BACK TO SHERWOOD FOREST

June 26

I was so impressed by the Kootenai Falls and the Ross Creek Cedar Forest, that Delores and I drove over to Libby to see these attractions. But first....lunch!! By the time we got out of the apartment, did our walk on the Swan River Nature Trail, went to the post office, and got to Libby, it was almost 1:00 and we were hungry. So we stopped at the Libby Cafe in downtown Libby. It was great food. And they are famous for homemade pies -- made right there in the restaurant. And I am telling you they were GREAT. If you ever get to Libby, you must eat here. They also have wonderful homemade pastries and muffins, and they even make their own huckleberry syrup.

So onto the falls. Like me, Delores thought the falls were beautiful. I had already published a number of pictures, so I'll just put a few here. Since I now have a friend with me, I can get some people into the shots.



































After the falls, we headed to the Ross Creek Cedar Forest. It was still fascinating for me the second time. It could have been a bit more sunny for better pictures, but the same magical feeling comes over me. Again, with Delores along, I can include some pictures of us standing by the huge cedar trees so you can get a perspective of how large they were.

And after our little sight seeing trip, I thought we should try to find some of the home listings I had pulled from the MLS system. One was a beautiful 1300 sq. ft. long home with a 2 car log garage (for $215,000), and it was in Troy, MT which was just a mile down the road. Troy is located in the upper most NW corner of Montana, and probably only 20 miles to Canada and fewer miles into Idaho. So I knew this was most likely further away from civilization that I wanted. We did find the house, and it was just as cute looking as the pictures. But Troy turned out to be a real disappointment. The log house for sale was the nicest home we saw in Troy. Many old homes with junk around them, fairly worn trailer homes, etc. I was so bummed, because just from the outside of the home and the pictures on the listing, I knew this was a PERFECT house for me. Those who know my current house would say exactly the same thing. But Delores told me she would REFUSE to let me buy this house in Troy. And she was right -- I wouldn't want to live in that town.

So there was another nice looking 2 year old log home on 7 acres in Marion, MT which was right on our way back from Libby. It was listed at $229,900, and I'm sure it would have been a great place. BUT WE NEVER FOUND IT. I still think we found the general location, and it was an absolutely beautiful meadow area with mountains and trees all around -- a place I could really enjoy living.

However, that darn GPS system is just not all it is cracked up to be. It kept trying to turn us down 2 track trails through people's property. We went down one road, and Delores was driving so I could navigate, and neither of us saw this pothole (or should I say canyon) until the truck hit it and actually left the road momentarily. And we were only driving about 25 mph. So we turned around, and I tried another tack with the GPS -- just using the map and enlarging it to find the road names. I think we were on the right track, when a coolant warning light went on. Now I am freaked -- in the middle of no where with no cell phone reception, and something might be wrong with the truck. We looked at the engine and under the truck and it didn't seem to be leaking anything. And I looked through the manual and could not find this warning listed anywhere. So we thought it might be associated with the AC (which we will need coming back to GA). I decided our quest to find this home was now over.

We did drive through what was listed on the map as Marion -- nicer homes on larger acreage, but not really a town. there was a school, but I think Marion is more a mailing address, as the home I was trying to find was probably about 11 miles from Marion. The good news is that Marion is only 30 miles from Kalispell, so that is a very doable location for the future. The main road is a great road, 70 mph speed limit, and Kalispell is a large city (for Montana). So it would be easy to get there, and not that far from my friends (relatively speaking).

With all the adventure of driving down dirt roads, into potholes, etc., it was rather late when we got back. And tomorrow.....shopping!!

BIKING ON THE HIAWATHA TRAIL

June 25

My friend, Delores Delrez, arrived yesterday in Missoula. She's here for a few days of sightseeing in Montana (our favorite place), and then she is going to drive back to Georgia with me. It will be great fun to have company on the trip, as well as someone to share expenses. The week before July 4th, and the hotels are not cheap.

