Wow, it's Thursday, 26 June. I hitchhiked from Dilworth, MN to Motley yesterday, and arrived here a day early to surprise my mom and sisters. It worked! Anyway, I'm very tired from a month on the road, and I'm taking a break here. I'll probably stick around here for 2 weeks or so, then head down to my dad's for a week, and spend a few days in the Twin Cities as well before getting back on the road.
If you want to know when my feet hit the pavement again but don't want to check the blog every day to find out, shoot me an email. I will probably do some occasional updates and maybe tinker a little bit here at the blog, but I'll be mainly relaxing for the next 3 weeks or so, before continuing on.
Thanks for reading, and keep in touch!
Derek
Monday
22 June: Rugby to Grand Forks
When I awoke on Sunday morning, I decided to get up, so that when people began stirring in the RV park they wouldn't discover me. After a quick tear-down, I went across the highway to the gas station, where I got a pumpking muffin for breakfast. I nearly didn't eat it, because the inside was a strange green color all the way through that surely indicated some sort of artificial color -- why was that necessary? I was hungry though, and figured they probably wouldn't give me my money back because I didn't like the color of the muffin, so I ate it. There was absolutely no traffic on the highway yet, so I sat for a while, reading, and made a sign for Grand Forks. I decided to try retiring the Devils Lake sign and just get all the way to Grand Forks.
At about 8:00, I headed out onto the highway. The man working at the gas station counter told me that I might as well wait a couple hours because traffic didn't really get going until later, but I was sick of sitting there so I went out to start working anyway. He was right, it was slow going. I talked with some bikers who were stopping for coffee, but other than that there was very little of interest for about an hour and a half. Finally, around 9:30, Tim and his nephew, Jeremy, stopped for me. They were going all the way go Grand Forks. I was thrilled, I'd cover all 148 miles in one shot.
Tim & Jeremy were fun to talk to, there were a lot of jokes and funny stories. They dropped me off in downtown Grand Forks (right at a coffee house that had been recommended to me, thanks to their GPS), where I had some sorely needed caffeine and called Linnea. She came to pick me up, and I spent the afternoon relaxing at the apartment and recovering from my marathon hitchhiking days.
At about 8:00, I headed out onto the highway. The man working at the gas station counter told me that I might as well wait a couple hours because traffic didn't really get going until later, but I was sick of sitting there so I went out to start working anyway. He was right, it was slow going. I talked with some bikers who were stopping for coffee, but other than that there was very little of interest for about an hour and a half. Finally, around 9:30, Tim and his nephew, Jeremy, stopped for me. They were going all the way go Grand Forks. I was thrilled, I'd cover all 148 miles in one shot.
Tim & Jeremy were fun to talk to, there were a lot of jokes and funny stories. They dropped me off in downtown Grand Forks (right at a coffee house that had been recommended to me, thanks to their GPS), where I had some sorely needed caffeine and called Linnea. She came to pick me up, and I spent the afternoon relaxing at the apartment and recovering from my marathon hitchhiking days.
21 June: Culbertson to Rugby
On Saturday I awoke actually feeling refreshed. I got up later than I had planned, and wasted some time wandering around town looking for a little food. All I wanted was a couple granola bars or Clif Bars or something of that nature, but of the three gas stations in town, the only one that hadn't closed down was the one without a convenience store. So instead I had a breakfast of peanut butter sandwiches and the same tired granola bars I'd been slowing eating all week.
I walked to the edge of town and started hitchhiking. And hitchhiking, and hitchhiking. After I'd been going for about 90 minutes, a Montana State Trooper drove by. He turned around, came back, and stopped. He got out and chatted with me for a bit, then informed me that hitchhiking is illegal in Montana. I thought that was pretty ironic, given the number of police officers of various agencies that had passed me while hitchhiking and just waved. Now here I was, about 25 miles from the border, and one actually stops to tell me I can't do it!? He thought it was a little funny, too. He took my license for a bit to check my record (none, thankfully), then came back and said, "like I said, it's illegal... but once I'm gone, what you do is what you do. It's legal to walk on the road, so you'll be okay." As he got back into his car, he said, "Good luck. Stay hydrated." I took that as a license to walk a little outside town and continue my endeavor.
