West Glacier to Whitefish - day 35

Miles biked today is 28 miles (we are having our front wheel bearings replaced at the bike shop in Whitefish)

We left West Glacier a little after 5:00am this morning and had another long gradual hill to climb right off the bat. We had a very pleasant ride early in the morning with the birds singing and little traffic to start off with along with more beautiful scenery.

We arrived in Whitefish at 7:30AM and went to eat at a restaurant right across the road from the bike shop. We wanted to make sure that we were at the bike shop when they opened. On our way into town we had stopped at several hotels to check on the availability and the cost and found out that it was going to cost us at least $100.00 for a hotel that night. Whitefish is definitely a tourist area and so due to the time of the year everything is very expensive. We booked a room at the Super 8 hotel and then went and sat by the bike shop waiting for them to open at 9:00AM. While sitting there a gentleman from Whitefish rode up on his bike and started talking with us. To our surprise he told us to cancel our reservation at the hotel and come and spend the evening at his place with him and his wife. It is our understanding he lives up on the mountain and so he will come and pick us and our bike up at 5:00PM with his trailer. Dennis indicated that it is quite steep up to his place so he recommended he pick us up. Dennis has done a number of bicycle tours all over the US and Africa so we are anxious to hear of his adventures.

John and I went for a walk after dropping our bike off at the bike shop and went and did a little shopping. John ended up buying a frame with a saying about "Things his mother taught him" and then we walked to the UPS store to ship it home. While at the store we also had some more calling cards printed up as I only had one left.

From there we walked back to the bike shop and picked up our bike and then went to the library to work on our blog and download some more pictures. Around 3:30 Dennis came to the library and picked us and our bike up and took us up to their home to get cleaned up and then head down to the Farmers Market.

Let me tell you - Dennis and Barb are a wonderful couple and we really enjoyed our time that we spent with them. They gave us a tour of their beautiful town and then we went down by the Farmers Markets where there were vendors set up, food stands, and music to entertain everyone. It was a beautiful sunny day - a little windy but overall a wonderful day! Afterwards we went back to their home and spent a little time visiting and we went to bed about 10:00pm.

Our plans are to leave around 5:00AM to beat the traffic and warm weather. We have about 58 miles to bike to Eureka tomorrow.

To Dennis and Barb - your friendliness and hospitality means so much to John and I. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. If you ever get to Wisconsin you will have a place to stay.

Happy trails everyone!