Monday, August 17: 30 miles / 1,500 ft. elevation gain
We left Seattle at 4:30 PM Sunday evening. We booked a sleeper car which included breakfast and lunch. Of course we pre-ordered vegan meals. The food was pretty good. Sleeping on the train was not so great, what with all the announcements, rattling and train whistles. But for just one night, it was fine. Today we arrived in West Glacier about 9:40 AM. It was sunny and very cold. Spencer built the bike with only one minor hiccup when he couldn’t find the rear derailleur. That would have been BIG trouble! Turned out it was packed in a different bag which was already at the hotel. WHEW!
Once the bike was built, there was a shakedown cruise into the park. It was just an out and back with other riders from the group. We took a detour on the way home and visited Apgar Village on Lake MacDonald. Very pleasant. Sun shining and comfortable.
We walked into town for dinner rather than choosing the pricey restaurant at our hotel, the Belton Chalet. It was great to stretch our legs after the long train ride. We noticed that in Montana all the signs have a date on the back of when they were installed. For dinner we had pretty good veggie burgers and fries. Spencer reluctantly tried the Huckleberry BBQ sauce which turned out to be surprisingly good. Then, inspired by an “exhibit” (info sign) on the ride, we indulged in some Huckleberry pie for dessert, which was GREAT!
Back to the hotel for a visit with Mike and Chris (our ETC tandem buddies), and to bed for an early start tomorrow.
