Road Trip: Day 12

Today was a lazy day… and was just what I needed. I slept-in, studied tomorrow’s drive, had a nice breakfast at the hotel, and headed-out onto the road around 11am. I had to drive from Missoula to Kalispell, only 120 miles, but decided to take an indirect route through Flathead National Forest and around Flathead Lake.

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So far driving in Montana has been very enjoyable. I can’t really put my finger on it but there is something I really like about it…

… oh, that’s what it is! Having a 70mph speed limit really brings the roads of Montana to life. At 50mph I’d be falling asleep, but at these speeds I really need to keep on my toes. There were several times I just wanted to stop and give the speed limit sign a hug!

The weather this morning was mostly overcast and the air was still filled with smoke, making for a dark mood. There were even a few times when the skies opened-up and rain came pouring down. This was the first time I’ve driven my car in the wet since the latest rounds of modifications, so I took some time to become comfortable with “the limits of grip while accelerating and decelerating”.

When I stopped for some ethanol free gas at Clearwater Junction I was greeted by two friendly Montanans. I was just about to pull back onto the road when I saw a Saturn Sky with a modified hood pull into the station. Turns out the owner is a big fan of G8’s and as a result we spent almost an hour talking about cars, the differences between California and Montana, etc.

After leaving the gas station I made my way across a stretch of unpaved roads and past several critters (deer, turkeys, etc.). The drive into Kalispell wasn’t technical, but I had a good time thinking about what it would be like to live in this area. While summers would be OK, I don’t think I’d be able to drive the G8 in the winters.

Tomorrow I’ll be going out into the wilderness around Kalispell. This morning I was looking into the route I’d planned, but I think I might need to make a few tweaks. Should I take the route with or without the grizzly bears?