Shootout '07--Glacier--Transportation Thread

DavidTO

Well, I wasn't planning on starting a thread on transportation until much closer to the date, but since we've already got so many people planning ahead, here we go: the official Travel Banter Thread for the smugmug/dgrin Shootout of 2007.

Have at it, kids. Banter about travel, all you want.

tonyd

Would it be a correct assumption that we will be meeting late morning or early afternoon at St Mary's on Sept 25th?

If so, I figure I should be looking at flight possibilties into Kalispell on the 24th

DavidTO

tonyd wrote:

Would it be a correct assumption that we will be meeting late morning or early afternoon at St Mary's on Sept 25th?

If so, I figure I should be looking at flight possibilties into <!-- mp_trans_disable_start -->Kalispell on the 24th<img src="https://us.v-cdn.net/6029383/emoji/headscratch.gif&quot; border="0" alt="" >

We are planning on folks travelling to St. Mary's on the 25th, and are not going to be planning anything formal early in the day. It's a long ways off, and there's many details to pin down, but I would suggest getting there by dinner. How you spend the 24th is up to you.

tonyd

Just asking since I think the first day of Shootout '06 I believe we went out that afternoon for some photo opportunities.

Yes, it's a year away, but to me that year will go by quickly... My wife is always complaining to me that I try to plan way ahead of time

DavidTO

tonyd wrote:

Just asking since I think the first day of Shootout '06 I believe we went out that afternoon for some photo opportunities.

Yes, it's a year away, but to me that year will go by quickly... My wife is always complaining to me that I try to plan way ahead of time

That may happen this year, as well, but as far as I can tell this far out, it's going to be an informal, whoever's-there-and-feels-like-organizing-it kind of thing. Nothing official.

DanielB

DavidTO wrote:

That may happen this year, as well, but as far as I can tell this far out, it's going to be an informal, whoever's-there-and-feels-like-organizing-it kind of thing. Nothing official.

i would guess a meet-n-great type of thing in that beautiful lobby/patio they've got there. there will probably be some room boasting going on too

Scott_Quier

Sharing a car
I just sent the reservation $$ to David (after e-mailing him to make sure there was still room). I'm so stoked right now!

In the FWIW column, I will most likely be flying into Kalispell (code: FCA) on 24 Sep, staying the night in town, then taking my time driving through the park to St. Mary. That's the plan right now - subject to events and coordination and establishing carpools.

DavidTO

DanielB wrote:

i would guess a meet-n-great type of thing in that beautiful lobby/patio they've got there. there will probably be some room boasting going on too

Daniel, until you fix the skin tones in your avatar, you are banned from posting in this thread.

Andy

DavidTO wrote:

Daniel, until you fix the skin tones in your avatar, you are banned from posting in this thread.

I'll shave those chops if I see him in person.
Barbisol!

cwphotos

I think im gonna do the Amtrak...unless someone is coming around the Chicago area. Problem is im going to get in the day before. I may need to find a room.

El Kiwi

I'll be coming from NYC - what's the preferred route? Will it be much cheaper to book flights way in advance (like now?)

Woohoo!

Ann McRae

I'll be driving from the north. I have a 7 passenger van that will hold plenty of luggage too. Depending in pre/post shootout I may be heading straight down via Calgary or through the Canadian Rockies and hopefully Waterton.


ann

Dixie

I haven't been on DG lately so thought that I should check in and let everyone know that I'm still amoung the living.

I have an Alaskan combo land/sea trip starting Sept 4th from Fairbanks, Alaska. I will be leaving my car somewhere in the Seattle or Vancouver area and flying from Seattle up to Fairbanks to meet my wife and some friends for 14 day/13 night trip which ends up in Vancouver by ship on Sept 17th.

I will put my wife and two friends on a plane back to Alabama on Sept 18th. After those duties are done, I will be working my way to St. Mary, Montana to arrive either late the 24th or no later than mid-day on the 25th.

