Kalispell Montana

We are in deep north Montana on the southern edge of the Glacier National Park. The region is called Flathead County, which has Flathead Lake, Flathead River, and Kalispell means flat land above the lake. So, what is the origin of the name Flathead? My searching failed to find an answer but is probably from a local geographic feature named by Native Americans.

The place is 92% white and not wealthy and has no State taxes. So far limited edible food, but I have found one place.

My first task was to get from here to Australia, with a possibility of riding in the van with the group for 3 days and flying from Helena, the capital of Montana. Both had bad choices so I am here, relaxing writing this stuff and flying from the local airport, without air traffic controllers, via Seattle, San Francisco to Los Angeles, then direct to Melbourne.

Curiously the name of the airport does not help, but more critically it has two 3 letter codes to identify the airport. International convention requires that all airports have a single unique 3 letter code but here we have 2 : FCA for Flathead County Airport (from which Alaska Air operates), and GPI for Glacier Park International from which Delta operates. Note, there is only one airport - and to add to the confusion, GPI is not unique as it is also assigned to Guapi Airport in Guapi, Colombia.

I fly from FCA if you are interested - I was vitally interested as initially it appeared there were 2 airports.

Next morning I farewelled the riders and staff and headed for the Espresso shop across the road - its name looked promising. They don't sell the familiar sizes of course, so I asked for a small cappuccino but was asked whether I wanted it wet or dry? WTF.

You see a dry cappuccino is an American shot (added hot water) plus 10 oz of milk froth. I had a mostly wet one - like the flights from here, best of 2 bad choices, although cold beer is sold next door with a huge choice.

Having done that I could relax and go to the local Northwest Montana Annual Rodeo last night.

We started in compulsory fashion by singing both the Canadian and US National Anthems.

 

The usual activities with people on horses and doing things with small cattle, and as a warm up 6 & 7 yr olds riding on the backs of sheep. This was conditioning for when they get older and graduate to cattle.

 

 

There was eating and drinking. An 8 yr old boy near me had a 64 oz cup of soft drink, and many others were eating stuff off paper plates that looked like varieties of sludge. I endured a little hunger.

The best bit was bareback relay horse racing by native americans in which each rider had to ride 3 laps and change horse each lap. Sadly midway through the 3rd race one of the riders was hit by another horse whilst changing horse, and obviously in need of attention, but the white officials who initially made a brief remark then completely ignored the rider writhing in pain on the ground. Medical attention arrived belatedly some time after the race finished and all the cheering subsided. I left soon after.

Today, another attempt at coffee - after all they are using familiar words, not just plain coffee or brewed coffee. City Brew is just up the road with many 4 star reviews. No more, it tries to be like Starbucks but better. I will be home in a few days.

They showed me the small 12 oz paper cup, and when I asked if there was anything smaller they suspected I was an alien. I settled for a small cafe latte - hot, liquid, pale brown.

The Italian standard for cappucino is a 25ml (1oz) shot with 125 ml whipped fresh bovine milk ( 4.5 oz) in a 160 ml cup.

 

Going-to-the-Sun Road

This is one of the USA's great tourist roads. Located in Glacier National Park its sole purpose is for scenic drives and is only open during the summer driving season. At other times it is very deep under snow. Just before Logan Pass at the top there is a place called Big Drift where the snow drifts get to 100 ft and snow clearing is not done with your average snow plough.

As it is narrow, winding and has no shoulders, there are restrictions on cyclists so they do not interfere with the driving pleasure of the Americans. Currently they are near the end of a major reconstruction of the road which creates uncertainty about cycling restrictions.

Near the beginning of an 11 km climb of 600 m along the flank of the mountain on the right. A modest climb on a normal day and a delightful ride, but with my asthma at the moment it was my limit and was my 2nd last day on the bike for this tour.

Cresting Logan Pass. Just back is a car park for walkers exploring peaks like this one.

The view from the start of the descent.