Today we are going biking on a trail that is called the "Route of the Hiawatha Rail Trail". This is a 15 mile bike ride (downhill) on what they called the Milwaukee Road. It's an old railroad track where the track has been removed and stone paths/roads have replaced the rails. The tunnels (10 of them) and tressels (bridges -- 7 of them) are still in place and you ride from the top down about 1,000 ft, winding through the mountains. It took us about 3 hours to complete the ride -- we stopped to eat sandwiches we packed, snap pictures, and at one point play with a couple of ground squirrels who were definitely used to getting handouts from the bikers. They would eat out of your hand, and at one point, one squirrel climbed right up on my lap to get a little bread. Very cute. Here is a picture of one of the squirrels trying out a Nature Valley bar -- he liked it a lot!!

My friend Jane Clapp went with us. She had heard about this ride from her mother and had wanted to do it. I'm so glad she did hear about it, because I never saw this mentioned in any of the travel magazines. AND IT WAS FANTASTIC. Apparently if I had picked up an Idaho travel magazine, it was plastered all over the place. The trail actually starts in Montana, but very quickly crosses over into Idaho. (In the picture, Jane is on the left, Delores is in the middle, and that's me on the right)

This railway was called "the best darn railroad in the world" (at least by some of the old time railroad guys). Italians, Serbs, Montenegrins, Austrians, Belgians, Hungarians, Japanese, French Canadians, Spaniards, Irishmen, Swedes, Norwegians, and others worked together from 1906 to 1911 to construct the Pacific extension of the Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul Railroad. It took thousands of workers, at a record cost of $260 million, and they managed to build it in record time. Then, generations of railroaders proudly kept the Milwaukee Road running until it finally went bankrupt in 1977 (can you tell I copied this out of the brochure?). Today, the US Forest Service has transformed the railroad grade into the "Route of the Hiawatha Rail Trail".

The incredible history of the construction of this line was followed by the unprecedented electrification of several long stretches of the main line, forming the longest electrified mainline railroad in the world. WHO KNEW?? Not me.

What I do know is it goes through some very scenic mountains and forests, across the rugged Bitterroot Mountains between Idahoe and Montana. It is best known for the first tunnel, right at the start on the "East Portal". It's called the St. Paul Pass or "Taft" Tunnel which burrows for 1.7 miles (or 8,771 ft.) under the state line. IT IS PITCH BLACK!! Really. When you enter, if you did not have a light on the bike, you would see absolutely nothing. Pool Delores started off with a bike light which pointed up.....so Jane and I were entertained to seeing the roof of the tunnel, while Delores had to follow our lights on the path. That first tunnel takes many minutes to ride, and when we entered at about 10:30 (or 9:30 PST), it was REALLY COLD. We came out the other side covering our ears with our hands to try to warm them up. If anyone is afraid of the dark -- please start the trail from the Western Portal (other side of the tunnel). Most of the other tunnels were between 1,516 ft long down to 178 ft. long -- piece of cake.

I really enjoyed the tressels. It is plenty wide, so you don't feel like you are going to ride over the edge of the bridge (lots of sturdy railings). And you have some of the most fantastic views from the tressels. The longest and tallest one was Kelly Creek Tressel at 850 ft. long, and 230 ft. high. The others ranged from 790 ft. long to the shortest at 281 ft. long, and they ranged in eight from the Kelly at 230 ft. high to 96 ft. high.

As I mentioned above, our lunch took place outside one of the tunnels where a lot of HUGE rail road lumbers were stacked. And I mean maybe 10 times the size of what you think of as a railroad timber. And it was hear we were entertained by the little ground squirrels. They were great fun.

So we finished the trail. Like I said, it was great that it was a downhill ride. You had to peddle, but could coast inbetween. Some brave people rode it uphill, and if you are a biker, it would have been easy. I did do a little uphill stretch to get a picture, and it wasn't that hard. The elevation didn't go up steeply, and probably only the upper portions were steep enough to really tax a person. Then we purchased a shuttle pass to take us back up to the West Portal (otherwise you do have to ride back up the 15 miles).

