Day 32 - July 11th

Travelled from Carnston, Alberta to Plains, Montana
This morning it was cloudy and 16’C. As we started out we were sure it was going to rain and we geared up once again in our frog toggs. We crossed the border into Montana USA and by the time we reached the Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park the sun was out and it had warmed up nicely.It turned out to be a perfect day for biking! It cost us $24 to enter the park and we had to wonder if it would be worth it. As we headed into the park it did not take us long to realize It was well worth the cost and our cameras started clicking!!! This road was constructed between 1921 and 1932... a fifty mile road that connects the east and west sides of Glacier National Park, climbing spectacularly over the Continental Divide at Logan Pass with an elevation 6,680 feet. The result is a thrilling and hair-raising ride with unbelievable views of both mountains and valleys. The outer edge of the road drops off thousands of feet into the valley below. We went up 2 different mountains on switch back roads. There was some construction on the way up where we travelled on some gravel roads. By the time we reached this the temperature gauge on our bike had maxed out which has never happened before to that degree. At the summit we walked around for about ½ hr.There were people actually walking up on a large snow covered mountain then coming down on skies or snowboards!! There were quite a few sections on the road that still had snow present. Hard to believe in the middle of July! Another highlight of our day was e a sighting I will never forget!! A big horned sheep wandered into the parking lot and walked around between the cars and people for a good 20 mins!! I have never been so close to a wild animal other than at the zoo. It was really a beautiful creature with very eerie eyes and huge thick horns! The game warden was there to advise the spectators what not to do (feed him) and to make sure he did not get aggressive I would assume. Pat and I ran around the parking lot following him, snapping pictures. That was the only wildlife we saw in the park.
The road from the summit down was paved nicely, no construction and a 6% grade for 7 miles, gradually going to rolling hills till we got out of the park.We followed a flowing river along the way down with glacier water that is a beautiful aqua blue!!
Once out of the park we stopped for lunch in a place that reminded Pat and I of the Crackle Barrel!! Heading off we enjoyed the lovely scenery and about 2 hrs later stopped for some ice cream. By then it was 91’C!! When talking to the store owner, we were informed we were on the wrong road, going west instead of east! We were headed into Idaho instead of going towards Billings which is where we were actually headed to. We turned around, went south east and now reroute to Billings hopefully being there tomorrow afternoon! We were all a little amazed when we realized what had happened. I had to think “oh Willie where are you when we need you”!! We could have gotten all glum and gloomy about this but I said to everyone something I’ve heard Andrea say many times over the years “shit happens, get over it and move on”. So we did!!Our accidental detour took us down some great motorcycle roads!!! We had to stop for 3 long horned sheep in the middle of road, saw 2 deer and one moose. If the worse thing that happens to us on this trip is getting lost for a few hours, then we are very very lucky!! We are in a cute little motel tonight but it does not have Internet access. Bummer but I will survive!!