I walked about 4 miles out of town, and started hitchhiking again, but I couldn't find a spot with a shoulder for drivers to pull of onto. Just when I was convinced that no one was going to stop, a pickup stopped for me. The driver was Jim, and he was working on installing fiber-optics back in Medicine Lake, but on his way to Williston to go garage-saling. He drove me into Williston, quickly checked out some garage sales, stopped to check his email for a bit, and then drove me outside town, going about 13 miles out of his way to get me to where US-2 headed east again.
After Jim dropped me off I decided it was time for a fresh application of sunscreen. While I was in the middle of it, a van approached so I stuck my thumb out. The driver was Bill, who uses his van to haul freight (mostly car parts) all over northern North Dakota. He drove me to Minot, where we parted ways when he turned south to go home.
Minot was downright awful. I was at a truckstop, where I made a sign for Devils Lake (my destination for the day), and stood by the exit onto the highway. The highway here was four lanes and moving fast, so I didn't think it would be a good place to hitchhike. After 90 minutes of trying to get a ride from the parking lot though, I changed my mind and stepped out onto the highway. I was given one bottle of Dr. Pepper, one king-sized Snickers, one liter of Dasani water, a small bag of nacho cheese Doritos, and offered five dollars, but no ride. And then, a North Dakota State Trooper drove by, turned around, came by again, and stopped.
Twice in one day.
This time he chatted a bit, took my license to check up on me, came back, chatted a bit more, wished me luck, and took off. No mention of hitchhiking being illegal in North Dakota (which it is).
I started hitchhiking again, and finally, hearing a noise behind me, I turned around and saw a car backing up toward me. Finally! I threw my pack in the back seat, got in, and we were off to Rugby, from where my driver had to turn south.
Minot had stolen 3 hours from me, and it was starting to get dark. I decided to give up on Devils Lake for the night and try to get all the way to Grand Forks in the morning. I poked around a bit looking for a place to camp, and finally decided that the huge bus lot (there must've been at least 100 buses on this lot, some new, some used) was a good candidate; it abutted a campground with some trees in between them, and there were definitely spaces between the buses and the trees where I would remain unseen from the road. People in the RV park, however, might be able to see me through the trees if they wandered over to the picnic table in the morning.
I set my tent up and climbed inside. Unfortunately, I was so afraid that someone had seen me cross the highway into the bus lot and called the police that every little noise I heard freaked me out. As a result, I didn't get to sleep until midnight or 1:00, and after that slept fitfully until only 5:15.
I walked to the edge of town and started hitchhiking. And hitchhiking, and hitchhiking. After I'd been going for about 90 minutes, a Montana State Trooper drove by. He turned around, came back, and stopped. He got out and chatted with me for a bit, then informed me that hitchhiking is illegal in Montana. I thought that was pretty ironic, given the number of police officers of various agencies that had passed me while hitchhiking and just waved. Now here I was, about 25 miles from the border, and one actually stops to tell me I can't do it!? He thought it was a little funny, too. He took my license for a bit to check my record (none, thankfully), then came back and said, "like I said, it's illegal... but once I'm gone, what you do is what you do. It's legal to walk on the road, so you'll be okay." As he got back into his car, he said, "Good luck. Stay hydrated." I took that as a license to walk a little outside town and continue my endeavor.
I walked about 4 miles out of town, and started hitchhiking again, but I couldn't find a spot with a shoulder for drivers to pull of onto. Just when I was convinced that no one was going to stop, a pickup stopped for me. The driver was Jim, and he was working on installing fiber-optics back in Medicine Lake, but on his way to Williston to go garage-saling. He drove me into Williston, quickly checked out some garage sales, stopped to check his email for a bit, and then drove me outside town, going about 13 miles out of his way to get me to where US-2 headed east again.
After Jim dropped me off I decided it was time for a fresh application of sunscreen. While I was in the middle of it, a van approached so I stuck my thumb out. The driver was Bill, who uses his van to haul freight (mostly car parts) all over northern North Dakota. He drove me to Minot, where we parted ways when he turned south to go home.
