Going to the Sun Road frem Great Falls MT to Missoula MT

We were going to go out for breakfast but Dave loves waffles and they had a waffle machine in the motel so we did the continental breakfast. This is how sad it has become out here on the trail. Real cowboys would be eating eggs, bacon, and Texas toast cooked over and open fire and washing it down with gritty cowboy coffee in tin cups, but we are eating off Styrofoam plates in the lobby of a cheap hotel using and electric waffle iron. Sad but true...
So head 'um up and move 'um out. We head north and it starts out grey and overcast and as we go north toward Browning MT, it gets colder and the wind picks up until it is misty with the wind pounding away at us. There was road construction again and we had a nice 20 minute chat with the flag guy who told us tall tails of shooting bears on picnic tables. The big news around Browning this morning was a Grizzly had killed 70 sheep the previous day which we did not think added up (can a bear eat 70 sheep in one sitting or does he put them in the freezer for summer, and if he did, how would he open the freezer with those big claws? (see where this is going?)). The flag guy explained that what usually happens is the bear kills a few and the sheep are so stupid that they suffocate while piling over each other to get away from the bear. I'll take his word for it. I had a race with a deer this morning, and we did not collide. If you see a deer, then just jam on the brakes and let it do whatever it's going to do. Best nt to try to think too much in these situations. Note to self...
We stopped in Browning, at a gas station / convenience store with tables in the back which is on an Indian reservation to warm up with coffee for John (the real cowboy) and cocoa for the faux cowboys (what self respecting cowboy drinks cocoa?). We decided the weather was not going to get any better so we continued with rain gear through the mist to the Glacier Park entrance. The ranger warned us about zero visibility on top of the "Going To The Sun" highway as did a guy on a VStrom (popular Suzuki motorcycle) earlier who had just come over. It is a 12 mile climb to the top and it went from grey overcast to solid fog at the top. The snow banks are still huge and impressive. It was also pretty cold up there. The flag guy told us it had only opened 10 days ago which is a month earlier than it usually opens. It closes in September so it that is a pretty short season. They did not get much snow this year, but it sure looked like a lot of snow at the top.

We descended just a few miles and the fog disappeared and it was sunny and pleasant. We went past Flathead Lake which is huge and beautiful, and continued on to Missoula. Four other beemers pulled in after us and Jeff is already scheming to swap his custom footpeg for one of theirs late tonight (not really).
We had supper at the Hooters across the road which of course had particularly attractive waitress'. Dave made me take my picture with the waitress of course just to get me in trouble with Deb. I look sort of grandfatherly here...
So all in all another great day in the Big Sky Country. Tomorrow we head toward Portland maybe via Washington state since we still have a little time. Who knows...