We resumed our ride today at our previous point of departure from the Northern Tier in Columbia Falls at the corner of Nucleus Avenue and Railroad Street SE across from the spelling-challenged Klothes Korner. We settled on this day after a June 13 trial run of the Going-to-the-Sun-Road (GTSR) from Apgar to a couple miles beyond the Loop and back. Before starting out, we stopped at the Apgar Visitor's Center and asked a park ranger whether the GTSR was clear all the way to St. May. He checked some printout and confirmed that plows had cleared the road up and over Logan Pass through to St. Mary. We exchanged surprised looks because websites and news sources had sketchy info on the condition of the road at the pass. And no one knew exactly when the entire GTSR would be open to cars but that didn't matter to us anyway. We wanted to complete our 2018 goal without any time constraints. When the road is open to cars, bicycles are allowed on the west side of Logan Pass only before 11:00 am and after 4:00 pm. We saw no restrictions for bicyclists on the east side of the pass.

After leaving Columbia Falls we rode against head breezes (not really accurate to call them "head winds") up the North Fork Road, we turned onto even more backroads to eventually cross the merged North and Middle Forks of the Flathead River. This seems to be a popular fishing spot, judging by the anglers on the bank and vault toilet accommodation. A bit downstream to the southwest, the South Fork merges with the duo and the river becomes simply the Flathead. It continues south to empty into Flathead Lake and then exits the lake in the south to lose its identity when it joins the Clark Fork river.

It was spitting rain before mother nature decided it was time for a regular shower. We paused to warm up with coffee, tea, and a gigantic sweet roll at the cafe in West Glacier before riding the final ten miles to Lake McDonald Motel. Don't confuse this with the grander, more historic, and much more expensive Lake McDonald Lodge. We took cost-cutting to a new level by staying in a motel that literally cut corners to squeeze us into as small a space as possible. The bathroom was so tight, the door had a notch cut into it so it could swing closed past the sink. The heater knob was missing, but Scott reached in with a screwdriver from his bicycle repair gizmo to turn the heat on to dispel the chill. He switched it off at night so we could enjoy the cool temps we prefer for sleeping. We made do and were pleased with the cleanliness and decent wifi. No cell service though. According to the clerks in the camp store, cell service is only available in certain high places in the park or the middle of the lake.

The rain made the Lodge a favorite place to hang out for us and about ten dozen other folks. It was a little crowded, being smaller than the lodge outside the east entrance built by Great Northern Railroad.

We retired about 9:00 pm to our design-challenged room and pondered the mysteries of why the camp store sold single 12 oz cans of wine (not the tastiest distro) but only six-packs of beer. We tucked into bed with visions of Logan Pass welcoming us with open arms.