Minot was downright awful. I was at a truckstop, where I made a sign for Devils Lake (my destination for the day), and stood by the exit onto the highway. The highway here was four lanes and moving fast, so I didn't think it would be a good place to hitchhike. After 90 minutes of trying to get a ride from the parking lot though, I changed my mind and stepped out onto the highway. I was given one bottle of Dr. Pepper, one king-sized Snickers, one liter of Dasani water, a small bag of nacho cheese Doritos, and offered five dollars, but no ride. And then, a North Dakota State Trooper drove by, turned around, came by again, and stopped.
Twice in one day.
This time he chatted a bit, took my license to check up on me, came back, chatted a bit more, wished me luck, and took off. No mention of hitchhiking being illegal in North Dakota (which it is).
I started hitchhiking again, and finally, hearing a noise behind me, I turned around and saw a car backing up toward me. Finally! I threw my pack in the back seat, got in, and we were off to Rugby, from where my driver had to turn south.
Minot had stolen 3 hours from me, and it was starting to get dark. I decided to give up on Devils Lake for the night and try to get all the way to Grand Forks in the morning. I poked around a bit looking for a place to camp, and finally decided that the huge bus lot (there must've been at least 100 buses on this lot, some new, some used) was a good candidate; it abutted a campground with some trees in between them, and there were definitely spaces between the buses and the trees where I would remain unseen from the road. People in the RV park, however, might be able to see me through the trees if they wandered over to the picnic table in the morning.
I set my tent up and climbed inside. Unfortunately, I was so afraid that someone had seen me cross the highway into the bus lot and called the police that every little noise I heard freaked me out. As a result, I didn't get to sleep until midnight or 1:00, and after that slept fitfully until only 5:15.
20 June: East Glacier to Culbertson
I woke up at about 6:00 Friday morning, not feeling very refreshed. I quickly changed, packed up, and got moving, before the crowd started to form for the early train. I was a little surprised and relieved that no security guards or sheriff deputies had bothered me during the night.
I walked back down to the gas station to discover it didn't open until 7:00, so I stepped out onto the highway and started hitchhiking. At about 7:10, someone stopped for me. It was Pete, who has taught school for 27 years in Browning. He drove me to Cut Bank and dropped me off in the middle of town, where he turned off to go to the school.
I walked to the opposite end of town and stuck my thumb out. I had made a sign that read "SHELBY," but it turns out that across Montana, US-2 (also known as "the Hi-Line") is mainly a locals' highway, which meant that very few people were traveling that far. This was to be a day of short hops. In Cut Bank, I eventually got picked up by DG, who was, fortunately, headed to Shelby.
DG dropped me at a gas station, where chatted with a couple Itepped out onto the corner and stuck my thumb out, also holding up a sign reading "HAVRE," and was quickly picked up by an older man named Mark. He took me to Chester.
Mark dropped me off at a grocery store on the edge of town. I refilled my water and started hitchhiking again. After a few minutes, I was picked up by Bo, who I found out after some conversation actually knew my previous driver. He dropped me off on the highway outside of Rudyard, which truly felt like the middle of nowhere.
I waited less than ten minutes before being picked up by Tyler, who was surprised to see me there because he had just passed that spot a couple minutes before I got dropped off there. Tyler is in the National Guard and had just returned two weeks ago from a one-year tour in Iraq. He took me the rest of the way to Havre.
Havre's main street was under construction. I had to walk about three miles from one end of town to the other, all through a dusty construction zone, and all on mounds of dirt because the sidewalks had been torn up. I ignored all of the "SIDEWALK CLOSED" signs because there was no other direct route to where I was going.
I stopped to eat, used the bathroom, and made a sign that said "WILLISTON" -- I wanted out of Montana by nightfall; this state just stretches on far too long! I walked about a mile out of town, held up my sign and thumb, and in about 20 minutes I was picked up by Chris, who was on his way to Malta to perform a wedding.
Chris dropped me off in front of the Hitching Post Cafe in Malta. It was hot, and I'd been traveling since about 7:00 (it was now 4:15), so I decided to treat myself to a milkshake. I went inside and discovered that I was the sole customer. The waitress was lounging and reading. I plopped my pack down, propped it against the wall, and took a seat at the counter. I inquired about a milkshake, and she told me chocolate and strawberry would blend the best, so I chose strawberry, and a cup of coffee. I was getting very tired. After an hour or so of enjoying my milk shake, two cups of coffee, and chatting and flirting a bit with the waitress, I decided it was time to get to the road again.