Anyone needing a ride from the Seattle/Vancouver area is welcome to tag along. I should have room for two with luggage and gear. Anyone needing the ride also needs to know that it will be a one way ride, because I will work my way back to Alabama from Montana. That means you will be on your own getting home.

That also means that I will have room heading southeast after the shootout for anyone needing a ride that-a-way.

I am really looking forward to meeting everyone in person.

Justiceiro

Kiwi,

Flights leaving the friday before from LaGuardia are at about $350. Through Denver- is Kalispell the closest to the park? Is St. Mary's in Kalispell, or in the park?

Scott_Quier

Justiceiro wrote:

Kiwi,

Flights leaving the friday before from LaGuardia are at about $350. Through Denver- is Kalispell the closest to the park? Is St. Mary's in Kalispell, or in the park?

I used to live in MT - know some of the geography. Kalispell is the closest airport and is west of the park. St Mary is a town just east of the park. To get from one to the other, you drive through the park.

Here's a link to a map that should help you visualize the relationships involved (link).

It may be more cost effective to fly into either Billings (BIL) or Great Falls (GTF) and drive from there. I don't know, I just offer that up as another idea.

FWIW - See post #7 above. I'll be flying into Kalispell the night before and driving to St. Mary. Might be an opportunity to carpool?

cwphotos

im confused at this point. I wanted to take the Amtrak but no matter how you package It I would need to stay another night on both ends of the trip or arrive late the first day and leave early on the last. I may fly out or even consider carpooling with someone who may be coming via the chicago way. Anyone want to give poor old me some advice. Im super anal about having all my info in line for trips so this is making me crazy.

Thanks.

gluwater

cwphotos wrote:

im confused at this point. I wanted to take the Amtrak but no matter how you package It I would need to stay another night on both ends of the trip or arrive late the first day and leave early on the last. I may fly out or even consider carpooling with someone who may be coming via the chicago way. Anyone want to give poor old me some advice. Im super anal about having all my info in line for trips so this is making me crazy.

Thanks.

wouldn't driving take the same amount of time as the train?

cwphotos

Well I mean i Could plan it different. I was under the assumption that thier would be no available rooms at the park the day before or after. Am I incorrect ?

DavidTO

cwphotos wrote:

Well I mean i Could plan it different. I was under the assumption that thier would be no available rooms at the park the day before or after. Am I incorrect ?

Well, it depends on what you mean by at the park. St. Mary's closes the day we leave, so there would be no rooms there the day after. The day before, I don't know, it's possible.

devbobo

Anyone driving up from San Fran...by any chance that may have some room in their car ?

aktse

I'm coming from the bay area, but at this moment, I have no idea of how I'm getting to the shootout. I think there are at least a few of us coming from this area. What are your travel plans?

devbobo wrote:

Anyone driving up from San Fran...by any chance that may have some room in their car ?

I'm currently not planning on driving unless there is a group of people that decided to do it.

devbobo

aktse wrote:

I'm coming from the bay area, but at this moment, I have no idea of how I'm getting to the shootout. I think there are at least a few of us coming from this area. What are your travel plans?

I'm currently not planning on driving unless there is a group of people that decided to do it.

Hi April,

I haven't made any definate plans yet...things are a bit up in the air. I will be flying in from Australia...and for a few different reasons, San Fran seems like the obvious choice.

By a group of people...do you mean more than one car load ? Or just enough for one car ?

Cheers,

David

greenpea

For anyone wanting to take the train from West to East.

Here is my plan. I would love to have company on this trip.

Take the Amtrak Empire Builder (from Seattle, WA its $82 each way, $164 round trip)

Depart Seattle, WA @ 4:45 pm Sept 24
Arrives East Glacier Park, MT @ 9:54 am Sept 25

Pick up the rental car in East Glacier.

Then its a 30 mile drive from the town of East Glacier Park to St Mary where the lodge is.

