As we headed toward the north entrance of Yellowstone, we stopped at Mammoth Hot Springs and walked around to see the sights. There was much climbing stairs involved in this trek. I made sure I was always behind Nick when descending stairs.
The rest of the day was a travel day as we made our way toward Glacier National Park, through Missoula, planning to stay in the Kalispell area. Road construction as well as heavy rain and winds slowed us down a bit. We enjoyed the views of the enormous Flat Head Lake as we drove through Polson and Lakeside. I had not been able to find any Montana guides that show motel listings, so we were not able to call ahead for lodging,
We are spontaneous travelers, not making lodging arrangements too far in advance in order to be free to see and do whatever we come across at the moment. Who would have thought that every motel in Kalispell would be booked? The first one said there was one motel with vacancy back in Lakeside, 10 miles or so. “We are a destination, and many people come during the week to avoid the weekend.” The clerk at the next one said there were not likely to be any rooms between Kalispell and Missoula, and of course there were no rooms available between Kalispell and Glacier. I refused to believe it. I picked up a motel guide and made a few calls in Kalispell. They all confirmed full. So I started calling in Whitefish, 17 miles farther toward Glacier. The first one listed was Alpenglow Inn. The cheerful woman who answered said yes, they had rooms available. The price came down as we chatted, I booked the room, and she told me it was seven miles off the main road up the mountain at a ski resort. Way better than a Super 8 or Motel 6!
We stopped for dinner at IHOP where we had an interesting dinner, a waiter who smiled so much Eric said they’d never let him work the grill at McDonalds (Eric’s preference) because they’d want him in front all the time, an incident with Will’s pocketknife disabling Nick’s annoying two straws hooked together to make one long straw, and a narrow avoidance of a collision between Will’s backside and a four-year-old running full speed to his table. To thank us for coming in, our waiter surprised us with a free dessert, apple pie with caramel sauce, which we shared. Delicious.
In Whitefish, we turned off on Big Mountain road which wove up through several switchbacks, ending up at the Big Mountain resort and our lodging. We had a wonderful view room with a queen and two bunkbeds, making the boys very happy because they still have been taking turns sleeping on the floor. The view from the restaurant deck overlooking the valley’s twinkling lights at night was awesome, although the height of the deck made certain people a little nervous. A woman brought her laptop to a table out there. I was tempted to do the same, but it was easier to do it in the room.
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