Notice I said the West Portal -- we got to ride through the 1.7 mile tunnel again. Still pitch black, but not quite so cold. Did I mention that at this point Delores' bike light had totally broken?? Her battery just fell off the bike, and so she had to follow Jane very closely to get back through the tunnel. She said she really couldn't see anything.

So it was quite a good day. If anyone is interested, go to www.skilookout.com and click on the Hiawatha Trail. You can rent bikes, helmets, lights, etc.

The Red Bus Tour

June 23

Today I did something I've wanted to do since I first went to Glacier National Park. Take a "Red Bus" tour. These buses were first introduced to Glacier Park in 1936. They were manufactured by White, and are called touring buses. And these are the original buses built in 1936, and were updated by Ford with new motors and systems around 2000. The cost PER BUS was $250,000. Yes, you read that correctly. And there are 34 buses running today. The basic structure of the bus is still in tact -- the body is actually a wooden box on the metal frame. It has a canvas roof which folds back so it becomes an open air touring bus.

And today, I got to be the driver's assistant to fold back the top. I'm now famous with all the people on my bus, as they all took my picture. In years to come, I'm sure they will wonder why they did that. Best of all, I was the last one to walk out to get on the bus, so I got to ride "shotgun" in the front. It was about 55 degrees when we folded back the top, so I'm extremely glad I was in front with the heater. The people behind me were really freezing their butts off. When I looked back in the mirror, all the hoods on their coats were up, and they had pulled out the blankets that the bus carries.

The biggest reason I wanted to take the tour was so I could ride across the "Road to the Sun" in the bus and get the fun facts you can't findon the Internet from the bus driver. DIDN'T HAPPEN. The Road to the Sun is still not open (and I've learned that it normally doesn't open until July 1). Our driver, Bob Smith (he was great) said he walked from where the road is closed to Logan Pass (which is where everyone wants to go) and he said the road was completely dry, no snow, and he didn't know why the road was closed. Because of the big avalance (snow, rocks, trees fell 4,000 ft, and did damage to sections of the road), it was probably for safety reasons.

So our full day tour was driving around the bottom of Glacier Park to the East Glacier Lodge where everyone had lunch. I've made this drive 4 times already on this trip, so nothing new there. We did make a stop a "Goat Lick", which is an area where mountain goats come to lick the Lichen (I think) off the rocks. While the park likes to keep things natural, at times they have to help the animals. The goats would cross the road (where the speed limit is 70 mph) and get hit. So the park put up a few fences to direct the goats through a tunnel they built and into the lick area. That way people aren't running them over. Today there is a little herd of mom goats and baby goats. They are quite a ways away, but it is fun to see the little goats bouncing over the rocks. (In the picture, there is a little baby goat lying on the rocks -- so cute).

BUT.....the people were fun. We even had a couple from Tacoa, GA (near Athens), and they knew Ellijay, of course. Met some nice people from Memphis, and as with most groups, we just had fun talking, joking with our driver Bob, etc. After lunch we did head back to West Glacier and went up the Road to the Sun as far as it was open, which is what they call "Big Bend". This took us on the famous part of the road -- the part that is very narrow, and if you look down the edge of the outside part of the road, you see it is over 3,000 ft down. If you have a problem with heights, you don't want to look.

But we did see some of the famous spots -- Bird Woman Falls (one of the 10 perfect views from the travel magazine), and the Weeping Wall (one of the most famous attractions on the road). In the spring, the water runs down from the high elevations, and there is a fairly long wall of rock. The water just comes pouring out of the rock all along the road. And in fact, people headed back down the road to the West side of Glacier routinely have their cars hit with all this water. Now mind you.....I'm in an open air bus and I'm sitting on the side where the water is going to pour in. And I told Bob the driver that I saw how he was moving the bus even closer to the wall. Sure enough, many folks on the bus were entertained by the sight of some of us getting wet. (Weeping Wall picture)

The mountains were just beautiful. Most of the snow is gone, but 2 nights before there had been rain at the lower elevations and a light snow cover on the mountain tops. So with this fresh dusting, the mountains were just beautiful -- blue sky, fluffy clouds, light snow.

