Killing time in Kalispell

As we pulled in last night into the Kalispell Econo Lodge, hobbling to the motel check-in , this couple informed me that the Going to the Sun Road had been closed on Sunday. They were one of the last ones to ride the road from start to finish. My heart sank. This was the whole reason for the trip, the coup de grace, the cat's meow, numero uno for coming west. I finished checking in, got us situated in the room, yanked out the pute and pulled up the NPS website.

"Starting at midnight on Sunday, September 19th, the Going-to-the-Sun Road between Avalanche and Logan Pass will be closed to vehicles to allow for accelerated road rehabilitation. The road will still be open between St. Mary and Logan Pass on the east side of the park. Fall is spectacular on the east side of Glacier, so make sure you take a drive!"

So it is confirmed, We will not be able to ride the road from one end to the other. Pull up MapSource and figure out a new route. In addition to the road being closed, I have figured out we are close to 1400 miles that comes with our car rental. We have a 100 miles to spare.

Morning comes and we have time to kill before our flight out of SLC, so we decide to spend an extra day in Kalispell. The room is nice, so we relax this day (Monday) and we will hit Glacier on Tuesday. The weather is kind of ucky anyways and hopefully Tuesday will bring those Big Sky we keep reading about it.

Nickel Charlies is recommended for lunch so we head out to the west side of town for a bit to eat. Inside Charlie's the ceiling was adorned with these things, which I had when I was a little kid.





Had some kewl neon as well







For lunch I ordered one of their giant 1/2 lb hamburgers, MeAsWe ordered a cup of chili and BLT. I took a bit of MeAsWe's chili and order a bowl. The waitress questioned my sanity, but I insisted. This chili was not authentic when it came to what would be expected in a Chili Cook Off, but it was really really really good.



Grabbed a couple more pictures and we called it a day and headed back to the room for some pute time, tv and plain ole kick up feet day.

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