Montana, Day 2 - Whitefish

For Day 2, we drove the 16 miles into Whitefish 

(formerly ‘Stumptown’ - I wonder why they changed the name…)

to ride up the big hill on Whitefish Mountain Resort’s gondola.

There’s about a 2000’ change in elevation, 

from 4,464 at the base to 6,817’ at the summit,

the trees get more and more sparse the higher you go 

and the temp drops maybe 10°. So pleasant!

Gorgeous 360° views, 

Glacier NP mountains in the far background

a level area 

for the ski patrol office 

and the building housing a small gift shop, bar and cafe … 

even taking time for lunch, we were headed back down in less than 2 hours. 

Definitely worth the trip just for the views overlooking Whitefish 

and the huge mountains of Glacier National Park. 

Next up was the Whitefish Depot, 

a combination train museum (closed today unfortunately) 

and Amtrak station. 

Fortunately, the Amtrak portion of the building 

had some historical pictures and info we enjoyed. (You can click/tap any picture to see it bigger and in more detail.)

The coolest thing was outside - 

The Brunk, a custom designed bus-truck combo that transported train passengers from Kalispell to Whitefish for over 20 years. 

Such a cool piece of history 

We may go back later in the week to see the museum…

We also wandered a few blocks of old town Whitefish, 

 Neat mural facing a rooftop restaurant 

doing a bit of shopping (cute stores) 

Street art

and checking out the Visitors Center for ideas on more places to see. 

Tomorrow is our first tour in Glacier NP. Can’t wait!