Missoula and Glacier National Park

June 24, 2018

Bear Spray 101

So we found ourselves with a free week stay at a Marriott Category 5 hotel and one free airline ticket to use before mid July. I did a search for all the Cat 5 hotels and found one in Missoula, Montana, a major fishing area and a town not too far outside Glacier National Park. I have wanted to go to GNP for the last twenty or so years but other places have always seemed to jump in its way but with all the bad news coming out with climate change I decided we needed to go now, while there are still glaciers to be seen!

Montana has always been a state that has intrigued me. A place of final frontiers and big skies, a contrast of wild territory and sedate settings, an amalgamation of natural beauty and ancient history and home to a plethora of rivers chock full of trout and forests full chock of wild animals.

This was an area sacred to the Native American tribes that inhabited this land long before any European settler laid eyes on it. The Blackfeet especially, were protective of their lands and seldom welcomed outsiders to them.

As an interesting sidebar though, there was one outsider named James Willard Schultz that was welcomed, a hunter and trapper who married a Blackfeet and went on to become a well known historian and author of the Blackfeet, and is credited with giving names to dozens of geographical features in Glacier National Park. James and his wife Natahki, had a son who they named Hart Merriam Schultz, but was better known by his native name-Lone Wolf. After James’ wife died, he left the Blackfeet homelands and built a cabin in a remote area of Arizona, high in the White Mountains. The cabin still stands in that remote area of Arizona, now known as Greer, about 1/8 mile down the road from our cabin. The Schultz’s, both James and Lone Wolf, were our neighbors, so to speak, and his cabin is now a museum known as the Butterfly Lodge Museum which today memorializes more of Lone Wolf’s life as a well known painter.

The flight in, following the Clark Fork River was a bit hairy with mountains out both sides. I wouldn’t want to fly in with low visibility knowing that! Everything is so green-the landscape so far is just as I envisioned it.

The color is off-the hills are super green!

Our trip started off on a low point, with Billy landing first to no luggage. A huge bummer of course with his camera, fishing gear, and our bear protection. So after trying to figure out where his bag was, with not much luck at all, we headed to the hotel to check in and then go out to supply up for our trip. First stop Albertsons for the essentials-snacks, toiletries for Billy, beer and wine. Next stop, more essentials-the liquor store for a bottle of bourbon. Final stop, the must haves in this country-bear spray and a bell. Everything you read about hiking in Glacier says to take bear spray with you and know how to use it! We asked our questions, learned how to use (not like we will remember what they said when a monstrous grizzly bear is running 10 feet a second at you), and walked out feeling a little bit better.

There are three things in life that don’t make me happy-heights (which you got to admit, I am getting better with!), confined spaces and grizzly bears. The thought of running face to face with a grizzly makes my stomach turn. I have often wondered where that fear came from and I think it stems from when I was a very little girl, maybe 3 years old, in Greer. I can remember my Papa telling me not to go up on the hill behind the cabin because there were “Indians and bears up there.” I assume he must have told me that to keep me from wandering off. Funny thing is I went on to become fascinated by Native American culture, even focusing on it in my degree, but terrified of bears-but really only grizzlies. To this day, I still hear his words every time I start off for a hike up that hill!

We had originally thought we would go to the downtown area of Missoula for dinner but we were all starting to fade from exhaustion and our bellies were growling. The hotel is an area that has no charm, off the side of a highway with your typical chain hotels and restaurants. That’s OK though, because it was just a base for sleeping as our days will be filled with other activities and it was free. We did a quick Yelp and Trip Advisor check and settled on a Japanese place down the street-Japanese in Missoula? Yeah I know but Arby’s, McDonalds, or the Olive Garden weren’t jumping out at us. Dinner was hit and miss-some things delicious, other things not so much. We returned to the room and collapsed into bed after pulling the blackout shades because at 8:00 it was still sunny out!

Our plan for tomorrow is to A. watch the You Tube video on how to use the bear spray, B. watch the video again and C. go to the airport and look for Billy’s bag before heading out to Glacier!

June 25, 2018

A New Favorite

This morning we took our time heading out, after having breakfast at the hotel and making some phone calls concerning the reimbursements for Billy’s lack of luggage as well as where the luggage even was. We received word that the luggage was on its way to Missoula, via PHL and DFW, and Billy should receive it at some point today.

But… before we left the hotel we watched the video for how to use the bear spray one time, two times, three times and then we watched a few more YouTube videos on how to survive a bear attack-all very uplifting and motivating to head out into the hinterland!

We took a look at the paper map I got from AAA before leaving CT and decided to take a different route, the one marked as scenic, from the one the GPS was suggesting. The drive took us by the banks of the Blackfoot River, which meandered its way east through verdant valleys and mountains. We then headed north towards Glacier following along a beautiful stretch of highway that crossed through state forests and ran along windswept lakes. We continued through a large swath of agricultural area that was stunning with its vibrant yellow fields of blooming canola.

We passed a sign for Garnet Ghost Town, a place Jenny and I had read about before leaving home and decided to hang a U-turn (we couldn’t call it a road trip if somewhere along the line I didn’t make a U-turn), and go back and check it out. We paid our fee to park and walked down the path to the ghost town.

