7/24/13 Hotel With A Ghost As A Hostess

Glacier National Park and Banff, Canada

July 23 - August 8, 2013

The Great Train Escape

The son of the owner of the Great Northern Railroad wanted to match the tours of Switzerland, so he built the Belton Chalet. It opened the same year Glacier National Park was established - 1910. The hotel is a National Historic Landmark, and our 3 night stay there was delightful.

In keeping with the Belton Chalet motto - "the way it was...still is" - the hotel is not air conditioned and there are no phones or digital clocks in the rooms.

And, no televisions. Not even in the lobby.

We did have wi-fi, sometimes, but cell phones were useless. The 3G, 4G phenomenon and problems (which signals go through walls or don't, etc.)  were explained to us, but a different explanation rang true to the situation.  That is - the ghost that resides at the Belton doesn't think technology is appropriate for the  personality of the hotel.

The ghost was friendly and only a minor inconvenience in regards to the cell phones. We got along very well.

Next blog:  A Ride With Jammers.

8/23 -24/13 Riding Steel Wheels

Glacier National Park and Banff, Canada

July 23 - August 8, 2013

The Great Train Escape

We boarded the train from Indianapolis to Chicago at 6 am. Nice ride and arrived in Chicago 5 minutes early - a rarity btw. Our 4 hour lay over allowed a tasty lunch at Berghoff restaurant and the comfortable temperature allowed for a refreshing walk in the city.

The Amtrack Empire Builder left on time for our destination, West Glacier. Our porter, Joe, was attentive and helpful for the 35 hour ride. The food on the train was good. They served grits. Yippee.

The scenery was spectacular. While eating dinner on the first night,  we were treated to a sunset as the tracks paralleled 40 miles of the Mississippi River.

 On our second day on the train. We enjoyed a wine and cheese tasting. The porter moderated a trivia game and it was a lot of fun.

We were surprised about the beautiful scenery and farm land in North Dakota and Montana.  We did not see many towns or people but the country side was gorgeous.

Upon arriving in West Glacier in the middle of the night, we were met by a member of the Belton Chalet Hotel staff and chauffeured about 200 yards to our living arrangements for the next 3 days.

With no thoughts of the ghost that is reported to inhabit the hotel, we went to bed and got
7 hours of sleep.

Next blog: Hotel With A Ghost As A Hostess