Traveling-U.S.A

August 3 2006 Kalispell/Glacier NP

We moved today to Kalispell, got our mail as we entered town then went to the Elk’s Lodge. Rested in the afternoon and in the evening visited with the neighbors and went to the lodge for a drink.

Friday we drove to Whitefish and found the Moose Lodge. We will be relocating there tomorrow. We then drove over to Glacier NP and went to the Lodge at Lake McDonald. After booking for a tour on Monday we drove to Polebridge outside the park. We had been told about what a funky historic town it was and not to miss the Mercantile. It was way after lunch and we just shared a foccacia roll and a huckleberry danish. We then headed to Lake Bowman in Glacier. Way back on a dirt road. Saw 2 deer but the best part was the LAKE. See the picture. It is a little hazy but there is a forest fire on the east side of the park and I am sure that doesn’t help. Back at the Elk’s we went in for steak night then sat outside enjoying the cool breezes and using someone else’s internet waves.

Saturday we moved to the Moose Lodge. All of 28 miles. While visiting with the caretakers we discovered that we missed Randy and Diana by just one week. We then drove to Eureka. What a great afternoon there. They were having their 2nd annual Quilt show. In addition to having quilts all over the buildings of the historic museum area the store fronts had more quilts hung up. Both sides of the streets. We then went to a café. What a treat. It looks like just a sandwich shop but the food was definitely gourmet. We had salmon smothered with artichoke/wine/sun dried tomatoes. Golden Yukon potatoes and green beans/carrots steamed just perfectly.

Sunday was a day of rest. The Lodge had an installation of new members and a picnic which we attended.

Monday we took the “Red Bus” tour in Glacier to Many Glacier. The red buses are 70 years old. They are open roofed and like a stretch limo that seat 18 including the driver. In 2001, 42 of them were taken to Detroit and refurbished by the Ford Motor co. The body’s were lifted off and placed on new chassis. They are duel fuel, gas and propane. It was a bit hazy from the fire but the views were still great. The old lodges were nice. We saw mountain goats and a mama grizzly with two cubs. When first spotted they were in the water at Sherbourne Lake but then came on shore. Look for the picture.

Tuesday was a very hot day. We had purchased a cover for our bikes and noticed that nobody could see the tail lights so Bob went to the NAPA store and got new ones and applied them to the bumper for all to see. It was an hour job that took 3 hours because it was so hot and the back end of the trailer was in full sun. We went downtown to a restaurant for the A/C more than the food. They were having a Farmers’ Market at the park so walked around that. Mostly crafts. Back at the lodge we went in for more a/c, drinks, played some table shuffleboard and Donna attended a WOTM (Women of the Moose) meeting. Had a brief thunderstorm in late evening that really cooled things down. However, the fires have escalated in Glacier on the east side where we really wanted to go. We will move on today and come back this way maybe next year.