I took my sign out and hitchhiked directly across the street from the Hitching Post. After 25 minutes, Chance & Andrew stopped for me. They were on their way to Wolf Point, which the friendly waitress had cautioned me against spending the night in, but Mark (my driver from Shelby to Chester) had grown up there and told me it would be okay, "just don't get stuck in Poplar." Wolf Point took a while to get out of. The local police officer kept driving out to check on me, but never said anything. One man stopped and offered me a ride to Poplar, which I declined, thinking of what I'd been told about getting stuck there. He sort of made fun of me for not accepting his ride, saying, "You think you'll have better luck here?" I told him not necessarily, but I'd rather spend the night in Wolf Point than Poplar. He nodded, as if agreeing with me, wished me luck, and took off. Eventually, Dwight stopped in his pickup for me. He was on his way to Bainville (near the North Dakota border), but had to stop in Poplar for a few minutes to visit the priest (his brother had just died today).
Dwight dropped me off in front of LeeAnn's Motel in Poplar, so I could try for a ride to Williston while he was talking to the priest. He said if I were still there when he came by, he'd pick me up again and drive me to Bainville. After 10 minutes or so, just as it was starting to get dark, the guy who had originally stopped for me in Wolf Point pulled up and said, "you made it here after all." I told him the story, and he said, "You really can't be here once it gets dark. How about if I give you a ride to Culbertson, just outside the reservation, and you can wait for the guy there." I was a little uncertain, but I decided to take him up on the offer.
In the end, it proved to be a good decision. He drove me to a park right in Culbertson where I could camp for free (in fact, there was already another tent up with three bicycles and a ton of gear left outside it -- gutsy, I thought). After deliberating about whether to try to catch Dwight again, I decided that since it was already dark I'd be better off just going to sleep.
I set up my tent, crawled inside, looked at my map and my little log book, and did some calculating:
438 miles
9 rides
15 hours
No wonder I was tired!
I walked back down to the gas station to discover it didn't open until 7:00, so I stepped out onto the highway and started hitchhiking. At about 7:10, someone stopped for me. It was Pete, who has taught school for 27 years in Browning. He drove me to Cut Bank and dropped me off in the middle of town, where he turned off to go to the school.
I walked to the opposite end of town and stuck my thumb out. I had made a sign that read "SHELBY," but it turns out that across Montana, US-2 (also known as "the Hi-Line") is mainly a locals' highway, which meant that very few people were traveling that far. This was to be a day of short hops. In Cut Bank, I eventually got picked up by DG, who was, fortunately, headed to Shelby.
DG dropped me at a gas station, where chatted with a couple Itepped out onto the corner and stuck my thumb out, also holding up a sign reading "HAVRE," and was quickly picked up by an older man named Mark. He took me to Chester.
Mark dropped me off at a grocery store on the edge of town. I refilled my water and started hitchhiking again. After a few minutes, I was picked up by Bo, who I found out after some conversation actually knew my previous driver. He dropped me off on the highway outside of Rudyard, which truly felt like the middle of nowhere.
I waited less than ten minutes before being picked up by Tyler, who was surprised to see me there because he had just passed that spot a couple minutes before I got dropped off there. Tyler is in the National Guard and had just returned two weeks ago from a one-year tour in Iraq. He took me the rest of the way to Havre.
Havre's main street was under construction. I had to walk about three miles from one end of town to the other, all through a dusty construction zone, and all on mounds of dirt because the sidewalks had been torn up. I ignored all of the "SIDEWALK CLOSED" signs because there was no other direct route to where I was going.
I stopped to eat, used the bathroom, and made a sign that said "WILLISTON" -- I wanted out of Montana by nightfall; this state just stretches on far too long! I walked about a mile out of town, held up my sign and thumb, and in about 20 minutes I was picked up by Chris, who was on his way to Malta to perform a wedding.
Chris dropped me off in front of the Hitching Post Cafe in Malta. It was hot, and I'd been traveling since about 7:00 (it was now 4:15), so I decided to treat myself to a milkshake. I went inside and discovered that I was the sole customer. The waitress was lounging and reading. I plopped my pack down, propped it against the wall, and took a seat at the counter. I inquired about a milkshake, and she told me chocolate and strawberry would blend the best, so I chose strawberry, and a cup of coffee. I was getting very tired. After an hour or so of enjoying my milk shake, two cups of coffee, and chatting and flirting a bit with the waitress, I decided it was time to get to the road again.