On the way down. I was beside the river below after a wonderful car-free spin down the hill at about 45-50 kph for 20 kms. Note the red "jammers" buses rebuilt from the 1930s. It appears period costume is popular with passengers. The fast riders enjoyed their descent at about 70 kph

Adjacent to Glacier National Park, over the border in Canada, is Waterton National Park that is spectacular. The 2 parks are collectively named the Glaciers International Peace Park, or some such. Anyhow if you have an urge for an icy winter wonderland holiday, in remote cold continental America, this should be on your list, particularly the hotel overlooking the lake, which presumably has very thick ice cover in winter

It appears to be a region where the US and Canadians are very friendly to each other.

Icefileds Parkway

The road to Columbia Icefields

 

 

The view from our camp. We were at 2,000 m. Many peaks were over 3,000.

Coluumbia Icefields to Mosquito Creek

Bow Lake.

 

Wild Elk in Jasper

This young male was getting annoyed by the tourists.

Someone a little earlier attempted to pat a full grown male?

 

Jasper

Jasper has been a major railway town for a hundred years or so. The idea of tourism for the masses began in the 1950s and then the labour required to operate trains declined dramatically, even whilst the volume of freight is now very large.

 

The journey begins

I joined the North American Epic in Jasper. The journey has been a flight to Vancouver via Qantas to LA and then Alaskan Airlines from LA. I chose Alaskan Airlines as it is cycle friendly, particularly for international connections. Surprisingly to me, it has a significant North American network. I can commend it to you.

Vancouver was a waypoint and re-supply point for consumables for my trip. I am sure it has other attributes but I chose not to explore far, just Granville Island and Gastown.

From there to Jasper I am on the great trans Canada train "The Canadian" that will terminate in Toronto some days hence - my journey began at 20:30 and is about 20 hrs arriving at 4 PM, with only one passenger stop on the way at Kamloops at 6 AM, now some hours ago. The rail line follows closely to the rivers' edges and is a windy and slow route. The train creeps along giving much time for absorbing the evolving vistas from the observation dome car.

So to Kamloops. Not a place that springs instantly to mind for most people. The conductor, a regular passing visitor to this place and that is one of the very few stops on this long journey to Toronto, said its main industry was as a railroad town and a declining logging town, with the surrounding mountains being as denuded as those around Queenstown in Tasmania.

Clearly the conductor is not fully up to speed about this thriving place where people live. Quite a lot goes on there with nearly 100,000 people living in 'suburbs' that extend long distances along the river valleys. It has the Thompson University, but more notably it is a major centre for 'Dodgeball'. A sport mostly for school children and known for its aggression and violence. As best as I can glean one of the challenges of this sport, after bodily self-preservation, is to know the rules on any given day and place. It appears that there are endless variations and local rules that apply. So it seems to be a game to inculcate these rural Canadian children, and others, with a sense of violence and anarchy. I notice there is a recent book "The Philosophy of Dogeball", if you have time. I wonder if they play this game in Vancouver.

As it is now some distance from the violent children and the violent denuding of the forests near Kamloop, the scenery is green again, often with tall trees obscuring the view from the dome car. For those interested, we have passed countless very long freight trains going back towards Vancouver which is a major port for transhipping freight to/from Asia.

Pre-Departure 1

"I set out alone, finding no companion to cheer the way with friendly intercourse, and no party of travellers with whom to associate myself. Swayed by an overmastering impulse within me, and a long-cherished desire to visit those glorious sanctuaries, I resolved to quit all my friends and tear myself away from my home."

Ibn Battuta

 

The North American Epic

The North American Epic begins in Anchorage when the days are long and the nights do not get truly dark.
Ahead lies a journey by bicycle through some of the best National Parks and wilderness of North America. We will have time to see it and touch it. We will pass through a range of environments and climates as we traverse the globe.

Back on the road soon

Last year 2012, 15 of us, plus a great support team (including one on a "Grand Tour" with effectively 17 chaperones) ventured across Europe.

I did not blog because I was not in that headspace.

On the 4th of July the next ride begins. The intention is to blog as often as WIFI permits. In the great north american outdoors I am not sure how often that will be.

Stay tuned. It could occasionally be wet and cold.