass... But, the clouds lifting off of the mountains at the lake was so beautiful that I had to pull over. I took some photos at Lake McDonald. It was just beautiful

As we rode, I was in awe! thinking... Wow... this is what I missed yesterday... The clouds were so low yesterday I couldn't see anything that I was seeing today! Wow!!!!

We Stop a few times, it is just amazing... the peaks the flowers,

We went to Logan's Pass and there was motorcycle parking... It made it easier. The parking Lot was really full...

We went to St Mary's had a bite, then head back the opposite way on the Road To The Sun

I saw some people stopped taking pictures of wild life, but, I couldn't stop and I didn't see what they were taking pictures of, then I saw some Big Horned Sheep but, couldn't pull over, but, passed the information to people that were walking there... Then we stopped at a site, and there were mountain goats. A mom and a young one.  Too cute.... I also saw a bald eagle at the information center in the morning. A wild life day!!!

We head back to the hotel.... It's Lou's last day, he is leaving in the morning. He is heading home via Dead Wood.... LOL … we are staying 1 more day... then we will start heading home.

Tomorrow Mike and I are planning on going to Many Glaciers...

Day 10 .... Glacier National Park!!!

Finally it is upon us.... we are heading to Glacier Nation Park.  We are excited... but, the weather isn't looking as good as what they forecasted.

We get to the Information Center Who do we run into???? Yehonathan, his wife Sarit and their daughter . Yehonathan asked if they could get a picture of their daughter on my motorcycle.

 What a sweet family! <3

We then head into Glacier. It is misting on us. We don't pull over anywhere yet. We are just excited to be heading up to Logan Pass... Praying that there will be a parking spot for us! 

As we get a little further in it starts raining hard, and we start getting pelted with hail.  I pull over to put my rain paints on, and I just look at Lou and Mike and say... screw it.... I jump on my bike and turn around.... we head back a little ways where it isn't raining.. we probably went about a mile or so to get out of the bad rain.  We pull over and get some coffee to warm up.. we talk and decide to leave the park.... Crap.... we came all this way..... and … well... There is always tomorrow... and it looks good for tomorrow.  

At our Coffee Stop

I talk the guys into going to the Montana Vortex... We passed it on the way to the Park... They figure what the heck.... Mary is buying.... LOL....

We go on the tour and it was pretty strange... 

This spot is supposedly level and depending upon what side you stand on you grow taller or shrink

***NOTE.... crooked house behind people***

here is Mike and Lou....

pretty strange..... Now check this one out.....

Pretty strange..... I took this picture... standing in the same place.... I have the same tops of heads in both pictures.....   Makes you want to go...… HUMMMMMM

After the tour we go to Kalispell Harley Davidson. We meet a couple from Kitchner, Ontario. They just came from Glacier.  They said it took them 7 hours.  They got rained on, hailed on, they could hardly see in spots.... I'm so glad we turned around.... We will try again tomorrow.  

This will be Lou's last chance …. he starts heading home Wednesday morning.... We are staying Wednesday.... and will start heading home Thursday...

Days 8 & 9

I joined these together....

Day 8.... we did a short ride from Missoula to Kaliaspell… it was pretty uneventful. We wanted to get to the Hotel before 2 because that is when the storms are said to be our way.

We get to the hotel and just chill after we shower up. Just hang out and watch the storms around us. As a young couple with a very young child come from up the street.  They walk up to the hotel... we start talking.  Yehonathan and his family are here from Israel on vacation. Yehonathan and I hit it off as I tell him of my trip to Israel in 2001... 16 days after 911.

Called an Uber and went out to dinner.....

Day 9....

This is what Sunday looked like all day... 

We took an Uber to a cool diner

It was really good. All power goes out in the town.... Darn, we wanted to walk around. 

We get an Uber back to the hotel.  We just hang out all day at the hotel. The mountains where we are breaks up the storms, so they mostly go around us. We just get sprinkled on a little as we hang out in the parking lot next to our bikes.