I took my sign out and hitchhiked directly across the street from the Hitching Post. After 25 minutes, Chance & Andrew stopped for me. They were on their way to Wolf Point, which the friendly waitress had cautioned me against spending the night in, but Mark (my driver from Shelby to Chester) had grown up there and told me it would be okay, "just don't get stuck in Poplar." Wolf Point took a while to get out of. The local police officer kept driving out to check on me, but never said anything. One man stopped and offered me a ride to Poplar, which I declined, thinking of what I'd been told about getting stuck there. He sort of made fun of me for not accepting his ride, saying, "You think you'll have better luck here?" I told him not necessarily, but I'd rather spend the night in Wolf Point than Poplar. He nodded, as if agreeing with me, wished me luck, and took off. Eventually, Dwight stopped in his pickup for me. He was on his way to Bainville (near the North Dakota border), but had to stop in Poplar for a few minutes to visit the priest (his brother had just died today).
Dwight dropped me off in front of LeeAnn's Motel in Poplar, so I could try for a ride to Williston while he was talking to the priest. He said if I were still there when he came by, he'd pick me up again and drive me to Bainville. After 10 minutes or so, just as it was starting to get dark, the guy who had originally stopped for me in Wolf Point pulled up and said, "you made it here after all." I told him the story, and he said, "You really can't be here once it gets dark. How about if I give you a ride to Culbertson, just outside the reservation, and you can wait for the guy there." I was a little uncertain, but I decided to take him up on the offer.
In the end, it proved to be a good decision. He drove me to a park right in Culbertson where I could camp for free (in fact, there was already another tent up with three bicycles and a ton of gear left outside it -- gutsy, I thought). After deliberating about whether to try to catch Dwight again, I decided that since it was already dark I'd be better off just going to sleep.
I set up my tent, crawled inside, looked at my map and my little log book, and did some calculating:
438 miles
9 rides
15 hours
No wonder I was tired!
19 June: Whitefish to East Glacier
Thursday morning Terra cooked a breakfast of scrambled eggs and greens, it was one of the most creative scrambles I've had. After breakfast I ran to the post office to mail the stuff I was shedding to lighten up my pack to my mom's place, and then I returned to Hilary & Dan's place to finish packing and take off. I just couldn't seem to tear myself away, though, so I ended up sticking around for a lunch of leftovers.
After lunch I finally took off to make my way east. My goal for the day was Shelby. I walked about 5 miles to get myself truly outside of town, and started hitchhiking. After a relatively short wait, I was picked up by Eric, in his pickup truck. He drove me to the road's intersection with US-2, where there was a large gas station, and I hitchhiked from there.
After 30 minutes or so, Jay and Heather picked me up. They drove me (meandered, really) through the Rockies on US-2, just skirting the edge of Glacier National Park. It would've been nice to actually drive through the park, but that road was closed due to avalanches -- it had snowed a few days previously. We stopped in the middle of the crossing to eat lunch at a small diner in the middle of nowhere, and then we were off again. They dropped me off at East Glacier, on the eastern side of the Rockies, which was about 20 miles farther than they'd planned on going. They had said they'd drop me off at Essex, but somehow we never saw it even though they'd been there before and were watching for it.
When they dropped me off it was 5:45 or so. I used the bathroom at the gas station, had a quick bite to eat, and hitchhiked from 6:00 to 8:30, but everyone who stopped for me was going to Browning. Several people had already told me not to get stuck there at night. I didn't have faith that I'd be able to get a ride out that late in the day, so I turned all those rides down.
At 8:30 it was starting to get dark, so I decided to find my spot to sleep for the night. Unfortunately, the area around East Glacier had been cleared of trees, so to get to a good camping spot would have taken a westward walk of a mile or so. I decided to wander around until the nightly Amtrak had come through, and then head up to the station. After the train passed, I watched the station (which I could see because it was about 15 feet higher than the rest of the town, at the same level as the railroad tracks) for activity to die down. When I could see that there was no one left there, I went up, put down my mattress pad, laid out my sleeping bag, and went to sleep. I didn't sleep well though, because a couple times people walked through and late at night quite a few freight trains passed.
