The drive back up to the park from Cut Bank had some cows still adorning the sides of the road for breakfast. We went back to the visitor center to use the restrooms and ask for suggestions for a day hike and information on longer ones.
We ended up at the St. Mary Falls hike. It seemed to be a pretty popular hike, but we didn't see too many people along the trail. After passing a small cascading waterfall and a stream we came upon St. Mary Lake, a beautiful, huge, and still lake reflecting the towering peaks that rise out of it. I spent a lot of time here shooting the view behind the dock.
We follow the water most of the way, passing several sets of falls on our way. St. Mary Falls is a nice set of three falls. The rushing torrents are where all the people from the parking area had congregated, taking photos in front of the biggest of the falls. We stopped for a few minutes but then moved on.
Virginia Falls is the biggest on the trail and I'm glad we made our way up to it. We could get close as the mist sprayed down on us along the rocky edge. I went farther below to get a better angle and almost fell into the rushing water after a misguided attempt to get out on a wet rock. I didn't fall though.
After some more photos we headed back down, finding a nice spot to perch and sit for a while to eat our Clif Bars. Of course it had to be somewhere we had to climb to so we could be off the beaten path. It was a really nice hike, and short enough that we didn't get caught in the rain.
We managed to get a spot at the nearby St. Mary Campground, where we set up our tent early in the afternoon and hung out inside resting. The clouds started to roll in later in the afternoon with thunder echoing through the campground and off the mountains surrounding us. It was intimidating, but I wanted to go for a bike ride and get away for a while so I headed down toward the lodge.
Once at the lodge, I got myself a beer and a black bean burger. It was so good. I went up to the bar for another beer and ended up talking to this couple who was there on their way to their son's wedding in Whitefish. I pulled up to the bar and talked with them about their travels and mine. We had a great conversation and they offered to buy me a blueberry ale that was so fresh and delicious. Another woman at the bar came over and talked to me for a while about hiking in California. I gave her some suggestions on where to go and she was amazing grateful. She pulled out a $100 bill and handed it to me. After telling her I couldn't accept it, she insisted I take it for my trip. The people you meet in bars!
It was pouring outside by this point and I was drunk. I texted Joanna to pick me up with my bike and she came down. I said farewell to my new friends, who handed me another bottle of blueberry ale when I came back, and headed outside. I stood under the porch while I waited for her to get there, sipping my beer slightly as I talked to one of the housekeepers from the hotel who lives there during the season. I attached my bike to the car and got in the car soaking wet to tell Joanna the story of the night on our short drive back to camp.
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