Circling the U.S. Chapter 29: Glacier, Then East

A return to the Rockies always makes me joyful, a feeling of coming home to where I belong. This was my third trip to Glacier, but not the last.

Friday, August 16 - Sunday, August 18, 2019

By mid-morning on Saturday the rain had stopped and Rob and I took off for a ten-mile ride, unloaded, to Two Medicine in Glacier.

We finally had the opportunity to wear some of the warm riding clothes we'd been carrying for the last two months.

On the way to Two Medicine Lake we took a short walk to Eagle Woman Falls.

Two Medicine Lake was so calm and beautiful we rented a canoe and set out for a paddle.

About 15 minutes later the wind kicked up. Still, it was pleasant to be on the water, surrounded by mountains.

Our first night in East Glacier we stayed at Brownies Youth Hostel and Bakery. 

Many hostels have a private room option. They also always have a shared kitchen so we were able to keep to our budget by cooking breakfast.

I'd like to say we stayed here, at the Glacier Park Lodge, but we didn't. Saturday night we camped behind a low-budget motel across the street from Brownies Hostel for $10. What it lacked in ambience it made up for in price. But we still enjoyed the lodge. We caught part of a tour and sat inside reading and writing for over an hour. Nobody checked to make sure we were paying guests.

In order to connect with the Northern Tier Adventure Cycling Route that we would take for the remainder of our journey west, we first had to ride east.

Sunday, August 18, we set out for Cut Bank, Montana, 48 miles east on US Route 2 - 48 miles that gave us a taste of what we missed by taking the train - riding a major truck route on the plains. There was a rumble strip inside the white line on the shoulder the entire way. That rumble strip forced us onto the part of the shoulder with loose stones and broken glass, lots of broken glass. It's amazing we escaped without at least one flat tire. We were heading east with a tailwind so we fairly flew along, arriving in Cut Bank before noon.

Unfortunately my camera does not do justice to the colors in this scene.

I'm glad we came this way. The view of the plains was really lovely, stretching forever with a varying pallette of colors. But I imagine several weeks of it would get a bit boring. The other problem is that there is no place to duck out of sight if you have to pee, which I had to do for about 30 miles.

Cut Bank didn't have much going for it, just a few strip malls along the highway, so we settled into a McDonalds for a couple hours. It was air-conditioned and had wi-fi. But we did have one of our best camping dinners thanks to camping close to an Albertsons grocery store. Barbecued chicken wings, reheated in our skillet; mushroom and cheese ravioli with a sprinking of olive oil; and a bowl of fresh fruit - blueberries, pineapple, cantaloupe, strawberries, and grapes. At home we always have ravioli with spaghetti sauce but I am finding that eating it with just olive oil allows me to enjoy the flavor more.

Our campground was on the edge of town, perched atop this canyon. The ecosystem was very dry, hot, and windy. I felt like I could have been in a desert.