Awoke off Ryan Road outside Glacier
Grabbed a soda in West Glacier. Another Amtrak sighting! This time it is the Empire Builder coming from the west stopping at Glacier National Park a bit after 7 am. It wasn't there for long which tells me there weren't many (any?) people getting off or on. I wonder if you can rent a car here. I'm betting you can't which makes taking the train to here rather useless if you are visiting the park? I spoke to a gentleman working at the convenience store that said that West Glacier shuts down in the next couple of weeks. He lives in Kansas and works here from late May until late September.
Headed toward Whitefish/Kalispell assuming I would find a couple of western towns...
Stopped in Columbia Falls to wash Hi Ho Silver and do some reorganizing … again. I took a good hour to do a thorough cleaning. Met a fellow who spent 14 years refinishing a 1964 El Camino.
Talked to Courtney for a long time. Lonely, FOMO, indecisive, not as easy going about finding places to spend the night.
Drove into Whitefish and walked around. Shopped, of course. Two kinds of people in Whitefish. Those who can't believe how much their house is worth and those who have made those houses worth what they are. The visitors and newcomers stand out.
Drove to Kalispell. Costco for microfiber towels and gas, Walmart for plastic box and Velcro stickers, laundry and an oil change. Dinner of fried rice and mushroom chicken at a packed Panda Express. REI for a Nalgene. What is the deal with hotel prices??
Kalispell was not what I expected. At least in the outskirts it was filled with the kind of stores you would find in any suburban community. It is awesome for the residents to have access to these stores but it makes me sad that America is so generic is ways. The again, there is a sense of comfort I get from knowing what I'll get when I go to these chain stores. Heck, I am sitting in Starbucks in the Safeway in Whitefish writing this post.
Some of the chain stores I saw in Kalispell:
Target
Walmart
Lowe’s
Home Depot
Hobby Lobby
Ultra Beauty
TJ Maxx
Best Buy
Got my oil changed at a Grease Monkey. $160 for an oil change? But ok, it was convenient and quick. They said I can get 8,000-10,000 miles from this change. I'll change the oil again at 7,000 miles.
Very nice laundromat with attendant. Owned by Speed Queen? No coins. Pay attendant and she controlled the machines from behind the counter. One of the nicer laundromats I have used. I like the upscale aspect.
Drove back to Columbia Falls and pulled up at a Pilot Truck Stop. How about those clouds?? Twenty straight nights not paying for a hotel room. My record is 22 nights. The record is in jeopardy -- because I am cheap bastard.
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