On Glacier's Edge

I heard from the guys a couple of times today. The first was about 9:30am CST, when they were stopped at a little coffee place for breakfast. They walked their bike through the drive-through to order coffee and breakfast sandwiches. The second call was when they had finished their 90-mile trek to West Glacier, MT at about 4:30pm CST this afternoon. They're now on the edge of Glacier National Park, and they've planned an extra-early bedtime for this evening. Their typical sleeping schedule this days has shifted dramatically - they're usually in bed by 5:30pm and up by 4:30am to get on the road.

Tomorrow morning will start for them about 3am so that they can get through much of Glacier by 11am. That's when the "no biking" restrictions begin on the narrow portion of the road that crosses Logan Pass.

They said their lodgings for this evening felt more like a camp than a hotel - a line of quaint little cottages a little ways outside of the touristy town. They said the cabin was an eclectic mix of rustic vs. luxury. There were no phones, but each cabin did have a TV with Dish Network and about a million channels. There was no air conditioning, either, but they said the weather was cool enough that it wasn't uncomfortable. A bit warm at the time, he said, but it will likely cool off this evening.

Along their ride today, another biker came up alongside them and started talking to them. The guy was older, and David described him as scraggly. "You biking across the country?" he asked. "Yep," David said. "Going through Glacier?" he asked. "Yep," David said. The one-word answers continued as David hoped to be left alone. Then the guy went to talk to Bill, and he started telling them about this "back way" to Glacier. They weren't interested, but they listened politely. At the first sign of a convenience store, they pulled off and said goodbye. The guy proceeded to rattle off very detailed directions for his shortcut to Glacier, but none of it included actual road names - just "turn left by Smith's store," "take a right by the fire station," and so forth. Again, they listened patiently and then did their best to scramble into the store without being followed. They were still laughing about it when the continued on their way, until they noticed Smith's store, then the fire station - their route was taking them on his "back way" to Glacier! "Who would have guessed the old cook really knew what he was talking about?" David said.

So yesterday I commented to David that I might not recognize him with his new "mountain man" look when he gets home. I asked him to send some more close-up photos so that I could prepare myself. Well, as you can see from the photos below, I don't think "mountain man" fits the bill as much as "gangsta wanna-be"! Oh dear.... But I do love Bill's helmet hair!