Rinty

The leaves are turning, there's a nip in the air, and my thoughts turn to the Logan Pass. I have the Pass schedule bookmarked on my computer, and it was telling me that the season closure was midnight tonight, so Karin and I set off early Friday afternoon for Montana.

The good stuff on Highway 89 starts just south of St. Mary. This is the west end of St. Mary Ridge, with Divide Mountain in the background:



The section from the Ridge to Kiowa is freshly paved, so you can do a spirited run in there. At Kiowa, we turned west onto 49, Looking Glass Hill Road, one of my favourites. This is just pass the summit, with Lower Two Medicine Lake in the background:



A friendly guy from Oregon snapped this pic when we were stopped:



He had me take one of him and his wife with the 993.

At East Glacier we headed west into the Marias Pass (Montana #2). This is the Theodore Roosevelt Monument at the summit, which is 5,220 ft. ASL:



Great Northern built a railway through the Pass in 1892.

We continued on to Essex, and checked in at the Izaak Walton Inn, one of our favourite places:





I had booked late, so we had to take the fancy Family Suite:






The Walton was built by the Railway in 1937, and restored by Sid and Millie Goodrich in the 1970s.

To be continued...

boulderbobo

Rinty, get pics!

Got to love the Fall in the air

Thanks for sharing.



Bob-

Ed Hughes

Nice! Even in SoCal, the mornings have been a little crisp, and the sunlight has taken on a more yellow hue, which I love about Fall.

Rinty

Part 2:

We retired for the night after a pleasant evening in the Flagstop Bar and the Dining Car restaurant. I had parked the car next to some Subies, so it felt quite at home:



The next morning, we headed west on #2, towards West Yellowstone, following the Middle Fork of the Flathead River.



It was quite cold, and I drove in 5th at 3,000 rpm until the engine warmed up, which took about 25 miles!

At West Glacier we gassed up, and headed north on the Going to the Sun Road, into Glacier Park. There is road construction going on, and there are a few traffic stops:



I stalled the car after one stop, and got a fist pump from the flagman.

I was thinking about Andreas while we were driving this part:



The road is pretty smooth, with a few dips, but I had plenty of ground clearance with the new M033s.

The Garden Wall:



Looking south, towards Mt. Reynolds and Mt. Clements:



After summiting, the road drops down to St. Mary's Lake, and we stopped for a dirt shot. It was windy and cold here, but the car was snug and warm:





At St. Mary, we turned north, and headed to the border. Back in Alberta, we detoured west at Cardston, and then headed north on the Blue Trail (800 and 810). This is Mormon country:



Back on the freeway at the Ft. McLeod junction, we were passed by a Toyota Sienna running at about 150 km/hr, providing us with a radar screen for most of the way home; a little gift on the last leg. The car runs well at 3,200 in sixth.

We enjoyed the trip so much that we went back a few weeks later, this time in the Subie.

ABCar

Oh, how cool. We were out there 12 years ago and will never forget the trip in our 900 turbo. Looks even better in a 993 though! Thanks for the great picts.

Ed Hughes

Awesome pics! Thanks for posting them. Some day, when I'm retired, it will be time for the ultimate road trip. Places like this will be part lf it.

P-daddy

Rinty, you've captured some fantastic photos!

hoggel

I grew up in the Flathead Valley. This time of year is the only time I get homesick (it's been 35 years). Thank you for the pics.

Martin S.

That was some bitch of a ride....went with Backroads, bike vacations where are guaranteed not to put on any weight!

Rinty

Thanks for the comments, everybody.

We're fortunate to have these areas close by.

JM993

I did Going to the Sun last year. Unfortunately, not in the 993. Here's some pics (east side of Logan Pass).

Rinty, with Glacier, Lake Louise, Baniff, etc nearby IMHO you live near the most beautiful parts of the world - bar none. I'm jealous.

Cheers,
Joe

Rinty

And your car, with the G50/31, would be a blast to drive up there. But a 530i is no slouch...

I've had my BMWs up there too:



I see you also had a bit of wind during your trip...

skl

Did that with my kids back in summer of '93- first big trip we took with them, ages 10 and 7. My parents did it with me back in 1960. Unforgetable!! Unfortunately it was in an Oldsmobile rental car we had driven down from Calgary.
Thanks for the memories... we got a great family portrait at the summit, and a mountain goat got in the picture with us!