We gained a member on the road trip for the next two days: Erin. She occupied her small amount of space in the back seat without too much distraction and flavor to the x country duo….on our short 1 hour trip up to Whitefish, MT. We went to Whitefish to meet up with Sarah and Dave. Sarah was on the same study abroad program in Australia with Erin and Katie, so it was a 7 year reunion of sorts. After meeting Sarah and Dave we got to meet their 135 lb St. Bernard “Doc” who Katie got to meet up close when I threw a tennis ball in her direction for Doc to go fetch.
We took a quick walk to downtown Whitefish after our arrival and went to the brewery for a free sample. They had a huckleberry wheat ale. We were soon to find out that huckleberries can be used in anything in Montana. After our free beer, we stopped at the Craggy Ridge for lunch. Good food and some more good beers (Flathead Lake Peg Leg Porter).
After lunch, we picked up Doc and went to Big Mountain (a winter ski resort) for a quick hike to go see a Jesus statue (or has some call him, Skijus) and work off those calories from lunch. It was nice to go for a hike as our bodies were slowly degenerating from sitting in a car for the past 2,800 miles.
After a quick stop back at Sarah and Dave’s place, we headed back to downtown from some pre-dinner drinks at Great Northern Bar. Dave and Dermot beat Sarah at shuffleboard and then Katie beat Dermot at shuffleboard before we continued onward for dinner at Tupelo’s. Dinner was excellent and I’d highly recommend going to Tupelo’s if you are in Whitefish, MT. Our original plans were to go bowling after dinner, but unfortunately the food was so good, that we all ate ourselves into a food coma and headed right back to Sarah and Dave’s place after dinner. We had a big day at Glacier National Park ahead of us anyways. . . .
DAY 8
We got up early to drop Dermot’s car off at a mechanic (called Automotion) to get the rear brakes replaced while we went camping at Glacier National Park. After dropping off the car and getting back to Sarah and Dave’s, it was time to pack up the car for GNP. Unfortunately, we left all our camping gear in the car at the mechanic, which was a 1/2 hour drive away. (Note to Dermot: When you ask Katie if she took everything we need out of the car, double check that she was listening….. not just responding with a mindless “Yes, dear” response)
Luckily Dave used to be a raft guide at Montana Raft Company, so we got to borrow a tent and sleeping backs for the night. After picking up the tents and sleeping bags, we went straight to Logan Pass in Glacier National Park. The drive was beautiful and the hike was amazing. If you have the chance to go to Glacier National Park, DO IT! Global Warming is eliminating the glaciers and some say that the glaciers could be gone by 2020. We did the Oberlin hike at Logan Pass in a mixture of rain, hail and sunshine. Despite the fact that it was August, most of the hike was done in temperatures below 50 degrees and heavy winds. In addition to nature’s obstacles, Katie had to wear shoes that were 1.5 sizes too small (remember all the camping stuff we forgot in the car at the mechanic), so we only made it up to the highest ridge and not the peak of Oberlin. The views were amazing, regardless.
After the hike we went to the Belton Chalet for dinner. Once again we were treated to amazing food (bacon wrapped filet and bacon wrapped meatloaf). It’s great having locals show you around town! After dinner we went to the bridge that used to be the original entrance to GNP. (This also happened to be the same bridge that Dave proposed to Sarah on) So in our best reenactment of that night, we went to West Glacier Bar (a.k.a. Freeda’s) to do some celebratory drinking. The drink of choice at Freeda’s was the Champagne of Beers (a.k.a. Miller High Life). We met a bunch of the locals and hiking/rafting guides and learned a card game called Shitzekoff. (It’s kind of a mix of @sshole and Eukor). After plenty of High Life and a round of Patron, we decided we had enough of Freeda’s. One last pit stop before we went back to our tents, though. Dave and Sarah brought us to a lake in GNP for some star gazing. We saw the most intense view of stars in our entire life. Definitely a great way to end a great day. Thanks Sarah and Dave– absolutely incredible tour guides.