One interesting item was the road and wall construction. This year the avalanche took out some of the road, but there is also a 10 year project to replace the "not very large" wall that keeps the vehicles from plummeting down the mountain. Here is a picture of a crane lowering a guy in a yellow box. What you can't tell from the picture is that if that cable broke, that man and the box will fall probably 3,600 ft. Scary stuff working on this road.

So it was a fantastic day. And I think I have found my job for next summer -- I'm going to apply to be a driver for these tours. Bob told me how to apply (the jobs are through Glacier Park, Inc.), and he said I needed to get my CDL (not sure what that is, but must have something to do with my drivers license). I already know mmore about the park than Bob did, from reading and listening to other guides. So with a little study, I'll be a paragon of knowledge for the park visitors.

And I did note that the driver gets some very nice tips from his passengers, so I would guess the drivers make much more than someone who works at the registration desk or the gift shops. So I'm going to check this out.

I don't think I mentioned on the day I went to Many Glacier, I met the ranger who was in the entrance booth. I gave her my drivers licence and my park pass, and she asked me to turn off my truck. So I'm now wondering what is wrong. Then she told me she was from Ellijay, GA -- she and her husband come out and work in the park. It is indeed a small world. And several days before that at Two Medicine, the ranger in the booth was from Cleveland, TN and of course, he knew about Ellijay. The ranger from Ellijay said I should go to www.usajobs.gov and I could see about applying to be a ranger in the park.

So now I have two places to look for a summer job -- who knows. Maybe next year I'll get paid for spending 3 months in Montana. Wouldn't that be nice!!

PICTURES!!

As promised, here are some more pictures of this lovely, picturesque area.



This is one of the streets in Fernie. I loved it because there is the "Fernie Livery & Transfer Company", and obvious throwback to the old days when there were probably horse drawn wagons hauling freight. I also love the Fernie General Store -- it actually has the Ghostrider Trading Company, which is where I found my metal sculpture of a bear and moose.








Another historic building in town was the old rail road station. It is now shops and a little restaurant. And as always, there is a view of Mt. Hosmer and the "ghostrider"














This picture is absolutely one of my favorites. This statue was in front of the court house, and I knew it was a memorial to fallen WWII Canadians. What I didn't see until I looked at the pictures was the "Flanders Fields" on the cross. The face of the statue looks so compassionate, looking at the cross. With the mountains in the background, this is just a great picture.













This picture was taken at a great distance, to get a picture of the lightpole with the flowers. What I didn't realize when I took it was how the architectural detail of this old building really makes the picture. The flowers are very secondary to the shot. And I love it.


















And here is a beautiful church that was in the downtown area. I really loved the look of the steeple and cross against the background of the mountains. I call it the "Leaning Church of Fernie" -- just kidding. Too bad I have such poor eyesight, and with the sun on the camera screen, I couldn't tell that I didn't have the camera level. Oh well.....I like the picture anyway.
















And finally, another shot of the Lizard Range Mountains in the Canadian Rockies at Island Lake. I don't know why, but I just like this shot with a piece of the sign as perspective for the shot. All the elements came together in this shot with the lake, trees, mountains being framed by the frees and the trail sign.

WELCOME TO PARADISE!!