For the return trip home
Leave East Glacier Park, MT @ 6:45 pm Sept 29
Arrive Seattle, WA @ 10:20 am Sept 30

Anyone want to share in the cost of a rental car?

aktse

devbobo wrote:

By a group of people...do you mean more than one car load ? Or just enough for one car ?

I don't know what that plans are for others. I don't know how I'm getting there yet other than it might include trains, plans and automobiles... I think Ian and Gus might be coming though here or starting from here, and I think there are two others as well.

Skippy

devbobo wrote:

Anyone driving up from San Fran...by any chance that may have some room in their car ?

Dang it I wish I knew which way to go too David.... I have to find out real soon if my friend is actually coming to Glacier or not, getting there is all based on whether there are two of us or one ...... Skippy

Terrence

Has anyone found good deals on airfare in to Kalispell? I tried low balling Priceline and it looks like $373 round trip the lowest cost right now.

Phyxius

Terrence wrote:

Has anyone found good deals on airfare in to Kalispell? I tried low balling Priceline and it looks like $373 round trip the lowest cost right now.

No. When I checked prices a while ago they were that price. Now I'm having trouble finding anything below $475-$575.

I had been thinking about flying to Spokane and then taking the train to West Glacier.

From BWI to Spokane with a layover in Denver it's about $400. Then the train from Spokane to West Glacier takes 6 hrs, and is $42 one way. So, that's not really any cheaper.

I'm all for flying into another city and spliting/sharing a rental to get the rest of the way, but I was hoping to do the post shootout. (Is there going to be a post shoot out?)

Oh, I'm excited.

Terrence

I didn't pull the trigger, but Priceline showed a fare of $373 from NYC to Kalispell. I've never used Priceline, so I'm not sure if that's a seat on a UPS flight in the cargo bay or a real airliner.

I thought about the train, to see the country on the way, but it will take 2 days from NYC, which I can't manage.

I'm going to wait and watch fares for the next few months. If anyone spots a deal, please post here.

I am insanely excited for this trip

Scott_Quier

Terrence wrote:

I didn't pull the trigger, but Priceline showed a fare of $373 from NYC to Kalispell. I've never used Priceline, so I'm not sure if that's a seat on a UPS flight in the cargo bay or a real airliner.

I thought about the train, to see the country on the way, but it will take 2 days from NYC, which I can't manage.

I'm going to wait and watch fares for the next few months. If anyone spots a deal, please post here.

I am insanely excited for this trip

Here's a couple of thoughts that may help:

• Use a number of different sites. They do not seem to be using the same database as the prices and displayed carriers are different.
• You can use Priceline.com or Travelocity.com or any other booking site to find something that may fit. If you find one that can be completed with just one carrier, go to their site and go through the booking process, short of pulling the trigger, to see what price you get from the carrier. This worked for me (Norfolk to Kalispell - ORF -> FCA) and found the both Northwest and United both do this.
  • Comparing the price at NWA.com with what I found on both Priceline.com and Travelocity.com, I found the price (all fees/taxes included) Travelocity ($524) to NWA ($479).
  • Priceline ($521) to United.com ($516). OK, not a big difference, buy you may have a better idea of what you are buying going through the carrier site.

Terrence

Good hunting Scott. You can reportedly get better prices direct with the carrier and you proved that. I am really curious to go for Priceline's $373 fare, but you have no idea what kind of a trip you're getting with them since they pick the time and the airline. For an extra $100 or so I think I'll take the peace of mind that my trip won't be tarnished by a crappy flight.

Terrence

I rolled the dice with Priceline's "Name Your Price" option and did OK. I'm getting in real late on the 24th and leaving early on the 30th, but I saved about $200 and got a fare for $373 with one layover each way. This was well below any of the airline's direct pricing. For a little lost sleep on each end of the trip I can now add $200 to my "Terrence needs a 500mm f/4" fund.