It was a short ride today into Many Glacier. I set up camp before noon, discovered showers and a laundry available at the Swiftcurrent Motel across the way. That was a nice surprise. (OK, I know I'm riding to eat, but now it seems I'm riding to shower too...)
I started walking back to the Many Glacier Lodge. It's a beautiful old building, and I wanted to take a look around. I was walking down the road minding my own business when a black bear crossed the road in front of me. Little guy - minding his own business too. I stood still for a minute thinking a mama bear would appear too. And since he crossed not too far from me, I didn't want to get any closer. No mama. I think he might have been a 1 year old - and a black bear, not a grizzly. I continued up the road talking to myself and to the bears (hey bear, hey bear!). Then a truck stopped to tell me that there was a grizzly up by the turnoff to the hotel. I thought about it for a minute, then decided not to be afraid of my own shadow and kept on going. I kept on talking too - definitely didn't want to surprise a bear. Then I met a cyclist who had just seen a grizzly sow and 3 cubs. We stood and talked for a while. He is originally from Holland but lives in Alberta now. So, I asked him about my planned route through Radium Hot Springs. He contradicted everyone who said it wasn't scenic. He said he thought that everything as you proceed north continues to be beautiful. He apparently comes to Glacier quite often - he said he knew of a couple of young black bears plus a grizzly and cub who hang out and wander between the hotel and Iceberg Lake. They seem to be used to people being around and are not aggressive. But I still need to be careful here. He said that when he saw the grizzly he stopped, got off of the bike, and backed up slowly.
I got the the lodge and saw Corry & Gerard's tandem, and assumed that they were staying at the lodge. Then I found them in the lobby. They only went as far as Rising Sun yesterday, which is why I missed them last night. They are camping here, so I'll be sharing a site with them again. We decided to go to the Swiftcurrent Motor Inn for dinner together. I spent about an hour sitting in the lobby and on the deck overlooking the lake talking to folks from the Tri-Cities cycling club. Then I walked the 2 1/2 mile nature trail around Swiftcurrent Lake. I was alone for about half of the time, then ran into some people from Minneapolis and hiked the rest of the way with them.
Back to the campsite... I was just about ready to go for my shower when Corry came running back. She & Gerard bathed in the river and saw a mule deer there laying in the shade. I went over with my camera, and he was still there. They said that the river was nice - and warm - but I wanted to use soap so I headed for the shower!
I've decided to stay here another day to hike. I'm thinking about going on a naturalist-led hike, but I have a feeling that they'll move too slowly for me.
Corry & Gerard & I had a pleasant dinner. Shared a large salad, pizza, and a pint of Ben & Jerry's ice cream.
We spend a couple of hours in the motel parking lot after dinner - watching bears. The rangers had set up long distance scopes on tripods. The scope we were using was a 36 power - a far cry from my little 8-power binoculars.
