I just assumed that we would have some time to write yesterday and tell you about the surprises we worked through on our way through Montana to Whitefish, but yesterday turned out to be a bit busy and, unsurprisingly, so much fun! Let me explain...
While we were riding the Empire Builder from Minneapolis to Whitefish, we heard about a storm that was coming, which was going to maybe produce a lot of snow. We have never been out this way, and we were thinking...well, that'd be beautiful but really inconvenient, and it may deter plans to see Glacier. Also on the train, we realized that it was delayed.... by approximately 5 hours. When you are on a train for over 24 hours, you lose track of time (Doug doesn't, I do), and so he connected with the kind people who were going to pick us up from the train station at 9 PM and told them that we wouldn't be getting in until at least 2 AM. Needless to say, it wasn't going to work out that well after all, so Doug and I considered seriously sleeping in the station and figuring things out the next morning. But after a night on the train, we opted to instead to stay in a place called the Downtowner, a three minute walk from the station, and a little more than $30 for each of us. Long story short, we got into Whitefish around 2 AM, I woke up just long enough to get off the train with my pack, stumble through the rain (not snow), find our place/the key under the mat, and fall into the most comfortable slumber.
We had an earlier start, made some plans/checked some car rental prices at a local cafe called Wrap & Roll, sought some advice from a shop owner who sold inspiring pottery and jewelry from Peru, spent a few hours at the local library, and had a late lunch at a really good microbrewery - Great Northern Brews. Everything in downtown Whitefish is accessible and very charming--the train station and especially friendly people and small-town energy makes it seem like out of a movie. There are real cowboys here, too, and I've noticed that everyone wears flannel and boots; we are far from home, and I love it here. I will be back. There is too much in Montana to explore.
We took a walk, later in the afternoon, to Whitefish Lake, which is gorgeous and gave evidence to the suspicion that we are in one of the most beautiful places in the world--all the towering trees are changing color and even in the rain, everything was glowing and bright. After walking back to the downtown area, we opted to spend one more night in Montana (this time in Kalispell) with the wonderful folks who were going to host us--Diane and Bill. They picked us up in their giant truck and took us to their rustic ranch home, where they prepared a late night candlelit steak dinner and introduced us to their college-aged sons (Zach and Marshall) and endearing dogs, Dozer and Grizz. Perfect strangers become friends in hours these days, it seems. Deeply grateful.
So. Now we are doing a bit of needed laundry before we head in Glacier on the Going to the Sun Road, which will be partially closed because of the weather and the season. A half-day in Glacier is only going to whet my appetite for more of this kind of pristine beauty--next time!
Back on the Empire Builder tonight--Seattle in the morning!
Des and Doug
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