coram, montana (rest day)

Somewhere flowing under Route 895, Montana

 Today is another rest day so we decided to visit Clacier National Park. That did not happen. Even though we had a National Park Pass and Margaret had also purchased a pass that would allow all six of us in our vehicle into the park, we were denied entry because beginning yesterday a $2.00 per person reservation fee was added and we knew nothing about that. We all know, when you add the word government, now, there will be complications. Instead of Glacier, we went down the road to Hungry Horse Dam and drove on Route 895 just a little past where it became a dusty, gravel road. Beautiful stuff and lots of photos. Montana is once again showing off. 

There's a story about Hungry Horse and the surrounding areas. I saw it at the Welcome Center by the Hungry Horse Dam. During the severe winter of 1900, two draft horses owned by some Montana logging pioneers wandered away from their logging sled. For days, Tex and Jerry struggled through belly-deep snow looking for food. Almost a month later after their disappearance both horses were discovered alive.

Some loggers nicknamed the gaunt survivors, the "Mighty Hungry Horses." The name stuck and was eventually given to this dam, a mountain, a lake, a creek, and the town downstream.

I did notice, however, amidst all the beauty around Hungry Horse Dam, that Montana did allow foul language to be posted on the bridge itself. But seriously, what a beautiful place to visit. No fees required, just drive there and you are a welcomed guest. Big Sky Montana! As we were driving up Route 895, we saw signs for Lost Johnny Point Campground, Jimmy Ridge, Margaret's Lake, and Sullivan Creek. Margaret's family must have some kind of roots in this vast woodland. There's a lake named after her, a point and a ridge named after two of her brothers, and a creek named after her Granny. We may have to go to an ancestry website and start checking this out.

Just so you know, Margaret and I are in Moose cabin at the Glacier General Store & Cabins. It is quite a nice place to stay. Becky and Kevin are in Elk and Phil and Gale are in the North American RV Park right behind us. I think this would be a great place to hang out for a week. I will post some pictures at the end of this blog so you can check out our lodgings.

 

Tomorrow, Lord willing, Phil and I will pedal over the Continental Divide at Marias Pass, at 5,236 feet, and down to East Glacier. The elevation, here in Coram, is 3,186 feet. So take 5,236 feet and subtract 3, 186 feet and you get  2,050 feet of climbing tomorrow. (I did that without any help from Common Core Math.) The Divide is approximately forty-nine miles from here and it looks like there is a nice, paved bike trail that runs beside Route 2. We will give that a try until it runs out. Then we will get back on the road. The weather is supposed to be good and maybe we will have a tailwind. I will certainly let you know.

Tomorrow is Sunday. I'll be missing the church services at Prince but I can still listen, thanks to the internet. My pastor will be preaching from the book of Hebrews. If you'd like to listen, simply go to pabc.org and click on watch and, BOOM! you'll be there.

Does our cabin look like a bike shop to you?

Our address for one more day in Moose, Montana.

The thought of climbing Marias Pass to the Continental Divide tomorrow is overshadowed by the thought of going down our last major mountain pass of the wild west. We still have a bunch of miles in Montana but the mountains are mostly behind us, I've found my Montana license plate, and I've added more stickers to Billy's car top carrier and my shop storage cabinets. What more could a guy ask for?

Brothers (and sisters), I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:13-14)