Today’s was Nancy’s 60th birthday. Woooo hoooo! We started the day by going to the Montana Coffee Traders restaurant for breakfast. Then we headed over to Whitefish to celebrate her birthday by going mountain biking on Whitefish Mountain. We rented mountain bikes and rode to the top via the ski lift.  The top of the mountain is 6817 ft. above sea level, and there is 2353 of vertical drop to the base. We rode down 8 miles of a narrow path that was mostly gravel and rocks. There were a few packed gravel parts but it mostly felt like we were riding in a rock quarry. There were some fairly straight areas followed by mounded hairpin turn switchbacks, and some paths through the woods. Since we were riding downhill, we planned to do a couple runs and call it a day……WRONG! We got to the bottom, turned in our gear and went for a drink…..actually several drinks….partially to settle our nerves, but also to celebrate Nancy’s  birthday (and our survival!).

This is clearly a sport for younger people. Nancy had done it a couple of times in the past (quite a few years ago), but we both agreed that this was probably the last time we’ll go mountain biking! We also have a whole new appreciation for the difficulty, athleticism and courage required to be good at this sport. Some of the younger folks were ripping down the hill in full body armor. It is easy to see how people can be seriously injured or killed doing this.

We went to a couple nice places in Whitefish for appetizers and a beer, and ended up having a cocktail overlooking the water at the Whitefish Lake Lodge before heading home. It was certainly a memorable day!

We think we’re ready for this nice little downhill bike ride in the park…..

It was much different than expected, but was certainly exhilarating!

All’s well that ends well……

BTW, today they evacuated the Lake MacDonald Lodge and closed the west side of the park as a result of the nearby forest fire. You can really tell there is a lot more smoke around the area today. We won’t be going back before we leave Wednesday. Next stop – Eagles Net RV Resort  on the southern end of Flathead Lake.

Also, see yesterday’s post if you want to see some significant additions after I published it the first time.