Next Steps - Good bye, Canada!

The real world is closing in a bit. We need to round the post and head back for home, or at least get over the border and be within good wifi in about a week. We are staying in Lake Louise at the HI/ACC hostel tonight, doing up the laundry, showers, and a bit of groceries. We then head out tomorrow for Kootenay National Park and then head down to Idaho to check out the Hiawatha Bike trail, (got a great rate on a bike and stay package) then a couple of days of wandering in Idaho/Montana to get to Jackson Hole WY, on August 26, and 27 to check out Grand Teton National Park. We hope to stay inside the park at a first come first served campground, and then just before the Labor Day weekend, cross over to Yellowstone for about a week. We will leave Yellowstone after Labor Day and head to Colorado for a visit with the Hammerstroms September 12-13 and then head home.

Saturday is Laundry Day at Brownies

We moved from West Glacier to East Glacier this morning. We are back at Brownies Bakery, Deli, Laundromat, $5 Shower Stop, Worlds Largest Purple Spoon associated with the next door Whistle Stop Cafe (outdoor seating if you would not mind being careful to step up as you go through a sliding glass window to the roadside patio).

The hostel (et al) has an abundance of character. The floors creak. From your second floor room you can see through to the store below from the missing knots in the pine floor, and the second floor hostel porch where I sit now has a pitch of about 15% from the wall of the building out to the railing. But a nice breeze, comfy padded chairs, a plug for charging and 5 bars on the wifi allow me to rest sore legs, and watch the world go by. Marsha is fighting for washer and dryer space in the laundromat, buying wooden spoons in the spoon shop and taking advantage of the "fire sale" on the "ash" colored tee shirts in the shop across the street. Dinner will be out tonight.

The hostel is also a fire trap. It is old and all wood. I think we are in land that is part of the Blackfeet Reservation and I think there may be a looser standard of regulation. I can understand the stance of the rugged Western individualism, I can understand the loose regulation in small place, but any health and safety regulator, even the most lax and on the take, would have a tough time letting this place slide by. However it is cheap, convenient, and it has a certain vibe that says that it is what it is. Don't expect more, don't expect less, this is enough to cover your bases, it will be fine.

It is worth knowing about for the future as the town of East Glacier is an Amtrak stop.  The lady at the shop across the street said that about 200 people per day disembark. East Glacier has a waiting room and baggage services (including bikes). West Glacier is also a stop but no services.

We have decided to stay in East Glacier at Brownies for two nights. We are on the east side and the fire still goes on. Simpler to stay put, as our room is available tomorrow as well. Also, we are relearning the time honored lessons of travel, less is more, deeper experiences are better than broader experiences and hot showers and clean underwear are worth it.

One More Item Off The Bucket List & More Brownies

WIth a slight adjustment in our plans we will now include a trip to the Moosewood Restaurant in Ithaca, NY. We have been cooking out of their cookbooks for years, and now a chance to see how their stuff is supposed to taste.

We also think we solved a logistical bottleneck in Glacier National Park. We will add one more night at the front of the stay at Brownes Hostel and Bakery, then camp in the park for a few days then a couple more at Brownies, then we movie on to Waterton. 

Phase 2 Planning

This is the update for the second leg of our trip. Couple of open spots but there is a fine line between not having a place to stay and the surrender to the serendipity. We hope we are walking the line.

Leaving Cheboygan we will travel to Ashland WI, staying at an inn that got great reviews. The Apostle Islands are nearby. From there it will be a short day to Bemidji  where will explore the Paul Bunyan State Rail Trail and associated trails for a couple of days. Then a long day to Medora ND to stay in the Amble Inn, and then into Theodore Roosevelt National Park for a couple of days. Then up,a few TBA days ending up in East Glacier to stay at the Brownie's Hostel & Bakery on July 23rd. We then want to work our way into Waterton in CA with full plans yet to be determined. Check the Calendar Tab, and Map tab as we will be updating there.

Phase 1 - Planning Complete

So, as described in the last post we kind of have the first part of the trip planned out. Camping reservations are made and we know where we will be during the first week of our travels. It is Cooperstown to see the Baseball Hall of Fame, Niagara Falls  to ride up the Niagara Bike Path from our campground to the falls, then across to Michigan through Frankemuth for a little taste of Bavarian culture, then on to Cheboygan to check out Mackinaw Island and do the weekend portion of the Michigander Bike Ride. 

Schedule Updates

The updated schedule calls for us leaving on July 6th or July 7th. We will head to Cooperstown and visit the Baseball Hall of Fame, then to Niagara Falls. There is a private campground on the Canadian side. Then off to Port Huron MI to a state campground, going through Frankenmuth MI on our way to the Michigander on July 10-12. Nailing down campground reservations this week. 

A Little Biking in Michigan

Looking at the two day section of the Michigander  Bike Tour on July 11-12. Hello Cheboygen! Will consult our resident experts on all things Michigan tomorrow night.