Campsites at Sears Motel?

[Kathy]

You Twin Cities people must eat walleye for breakfast all the time, right?

Oh yes.....I just finished my walleye breakfast burrito---they have them on all the MN McDonalds dollar menus.

(Wow...really? - a walleye breakfast?? I've never heard of such a thing. I learn so much from this forum. You are a brave man, Lyman.....I'm not sure I'd have tried it. )

[llholmes1948]

(Wow...really? - a walleye breakfast?? I've never heard of such a thing. I learn so much from this forum.

Sometimes we just don't know what we have in our local communities until it is pointed out to us by the enthusiasm of a visitor!

As I recall the dish, it was a decent size piece of walleye fried in a light batter, bread crumb I think, which was served on top of two fried eggs. And as I now recall it was blackened walleye so it was nice and spicy. It was really a delicious breakfast.

I can't recall how much it costs but it was fairly expensive for breakfast, about $12-14 I think. However when I had called home the night before and told my wife I was delayed in Minneapolis, she said "Go out and have an expensive meal because I purchased trip delay insurance for your trip." So cost was no object. However my wife did send in for reimbursement and I believe she received it but I haven't seen any of it. So the expensive walleye breakfast turned out to be a financial fiasco for me but I guess I am still a better person for having eaten this meal.

I will check my receipts and let you know the name of this restaurant so you Twin Cities chatters can have your own walleye breakfast.

Lyman

[Ear Mountain]

They have a similar meal in Wisconsin but instead of walleye they put a big juicy brat on top of three eggs.

[Tara]

One of the things I read on their page was that they will pick you up no matter what time the train gets in!

Marc took the train to meet us in the park last summer...July 28th I think. The train was a good 3 1/2 hours late if I remember right and the word around the depot was that wasn't unusual. It was quite dark when the train got in.
Anyway, the lady from the Sears Motel was waiting there along with everyone else and Jack kept her entertained with his stories (mostly about his imaginary "cool dude dad"). She was a very nice lady!

[Tara]

Next time I will get on the internet and put out a distress call to see if there are any chatters who can rescue me from airport hotel oblivion

I'll "third" what Kathy and Steveo said...give us all a call!
I think the restaurant you're referring to is something like the Split Rock Grill? Lots of rock decor? I LOVE walleye for breakfast! Especially when you're camping!

[llholmes1948]

I'll "third" what Kathy and Steveo said...give us all a call!
I think the restaurant you're referring to is something like the Split Rock Grill? Lots of rock decor? I LOVE walleye for breakfast! Especially when you're camping!

That sounds great and thanks very much. We are getting more people signed up for this spontaneous Twin Cities Glacier Chat party all the time and maybe I should hope to get delayed on my next trip! I haven't found the restaurant receipt yet but if and when I do I will let you know the name of it.

When I worked at Lake McDonald in the early 70s, there were a lot of college students from Minnesota who worked at the hotels in the Park and some colleges such as St. Olaf seemed to be well represented. I assume that historically a lot of students from Minnesota applied to work at Glacier because for many years the hotels were operated by the Great Northern Railway with headquarters in St. Paul. I should bring out my employee address lists from the 1970s and see who might be still around.

And hey, how about that parking garage at the Minneapolis Airport? I believe that is the largest building I have ever seen! Would be fun to have a go-kart in there.

Lyman

[llholmes1948]

As far as the Amtrak 800 number....I don't put much stock in it.

I haven't found the Amtrak 800 number to be very helpful for getting information on train status. I remember a few years ago trying to find out if the train would be on time to Las Vegas, NM and even at noon the only information I could get was the status as of 6 A.M. that morning.

If you are picking someone up at a station and want to know the train's status, I think the best option would be to call the local station direct, Whitefish at 862-2268, East Glacier at 226-4452 or Shelby at 434-5031. Those were the numbers a year or two ago and I assume they are still correct. Whitefish usually has a recorded message indicating the train's status and I have found it to be fairly accurate.

Lyman

[Tara]

And hey, how about that parking garage at the Minneapolis Airport? I believe that is the largest building I have ever seen! Would be fun to have a go-kart in there.

LOL!!!!!!!!!!
Hey...How about we rent some gokarts and do that after we all have a walleye feast? We could even get tshirts made for the occasion...witha walleye driving a gokart! This is sounding more fun all the time!

[Stevo]

And hey, how about that parking garage at the Minneapolis Airport? I believe that is the largest building I have ever seen! Would be fun to have a go-kart in there.

LOL!!!!!!!!!!
Hey...How about we rent some gokarts and do that after we all have a walleye feast? We could even get tshirts made for the occasion...with a walleye driving a gokart! This is sounding more fun all the time!

Ok, why not. I second the motion. All those in favor, raise your flipper and blow a bubble.

[llholmes1948]

I think the restaurant you're referring to is something like the Split Rock Grill? Lots of rock decor? I LOVE walleye for breakfast! Especially when you're camping!

I found my credit card statement for this breakfast and all it said was "HMS Host" so that didn't help much. From looking at the airport map online and trying to recall the location, I would say it is probably the Northern Lights Grill. It may necessitate a return visit to confirm this.

Lyman

[slowhiker]

And hey, how about that parking garage at the Minneapolis Airport? I believe that is the largest building I have ever seen! Would be fun to have a go-kart in there.

LOL!!!!!!!!!!
Hey...How about we rent some gokarts and do that after we all have a walleye feast? We could even get tshirts made for the occasion...witha walleye driving a gokart! This is sounding more fun all the time!

I would fly in just for that.

[res.ranger]

We've been using Amtrak as our mode of trasportation to Glacier since 1986 and have just about always tent camped in East Glacier at the RV Park on Washington Street by the elementary school the first night we arrived and the last night before our departure. The cost is relatively inexpensive ($8-10/night) and the property and showers are well maintained. It is also an easy walk to Serrano's. We always choose a non-electric site right next to a little group of Aspens.

In my experience, the latest the train has arrived is 5 hours late and that was because of some sort of freight accident, non-related to Amtrak. Other than that, I cannot remember the train being significantly late. (That may be because the experience of being on a late train pales to my experience in Glacier or I just see the train trip as all part of the adventure - I don't know). I was out there twice last year, once at the end of July and the first week of October. The train was on time in July and 20 minutes early in October. Coming back we were right on time, if not early in Chicago. Of course, I always defer to the locals with regard to the timeliness of the train. They see it come through every day.

[twohappykampers]

Hi Jen,

If you're coming in to East Glacier on the evening train, I'd make plans "just" in case the train is late.

We camp on the west side every summer, and have been for the past 20 years. Because we're train buffs, we like taking the train over to the east side for the day, and the evening train back. Last July 15th the evening train was seven hours late coming in to East Glacier. Whatever mechanical problems it was having, caused it to have to sit over near Shelby for hours while waiting for a freight train to come pull it the rest of it's route. By the time those folks got in to East Glacier they were beat! In addition to that we often go down to the station in West Glacier to watch the train go through at night, and there were "some" nights it was running three to five hours late, although there were days it was pretty much on time.....but you just never know. A motel might be a good idea for that first night. It's better to be prepared.

[res.ranger]

It's probabaly always best to be prepared for the worst case scenario. Reserving a motel room is a good idea. I am not sure if the Backpacker Inn takes reservations, but that is always another option.