To the sun and back.

The light and fog on Bowman Lake at 6am produce some eerie imagery. I start my trek down the dirt road and immediately spot a bear tearing apart a rotten log looking for something to eat. The sign next to my campsite warning of “Bear Country” is good foreground to the bear who looks much more friendly than the one depicted.

[fog on Bowman Lake]

[leaving the lake]

[bear left of the sign]

[bear zoom]

As I begin the trek down the rocky road I realize that my psyche is greatly impacted by knowing that I’m going in the right direction. My worrisome thoughts of yesterday melt and I really enjoy the bumpy ride out. The bike luckily survives the beating it takes.

[early morning in the dirt]

[still dirt]

Albeit enjoyable, after standing up on the pegs for another two hours at 6:30 in the morning, my thighs are burning and it feels great to hit a paved road and settle back into my seat.

I head for the other road Matt (the shop owner from yesterday) recommended, Going-to-the-Sun Road. This is the only only road that traverses the park and I soon find out where it got it’s name. The winding road very rapidly progresses upward. The “guardrail” protecting me from a few thousand-feet plummet is a twenty-inch high stacked stone wall. I’m not afraid of heights, but more than once I got a little woozy while peering over the edge at speed.

[Going-to-the-Sun Road – Glacier National Park]

[Going-to-the-Sun Road – Glacier National Park]

[Going-to-the-Sun Road – Glacier National Park]

The gargantuan mountains are all deeply scared by the descending water emanating from the melting snow and ice. The views along the ride are absolutely incredible.

[Glacier National Park]

[Glacier National Park]

[Glacier National Park]

At the bottom of the mountains are rushing streams and lakes which are unbelievably blue. Apparently the blue hue of the meltwater is known as glacial flour and is a result of silt-sized particles of rock suspended in the water.

[streams of meltwater]

Along the ride I keep seeing these cool old buses packed with tourists. The Red Jammers were introduced in the 1930s as a way to schlep tourists around the park.

[Red Jammer]

[Red Jammer in front of the historic Lake McDonald Lodge]

I survive the ride over Going-to-the-Sun Road in both directions, then head out of the park in the late afternoon. The ride through rural Montana and then Idaho is beautiful.

[Flathead Lake – Montana]

[Route 28]

[Route 28]

[Route 200]

After nearly thirteen hours on the bike, I land in Spokane, Washington. I’m officially back in the Pacific time zone. I find a cool hotel for the evening called the Ruby and peel off my riding gear. The self-guided pub crawl in downtown Spokane on a Wednesday night produces a number of great characters. One guy excitedly helps me plan my route through the state of Washington after telling me the story of how he was the victim of a murder attempt. He’s friends with the perpetrator now.

Downtown Spokane is a very nice city with a lot of great old brick buildings. It seems to be going through a bit of a revival, much like a number of other downtowns I’ve seen along the way.