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| Cherries on 35 |
This is an “easy” day taking Interstate 90W for 5 miles to
US 93 to Montana Highway 35 to to Montana Scenic 206 to US 2 into West Glacier
to the Belton Chalet (https://www.glacierparkcollection.com/lodging/belton-chalet/
).
It’s supposed to rain a lot today (90% chance and from 0.10
to 1”) It also looks like it’s supposed to rain on Tuesday, our Going to the
Sun Day. We load up the bike (covered out front of the Hilton Garden Inn) and
it’s sprinkling. We go up to the room and put on our rain gear for the day.
Better to be ready and wearing, than pulling over and trying to gear up on the
side of the road, or at a gas station. Off we head. 93 is nice, nothing special
(especially since it’s sprinkling). We do see a few bison (farm, not wild).
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| Animal Bridge |
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| Bison! |
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| Radar on our ride from Missoula to West Glacier |
In
Polson, we turn right onto Highway 35 that runs along Flathead Lake (and my
Butler Map has it colored yellow, so good riding).
Information about Flathead Lake: Flathead Lake
is a large natural lake that was a remnant of the ancient, glacial dammed lake,
Lake Missoula. And, wow, it’s deep (it has a max depth of 370 feet and average
depth of 164 feet – making it deeper than the average depths of the Yellow Sea
of Persian Gulf!). There are also cherry, apple, pear and plum orchards around
the lake.
The information about Flathead Lake was right, and even
better. There are lots and lots of cherry orchards along the lake! And cherry
stands! And U-pick cherries! I love cherries! And, coincidentally, the cherry
stand we stop at is named Three Bears Orchard (Sweet Heritage Cherries,
406-629-6337, Sweet Bay, Polson, MT). They have sweet cherries, Mount Ranier
cherries, jams, and wine. I buy a pound of sweet cherries. I looked for them on
the internet, and they don’t have a presence, but they were super nice!
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| Cherry Orchards along 35 |
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| Three Bears Orchard on 35 |
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| Sweet Cherries |
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| Mount Rainier Cherries |
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| U-pick cherries too! |
Along we go past more cherry orchards and more cherry
stands. I could have spent all day eating along the way (and it’s not raining
at this point). We could have stopped in Big Fork at Burgertown Dairy Freeze
for a Flathead Monster Burger (we wanted to, but it wasn’t even 11:00 am and
wasn’t open). Darn because TripAdvisor reviews say their burgers are great but
their onion rings are awesome (we like a good onion ring). Note to anyone
driving to West Glacier on 35 going through Big Fork stop at Burgertown Dairy
Freeze on the right for a burger (they also don’t seem to have a presence on
the internet, but people come from all over to go there).
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| Burgertown Dairy Freeze |
We get gas before turning right onto 206 and then US 2
(about 20 miles from West Glacier). And stop at Willow’s HuckleberryLand (https://www.facebook.com/people/HuckleberryLand/100054632762372/
) for elk burgers and huckleberry shakes for lunch. Hungry Horse is the
Huckleberry Capital of Montana and yes, we succumbed to a tourist stop. But we
are tourists and it was starting to rain more and we needed a break and to kill
time (check in isn’t until 4:00 pm and it’s only about 12:00 noon). Plus the
burgers and shakes were pretty good (I’m not sure I could taste any difference
between a beef vs. elk burger). “Huckland” not only serves burgers, shakes, pie
and ice cream, they also have lots of huckleberry stuff, West Glacier stuff,
bear and moose stuff. It was a great stop for stuff you don’t really need, but
want to have.
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| Huckleberryland in Hungry Horse |
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| Huckleberryland in Hungry Horse |
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| Huckleberryland in Hungry Horse |
It’s raining pretty good when we leave HuckleberryLand on
the way to the Chalet.
