The Rascal Diaries: 7/2/14 The Road Less Traveled

Our winding road took surprising turns today.

Logan Pass was our real reason for being here, but we decided to venture into the park at West Glacier, even though the road was closed at the top. Framed by mountains, beautiful, clear Lake McDonald reminded us that there's more to this park than the breathtaking views at the summit. As the lake morphed into the Flathead River, evidence of the force of the melting snow could be seen in the roiling whitewater. Giant white peaks spouted up at every turn, but only proved a tease as 18 miles in, the road was closed. In a few days, The Going To The Sun Road will be opened all the way through, but we will miss it this time.

Crazy traffic was pouring into the park as we headed out. Where the rangers were going to direct all these cars, motorcycles and RVs at the bottleneck where the road closed was a mystery, the solution of which we didn't care to hang around to see! We burst through the arch of the park onto route 2, gladly leaving the touristy turmoil behind.

Looking for the back road we had taken last night, we stumbled upon the Hungry Horse Dam and reservoir. Freed from the traffic in Glacier, we took wing and flew unencumbered toward the dam. This eastern route paralleled the one we took last night on the other side of the river.

At the dam, we were able to cross over and discover our real reason for our trek up the Flathead. A virtually uninhibited road with no guardrails, warnings or speed limits, twisted us up and around the reservoir. Spectacular views of sun sparkled glaciers peeked through stands of Doulas Fir. A few campgrounds dotted the various rivers that poured down from the mountains. A recently improved road twined through the curves as Rascal devoured them. We thrilled in the ride for miles before we ran out of blacktop.

Exhilarated, we paused and sat on a rock at the edge of a cliff. Birdsong was the only sound - the sun and the trees our companions. We knew that we were exactly where we were supposed to be, together. Separating ourselves from this moment was difficult, but we moved on, back across the dam out to route 2 again, where we did find our way from the previous night, and followed it again until it ended at the dam on the other side.

Tonight we had a destination, so we took the most direct route. Remembering our magical stay at Bull Lake two years ago, I looked up vacation rentals there. A phone call to the owner of one posted found Jules booking us in the exact home we had stayed before. Route 2 to Libby was great fun, after escaping the traffic in Kalispell. Stopping In Libby, we bought groceries, then turned onto Bull Lake Rd. for the final leg of our journey.

After settling into our fully stocked mountain home, complete with fireplace, we rode down to the Halfway House for the pizza that called us for thousands of miles. As we walked in, a woman sitting on the porch said "Weren't you here last year?" and then we were friends all over again. Mountain men, bikers and just locals hang at the bar and every one has a story to tell. Love this place.

Back in the woods, we nestle down in our mountain paradise and relive today's episode in our unfolding travels. Filled with ups and downs, twists and turns, it analogized our ride. Every day is a winding road and we take each turn with the thrill of a new experience waiting around the bend.