July 12-19 trip to GNP
 

Hows it lookin' so far? Fly from Chicago to Denver and on to Spokane. (SW points) Koa rented on east and west side/car rental and airfare. Getting down to the wire. Have till May 11 till I can no longer not lose $$$ if I cancel. I'll hang in there till it's no longer feasable. If I go....lowest amount of people on those days ever in GNP?

Presumably GNP will be open by July, but who knows whether a definite re-opening date will be announced by May 11th.

Would you consider riding the Amtrak Empire Builder out of Chicago to Whitefish MT and renting a car there? If you must fly to Spokane, remember that the eastbound Empire Builder leaves Spokane after midnight and is in Whitefish in the morning. My favorite lodging on the west side is at Meadow Lake Resort. We had a condo with an in room hot tub. It is at a golf club on the outskirts of Columbia Falls.

The train from Chicago to Whitefish takes at least 32 hours... if it's on time.

I took the Amtrak train once in 1995. Chicago to LA. It was the "train from HELL!!" It broke down for 7 hours in Kansas City! NOBODY ever came around to tell us what happened....it was at night. Torture wise....the trip seemed like 104 hours long. NEVER AGAIN!

Whitefish/Blackfish or no fish...the train is OUT! Thanks anyway! (every mile seems like an hour)

Taking a train in the days of a pandemic? Really?

Todays' train 8 arrived in Whitefish 33 minutes late (7:54AM MDT). I have no way of knowing how many passengers were onboard. The northbound and southbound Coast Starlight are running today. There were a couple of days last week that the southbound train did not run from Seattle.
Even in the days when planes are flying at 10% or less of capacity, there is an alternative to flying or riding a bus if you must get somewhere.
I am sorry that the OP had a horrible trip on Amtrak 25 years ago. I started riding Amtrak in October 2001 about 6 weeks after 9/11/01. My first trip on Amtrak was from Washington DC to New York Penn station.
Last year there was a baby born in a Roomette on an Amtrak train. The sleeping car attendant delivered the baby (all in a days work). The babies middle name is Amtrak.
I last got off an Amtrak train on the morning of Feb. 13 coming back home from a quick trip to Arizona. I was sick when I got off the train. I went to see my doctor that afternoon. He thought it was just a bad cold and I guess he was right.
The Sunset Limited was late getting into LAX so many people missed the connection to the Coast Starlight. I was sitting on an Amtrak bus from Los Angeles to Bakersfield. I hope I didn't give the gentleman that was in his 80's that was sitting next to me my cold. I had a seat to myself on the San Joaquin train all the way to Martinez. I had over 2 hours to wait in MTZ before the Coast Starlight that I missed in Los Angeles showed up.
So for now, STAY HOME, die at home without getting diagnosed so we can "flatten the curve" to make our president look great.

I'm not talking about being late. I'm talking about being on a train with others for that length of time with people getting on and off for over a day and a half trip--and who may or may not they have been exposed or are carriers themselves. A plane is bad enough. A train can be a petri dish.

In July this is not going to be over by any stretch. We may be able to travel but if an outbreak occurs than there will need to be tracking of all contacts with that epicenter.

Tom Fuller thanks for the post.

As time goes on...this Chicago to Denver to Spokane trip (GNP) looks better and better. Montana is low on virus deaths and it can't wait to open it's state. I have my "Beatles" and "Chicago Bears" masks ready to go. I have until July 1 to make up my mind without losing $$$. Been checking GNP webcams everyday to see how things are going.