I thought the Belton Chalet (https://www.glacierparkcollection.com/lodging/belton-chalet/
) was actually in the park. It’s not (pretty much across the street and there
is a long line of cars waiting to get into West Glacier Park – according to the
front desk, for people without Going to the Sun Road reservations waiting until
they can get in at 3:00 pm without one). We get to the Belton Chalet (and yes,
it is directly across the road from the railroad). And we try to park (there is
a lot of slope, even in the motorcycle parking). Check in isn’t until 4:00 pm,
but I go to try. And find out that the picture I thought was the Chalet is
actually a separate building where the hotel is. I trek up to the Chalet
(dreading if we have to do all of this climbing with our bags off the bike –
lots of stairs). But there is a flat small parking area behind the Chalet! Yea!
We move the bike (this will also make loading up in the morning MUCH easier).
And our room is ready! And our room is right next to the back door where we’ve
parked our bike!
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| Motorcycle parking at the Belton Chalet (but we moved and parked up and behind the Chalet on flat ground) |
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| Old style room at the Belton Chalet (door goes to bathroom) |
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| No AC but you can open the windows for a nice breeze |
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| Old style keys for doors with wood room number stick |
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| One of the cottages |
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| View of the Chalet from the restaurant |
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| Huckleberry Margarita |
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| Mushroom Parpadelle with Elk Sausage |
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| Porkchop with cabbage slaw and potatoes |
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| Outdoor kitchen at the Taproom |
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| Watching Big Bang on Hulu on my laptop |
Our Classic Lodge Room is pretty much as described on their
website: Our queen-bed rooms, with private bathroom and desk and views of the
Flathead National Forest) are the perfect mix of modern and historic. Each one
retains original fixtures, hardwood flooring and crown molding paired with airy
spaces and plush linens. Property does not have air conditioning, but there is
complimentary Wi-Fi. It’s a cute room with hooks for all of our wet gear, a
desk for me to write my blog on. But Wi-Fi is so weak that I can’t open and
read email (we can get Hulu to watch – that’s odd that we can stream Hulu but I
can’t open email). Instead, I’m drafting this post and eating sweet cherries.
Dinner looks we’ll be heading to the Taproom and sitting at
the bar (the earliest reservation was 7:45 pm and that’s too late for us and
with the weather, doubt that they’ll have outdoor dining open – it’s also on
the chilly side). There are other things at the motel next to the Belmont, but
I doubt we’d walk there (and I have cherries and huckleberry licorice from
HuckleberryLand).
Information on the Belton Tap Room (from their
website): Acting as stewards of traditional hospitality, the dining
room offers world-class cuisine in a warm and welcoming environment. Serving an
array of local beer, spirits and craft cocktails and all brought to you by our
friendly staff, the Belton Tap Room is a favorite of locals and guests from
around the world. With an outdoor elevated deck and original 100-year-old
fireplace, this is the perfect place for all that Montana summers have to
offer. Every evening, our staff lines the balconies to welcome the evening
train, just like they did in 1910. Steeped in the romanticism of a bygone era,
this is the perfect setting for a special evening — whether you're celebrating
an anniversary or the completion of a ten-mile hike.
Tomorrow it’s supposed to rain all day. We’re disappointed
because it was one of the rides we planned this trip for and we probably won’t
get the views we wanted to see. Nothing we can do about it, especially since we
booked this trip over a year ago, starting with booking the Belton and then
working backwards and forwards on days around this stay. Our timed entry to
Going to the Sun Road is 7:00 am. They have coffee and pastries in the lobby at
6:00 am (no in-room coffee maker). We’ll ride there to St Mary’s and then down
to Great Falls, Montana.
Information about West Glacier Entrance: The
West Glacier Entrance is considered the primary and most popular entrance to
Glacier National Park. Naturally, the West Glacier Entrance is located
on the western side of Glacier National Park. It is located a stone’s throw
from the town of West Glacier. The West Glacier Entrance is open all
year round, 24 hours a day. One of the most famous sights in Glacier
National Park, the Going-to-the-Sun
Road, is directly accessible via the West Glacier Entrance. However,
although the entrance is open year-round, the Going-to-the-Sun Road is seasonal
(mid-June and closes in mid-October), though the exact dates depend on the
arrival and removal of snow.
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