Early morning wake-up call. We departed Grouse Mountain Lodge after a two-night stay. Our boxed breakfast was waiting for us in the lobby as our carry-on luggage was brought out to be loaded on the motor coach. 6:30 am and we were on our way to Whitefish Amtrak station for the 7:40 am departure.
The train arrived a bit late and we departed a little after 8:00 am. I guess that's OK, actually. As long as we reach Cut Bank Station close to the scheduled arrival time we'll be fine.
We left our checked bags at the hotel and once Brian dropped us off safely at the train station he returned to the Lodge and picked them up. As we are enjoying the rail transport across the southern tip of Glacier National Park, Brian will be driving to meet us at Cut Bank. His drive will be shorter than ours so he'll be there to meet us as we pull in. Fresh coffee in the lounge car gave those that needed it their morning fix (me included).
This was one of the more relaxing rides we'll have on this trip. We never got up to any real speed, just a leisurely pace which may be due to altitude changes through Glacier National Park. There were stops at West Glacier, Glacier Park and East Glacier before our final destination of Cut Bank. When we were about an hour out of Cut Bank we saw our motor coach passing by us on the highway adjacent to the railway. At least we knew Brian was well on his way to meet us.
After a smooth and relaxing railway experience we boarded the motor coach at Cut Bank Station. Once again, driving through the Montana countryside we can see for miles and miles and miles. Big Sky Country indeed!
Eddie's Corner in Moore, Montana is a little oasis in the vast farmland of wheat fields as far as the eye can see. This was our rest break between lunch and dinner. I probably should have mentioned earlier that this is primarily a travel day for us. Travel by train and then our luxury motor coach from Whitefish to Cut Bank and on to Billings. There's a lot and not much to see all at the same time. Plains forever with mountains in the distance.
Whoa!! Prong Horn sighting! Our first wildlife sighting today, discounting cattle, the occasional sheep and of all things, bees. Just ask "King of the Road" Bob. He took one for the team at Eddie's. Stung between his ring and little fingers. A cup of ice mercifully supplied by the waitress at the counter helped soothe the pain. He will survive.
Turning right on the Zimmerman Trail takes us down an 8% grade but a fantastic overlook of the city of Billings. Houses on the edge of the cliffs look like they could slide down the hill during a heavy rainstorm. Our dinner locale for this evening is Montana's Rib and Chop House. This travel day has given us all an appetite (like we haven't had anything to eat on this trip). Winding our way around the neighborhood going thru at least 6-7 round-a-bouts we finally arrived, 5 minutes after our reservation. Not bad at all since we had been 30 minutes behind schedule from the train's late departure from Whitefish.
Montana's Rib and Chop House in Billings provided an outstanding meal and service to our group tonight. The steaks were delicious, the ribs finger-lickin' good and the pasta, pork chops and salmon were wonderful. For dessert we were treated to most amazing apple cobbler which was not to remain on the plate very long. Well done!
On to our hotel, the Dude Rancher Lodge, to rest for the night and prepare for more sightseeing and our visit to Mt. Rushmore.
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