Time for a Road Trip

 With international travel at a stand still, we settled for a road trip this summer.  Nothing amazing; just a visit to Montana.  We took our SUV with its receiver hitch bike rack to carry our two e-bikes.  We tried to limit the driving time; then each day we would hop on our e-bikes and explore a park, trail, or neighborhood: a combination of exercise, relaxation, and sightseeing.

First stop, Rawlins WYO, to see Jay & Connie, brother and wife.  We were supposed to meet in the Snowy Range mountains, but incoming rain spoiled that.

Those clouds turned into rain later, but the area is beautiful.

  Instead, the four of us rode the golf course near their home before enjoying a great dinner.  Sheridan, WYO, was our next stop.  Cute town; not too big, and yet the downtown was filled with interesting shops and eateries.  We found a well-delineated bicycle trail to follow through town, dinner at a nice Asian restaurant; then breakfast outdoors on main street, traffic not being a problem.  Then over the border into Montana.

On the bike trail in Sheridan, WYO.

We had brought a large ice chest to facilitate organizing some meals around grocery shopping.  We had lunch on a ridge overlooking Billings, MT, and also took our bikes for a ride.

We are looking down on Billings which is in the "banana belt" of Montana.

  Overnight was in the town of Bozeman.  Our Montana friends call the town "Bozangles" because of all the growth fueled by West Coast newcomers.  The town appears to have a great layout of bicycle paths which lead us through some parks and a cemetery.

We met up with our friends near Helena the following day.  A shared picnic lunch followed by a short bike ride and then we continued on to Missoula.  Missoula is the largest town in Montana; more than 100,000 people.  We, of course, found a bicycle trail to follow in a forested park with a stream before evening came.  Next day we headed for Kalispell; along the way we had great views of Flathead lake; I had never realized how big that lake is.

Five nights in Kalispell allowed us to spend one day each exploring Glacier National Park, the town of Whitefish and the nearby lake, Flathead Lake, and visiting friends near Libby.  Of course, each day also involved exploring on our e-bikes.  Glacier Park was full of visiting vehicles, but our bikes allowed us to avoid crowds on almost-vacant paths along Lake MacDonald.  The town of Whitefish is one of those very scenic, but touristy destinations, full of visitors and interesting shops.  We rode our bikes out of town to the resort hotel on Whitefish Lake where we had lunch overlooking the lake with nearby mountains and ski slopes visible.  Even from our hotel in Kalispell we found a nearby county park encompassing miles of bike trails- single track and forest access trails.

  Woodland Park in central Kalispell.

Going-to-the-Sun highway view in Glacier N.P.  Not really a highway; instead a narrow, curvy road with cliffs on one side- average speed about 20 mph.

Dawn on Lake MacDonald in Glacier N.P.  We rode our bikes along a shore trail and found our own beach.

Now the long drive began.  We planned to drive from Kalispell to McCall, ID; however, a large rockslide on the major highway connecting northern and southern Idaho, ruined our plans and delayed us.  A one-lane, alternating detour with limited hours, forced us to stop in Grangeville; short of our destination.  We were fortunate to find a decent motel room for the night.  Thus, the following day was also a long haul driving all the way to Pocatello.  We still were able to find a nice bike trail along a shaded creek in Pocatello. 

The next day, we "rocketed" back to Rawlins, WYO.  I say rocketed because the speed limit was 80 mph for much of the way (and we improved on that).  Finally the weather cooperated, and we were able to stop at the Snowy Range and walk the trails; view glaciers and small lakes/ponds from the ice melt.  The park was absolutely full of visitors; probably a combination of a beautiful summer day, the weekend, and COVID-19 effects.

Back at the Snowy Range in Wyoming with better weather.  We saw a moose cross the road ahead of us.

Late July in the mountains and the flowers are blooming.

Then it was back driving through the congestion of Denver to reach our home in the Black Forest near Colorado Springs.  Makes me want to move to a less-congested area, but Dawn says we are too old for that, and home is pretty comfortable.

We did enjoy the e-bike-themed trip sufficiently that we have purchased new full-suspension mountain e-bikes now that we are home.  We look forward to more such trips in coming months.  Wondering when we can resume travels overseas?