North West Regional Rally
August 3-5, 2010
Kalispell, Montana

KawaNOW North West Regional Rally Report
Rally Leader - Kris "Netnorske" Olsen
Rally Co-Leader - Greg "Schoeney" Schoenkopf

http://s374.photobucket.com/albums/oo187/netnorske/?action=view¤t=2010KawanowNWRegionalRally.mp4


Including early departures (schoeney and his brother...and Landman) and late arrivals (Delivery58 and his wife, and Tom and Larry from Spokane)...I think we had a total of about 15 Nomads attend the Rally, coming from several different States and a couple Provinces as well!

Gathering at the Holiday Inn Express in Kalispell, MT., we used that as our base for the next few days. The weather reports upon arrival were iffy at best, with thundershowers here and there, making it a tough call for which day to ride the Going to the Sun Road in Glacier National Park. The hotel had a great fire pit to relax and sit around, so each night that was the gathering place for those sipping cocktails, drinking beer, smoking cigars, or just taking in the laughter and great atmosphere!

Day 1: We chose to stick with the original plan and make the GNP ride the first day (Tue Aug 3). It turned out to be the worst of the three days to make the run, but we didn't/couldn't know that at the time. The first part of the day started out fine through the Marias Pass on Hwy 2, but turned cold and wet as we left East Glacier for St. Mary, where we stopped at the St, Mary's Lodge for coffee and lunch.

Riders coming down off the pass reported no rain on top, but fog on the east side, so we decided to go for it rather than go back the way we came. The short run up the east side to Logan Pass was unimpressive as we could not see anything in the fog. We stopped for some photos at the pass, where new reports were that things were clear on the longer west side! Within 200 yards west of the pass things did clear up and we got some incredible views and photos! By the time we reached the bottom we were riding in T-shirts for the return trip to Kalispell. It was like two entirely different rides!

Day 2: Wednesday was a do-it-yourself day, so people scattered in all directions, taking in the attractions surrounding Kalispell or just laying low for the day. The weather was spectacular....sunny and hot, causing some regret at not having this kind of weather the day prior. Among other places, we hit the local Kawi dealership, where Lomax's wife Lorna was begging him (with no luck) to buy the new Voyager...!!! Others rode to the ski resort in Whitefish and took the lift up the hill for lunch and a great view!

Day 3: Thursday we all gathered about 8:30 for a group ride around Flathead Lake, south of Kalispell. Flathead is the largest freshwater lake west of the Mississippi and takes awhile to make the loop! We stopped to buy some fresh local cherries at a roadside stand before rolling into Big Fork, a quaint little town on the east side of the lake for lunch and some window shopping before pressing north up to Hungry Horse Dam. Again, the weather was fabulous and t-shirts were the norm! After visiting the dam...the group split up with some heading back to the hotel....and others making another run up the west side of Logan Pass! At 7:00pm, we all met at Perkins Restaurant for a final dinner in the banquet room, where we raffled off the stuff Kawasaki had donated to the Rally!

Friday morning we said our goodbyes and departed in different directions, with four bikes riding south with me for a sun soaked run over the famed Lolo Pass from Missoula, MT to Orofino, ID on Hwy 12! What an incredible ride that is!

The NW Rally was a great success and I can't wait for next year's events. I want to thank schoeney and CC for their help in putting the thing together and hope to see many of you next year in Crescent City for the "Rally in the Redwoods"! Thanks to everyone who took the time out of their busy lives to attend and make it a special memory for us all...!!

You can see more photos of the NW Rally at the link below:
http://photobucket.com/
Login- nwkawanow
pass- nwkawanow

Ride Safe....Kris (Netnorske)