- East Glacier Afternoon -
- East Glacier Sunset -
- Sunset Over Railroad Tracks -
- Glacier Park Lodge -
After lunch I finally took off to make my way east. My goal for the day was Shelby. I walked about 5 miles to get myself truly outside of town, and started hitchhiking. After a relatively short wait, I was picked up by Eric, in his pickup truck. He drove me to the road's intersection with US-2, where there was a large gas station, and I hitchhiked from there.
After 30 minutes or so, Jay and Heather picked me up. They drove me (meandered, really) through the Rockies on US-2, just skirting the edge of Glacier National Park. It would've been nice to actually drive through the park, but that road was closed due to avalanches -- it had snowed a few days previously. We stopped in the middle of the crossing to eat lunch at a small diner in the middle of nowhere, and then we were off again. They dropped me off at East Glacier, on the eastern side of the Rockies, which was about 20 miles farther than they'd planned on going. They had said they'd drop me off at Essex, but somehow we never saw it even though they'd been there before and were watching for it.
When they dropped me off it was 5:45 or so. I used the bathroom at the gas station, had a quick bite to eat, and hitchhiked from 6:00 to 8:30, but everyone who stopped for me was going to Browning. Several people had already told me not to get stuck there at night. I didn't have faith that I'd be able to get a ride out that late in the day, so I turned all those rides down.
At 8:30 it was starting to get dark, so I decided to find my spot to sleep for the night. Unfortunately, the area around East Glacier had been cleared of trees, so to get to a good camping spot would have taken a westward walk of a mile or so. I decided to wander around until the nightly Amtrak had come through, and then head up to the station. After the train passed, I watched the station (which I could see because it was about 15 feet higher than the rest of the town, at the same level as the railroad tracks) for activity to die down. When I could see that there was no one left there, I went up, put down my mattress pad, laid out my sleeping bag, and went to sleep. I didn't sleep well though, because a couple times people walked through and late at night quite a few freight trains passed.
Sunday
17-18 June: Whitefish
On Tuesday morning, we slept in until 10:00 or so. We then went to Montana Coffee Traders for coffee and breakfast, where Jeff and I were thwarted in our breakfast efforts for the second day in a row; apparently they've recently changed their hours in a very odd manner. We had coffee anyway. I got espresso, and the barista's response should've had me changing my order ("you mean like a latte?"), but for some reason I stuck it out. It proved to be a mistake. I'm sure they're good with the sweet milky drinks, though! Under different circumstances I would've bought some beans to try them out, but I was headed back into bear country eventually and didn't really need the strong smell of coffee beans attracting my furry friends, nor did I need the added weight.
We ended up going to Knead Cafe for lunch, where i got the Veghead sandwich, with roasted eggplant, zucchini, red pepper, and a ton of other veggie goodness (they had just stopped serving breakfast when we got there) and it was delicious.
After lunch, Candace drove me out to a road from which I could easily walk to Whitefish. I had thought she was driving me to a road that I had in mind when they told me knew the perfect spot, but when we got a few miles out onto the road and Candace pulled over to let me out, I knew I couldn't walk from there -- there was absolutely no shoulder, and there was enough traffic that I'd be a hazard if two cars met near me. So they drove me to the end of the road, which was really a cheat on my part because it was only about 3-1/2 miles to Whitefish. I took advantage of it and walked into and through town to Hilary & Dan's house.
When I arrived, Hilary was sitting on the curb waiting for her ride to work, but I didn't realize it was her. We exchanged a few friendly words, and I walked up to her house. She watched to see if that's where I was going, and then she surprised me, saying, "It should be unlocked." I laughed, and she said that they've had enough new people showing up in town for the summer that she wasn't sure if it was me when I turned the corner.
I had the place to myself for a bit and took a little nap. I woke up in time to go the farmers market, which I had noticed was about to start when I walked through town. I walked back into town and checked out the wares being hawked. It was sort of a smaller version of the Ballard Sunday Market, in terms of the goods being sold. There was a mobile catering service selling food off a small menu, including espresso barbequed ribs, which sounded good except for the ribs part. I opted instead for the walleye sandwich with yam fries, which was wonderful, and the walleye fillet, while sizeable, was nonetheless too small for the roll it was on. Oh well. With a less strong main course, the yam fries would have stolen the show -- they were that good!
