I'M FEELING THE LOVE -- FINALLY!!!

I'm excited.....it's finally kicking in. I'm looking out my window at my pine trees, my little lake, my daisy wildflowers, and the beautiful Swan Mountains (they really are the prettiest in the evening when the sun is shining on the green, forested slopes). And I am really enjoying it.

Today was a great day.....sunny, 81 degrees, clear blue skies, and no humidity (my friends in Georgia will appreciate this). I rode Ludo with my friend Jane who was on her horse, Ike. I love riding in the huge fields, where your surroundings are the snow capped Mission Mountains. Folks do some things different here -- like this picture of Jane taking Ike back to the pasture. At most barns, you walk the horse -- here the fields are so large, you get in the Ranger and the horse follows behind. I've seen Jane do this with no less than 3 horses in tow.

And today was also the Polson Cherry Festival. In case you don't know, the Flathead Lake area is famous for Flathead Cherries. Up and down Hwy 35 on the east side of Flathead Lake, you will pass many, many cherry orchards. Almost any small area of grass has cherry trees growing on it. They line the drive ways of the orchards. In the spring, you can imagine how beautiful it is with the "zillion" white flowers covering the trees.

And of course, the Cherry Festival is held to celebrate the harvest. BUT.....this year's cherries are what I would call the "not ready for prime time" cherries. Montana has had a very cool and wet spring which is not typical. So the cherries are not yet ripe, although they cover the trees. Along with the orchards, there are also many, many little booths along the highway where the orchards sell cherries, and today, they are all closed. In fact, at the festival, there was only 1 booth selling any cherries at all -- cherry pie. And if they were made with Flathead Cherries, they would have been from last year. I was also surprised that I could not buy just a piece of cherry pie any where at the festival -- bummer.

And the drive along Hwy 35 and the lake was beautiful. The turquoise water shimmered with jet skis kicking up the water, speed boats pulling kids in tubes, and sail boats anchored lazily off the shore. Any of the waterside restaurants and bars were overflowing with people on their decks enjoying the sun and the water. It was the kind of day that I missed my friends in Georgia -- wishing they were here so we would be sitting on those decks with beers in our hands enjoying good company and great conversations.

This has been a real transition for me. Every time I have visited the "west", it has been on vacation, so my days are filled with sightseeing where I go to see a beautiful waterfall, enjoy hiking in Glacier or Yellowstone, "shop till I drop", etc. Here I am in this beautiful place, and I've been spending my time opening new bank accounts, getting a drivers license and registering the truck, buying new light fixtures for the house, and finally, I'm getting around to painting the inside of the house (which, by the way, may prove to be an job for the entire summer). So it has been interesting. I still have a list of "to do's" as long as my arm (and my arm is long), but at least now I'm enjoying my surroundings while I do the mundane, every day kinds of things we all do.

I do want to share another experience with all of you. I blogged about this last year, but it's worth more than one visit -- The Route of the Hiawatha Rail Trail. This is a scenic section of abandoned rail bed which the US Forest Service has turned into a world-class non-motorized trail. Bring your own bikes, or rent them from the ski resort at Exit 0 off I-90. It is 17 miles of trail (one way), down hill (drop of 1,000 feet in elevation), where you ride through 9 cavernous tunnels and over 7 high (and long) trestles. Of course, it is scenic going past waterfalls, scenic vistas -- absolutely peaceful and soul-restoring.

The first thing you encounter is a tunnel that is 1.7 miles long, which is pitch black and cold. You must have a light on your bike, or you can see nothing. And even with the light, it's not unusual to see someone ride right into the stone wall.



Here are the guys on our trip by one of the historic signs, with that great mountain vista behind.





Another great feature of the trail are the detailed signs that provide historic information about the railroad and what it was like to have been part of building the railroad. There were towns that sprang up along the railroad, accidents, fires -- these signs are a great stop to rest your sore butt, and to learn about the history.







One of the 9 trestles that cross the mountain valleys










Of course if you a fit and athletic, you can start at the bottom of the trail and ride up the 1000 foot elevation -- and we saw people doing this. No one I knew!

There is also wildlife along the trail -- we heard stories of bear and moose sightings. What we found in many places were ground squirrels who were most happy to relieve you of any lunch or snacks you wanted to get rid of. The funniest thing was that they would take the food, put it in their mouth, and keep gathering more food. Pretty soon there cheeks were puffed out to the point where you thought they would explode. Obviously these little critters don't starve to death -- at least not in the summer.





A word of advice -- bring lots of water, and some food. For you and the squirrels. This is our "lunch bunch" having a "butt break" and enjoying a sandwich.






This is our little friend, the ground squirrel. He got some of everyone's lunch.