7/5/17 Ride C2C Day 18 McDonald Lake Lodge Rest Day

7/5/17 Day 18 McDonald Lake Lodge rest day
We had the luxury of sleeping in followed by a buffet breakfast at the Lodge. We hung around the lodge all day - foregoing the thought of a hike UP then DOWN (That’s just no good for my knees).

Here is what we did:

• Buffet Breakfast in Russel Dining room (pancakes, eggs, potatos, French toast, and plenty of coffee)
• Sat by the lodge (where there was wi-fi) and planned out the rest of our trip. After we cross the Rockies we will no longer be following the “northern tier” bicycle route, but are following the advice we got from another cyclist who has ridden the route from St. Mary to Yellowstone.
• We decided that we will rent a U-Haul truck to load our stuff and drive home from Bozema, MT. So we reserved the truck (that took a LONG time online) and found the hotels we’d like to stay in White Sulpher Springs and Bozeman. We will have to call them when we have service again.
• Chatted with cycling group who rolled in - they have people from all over the country ranging in age from 52 to 84. They ride with a “sag wagon” so they don’t have to carry their gear. Their route is a loop from Missoula over Logan Pass, up into Canada, and return to Missoula.
• Read books (I’m rereading “Fountainhead” by Ann Rand)
• Lunch at Jammin’ Jimmies (another buffet!) salad, pizza, pasta, and apple crisp/peach crisp
• Quick swim in Lake McDonald - cold but bearable with slippery rocks
• More reading & lounging
• A walk about - but not a hike (they all went UP)
• Boat tour of the Lake at 5:30 pm was very relaxing, but we wished the guide would have shared more facts. We saw the shore of the area that was recovering from a massive fire in 2003.
• Dinner in the lodge at Russel Dining room - I had a Columbia River steelhead trout (I know, but it was delicious) and Doug had bison meatloaf - also delicious.

After all that relaxing, we went back to our room, packed up our things and got ready for an early start in the morning.

Here are some pictures from our day...

The "Red bus" for tours throughout Glacier National Park.

Lake McDonald Lodge

It is beautiful inside Lake McDonald Lodge.

Ground Squirrel! That's about all the wildlife we'e seen.

These 4-wheel ORVs are everywhere. Like a dune buggy crossed with a 4-wheeler

After a quick swim in Lake McDonald, looking west.

View east from our tour on the boat "Desmet"

Huckleberry Madness! Delicious Dessert.