Road Trip!
Quite spring like this morning though winter is still trying to happen up north with a winter storm warning due to kick in for Whitefish from 5m Today. After grabbing coffee and snacks it was off up I-15 heading for the north end of the Snake River plain. low cloud and fog for much of the first hour, but then climbed away from the plains and got back into intermittently snow covered mountains.
A fairly long (680 km) drive today but when you can sit on 130 for much of the trip it becomes pretty manageable. Feeling quite tired so found myself taking lots of breaks. After crossing the continental divide descended to I-90 and headed west and north, following the infant Clark Fork downstream which was just a series of 2 metre wide meanders up here, but soon swelled to about 100 metres! Just about running on fumes when pulled in to Deer Lodge to fuel up – yet another forgettable town along an interstate. Raining on and off and while it occasionally tried to turn to sleet it stayed pretty warm – hopefully snow at the elevations where it matters. While no scenic byway the drive was pretty enjoyable.
Stopped in downtown Missoula for a coffee refill then off up US-93 for the final leg. Finally into Kalispell a bit after 4.30. Have decided to stay here – 15 minutes down valley from Whitefish where I normally stay – to save a bit of cash for important things like beer and coffee – oh and skiing. For the same price as a cheap end motel 6 the room is relatively luxurious and should do fine for the next few nights. Storm warning still kicking in tonight and still forecasting snow for Whitefish mountain for the next few days – I might have timed it right this time.