One Eclectic Guy

In order for this to be a real road trip, we decided to take three days driving back and explore parts of Idaho and Washington that we hadn’t seen before. The first night was in Sandpoint, Idaho at The Lodge at Sandpoint, on the shore of Lake Pend Oreille  (pronounced Pond-o-ray).

Not that we were roughing it at the Glacier Chalet, but this place was pretty upscale in a northwest lodgey kind of way.

As if the setting and accommodations weren’t enough, there are two excellent restaurants on the property.

And back at our room, here’s a final look at the view before bedtime.

Did I mention that Lorette is taking flute lessons? She needed to practice so we stopped at a vacant Forest Service campground on the way to our next destination. Three deer, two elk and a moose wandered in to hear the concert.

Next stop was Winthrop, Washington.

To our surprise, Winthrop has an award winning brewery and a terrific little French bistro.

The final leg of our trip was over Washington Highway 20, the North Cascades Highway, which is closed in winter because of heavy snow and frequent avalanches.

This was one of many waterfalls that were plentiful due to the snow melt.

The highway bridge had a grated walkway so we could walk out and look down. Not recommended for people with acrophobia.

A fitting last stop: lunch at the Marblemount Diner for classic road food: fish and chips, a grilled ham and cheese sandwich, and…

And so ends a great road trip!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mid-week and the Going To The Sun Road still has not opened for the season so we are exploring the park around the edges. First stop was the Isaac Walton Inn in Essex, Montana, half way between the west and east entrances to Glacier. I love this place. It was built in the ’30s as a hotel to be near a new entrance to the park that never materialized. Despite a rocky start, the Inn today caters to hikers, cross country skiers, railroad buffs, and sisters looking for a place to have lunch.

Isaac Walton has a great collection of railroad memorabilia. It is on Amtrak’s Empire Builder line which runs from Chicago to Seattle and trains still stop here (if you flag them down). Formerly part of the Great Northern system, today Burlington Northern stages helper engines on the tracks by the Inn to assist trains over the Continental Dive at Marias Pass.

Next stop was the Glacier Park Lodge in East Glacier. This is one of many hotels and chalets built in the early 1900s by the Great Northern Railway to encourage tourists to come to the area.

The only mountain goat we saw was in the lobby.

The historic Red Jammers in Glacier Park were built in the 1930s by the White Motor Company. They were fully restored in 200-2002 by the Ford Motor Company and converted to propane to be more environmentally appropriate for the park.

Nice to be able to look at the scenery when someone else is driving.

The tour included a boat trip on Two Medicine Lake.

One more photo of the Red Bus.

Safely back at the cabin after a long day. Just in time for cocktail hour.

 

 

 

Each year (more or less), Lorette and her sisters get together for a sibling bonding experience and include spouses. This year the rendezvous point was a log house in Montana just outside Glacier National Park. It has been a long time since we have had a real road trip so we decided to drive. One night on the road going over, a week at the ‘chalet’, and two nights coming home. In the next couple of posts, I’ll include some photos of the adventure.

If they still made steamer trunks, I’m sure we would have several. But since we don’t, why not use as many suitcases and miscellaneous bags as possible?

First night’s stop was in Spokane. In order to prepare for a rustic Montana experience, we stayed at the Davenport Hotel, a nicely renovated gem from the early 1900s.

Inside, a photo of the Palm Court on the main level. Not pictured: Martinis to celebrate driving the first leg of our trip with no incidents (and no cat stowaways).

Spokane turned out to be a great spot for the first stop. Several of the Walla Walla and Columbia Valley wineries have tasting rooms there so we dropped into Cougar Crest for a little sample before dinner at Wild Sage.

Upon returning to the hotel after dinner we found Mr. Lewis Davenport, the hotel’s original owner, in the lobby reading his newspaper. Turns out he enjoys knitting so he and Lorette struck up a friendship.

The next day was nice and sunny as we drove into Montana.