We have our trip out west finally set. We are leaving Richmond on Friday morning to land in Missoula. Rent a car and head to Great Falls hopefully making it before HD closes. Saturday morning headed to Glacier at the St Mary entrance. We will take The Going To The Sun rd to the west side. Not sure where we will come out. We have a room for two nights in Columbia Falls. The second day we will explore there maybe entering the park after 3 pm to avoid the vehicle reservation. Monday heading back through Missoula stopping at the National Buffalo Range. Monday night we have a abnb in Cour d alene Id. Tuesday heading to Spokane Hd then on to Seattle and Vashon Island for my girlfriend’s birthday with her family.
Anyone have any more suggestions or tips I welcome them.

Sounds like an epic trip! Looks like Glacier National Park, for example. Right on time for park entry after 3 pm to steer clear of crowds. Make sure to consult the National Bison Range Visitor Regulations. Instead, maybe go play the floating green at Coeur d'Alene Resort for one day. Relax please take in the charm of Vashon Island & its beaches!

I live a few miles from Big Sky HD, if you run late and don’t think you’ll make it by 5, let me know and I can run and grab what you need.

Hit Beef and Bone in Ulm for dinner Saturday night. Need a reservation.

Have a wonderful time!

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How God has blessed us!

Nice! Perfect time of year for this.

I grew up in Coeur d' Alene (1940's and 50's) and been to Glacier many times but have never seen it. It's always been fogged (or clouded) in when I'm there....
Hopefully it will be clearer for you.

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Dean
SWCA #680 SWHF #446

Logan Pass recently had a blizzard that dropped 8” of snow, the photos of the snow capped peaks in August were pretty amazing.

An amazing part of the country. As mentioned, be ready for any kind of weather. We were in Yellowstone in late June and got 2 inches of snow.

No tips except enjoy !

That is awesome you would offer that. Where is a good place to eat Friday night in Great Falls?

Happy to help if needed but hopefully you can make it.

Sorry, meant to say Friday not Saturday. Make reservations at Beef and Bone for Friday. It’s an exit down the highway in a small town but better than anything GF has to offer. I’d suggest ordering off the Bone Yard menu, it’s all Montana bred and raised beef. All their food is great though. If you get dessert get the whip cream, it’s house made and amazing. (I might have ordered just a bowl of whip cream before)

Sounds like a great vacation. You will see some beautiful country. Carry some warm clothes and hope you don't need them.

I’ll be looking for a place I can get a buffalo burger and elk chili. I found out when I was in Gardiner for breakfast, not to ask for grits and sweet tea.

They do have a buffalo steak…burger? No idea here, we don’t have the best restaurant choices.

Not sure on the elk chili but I do have some elk in the freezer if you had a place to cook it ha.

We landed yesterday in Missoula and hit Grizzly Harley for t shirts. Then we made it across the continental divide to Great Falls and made it in time for Big Sky T shirts. The high plains towards GF were amazing. Rob613 we dined at the Sip and Dip just to see the mermaid. Now I’m having smuggled in grits and heading to Glacier.

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We're planning a trip to Scottland next year, seems my family has a castle over there from our ancestors McLain Clan, Duart Castle?
Actually, I'm trying to confirm the relation, some genealogy sites say all McLains regardless of spelling trace back here, but then some genealogy sites say that's not so?
My Fraternal grandmother was NanLaura McLain, my father had uncles that only spoke Gaelic when they came to the US.

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Dave Ramsey Cultist

Glacier is beautiful place but not that easy to see from the car so plan on doing some hiking and taking plenty of water. There are hikes that are pretty easy if you desire and their white water rafting trip is a great way to see things and not too rough. Lake Cour D'Alene is great with walking trails around it and that is also the best way to see all the beauty and the town is really cute and fun to walk around.

The high plains on the east side fascinate me. The park beautiful. We saw a bear. We are headed to Polebridge today.

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Hoping you're having a great vacation.

The mention of "walking trails" above reminded me of a response I got from my wife regarding walking trails: "The best walking trails are the ones I experience through binoculars."

We made it to Polebridge Mercantile on Sunday. We’re going down a two lane road at 70mph and suddenly a sign saying Pavement Ends. 25 miles of washboard gravel road. A 35 mile trip in and out took 3 1/2 hours with some sight seeing stops. The Huckleberry bearclaws made it worth it.
In the afternoon we went to Whitefish and took the ski lift up Big Mountain. Finished the day at Hungry Horse Dam hoping to do some stargazing.

Monday we headed south along Flathead lake to the National Bison Range. I don’t know where you hide 490 Bison but we didn’t see but 10. The smoke in the valley was terrible. We made it in to Coeur d’Alene in plenty of time not realizing we hit a time change. The lake and the park here is absolutely beautiful. Now today we are heading to Seattle.

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Man, those "Pavement Ends" signs can wake you right up, can't they?
Hey, enjoy the Emerald City: so much good food there! Careful where you step, though.

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How God has blessed us!

Today we are heading to downtown Seattle. Yesterday we made it from Idaho to Auburn. The scenery was fantastic the closer we got to the Cascade Mountains. The Columbia River gorge was beautiful. The air was warm and dry, different than we are used to in Va.

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