I did all my laundry last night which is a good thing, and this morning tried and finally succeeded in getting cash for all those remote places I anticipated today. The plan was to go north and follow Rt 2 east as far as I could get. I first went to Coeur d'Alene (named after the local Indian tribe which was named by French Canadian fur trappers) and then North on 95 all the way to Bonner's Ferry close to the Canadian border. This road was busy at first with what looked like Montana folks going north for vacations, but then got un-busy after Sandpoint and settled into a nice 2-laner that made the transition from the eastern Washington wheatfields to the beginning of the Rockies. Rt 2 is the road we saw earlier this summer when we took the train (Empire Builder) through the Rockies. I soon saw the train tracks running nearby. This northern part of Montana has all those independent souls who want to live remotely. Lots of aging hippies (they are getting old) with grey pony tails, flannel shirts and old trucks. Lots of "extra" cars in the yard. Real remote living. The odd thing is that there were places with no power lines beside the road, which is my favorite "view-shed" peeve, so I assume they run some underground. I also saw fiber being laid up here but not sure for who? I did not turn into the main Glacier park entrance with all the other tourists but continued on Rt2 which runs south of the Going To The Sun road that Dave, Jeff and I did earlier this summer. And I was rewarded with the road pretty much to myself with long sweepers and majestic Glacier Park views. I would recommend this road to anyone who does not like crowds.
I crossed the Continental Divide at Marias pass and from there it was downhill to East Glacier which is where the other end of the Going To The Sun road connects. I felt pretty smug having missed all the traffic of the usual Glacier route and from here continued east to Browning MT, which I had forgotten is on the Blackfoot Reservation and is a pretty big town. The towns on the reservations usually do not have any of the normal chain establishments and always have cheap cigarette places and casinos. I was out of the Rockies and immediately on the eastern plains of Montana. So I headed south to get in position for tomorrows trip back into the Rockies.
I love riding across the plains and this afternoon was the perfect ride in the late afternoon light. The further south I got the more grey (and cool) it got, but it never rained as I expected it to. I pushed all the way to Great Falls MT, found a place to stay, and walked next door for some Mexican food and a cold beer. Today was a perfect day. The beemer is a beautiful machine for this kind of travel, quiet, strong and very smooth always. My netbook is crashing a lot lately so I am hoping to baby it through the rest of this trip. If not, I'll have to go back to writing a diary.
We will see where we go tomorrow..
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