{"id":8877,"date":"2013-07-06T22:41:08","date_gmt":"2013-07-07T02:41:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tourdebocrie.com\/?p=8877"},"modified":"2013-07-10T07:32:14","modified_gmt":"2013-07-10T11:32:14","slug":"day-17-sunday-july-7-whitefish-to-lake-mcdonald-lodge-montana","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tourdebocrie.com\/?p=8877","title":{"rendered":"Day 17. Sunday, July 7 – Whitefish to Lake McDonald Lodge, Montana"},"content":{"rendered":"

Another gorgeous day,\"\"<\/a> albeit a bit breezy, as we headed out of town and once again into the countryside. \"\"<\/a> The ride out of town was not as spectacularly gorgeous as the way in, \"\"<\/a> but the roads were better, so we enjoyed it nonetheless. \u00a0Plus, the deer were everywhere and allowed close-ups.\"\"<\/a> We chased this one back into the woods \"\"<\/a>as she was too close to the road.<\/p>\n

Met Thane from Boulder, flying down the road;\"\"<\/a> doing the Continental Divide ride. \u00a0We related stories of the same paths we had taken and then continued on our way, the mountains ever present as we traversed.\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n
Missed our turn at one point, only to find the beautiful waters of the Flathead River.\"\"<\/a> Sometime during all the picture taking, “we” realized we had gone the wrong way. \u00a0Only a couple of extra miles, but the view of the river was worth it. \u00a0Back on course we rode through the wilderness and were always surprised to see homes tucked into the woods.\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n
We did have a short three mile stretch of gravel road, But another beautiful river to cross with the most unreal color of blue\"\"<\/a> <\/p>\n
Just before noon, our scenery started to change\"\"<\/a> as we came to the entry to Glacier National Park. \"\"<\/a> Stopped for lunch at a great cafe that offered the biggest slices of homemade pies you’ve ever seen; we had Huckleberry pie in our sights. \u00a0However, after our huge lunch, we had no room.<\/div>\n
Entered the gateway and began our adventure, \"\"<\/a> green hills, blue rivers,\"\"<\/a>rafters\"\"<\/a> taking advantage of the rapids and bears ……\"\"<\/a>we really do NOT want to see one.<\/div>\n
By 2:00, we arrived at our stop for the night, Lake McDonald Lodge.\"\"<\/a> Up until noon, we were planning on camping, but we made one last phone call (the last of the hourly vigil we had been maintaining for two days) and secured a room at this beautiful property. \u00a0The Lodge was privately built in 1914, (acquired by the state park system years later) and is beautifully situated on Lake McDonald \"\"<\/a> with stupendous views \u00a0\"\"<\/a>of the mountain we have to climb tomorrow.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Though we were spent from the 45 mile (almost five hour) up and down ride from today, we managed a chat with the colorful locals\"\"<\/a> (ground squirrel) \"\"<\/a>a test of the icy cold waters\"\"<\/a> and one last look at our climb tomorrow.\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n
Tough day ahead, so early to bed.\n\t\t