June 21

That is what the travel guide says about Fernie, British Columbia, Canada -- and they are absolutely correct. OMG -- what a BEAUTIFUL place. I cannot believe I keep seeing such wonderful parts of the country, and now I've found a fabulous place in Canada. A shop owner in Whitefish, MT told me that if I loved mountains, I would love Fernie. And she was right. (NOTE: on this first picture, on the right hand side, note the rode and the little black hole, which is a tunnel through the mountain)

I drove through Whitefish, onto Eureka (last US town before the border), and into Fernie. Once I passed into Canada, it was the most beautiful drive -- winding road through huge mountains in the Canadian Rockies, along the Elk River. There is the Fernie Alpine Resort (from the looks of the mountains, I'm sure you must be an advanced skier to run these slopes), Island Lake, and the historic Downtown. (In this picture you see the Elk River and in the background the Canadian Rockies which overlook Fernie)

Okay.....history lesson. William Fernie founded this town on one of his prospecting trips in 1897. It started as a mining town and like many single-industry towns, it suffered the boom-andbust cycles throughout the 20th centure with the fluctuations of the global price of coal. Mining has beenh and still is a very prominent economic base for the Fernie area, alongside forestry, and tourism.

The best story I read about Fernie is called "The Ghostrider". In the afternoons, on the face of Mt. Hosmer (pictured here), comes the Ghostrider.....the shadow of a distinctive horse and rider (today the mountain was a little hazy to see the shadow). Some say this shadow is the ghost of an angry Indian Chief and his jilted daughter pursuing William Fernie.

As the legend tells it, William Fernie was courting an Indian Princess to learn the source of her sacred black stone necklace (it was coal). It is said that after learning the secret location of the Morrissey Coal Seams, Fernie stopped seeing the Princess and the tribe's medicine woman placed a curse on the Elk Falley.

Residents of Fernie feared the curse was real after several tragedies struck the town. Fire reduced the town to smoldering rubble in 1904 and again in 1908 (can you imagine!). In 1916, the Elk River flooded and in 1917, there was a mining disaster.

(GET THIS.....) In 1964 (modern times, mind you), a public ceremony was held to officially lift the curse. Members of the Kootenai Tribes assembled in Fernie and Chief Red Eagle and Mayor James White smoked a pip of peace. I LOVE THIS STORY!!

Because of the first, the town is a mixture of stone and brick structures with unique Edwardian Buildings built in the first decade of the 1900's. And they are just beautiful buildings today. I'm going to include pictures of the post office, the court house, and one of the main streets of town. To be able to look at the town and see the backdrop of the Canadian Rockies is unbelievable.

I decided to have "brunch" on this Sunday, and went to Mugshots Bistro for a great omelet, has browns, and toast -- all eaten outside looking at the mountains. Then time to do a little shopping. Not all the stores are open on Sunday, so if you are a shopper, come Monday-Saturday. I found the most wonderful bear sculpture -- it probably stands about 3 feet tall, made out of rusted metal, of a bear with a fish in his mouth. And I also found a wonderful moose made out of the same metal. They were both crafted by an artist in British Columbia. Last year I found the same type of sculpture of a buffalo (I named him Billy). My friend, Delores, loves buffalos. When they came over for dinner, they tried to kidnap Billy to hold him for ransom. Maybe I'll just have to give the buffalo to Delores, now that I have my own bear and moose.

And there there is the chocolate and fudge shop, which every little town seems to have. Only this one actually makes it's own chocolates -- and they are wonderful. So a few of those for me as well. I also found the Elk River, and the town has a wonderful series of hiking and biking paths along the river and around the town. Unfortunately, it was late enough in the day that I didn't have time to use any of these trails. And I think they would be much more fun on a bike -- I don't have one of those either.

I was looking for one of the scenic shots listed in the Fernie guide, and this took me into several local neighborhoods right off the downtown area. I saw a trend in homes that I really like and will try to incorporate into any house I might build. (Note: In the first picture, I hope you can see the white spots -- that is the "cotton" that comes off the Cottonwood Trees -- at times it looked like it was snowing)

Most of these houses are small homes, probably built in the 1950's. And it appears many of these residents have chosen the same architectural approach to remodeling their homes and creating a lot of "curb appeal". The old siding is coming off, to be replaced by cedar siding -- either natural of painted -- along with natural wood trim, new natural wood stairs and decks, and also using cedar shakes on the upper levels of the homes (I've always loved these with log homes). It actually looks like one company is "flipping" these homes -- remodeling and re-selling. And what would have looked like a run down home (and neighborhood) has new life. I think it says something about a town that is doing so much renovation.











