Shootout '07--Glacier--Transportation Thread

Skippy

devbobo wrote:

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

Okay I'm confused, I now know for sure that my friend is not coming to Glacier, so is it easier for those of us who are coming in from Australia to fly to San Francisco then fly up to where ever it is we need to fly to???

If we fly into San Francisco where do we go from there? and how long does it take, like if we fly, I imagine its a short trip but if several pool and drive, are we talking 2 days drive by car? or what
.... just throwing out ideas here.

I need to think about booking my flights very soon, but on the way home I want to go via Los Angeles.

Any suggestions folks??? .......... Skippy (Australia)
.

DavidTO

Skippy wrote:

Okay I'm confused, I now know for sure that my friend is not coming to Glacier

That's good to know, I guess I should remove her from the roster?

Terrence

Skippy wrote:

...so is it easier for those of us who are coming in from Australia to fly to San Francisco then fly up to where ever it is we need to fly to?

If we fly into San Francisco where do we go from there? and how long does it take, like if we fly, I imagine its a short trip but if several pool and drive, are we talking 2 days drive by car? or what

For flying, I think you are looking at roughly the same flight time +/- 2 hours if you fly in via Los Angelese, San Francisco, Seattle or Portland, with Seattle or Portland being the shortest I would imagine. A look at Travelocity or Orbitz should help sort that out. The decision maker comes down to flight cost and how long you are willing to drive.

If you want to drive once you get to the US, Google Maps shows

Los Angelese -> Kalispell = 1,326 miles; 19 hours 44 minutes
San Francisco -> Kalispell = 1,112 miles; 18 hours 20 minutes
Portland -> Kalispell = 587 miles; 9 hours 37 minutes
Seattle -> Kalispell = 515 miles; 8 hours 15 minutes

Portland and Seattle are doable solo in one day. Los Angeles and San Francisco are doable in one day with as few as two people I think. Los Angeles to Kalispell actually looks like the nicest drive since you can go through Las Vegas, Salt Lake City and see a lot of the beauty in Utah, Idaho and Montana, before you get to the main attraction in Glacier.

Ann McRae

Hi Skippy

The offer is still very open for you to drive with me if you can consider flying into Edmonton or Calgary.

It makes most sense to me to consider a group trip through the Canadian rockies as a pre shootout trip, since we are talking late fall here.

ann

Skippy

Ann McRae wrote:

Hi Skippy

The offer is still very open for you to drive with me if you can consider flying into Edmonton or Calgary.

It makes most sense to me to consider a group trip through the Canadian rockies as a pre shootout trip, since we are talking late fall here.

ann

Thank you Ann...... well I only found out last night that my friend is not going, so now I can make plans .... Skippy
.

Terrence

Has anyone started arranging rental cars and car pooling? I assume it makes more sense to pool our resources rather than everyone haveing their own car. Leaves more money for beer that way!

Ann McRae

Well, as mentioned earlier, I am driving from Edmonton. Skippy and Christina (Phyxius) are driving with me and we are touring the Canadian Rockies ahead. (see the preshootout thread for details).
Once in Glacier, with our luggage securely stowed, I will have seating for 2 or 3 others.

As well, I'm not sure how many people realize how much closer the Calgary airport is to Glacier than any of the other large choices (Seattle or Salt Lake).

ann

Terrence wrote:

Has anyone started arranging rental cars and car pooling? I assume it makes more sense to pool our resources rather than everyone haveing their own car. Leaves more money for beer that way!

cwphotos

Ann I would be so on that. I just need to get my passport...... And check flight prices of course.

Ann McRae

cwphotos wrote:

Ann I would be so on that. I just need to get my passport...... And check flight prices of course.

Dean - do you mean flying in and out of Calgary? Would you like to join the preshootout?

Check that thread, and check with gluwater......

It would be fun to have you join us, but we are getting to the point of needing more wheels and thus some more planning. And I will do my very best to find a bear for you too!!!!!

ann

aporia

Maureen and I will be flying into Calgary on the 20th or 21st for the pre-shootout festivities. We'll be renting a car and can take a couple of non-smoking:whew passengers.

cwphotos

Ann McRae wrote:

Dean - do you mean flying in and out of Calgary? Would you like to join the preshootout?

Check that thread, and check with gluwater......

It would be fun to have you join us, but we are getting to the point of needing more wheels and thus some more planning. And I will do my very best to find a bear for you too!!!!!

ann

I was good right up until the end there......
But overall I am not sure about the preshootout. I have a wedding to shoot the 22nd. So I would have to fly up after that.

Ann McRae

Dean

If you fly to Calgary on the 23 you will not be able to hook up with us on the preshoot out: We will be driving from Canmore to Waterton via Highway 22 - through the foothillls and cowboy country.

