Day Seven – Whitefish MT Loop - Miles: 331
Since we got to come across the Going-To-The-Sun Road yesterday and we were optimistic we would get a pass to go West to East the next day meant we had a whole day to ride further west on a loop back to Whitefish. We had a route planned that was mostly roads previously ridden but there was one new section. We started out riding north into downtown where we would have breakfast but Loula's Cafe was closed. Maybe it was because it was Sunday or maybe they just decided to take the weekend off, but we weren't certain where to go. A couple of the other places didn't open until 8:00 and didn't feel like waiting around so we went to McDonalds and got on the road. We got on US2 heading west and went through Libby stopping at Kootenai Falls. This is always a good stop and our third time here having previous stops in 2017 and 2012. We arrived a little before 10:00 and it was still rather chilly and maybe this is why few people were here. It was also Monday morning but at any rate we enjoyed the place mostly to ourselves. It is a good hike down to the falls but we knew that going in. We spent some time there and moved down to lower falls to walk across the swinging bridge. By the time we were walking back to the bikes there were many people coming in and we had spent close to an hour in the area. In that short of time it had warmed up quite a bit and we were able to shed a layer before continuing on. We jumped off US2 at NF-508 which is also the road to Yaak. We stopped at the Yaak Falls which far less impressive than the Kootenai but it is along side the road so it is very convenient. Again, no one there so we enjoyed the view but didn't stay all that long. We continued on and rode across the Yaak River bridge to walk out into the old steel bridge. On top of the bridge sat a massive eagle nest but we didn't see any activity. We continued on NF-508 until we reached downtown Yaak which consists of about 3 or 4 buildings. We were hoping to have a beer at Dirty Shame Saloon but it was closed so we pulled up to Yaak River Mercantile & Tavern. There we had a pint and a great beef brisket sandwich. The bartender/owner was from Cincinnati so of course we had a conversation about that but she didn't live there very long. We rode south on NF-68 also known as Pipe Creek Road. Talk about the middle nowhere this whole area once we exited US2 was very isolated. Pipe Creek Road took us back into Libby where we back tracked some and then headed north and east on MT37. We stopped at Libby Dam which forms Lake Koocanusa. At he dam there were at least 20 cars and trucks in the parking lot and everyone was just hanging out and drinking beer which is fine but we just thought it a little strange on a Monday afternoon with not much around. There wasn't a whole lot to see here but rode up to the observation point and there we had a nice view of the lake and dam. We continued north on MT37 and this road was new to us and it was a very good ride. We stopped once along the way at a little pull off area to ask in the scenery. We were running low on gas and not certain we would have enough to make the gas stop in Eureka where MT37 dead ends into US93. The last 10 miles or so we backed the speed down to conserve gas, and we made it without too much concern. The intersection at US93 is only about 7 miles from the Canadian border, but we headed south back down to Whitefish. Not very far south from Eureka we noticed Branding Iron Brewery which was not on our radar but we decided to stop and despite an unusual setup it was a good spot. It looked like it was in the same building as some housing units. Once back to Whitefish we walked downtown and wanted to find a better place to eat this evening and we landed on Bang Bang Thai. It's hard to go wrong with Thai food and this place did not disappoint. We sat next to a German couple who were vacationing in the park and had a nice conversation with them. They were struggling with acquiring the west to east pass on GTTS road and we were able to help them through it and they were successful. After dinner we walked back to the hotel for a lobby session and some good wine. Very good day of riding.
