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 On
route to Glacier National Park, we enter the town of Pablo as we
are riding north on Hwy 93. Paul
discovers the Pablo Bar and we stop for a photo op. Photos only, though, no
drinks. We still have a long day of riding ahead of us.
(Click on photo to view full size image)
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 Vince,
a rabid sport bike enthusiast, discovers the joy of riding Pork
Chop's Harley around Pablo, MT while taking advantage of Montana's no
helmet required law. He said it made him feel more manly and gave
him a sudden desire to start bar hopping.
(Click on photo to view full size image)
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 A
spectacular mountain range parallels our trip north and we took
advantage of this rest stop to line up the bikes for a photo with
the Mission Mountains.
(Click on photo to view full size image)
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 As
we approached the Park, we stopped to enjoy the scenery and sound
of this beautiful river that flows out of it.
(Click on photo to view full size image)
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 Ok.
Here we go. The moment of truth. Have we come all this way to be
denied access to The Going to the Sun Road due to avalanches that
have been coming down left and right this Spring? Up 'till our
departure, we'd been anxiously watching the Plowing Status website
like stockbrokers watching the NASDAQ, hoping that the brave crews
would break through. According to the website, the road is
normally open by now but we'll have to blame it on global warming
as we are DENIED! The road is barricaded off way down in the
valley so our visit to the park is very anti-climatic. Oh well! We
turn around and look for other riding opportunities. There's
always next year. (Click on photo to view full size image)
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 We
found a wonderful road back to Missoula. Highway 83 goes east from
Evergreen and south between the Mission Mtn. Range and the Rocky
Mountains. We encountered hours of perfect cruising along Swan
Lake, pictured here, and through the forest with little or no
traffic to share it with. Very mellow and a great way to spend an
afternoon.
(Click on photo to view full size image)
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 We
figured tourists come through this quiet mountain valley now and
then but I
guess Trevor and I didn't fit the profile because the locals in
this joint looked at us like we were one of the following:
+ Aliens from another planet
+ Bikers that were going to molest their
children and family pets
+ A couple of crazy, espresso drinking,
pierced and tattooed long hairs from Seattle
Take your pick.
(Click on photo to view full size image)
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