Now for several of the other attractions -- Island Lake Lodge. This lodge is secluded in the peaks of the Canadian Rocky Mountains, and sits above a spectacular mountain lake (obviously it's called Island Lake), surrounded by "old growth" cedar forest, which is estimated to be 800 years old (glad forest fires didn't hit this area). There are log lodges where you can stay. And there are hiking trails everywhere over the 7,000 acres of wilderness. It is a hiking mecca, and I'd love to go back there to stay for a few days -- along with a lot of "Deep Woods OFF". I mean mosquitoes that could carry you away. But an absolutely beautiful lodge, beautiful lake looking at some beautiful mountains. The lodge also has great restaurants, a spa with all the amenities, fishing, guided hikes, canoeing, etc.



All of these mountain peaks have names, and I love these. If you start from the right, the first peak is Papa Bear, the peak in the middle is Baby Bear, and on the left is Momma Bear. I don't have any elevations at this time -- another search on the Internet.









And of course, this is the Island Lake. There were canoes you could rent, and some of the brave kids were even swimming -- I can imagine how cold that was.










And of course, there is the Fernie Alpine Resort with what looks to be fabulous skiing. I don't know much about skiing, but I do know wonderful condos and lodges when I see them. It is a beautiful area -- and like many things out here, I am TOO EARLY. I would have loved to take the ski lift up to the top and do a little hiking around (had both bear and mountain lion warnings here), but the resort doesn't actually open until June 27. During the summer there is also a lot of mountain biking -- with over 35 trails with elevations of 650 meters (does anyone know what that is in FEET?). They even offer mountain biking clinics. Here are some pictures for your enjoyment.








This is one of the major slopes or a "bowl" in the ski resort. On the right hand side is Grizzly Peak, which is 6,900 ft. (or 2103 m.) high, and on the left hand side is Polar Peak which is 7,000 ft. (or 2134 m.). Of course you know I read that off a book, because I have no idea how to convert meters into feet.

According to something I read, you can take the chair lift up, and in less than an hour be near Polar Peak -- walk the ridge. Would have loved that.











And this is the other major bowl in the ski resort. on the very far right is what they call Elephant Head (how do they come up with these names) which is 6709 ft. tall (or 2045 m).














This is one of the lodges in the mail ski village (there are many of these lodges), and this looks to have one of the main restaurants. It was a lovely, sunny place to sit and read about the area. They had some beautiful flowers. And for those of you who are in Atlanta and Florida where it has been over 100 degrees -- it was a wonderful 65 degrees. AND YOU WONDER WHY I LOVE THIS AREA OF THE COUNTRY.











As I mentioned above, everything in Canada is in meters, or KM/H (I believe this is kilometers per hour), and when it says "Fernie 51" on the road signs, I'm guess this is not miles. It also appears as though people do not speed outhere in the west (US or Canada), so I was trying to go the speed limit. Luckily when I came through customs into Canada, there was a sign there saying 100 km/h is actually 60 mph. But when I saw 80 km/h or 60 km/h, I didn't really know what speed to go (just slower than 60). I had to laugh at myself when, at the end of the day in Fernie, I realized there are km/h markers on my speedometer. DUH!!

It was a wonderful day -- full of sunshine and cool temperatures (it was raining in Bigfork, so Canada was a good choice). I have some more pictures of Fernie and several "artsy" shots I took that I really like. I'm going to put them in another post, as I'm tired of dragging pictures all the way to the bottom of this post.

ENJOY!!

