July 3, 2010. Rest day at Lake McDonald Lodge in Glacier National Park

I tried to call home again this AM; no dice. I guess if you are in Glacier Park you don't need to call home.... on the way back from breakfast, we posed with the old man on the bench at the General Store: in order we are Pat, Dianne, me and Suzanne. It reminded me of sitting with the cowboys in Wyoming last year, only this guy had no funny stories to tell.

This was a rather restful rest day, just as I had planned. There were all sorts of Glacier Park tours available, and some of the riders took advantage of them. As for me, I took the free park shuttle to Apgar Visitors Center with Judie, Little Linda, Sherrie, Pat and Suzanne. While at Apgar we bought books and shirts and things... Dianne had already been to Glacier Park, so she stayed back to clean her bike.

On the way back to Lake McDonald, Sherrie and I decided to check out Avalanche creek, so we took a short hike; it was quite beautiful. This whole place is breathtaking. We could not see it on the way in yesterday in the rain; everything was obscured by the low clouds and rain.

Dianne, Sherrie and I had a late lunch and then I cleaned my bike. I was glad that I had at least rinsed off the larger mud clods yesterday... I oiled the chain and carried it back up the stairs to my room, but then Dianne showed me some other places that needed to be oiled, so we did that. I guess I need to learn to take better care of my own bike! Sherrie did a fine job cleaning her bike--she said she NEVER cleans it at home, that her husband does that particular chore...

Dianne and I played Scrabble until dinnertime, and we listened to the horror stories from the people who had taken the bus to Logan Pass. They reported that it was 31 degrees with a 30 MPH wind, blowing snow and sleet... Yikes! One of the women had to take an anti anxiety pill to even be able to ride the bus up to the pass--she could not stand looking over the edge, and is not going to ride tomorrow.

After a light dinner we went to our rooms to get lots of clothes ready for tomorrow's ride. Dianne already decided that she is not riding up to the pass, having already done it, but plans to ride the descent, which she said is glorious. We were lights-out at 9:30, in preparation for the big climb in the morning.