Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Flashback to Montana, July 2011

The other day I was over at Kari's blog and she made a comment about our trip to Montana during July 2011.  You can read about it   HERE1  or  HERE2   or  HERE3

but of course you could go to Bluekat's blog and read   THIS1  or  THIS2  

    Our Home away from Home,  Cabin near Hungry Horse, Montana             July 2011

the difference being is that all of my photos are GONE.  My memories have been reduced to bland letters while her's is vibrant and full of photos.   As we look back upon life and memories of what made us happy I have fond memories of this trip and our time together.    It was my pleasure to spend a few days with Kari, Ron and the Dom Family from Denver, CO (and Martha blogs too).   I had met Kari and Ron before in Bend, Oregon during our first iMBC2010, but it was my first meeting with Dom (aka: Charlie6)


We had one real washroom with running water for 7 adults and 2 teens and we had to make a schedule for washroom and shower times.   It was sort of like turning back the clock to simpler times as there was no radio, nor was there any TV or internet.  I remember that we were just one happy family.  There was one washing machine and we pooled our clothes together into one wash and thanks to Martha I had clean clothes to wear

    Our first glimpse of Dom  (aka: charlie6)                        see one of   Dom's post  here  

Bluekat (Kari) & Ron came from Corvallis, OR while I rode south from Vancouver BC.  We decided to meet in Ritzville, WA and then ride together to Montana

    Entering Idaho.    Kari & Ron

We took turns leading

    Kari with her Ninja

and we eventually made it into Montana


I think it was because I was leading on the last stretch where we got lost.  We didn't realize that Dom was waiting by the side of the road looking out of us and he was just going to go back to the cabin so we were lucky to come along at the right time before he left


The last section of the road turned to hard packed gravel with a steep incline.  You can see our cabin in the distance.


With our bikes parked we could finally relax and settle in for the next few days.    The Going to the Sun highway was not scheduled to open for a day or so due to the heavy snows and the road was not cleared so the next day we decided to go for a day ride.  It was one of the lastest opens for the road over Logan Pass

Kari made mention that she enjoyed looking at photos from this trip so here are a few that you may not have seen before.   She has had some challenges this year and I thought I could put a smile on her face and bring back some happy times.   I hope that one day soon we can do it again

    Lake Koocanusa,  MT

    Lake Koocanusa, MT                 Kari & Ron

    Kari & Ron          Glacier National Park,     July, 2011

Here's a video I recorded on  July 13th, 2011.   This was the latest opening of the Going to the Sun Highway



It was gravel nearly the whole way with lots of road construction and single lane traffic

14 comments:

  1. That was 2 1/2 years ago. Wow! Time really passes by fast these days.

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    1. Richard:

      Time passes faster when you get older. It seemed like yesterday. Same with this years trip . . . It was like it never happened but it was only 3 months ago

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  2. Oh great, and I thought I had expunged the mental image of the porta-potty right outside the cabin door.....thanks Bob. ;0

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    1. Dom:

      I still have fond memories of being there. I still have the image of the Potty in my mind but I'm not sure if I snapped a photo of it. Notice you were the one to mention it, not me

      I also remember that you took all of us up that muddy road . . .

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  3. It's hard to ever get enough of MT and CO....thanks Bob.

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    1. Coop:

      I was in MT this summer but I would like to go back to CO. I ran out of time this year.

      Delete
  4. Mr. Skoot,
    This is part of the world I didn't get to see, which is why we continue to Road Pickle! So much world, so much to see, so many roads to ride and air to breath.
    I want to meet Kari! Any woman who can handle a bike is someone I want to meet!
    So, Kari, if you read this, please reach out to me. I'll go searching her site as well.
    This looks like fun! Oh I wish it was spring already. . . . I want to ride far, far away.
    Thanks for exciting me Bob!
    Smooches,
    Sash
    www.SashMouth.com

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    1. Tina:

      It's not possible to see everything. You can only get a taste of what it's like given a defined timetable. I also have a quest to meet everyone I can but some of us live far away and we have time and monetary restraints . . . but we keep trying.

      I wish it were Spring too but Winter's going to be here later this week with below freezing temperatures and SNOW

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  5. Now when I hear Hungry Horse I think of Charlie Boorman: On their' Long Way Round 'ride they stayed in the motel I've used In Hungry Horse. Charlie forgot the name of the town and referred to it as 'Starving Donkey'. It still makes me laugh

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    1. David:

      I've been to Glacier NP twice now so I will pass the next time. On our previous trip we also went to Waterton NP on the Canadian side through Alberta. I want to go farther south on my next trip

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  6. Wow! I can't imagine what it would be like to ride in a place like that. Beautiful photos with wonderful friends...Nice!

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    1. Deb:

      You are probably refering to the mountains. We also have mountains here in British Columbia. You'll have to plan a trip out West. I agree with you about spending time with friends.

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  7. Ahh Bob,
    Thanks for the memories :)
    I hate that you lost your pics on your blog. But thanks for sharing these. It made my day to look back on the fun times. Can dream of future rides to come.

    That driveway doesn't look as steep as I remember it. I still remember looking down that gravel driveway and thinking I was gonna die - lol. Made it though. No TV, but some great thunder storms to watch each evening. I'm so glad that Going to the Sun opened while we were still there. Good times!

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    Replies
    1. Kari:

      one day soon I hope you will get back to your regular routine, go home, relax take vacations and we can plan another trip somewhere. In the meantime we can dream about it and remember the good times we shared. I have also been looking through old photos and smiling. Hard to believe we were there, it's only a distant memory.

      That driveway looked steep to me too. Even though Dom was speaking to you I was worried about that hill too. I'm not used to gravel

      I keep thinking about the Mexican restaurant that was closed Consuela (I think). Well, next time . . .

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