POLEBRIDGE, HERE I COME

June 19

While I was visiting Kathy and Duane, we compared notes on our favorite places in Glacier National Park (they've been all over the park). We all agreed that Many Glacier was the most beautiful place in the park. And as I was leaving, they said I should try to get to Polebridge, MT -- a very small town that is actually very close to the northwest entrance to Glacier, but outside of the park. On my way back to Bigfork, I picked up a copy of the Flathead Beacon to see what local activities might be going on (that's how I find a lot of the things I do on these vacations -- through the papers). and there was an article about Polebridge.

The paper said this place was a "truly Montana experience." It is located 1 mile from the northwestern entrance to the park (very remote), and it has 2 buildings. There is the Northern Lights Saloon, and the Polebridge Merchantile. The "Merc" has world-class pastries, and I can vouch for that. I had a bear claw stuffed with huckleberries, and covered with frosting and sugar. The dough tasted like I was eating a beignet -- it was fabulous.

By the way, there are some cabins for rent in Polebridge. This is where people come to REALLY get away from it all. No phones, no TV, no Internet, no AC -- just a cabin. I'm not actually sure there is heat in those cabins, but probably no one comes up here in the winter. But you do have great pastries, and a saloon where you can wash them down -- and you might even have some local entertainment.

Now to get to Polebridge, you must drive into the West Glacier entrance, and then take Camas Road, leaving the park further up the western side. Then it is onto a rough, dirt road. It was rare that I was going much more than 20 miles an hour. It was raining, muddy, and the road was like a washboard -- extremely rough. Imagine driving about 50 miles like this. Along the way, there was a "general store" that offered some pizza, hamburgers, lots of little souveniors, and one of the friendliest store keepers yet. He was very talkative and full of information. Apparently this store is sitting on an 1800 acre ranch, and the original owner had died. His heirs had to wait several years before they could put it up for sale. A Texas oil man (was his last name Bush?) bought the whole 1,800 acres and is going to keep it whole. He plans on free ranging long horn cattle. Now that should be interesting.

Finally, Polebridge. I've already told you about the "town". Everyone who comes this direction stops. And the reason they come here is that the northwest entrance into Glacier is the gateway to 4 lakes: Quartz Lake, Lower Quartz Lake, Bowman Lake, and Kintia Lake. Otherwise, I doubt anyone would get here at all.

One feature I failed to mention was a horse who seemed to have his own "open range" right there in town. Several people were sitting at a picnic table eating their pastries, and there is the horse -- standing with his head over the table like he was participating in the conversation. I don't know if people feed him, but he did seem to enjoy all the petting.

After my bear claw, I decided to make the trek up to Bowman Lake. It is the closest lake to Polebridge, although I was told that Kintia Lake is far more beautiful. They were both down this dirt road, but Kintia was 15 miles further, and I'd had enough of bumps and rocks. So Bowman Lake it was.

It is an understatement to say this road winds and has many, many switchbacks. It goes through the deep woods of Glacier, and I kept thinking that my reward for making this drive would be to see a grizzly bear or a moose -- it is their kind of country. All I saw was a deer!! Bummer. The road is really wide enough for 1 truck, so imagine what you have to do when you come upon a big diesel pulling a boat. YIKES!! It was bumpy, rocky, and full of potholes. My truck bounced around so much that my diet coke went flat -- shook the fizzies right out of the soda. Guess Obama's stimulus budget didn't get to Bowman Lake.

Finally.....Bowman Lake. I'm sure I would have been more impressed if I hadn't already seen Lake McDonald and the Lakes of Many Glacier and Two Medicine. It's a beautiful lake -- but there are so many beautiful lakes in Glacier, it's hard to stand out. I thought I might be able to get in a hike, but the shortest trail was about 5.7 miles out -- and like always, you have to hike back. I think there was one trail that was about 30 miles -- WHO DOES THAT??? Someone much younger than me. There were also signs posted that a mountain lion had been sighted and that hiking alone was not recommended -- decided I would take their advice.