However, flying in and out of Calgary may still be a good choice - for you and others - as it is only 4 hours drive from Calgary to St. Mary - way less than other airports unless you can fly right into Billings - actually according to google maps it is a 4+ hour drive to St. Mary from Missoula and 6+ from Billings.

Calgary, folks, think Calgary!!!!

ann

cwphotos wrote:

I was good right up until the end there......
But overall I am not sure about the preshootout. I have a wedding to shoot the 22nd. So I would have to fly up after that.

Terrence

Just so people are aware, you can fly in to Kalispell, MT, which is West of the park. According to Google Maps, it is supposed to be about a 2 hour drive to St. Mary's.

Scott_Quier

Terrence wrote:

Just so people are aware, you can fly in to Kalispell, MT, which is West of the park. According to Google Maps, it is supposed to be about a 2 hour drive to St. Mary's.

Yep - as noted back at post #7. This is how I plan to make the journey. Anyone want to meet up there and share a car?

Terrence

Scott_Quier wrote:

Yep - as noted back at post #7. This is how I plan to make the journey. Anyone want to meet up there and share a car?

Sure. I get in real late, 11PM, to Kalispell. As long as I get some coffee in me early, I'll be a good travelling companion

cwphotos

Scott I may also be interested in that. I will need to book a flight still but that may work. Do you have your flight booked yet?

Scott_Quier

cwphotos wrote:

Scott I may also be interested in that. I will need to book a flight still but that may work. Do you have your flight booked yet?

Not yet. That's something that's on my to-do list for this week-end. Along with pay the rest of the fee. I'll post details when I have them.

But, it sounds like we could have a car-full in a hurry here!

Bendr

I'm on the waiting list, so this is assuming someone drops out...

I've got a Geo metro, so i I'm thinking I would probably just drive cross country from about an hour north of Sacramento, CA and avoid paying for a ticket/rental...

In the event I get to do this I should have some room, if someone else wants to drive over...

Scott_Quier

cwphotos wrote:

Scott I may also be interested in that. I will need to book a flight still but that may work. Do you have your flight booked yet?

CW,
FWIW, I'm paid up for the shoot out and have made my flight reservations. I will be arriving in Kalispell on 24 Sep at approx 3:25PM. No car yet. Willing to do so, just waiting to see what David starts up by way of organizing car-pools and will jump in there when asked to help out.

cwphotos

ok sounds good I will start looking for flights that put in around then. I will be 25 by then and could rent a car if need be as well.

El Kiwi

Sounds good, guys, I'd be interested in car-pooling and can drive if necessary. I'll look into some flights pronto!

Cheers,
Colin

Bendr

Out of curiousity, If I were to drive there from the Sacramento, CA area, is there anyone who would be interested in carpooling?

Otherwise it looks as if it may be more efficient for me to fly, as most seem to be doing...

Thanks,
Ben

devbobo

I will be flying into San Fran and probably spending the week prior to the shootout at SmugMug HQ.

I'm interested in car pooling

Bendr

That would be cool, Where is HQ located specifically? I was planning on probably leaving monday morning, and am about 2 hours from SF in the lovely town of Colfax

Ben

devbobo

Bendr wrote:

That would be cool, Where is HQ located specifically? I was planning on probably leaving monday morning, and am about 2 hours from SF in the lovely town of Colfax

Ben

Mountain View, CA

Bendr

hmm... I suppose the trick becomes meeting up, We could try and meet half-way, or another possibility is that you could ride an amtrak to Colfax, we have a local stop.

cwphotos

Yeah im still on the fence about where exactly to fly and when. The price to fly into Kalispell is insane.

I was thinking of flying into San Fran, but I dont know how many people will be coming in there. Im trying not to have 5 bazillion hops to get to glacier. But flying to san fran is half the price compared to flying to kalispell.

jamesl

Flying into Great Falls
Those of you still looking to book flights might want to think about flying into Great Falls. That is my home town, actually. The airport there is large (by Montana standards), so flights are much cheaper than into Kalispell. You can easily rent a car right from the airport and be in Glacier in around 3 to 4 hours (depending upon traffic). The drive up there is absolutely beautiful, and there are lots of opportunities for photography along the way. PM me if you want any additional info.

James

Terrence

I reccomend checking Priceline too. I may not have gotten the most convenient arrival and departure times, but I got a flight in and out of Kalispell for $373. I bet you can do as well or better in/out of Great Falls and use the savings for your rental.

tonyd

I will be flying in from Newark. NJ. Great Falls is only $80 cheaper than Kalispell.

Missoula is only 2hrs away from Kalispell. Anyone know how that airport compares with Kalispell and Great Falls in size and rental availabilty?