Later in the Evening Peter, another Biker who is staying in the hotel comes back by our bikes, we hang out a while talking and sharing biking stories into the night. Then all of a sudden a car gets pulled over and pulls into an adjoining parking lot right next to where we are standing.  We watch all the interaction between the policeman and the car.  The policeman is very professional... and will not let his guard down. walking backwards to his patrol car with the drivers license. He went back to the car and gave the driver a ticket of some sort.... The policeman walked backwards back to his patrol car. Then the Policeman pulls away.  The car he gave the ticket to was there for a minute or two... then he pulled away blaring "Bad Boy's, Bad Boy's, what you Gonna Do....." After all the tension in the air..... we hear that, and just started laughing and clapping..... 

We are going to Glacier Tomorrow.... Woot..... The Weather is going to Clear!!!!

Day 7

We are in Missoula, Mt. We drove through some rain. To get here. This morning I found out the gentleman who I met yesterday lives in Hamburgh Germany. I just so happened to have my Mammoser’s Tavern baseball hat. The back says Hamburg, NY. He was very happy with it. Roland took a selfie with us. I gave him my business card. 

the group of Eagle Riders getting orientation in the morning before their ride

We took route 78 out of Red Lodge. It’s not a scenic route on the map.. but it should be. It was spectacular. And I didn’t have my Gopro on. Poop..... it was lush green rolling hills with mountains on the left and an amazing road… until we got to the construction.... but, the first part of the road was worth going though the gravel road construction

We just missed some storms riding today. We got rained on twice.  I Encouraged us leaving one rest stop because of some storms headed our way. We came from Red Lodge to Butte... all of those storm had .5 inch hail in them.... we missed the storms.... just got a rained on a little... but, missed the bad stuff.... we just rode though the side of some of the cells... we were blessed Woot!!!!

We got to the hotel without incident. After dinner, I took a walk scouting for sunset pictures. I found a river near by almost a mile I walked to it. I needed the excise anyway. 

Mike and Lou chilled with a game of ping pong at the hotel....

Tomorrow we head to Glacier. They are calling for some bad weather. I hope we can avoid it.

Day 6

This morning I woke up early.  I went to the breakfast nook to edit photos. I didn't want to wake Mike. I started talking to a couple who had just left where we are going. So I got some great tips. Lolo Pass.... and go on the East side of Flathead Lake.... and Stop for Cherries!!! I love Bing Cherries! And they told us to stay on the West Side of Glacier, that it is more picturesque, than coming in from the East.

That is what is great about bikers... they help each other out.... Like someone unpacking their bike and over hearing a conversation about laundry detergent.... Then she walks up with some for Lou.  You meet the nicest of people out on the road.  You really do.

Today was just a chill day.... Mike hung out at the hotel. Lou and I did Chief John Scenic Highway, then Beartooth. We went Clock wise this time.... opposite of yesterday.  Yesterday I thought Chief John Scenic Highway was nice..... But, Today..... OMGosh! The Vista! The view.... no where to stop and take a picture... So it is in my memory.... It was just Spectacular

lookover on Chief John Scene Highway

Mountain Wildflowers

All of a sudden we hear a bunch of Bikes pull in, all around our Bikes... 

They are all with a tour group called EagleRider Motorcycle Tours

That is pretty cool... Lou and I talked to one of the guys on the tour. He is from Germany. He said there is 7 different counties represented in the tour. They are started in Seattle, going to Yellowstone, then going up to the Canadian Rockies! Wow.... it's a 2 week tour. 

If I had any tips for anyone today..... if you are going to do the Chief John Highway.... do it Clockwise.... It is so much more picturesque. 

Tomorrow we start heading to Glacier. We are only going to go half way tomorrow.  Weather is going to be iffy... So we will take it slow... That's it for now.... Have a great night!