After the farmers market, I went across the street to Great Northern Brewing to sample the beers. They were all good, but the scottish ale was tops and the dark lager was very tasty, too. Not wanting to be trashed when I returned to meet Dan and Hilary together, I left relatively early (they closed at 8:00, anyway) and walked back to the house.
I stood around outside the house talking to Karla for a while, and I saw Dan arrive. I chatted with Karla a little longer and then went in to introduce myself to Dan, but he had managed to sneak out while I wasn't looking! Finally he returned, having walked Zoe (their cute and sweet but maladjusted dog), and we passed the next few hours in pleasant conversation while we washed some dishes. Then Dan went to get Hilary from work, after which we chatted for a short while before hitting the rack.
The next day Hilary was off, and we had a nice slow morning conversing over coffee and eventually breakfast -- for me, anyway; Hilary just had more coffee, a decision that she eventually came to regret. Her friend Justin came over and we went to buy groceries for dinner.
Later that afternoon, Hilary's friends Terra and Jess, who are working in West Glacier, came over. They brought their dog, Raindog, an energetic basset hound/beagle mix. They were delightful and entertaining in conversation. Hilary put together a great dinner of kebabs and various types of salad, not to mention chips, salsa, and hummus. We ate, we drank, we joked around, and in general we made merry.
I went to bed late, but happy.
We ended up going to Knead Cafe for lunch, where i got the Veghead sandwich, with roasted eggplant, zucchini, red pepper, and a ton of other veggie goodness (they had just stopped serving breakfast when we got there) and it was delicious.
After lunch, Candace drove me out to a road from which I could easily walk to Whitefish. I had thought she was driving me to a road that I had in mind when they told me knew the perfect spot, but when we got a few miles out onto the road and Candace pulled over to let me out, I knew I couldn't walk from there -- there was absolutely no shoulder, and there was enough traffic that I'd be a hazard if two cars met near me. So they drove me to the end of the road, which was really a cheat on my part because it was only about 3-1/2 miles to Whitefish. I took advantage of it and walked into and through town to Hilary & Dan's house.
When I arrived, Hilary was sitting on the curb waiting for her ride to work, but I didn't realize it was her. We exchanged a few friendly words, and I walked up to her house. She watched to see if that's where I was going, and then she surprised me, saying, "It should be unlocked." I laughed, and she said that they've had enough new people showing up in town for the summer that she wasn't sure if it was me when I turned the corner.
I had the place to myself for a bit and took a little nap. I woke up in time to go the farmers market, which I had noticed was about to start when I walked through town. I walked back into town and checked out the wares being hawked. It was sort of a smaller version of the Ballard Sunday Market, in terms of the goods being sold. There was a mobile catering service selling food off a small menu, including espresso barbequed ribs, which sounded good except for the ribs part. I opted instead for the walleye sandwich with yam fries, which was wonderful, and the walleye fillet, while sizeable, was nonetheless too small for the roll it was on. Oh well. With a less strong main course, the yam fries would have stolen the show -- they were that good!
After the farmers market, I went across the street to Great Northern Brewing to sample the beers. They were all good, but the scottish ale was tops and the dark lager was very tasty, too. Not wanting to be trashed when I returned to meet Dan and Hilary together, I left relatively early (they closed at 8:00, anyway) and walked back to the house.
I stood around outside the house talking to Karla for a while, and I saw Dan arrive. I chatted with Karla a little longer and then went in to introduce myself to Dan, but he had managed to sneak out while I wasn't looking! Finally he returned, having walked Zoe (their cute and sweet but maladjusted dog), and we passed the next few hours in pleasant conversation while we washed some dishes. Then Dan went to get Hilary from work, after which we chatted for a short while before hitting the rack.
The next day Hilary was off, and we had a nice slow morning conversing over coffee and eventually breakfast -- for me, anyway; Hilary just had more coffee, a decision that she eventually came to regret. Her friend Justin came over and we went to buy groceries for dinner.
Later that afternoon, Hilary's friends Terra and Jess, who are working in West Glacier, came over. They brought their dog, Raindog, an energetic basset hound/beagle mix. They were delightful and entertaining in conversation. Hilary put together a great dinner of kebabs and various types of salad, not to mention chips, salsa, and hummus. We ate, we drank, we joked around, and in general we made merry.
