Montana

Two weeks in!

Last week was spent enjoying the luxuries of long showers and spacious spaces. We enjoyed a few nights on terra firma at Wes and Hailey's.

Hailey cooked dinner for us while we played with Bennett in his neighborhood park. We spent lots of time reading books and enjoying the natural beauty that Missoula has to offer. Besides reading, Ben loves climbing big rocks and tossing the little ones into the river. The four of us, and our little mascot, enjoyed a morning of pickleball at a local park.

On Saturday morning, we hitched up the trailer and headed into Glacier National Park. Wes and Hailey had booked a hotel at the foot of Lake McDonald, and we had a site at Apgar Campground (site D192). After a little strategic backing, we were tucked into our spot. We rode our bikes to the lodge and enjoyed a lovely evening soaking in the views and watching Bennett play. We enjoyed a Montana favorite, huckleberry ice cream, before heading back to the holiday weekend crowd at the campground.

Early Sunday morning, we loaded our bikes and drove the short distance to Avalanche Campground to secure a site for the day. The campground is currently closed to overnight camping and the road is only open to bikers this time of year. Many tourists and Montana locals head into the park specifically to bike the Going-to-the-Sun Road before it opens to regular summer traffic over Logan Pass. Tom and I rode our folding electric bikes, Hailey pulled Bennett in his trailer with her e-bike, and Wes pedaled up on his own power. We made many stops to soak in the views along the way. The first part is flat along the river, then the road begins to climb for about three miles, exposing amazing views. An estimated 2,000 bike riders, young and old, ride up the road. The road was open a full 13 miles to the Weeping Wall, but we turned around just before the first switchback — about 10 miles up. It was absolutely incredible.