Today we spent exploring the surrounding area at the entrance to the park. That includes the visitor center, the railroad depot, hiking a local trail; plus we drove into the shopping area outside the park. We bought lots of gifts (which we've been doing all along), had lunch at the 49th State Brewery, and coffee at the Black Bear Coffee shop. They had more brews to select from then we've ever seen at any other brewery, and the food was not only fantastic but not your typical brewpub fare. We were so impressed we may go back. Clouds and rain all day today, but we better get used to that.
Tomorrow we take the bus ride into the park. Unlike most national parks, driving is resticted here. The road is open to the public for 13 miles; after that you have to take a tour bus. The road is actually 92.4 miles long. We'll be going in to mile 65.9. That's a total of 8 hrs on the bus plus time to get off and explore. It'll be a full day, but we should have animal pictures when we return. If we're lucky we might see the peak again.
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Looking forward to your bus tour pictures.
ReplyDeleteIs it a nice tour bus with comfy seats and big windows and air conditioning or more of a standard National Parks low-bid shuttle?
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DeleteIt does look overcast, but hopefully it will clear up. Sounds like a long ride there and back. Can't resist. ARE WE THERE YET, I got to go.
ReplyDeleteYou found my two favorite places to eat near the Park. Last time I was there I ate at 49th State Brewery 3 times. :-) Had breakfast at Black Bear. I've done the bus tour several times. The first year they had old school buses. The buses are much nicer now. The packed lunch is fun. The guide is very good at finding animals and showing them on the overhead TV screens. It is a long, tiring day - hope you see lots of animals.
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