I went to bed late, but happy.
16 June: Kalispell
Monday was a great day of puttering around town with Jeff, my CouchSurfing host in Kalispell. We drove into town so he could show me around a little bit and pick up a couple things I needed (like some spare tent stakes). We stopped by Rocky Mountain Outfitter, which had nearly the exact stakes that I wanted, and they were inexpensive so I picked them up. We went for coffee, and stopped at Gresko's, a sort of gourmet grocery store, for coffee and a look around. I found some 7-1/2 year aged gouda there for what I considered to be the very reasonable price of $19.99 per pound. I bought about 1/4 pound, knowing that a cheese aged that long would 1) be tasty and 2) hold up well in my food container. And let me tell you, that cheese is DELICIOUS and has lasted a week now. It may not last much longer though, because I'm itching to finish it off.
The real highlight of the day, however, was yet to come. Monday afternoon, we ventured over to Flathead Lake to put Jeff's sailboat in the water and go for an evening sail. There were some glitches and minor obstacles (like having the wrong size trailer hitch and then not being able to pull it off to put the right one on), but we overcame them and after about an hour of working on it, we had Jeff's boat in the water and tied up to the dock. While Jeff & I worked on that, his girlfriend Candace was busy with the barbeque, cooking up steaks (for them), and some portabello mushrooms, and red bell peppers that I had marinated. She also grilled some pineapple and asparagus. By the time Jeff and I had gotten the boat in the water and made some other preparations (like putting the tiller back together, getting the outboard running, and prepping the sails and the mooring lines) we were very hungry; fortunately, this coincided perfectly with the food being ready! The barbeque was awesome, and Candace had experimented with grilling the asparagus in several different ways. I couldn't decide which I liked best, it was all so good.
After dinner, we quickly packed our food up and headed out to the boat. We started the engine and got underway, motoring out until we had almost reached the wind, evident by its impression on the water. We put the sails up and waited. And waited and waited, having stopped a bit too soon. Eventually Jeff got impatient, motored us up to the wind, and we got going. I was thrilled to be out on the water again after so long, and very happy that it involved sailing. We tacked around the lake for a while, watching the sunset and the other two or three sailboats out there with us. The sunset was pretty, and the near-full moon hung in the sky gorgeously.
- Jeff -
- Candace -
- Derek -
When it was just starting to get dark, we motored in to the dock and packed up. We went home to Jeff's and enjoyed some brief conversation before going to bed, the efforts ofgetting the boat in the water having weighed heavily on all of us.
The real highlight of the day, however, was yet to come. Monday afternoon, we ventured over to Flathead Lake to put Jeff's sailboat in the water and go for an evening sail. There were some glitches and minor obstacles (like having the wrong size trailer hitch and then not being able to pull it off to put the right one on), but we overcame them and after about an hour of working on it, we had Jeff's boat in the water and tied up to the dock. While Jeff & I worked on that, his girlfriend Candace was busy with the barbeque, cooking up steaks (for them), and some portabello mushrooms, and red bell peppers that I had marinated. She also grilled some pineapple and asparagus. By the time Jeff and I had gotten the boat in the water and made some other preparations (like putting the tiller back together, getting the outboard running, and prepping the sails and the mooring lines) we were very hungry; fortunately, this coincided perfectly with the food being ready! The barbeque was awesome, and Candace had experimented with grilling the asparagus in several different ways. I couldn't decide which I liked best, it was all so good.
After dinner, we quickly packed our food up and headed out to the boat. We started the engine and got underway, motoring out until we had almost reached the wind, evident by its impression on the water. We put the sails up and waited. And waited and waited, having stopped a bit too soon. Eventually Jeff got impatient, motored us up to the wind, and we got going. I was thrilled to be out on the water again after so long, and very happy that it involved sailing. We tacked around the lake for a while, watching the sunset and the other two or three sailboats out there with us. The sunset was pretty, and the near-full moon hung in the sky gorgeously.
When it was just starting to get dark, we motored in to the dock and packed up. We went home to Jeff's and enjoyed some brief conversation before going to bed, the efforts ofgetting the boat in the water having weighed heavily on all of us.
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