Eureka, Montana - June 13

Beth and Jean flew into the airport in Kalispel, MT on June 12th. The plane was late - arriving about 11:15PM. Of course the girls were on Eastern time, so it was very late for them. We all stayed in a Super 8 Motel in Whitefish, MT that night- 10 minutes from the airport. We drove to Eurika, Mt.,the closest large city to the Canadian border early on June 13th. The city is spread out along Dewey Ave. Progressive Cyclery (303 Dewey Ave.) is where Jean had shipped her bike. The owner had it all put together for her and then actually shipped her bike box to a cycle shop in Helena for her for when she needed to ship the bike home. He also gave Beth's bike a check up. We found a nice cafe within an easy walk of the bike shop - Jax Cafe - that is like a "remember when" dinner. It has old fashioned ice cream sodas and invites everyone to write on the walls. The food was great! Eureka had cheaper gas in the southern end of town than either Whitefish or Kalispel and is a good place to fill up to start the ride. There is a hardware store (if you forgot an essential for the trip) in a strip mall on the Northern end of town - also JB's grocery store and across the street a sporting goods store if you don't have bear spray.

BETH wrote of June 13th-Bright blue sky this morning in the Big Sky state was a beauty to wake up to - too bad it did not stay that way. We started the morning by driving from Whitefish to Eureka. Thank you to Progressive Cyclery for taking good care of our bikes and us. We had an outstanding lunch in Cafe Jax and we were off to the border at Port Roosville. Oh, boy - pack, re pack, unload and reload was the name of the game for the next hour. By two o'clock I got my passport stamped and Jean and I were off. WOW! Amazing scenery kept our eyes peeled and the first twenty miles was easy. The second 21 miles maybe would have been had the weather stayed nice. When we started the 6 mile climb up to the 5800 foot Whitefish Pass we encountered rain, sleet, thunder and lightning. The next 9 miles to Tuchuck Campground was miserable. Cold and wet me made dinner and set up the tent. The one stall bathroom was our savior. Jean wanted to sleep in it, but I thought that was a little much. Instead all of our stuff and bikes stayed dry in the pouring rain we had over night. Maybe I should have listened to Jean. Ok, so the first day wasn't perfect, but we live in a beautiful country and we already have had a heck of an adventure.

JAN wrote of June 13th - Due to our late night we all slept in until 7AM. The sun was shinning. Hurray!!! We spent awhile repacking the car so we could cram the girls in and drive them to the Canadian border about 62 miles north. We stopped at Eureka for Jean's bike that had been shipped there. A delightful little town. We ate an early lunch at a really cute diner called Jax Cafe. It was a remember when style diner with old pictures and decor and playing 50's music. At the border the girls put their packs and gear together and started their ride about 2PM. Ann & I decided to drive the route ahead of them to Polebridge. The 60 miles took us about 4 hours! Curvey, bumpy and scenic dirt forest road heading straight at snow capped mountains. It was really hard to keep your eyes on the road! We had to stop often to take rocks off the dirt road and also to take pictures. The girls are planning on camping somewhere along the way. We are staying in a rustic cabin. No heat, electricity, or running water.