Westcoast Kalispell Center Hotel

... one more party tonight, then we're off in the morning for Salt Lake City, our first 10 hour leg.<br>But tonight we get to eat off Linda's 10# rainbow she snuck out and caught without us. DANG her hide. She really is our hero though--the Fish Dancer extraordinaire.<br>Rick's cooking a gourmet feast, the divas are gathering--husbands beware!

... National Park (NB: US used so as not to be confused with BC&#8217;s Glacier NP) was a twelve mile dead-end road directing us to Many Glacier with a lake plus dam and many gorgeous mountains with some small glaciers attached. We did, however, get to view a Grizzly at close range (let me know if it is just a large cinnamon Black Bear).<br><br>Our next foray was to visit one of the park&#8217;s information centres and get the never ...

Kalispell is actually starting to feel like home away from home! The mechanic ran into delays, truck won't be ready till Wednesday, so we are catching up with laundry, grocery shopping, haircuts, and resting. Wondering what we'll find when we open up the trailer after this long week. Need to get re-organized before we head west again. <br>

Victor, ever the worrier (and usually with good reason!), wanted to check out the truck's funny business, so here we are in Kalispell. The Toyota service guy confirmed something about the cylinders and a cracked gasket and parts have to be ordered. It will take a week to get repaired but it's under warranty yet, so we're still smiling. They are ...

Glacier National Park is fantastic. The highway, named "Into The Sun<br>Highway" (exactly what we were doing!), hugs the mountainside, dips<br>into valleys and brings you up through glorious passes. It's like a 50<br>km scenic roller coaster ride. Wheeeee!

... on Tally Lake, just west of Whitefish. Victor went swimming, we took a short walk around the area, decided to turn in<br>early and head for Glacier National Park in the morning. As we drive through the town of Whitefish, we see many trendy cafés and shops. Quick stop at the library to check email. Truck's sounding funny, heating up...<br>

Short stop at Belgrade, on the road, then up to this beautiful lake. The Flathead River's various forks crossed our paths several times while in Montana. Boating/resort towns all along the lake front, quiet beaches, tall forests of pine and birch. Very relaxing!<br>

... evening dip in the ocean. We went as far north as the road would go and spent our time enjoying the sunshine and taking a coastal hike at Fletcher Bay. Once we headed south we made a stop to climb Castle Rock peak and gape at the enormous kauri trees. These trees are relics of a once prevalent forest, but they are now endangered because they were logged almost to extinction and are now threatened by a soil disease. The ones we ...

... compared to the big picture. All this hassle on Amtrak (did I mention they cancelled the baggage car from Albany to Springfield? You probably don't want all the gory details but just imagine trying to get six huge bags plus a bunch of carry-on from one train to another in ten minutes because you can't have any checked bags and that's all the layover you get) really is less than, well, a drop in an oil well. My last reflection has to do with this idea of "first class." As in, when ...

Day3 Wed Aug 1 - Spokane, WA to Logan State Park, MT Miles: 216 Summary -People-magnet Riverside Park in the heart of Spokane, WA - But where are the Spokane bums? -Promises of coffee, once again -Billboards are really ugly. -Hmmm...Idaho - I think we crossed it... -Kootenai Falls, MT - short hike over white water -Almost West Glacier, MT ... no ...