One thing I have noticed in all the Glacier locations, even the back country hiking trails are really well worn paths. For some reason I though back country hiking required a machete and you had to hack your way through the underbrush. But they all seem to be well marked and a fairly easy walk -- although when you start to climb there are always rocks to trip over.

There is a ranger station at the lake, and while I am not sure, I think the rangers just live there for the summer. There was a beautiful log house, so that wouldn't be half bad.

So it was an interesting day....another to add to a long list of fun and interesting days.

Here are a couple of extra pictures that I liked, and wanted to share with you. The American Flag seemed so appropriate blowing in the breeze among the pine and fur trees.

VISIT TO IBM FRIENDS IN SULA, MT

June 17-18

Before I tell you about my visit with Kathy and Duane Lee, let me show you some pictures of the most beautiful sunset that I witnessed from my porch over the Flathead Lake. I'm not sure what caused this type of sunset, but it was great to see.

Certainly part of the fun of coming to Montana is to see my friends. And I'm off today to see Kathy and Duane Lee who live in Sula, MT (a town almost as small as Nye!!). It's on the southern end of the Bitterroot Valley, about an hour from Idaho. Kathy and Duane are both retired IBMers, and when I was working in the IBM Education Center, I worked for Kathy. We were both horse people, and my interview with her was almost entirely talking about horses.

Kathy and Duane have a wonderful log home which sits right on the edge of the East Fork of the Bitterroot River. It is fabulous. And they have 3 horses -- a 5 year old named Vandya, a 16 year old (Ludo's age) named Duke, and I believe JJ is 23 or 24. They have 10 acres (mostly wooded), a great barn, and it all backs up to the mountains on the other side -- land that will never be developed. They've built a riding arena, a round pen, and practice the Parelli Method. They've done wonderful things with their horses.

We had a great time -- a talk fest for the entire time I was there. We talked about horses, IBM, my property in Nye, what it is like to live in Sula year round in a little more remote area, movies, etc. And Kathy and I had several great walks for a little exercise (they fed me well).

And if you have read the blog, you have read my stories about "Steve", the wacky guy who owns the property next to mine in Nye. I just want you to know that I am not the only person who has strange people living next to them. Kathy told mea bout several of their neighbors. One is a "Grizzly Adams" type -- big guy who was fairly unfriendly on their first meeting, and who lives "off the grid" and is going green. Then there is the neighbor down the road who is ex-Air Force (I think), and he has big speakers on the outside of his house. At 6:00 AM, he plays "reveille" (normally played at down to wake the troups), in the evening he plays "taps", and at noon he plays a bugle song that calls the soldiers to the mess hall. Then there is the man in the neighborhood who patrols his property line.....complete with a gun. So I want you to know that all the crazies are not in Nye -- got a few in Sula as well.

ADDITIONAL PICTURES FOR YOUR VIEWING PLEASURE

June 15

I had some great shots of the mountains and lakes, and couldn't put them all in the last post. So I'm going to add some here. ENJOY.


I actually don't know what these two mountains are, but the first does look like Rising Wolf Mountain. The reflections off the lake were so beautiful.

































This is Mt. Gould which can be seen from Many Glaicer. This is one of the taller mountains at 9,553 ft. tall.











Here is another view of Grinnell Point -- loved the boat on the lake. Grinnell is 8,851 ft. tall.
















This is another view of Salamander Glacier with the Garden Wall behind it (8,479 ft. tall), Mt. Grinnell on the right, and Mt. Gould on the left.

















This is Swiftcurrent Mountain, which stands 8,436 ft. tall. It looks down on Swiftcurrent Lake.













This is Mt. Wilbur, one of the taller peaks in the park. It stands 9,321 ft. tall, and again looks down upon Swiftcurrent Lake.



















And here is one last view of Many Glaicer Hotel. Absolutely beautiful!!