This is where our bikes slept in the cabin, like a couple of queens,
USA 2023, Day 7 – July 5
“Updated in May 2026 with new information about the trip preparation.”
The shortest day of the trip
Not every day on a long trip has to be epic. Sometimes the smartest plan is the simplest one: cover a short distance, arrive well-rested, and have time to actually get to know where you’re staying.
Day 7 was that day.
Barely 300 kilometers, about five and a half hours of riding, with one clear goal: reach Kalispell, a city of 25,000 people right at the gates of Glacier National Park, where we’d spend two nights. To avoid Highway 93, we took the road to its right, Route 83. A good call.
The Missoula coffee shop and the BMW guy
Passing through Missoula again, without entering the city itself, we found ourselves almost without thinking pulling up at the same coffee shop we’d stopped at on the way out, heading to Yellowstone. We’d liked the place, and I guess good places just pull you back in.
The first time we stopped there, we ran into a gentleman of about 85. He was the owner of the BMW dealership in Missoula, ran a motorcycle blog, and led an entire community of enthusiasts. He spotted our bikes parked outside, saw we were dressed head to toe in BMW gear, and came over to say hello. A truly delightful person.
We didn’t think much more of it. Until, on our way back, we walked into the same coffee shop… and there he was.
We had no choice but to take a photo with him. And we were left with a question we’d never manage to answer: was he always at that coffee shop, or was it one of those coincidences that only happen when you’re traveling?
By then we were getting close to Kalispell, and to the Greenwood Inn, which was our hotel.
Kalispell: the first surprise at the front desk
We arrived at the Greenwood Inn in Kalispell in the mid-afternoon. And at the front desk was Javier.
Javier was Nicaraguan, had been working there for a while, and was, as JP would say, a really great guy. Just being able to speak Spanish after days surrounded by ranch-accented English was a huge relief. We hit him with a barrage of questions about the next day’s route through Glacier Park — the famous Going-to-the-Sun Road — and he answered every one patiently and in detail.
The hotel was decent, though like the ones in Yellowstone, it had that elegant air of neglect some western American motels have. But the air conditioning worked beautifully, and in July in Montana, that’s no small detail.
Javier recommended a pub for dinner: Moose’s Saloon, the go-to spot in Kalispell. The hotel was on the outskirts, so we had to walk: first along something resembling a highway, then past mobile homes parked with their pickup trucks out front. A peculiar walk, but a welcome one.
JP and the Kalispell “brothel”
On the way to the pub, JP spotted a t-shirt and cap shop. We went in. Or tried to.
We got the wrong door.
I went in first, into what turned out to be a place completely dark inside. My eyes took several seconds to adjust. I couldn’t see a thing. I told JP, right behind me, that this looked like a brothel and we’d better find somewhere else.
JP was cracking up laughing. He told me to keep going, that the place was full of little kids running around everywhere.
Naturally, I didn’t believe him.
A few seconds later, my eyes started making out shapes: a huge bar counter, families with kids, pizzas, beers.
Phew. Thank goodness. JP couldn’t stop laughing for the next two or three minutes. And he kept bringing it up, with the same laugh, for the rest of the trip.
Guinness, mobile homes, and park workers
We had a great dinner at Moose’s Saloon. The Guinness lived up to expectations, and the walk back to the hotel — about 20 minutes on foot — was perfect for settling dinner.
In the Greenwood Inn’s parking lot there were quite a few mobile homes parked, many of them fairly old, all with their pickup trucks out front. We asked Javier about it the next day. He explained that most of them were people who came to work at Glacier National Park during the three-month season, and that living in a mobile home worked out far cheaper than any other option. The American dream comes in many shapes.
Tomorrow: the Going-to-the-Sun Road. One of the big highlights of the trip. Expectations were sky-high.
📍 Resources and recommendations
☕ Coffee shop in Missoula — No confirmed name, but if you find it, stop. You might just run into the BMW guy too.
🏍️ BMW Motorcycles of Missoula — Worth checking out their website, very different from what you’d expect from a BMW dealership.
🏨 Greenwood Inn, Kalispell — Decent, well located for Glacier Park. Ask for Javier.
🍺 Moose’s Saloon, Kalispell — The go-to spot in town. Good beer, good local vibe.
🏔️ Going-to-the-Sun Road, Glacier National Park — Plan your visit carefully, especially during high season.
Route from Seattle to Yellowstone and Glacier Park
- 2022 USA, a dream trip … failed!
- USA, a dream trip 2, we did it!
- Seattle (WA) to Walla Walla (WA)
- Walla Walla (WA) to Lochsa Lodge (ID)
- Lochsa Lodge (ID) to Gardiner (MT)
- Yellowstone & Bear Tooth Pass (WY)
- Yellowstone (WY) to Idaho – Irwin (ID)
- Idaho via Salmon on the way to Missoula – Stevensville (ID)
- Idaho to Montana, to Glacier Park – Kalispell (MT)
- Going to the Sun – Glacier National Park (MT)
- Glacier Park (MT) to Colville (MT), riding along the Canadian border
- Highway 20 Along the Canadian Border, heading to Concrete (WA)