In 1895 gold was discovered in what is now Garnet and turned the once small mining town into a boomtown, that included 4 hotels and 13 saloons-very hard to imagine standing there looking at it now. The town had its ebbs and flows over the years with many people just closing the doors to their homes leaving belongings behind; by 1947 the last resident died. After that looters came through and the BLM purchased the property and preserved it for generations to come to get a perspective on mining towns of days old.

Back on the road and two and a half hours later, we entered Glacier and headed straight for the hike to Avalanche Lake. The drive in was stunning with roaring rivers, enormous cliffs with waterfalls pouring down their faces, towering trees and lush forest floor. We got lucky and found a space at the parking lot, we loaded up our packs, clipped on our bear spray and started off along the Trail of Cedars-a beautiful walk along boardwalks that rambled through a forest

of immense cedar trees whose floor was carpeted by every sort of green fluara possible.

The trail wound it’s way along a thundering river that eventually climbed higher toward alpine areas; it was more of an ascent then we had expected. At one point this woman was passing us on the trail and in response to my ubiquitous, “Hello!” she responded “Suck it up. You’ve still got 35 minutes to go.” I flipped around to Jenny and we looked at her with this incredulous look, and I responded, “Ok thanks…Buttercup.”

Another 10 minutes later this guy passing us throws his arm out and says, or at least so I thought, “Hey! Bear!” Turns out he was from Nashville and in the combination of his southern twang and my hypersensitive concerns of bears, I was mistaken and what he really said was, “Hey…Bill Merrick!” Turns out the guy was an associate from Alcon and he and Billy have had numerous opportunities to hang out. I swear we can’t go anywhere without Billy running into someone he knows, at least 90% of the time.

By the time we reached Avalanche Lake, we were beyond impressed with the beauty that lay before our eyes. We sat on the shore of this incredibly bucolic glacial lake, completely surrounded by towering mountains whose faces were dotted with various sized glaciers and tens of waterfalls cascading from one to another, eventually draining into the lake that lay at the base of the mountains.

We stayed for an hour or so, drinking in the beauty and relaxing with the sound of the roar that carried across the lake as the waterfalls tumbled down-at times it was difficult to tell the difference between the roar of the wind and the roar of the water.

The hike back was quick, as it was mostly downhill and we found ourselves back at the hotel quicker than we anticipated. We headed straight to the restaurant for dinner where our famished bellies were happily satiated by a shared appetizer of smoked trout, followed by bison meatloaf for me, an elk burger for Billy, and a free range beef burger for Jenny, all topped off with a heaping bowl of huckleberry ice cream-yum!

We were blown away by the beauty here. Jenny said Montana might have just passed Utah as her new favorite state-so much beauty out west, so hard to choose. We all agreed the west is majestic in a way that no place else in the US compares.

June 26, 2018

Don’t Mess With A Mama

We had spoken to the ranger on our way in yesterday about what hikes to do today. I knew about a few and was guided by his expertise into which ones would be best. One was closed due to snow conditions, one was partially closed due to snow conditions and bear activity and the other was open. We chose to hike the trail that was partially closed, the trail to Hidden Lake. We were going to go as far as the overlook as the part beyond that was closed due to unsafe trail conditions and numerous bears in the area.

The ranger had recommended that we get to the Logan’s Pass parking lot no later than 8:30 so I told my crew breakfast was going to have to be at 6:30…ouch! But, they agreed that an early start and guarantee of parking was worth it. We enjoyed a hearty breakfast before packing up the car, including Billy’s suitcase which had been delivered last night, and hitting the road.

Sunrise Lake MacDonald

Two weeks before we left, I had been checking Glacier’s website to see if the famous, “Going to the Sun Road” was opened and it wasn’t until the day before we left that the park road opened-Lucky us! The road is a modern wonder, cut into the hillside allowing the waterfalls to pass underneath it, or sometimes weep down the sides. It zigzags up the sides of the mountain until its highest point at Logan’s Pass at 6,646’. All the time the views are dramatic if not a bit nerve wracking!

We reached the parking lot at 8:40 and found plenty of spaces available. We exited the car to temps in the low forties, and winds blowing close to the same number. We added a few layers, lubed up on sunscreen, clipped on our bear spray and headed out for our hike-a 3 mile round trip hike, gaining about 800’ in elevation. Normally that wouldn’t be too bad, even in that higher elevation, but the entire trail was snow covered, save for maybe a couple hundred feet of it, and walking uphill in the snow adds a bit of challenge to it.

The footing was slick and a bit tricky to keep from falling but going up wasn’t as difficult as we thought. The amazing thing was watching people hike up with skis and snowboards-it is almost July isn’t it?

Once at the top, the views were outstanding but Hidden Lake was unfortunately hidden, but in a different sense as it was still ice covered.

Can you see the lake?

The bits of earth that were showing here were flora of the alpine vegetation-small dainty plants with even daintier flowers and trees that appeared stunted.

Here we encountered three scraggly mountain goats who were happily munching away on the flora in between sharpening their horns on the small trees. It is amazing how they seem to have no fear of people. I overheard a guy saying that in the summer, they bring dogs up to scare the goats into relearning to be afraid of predators-apparently they have even lost their fear of natural predators.

We enjoyed the views from the top, but were starting to feel quite a bit chilled, especially our bare hands so we decided to head back down. We knew the descent was going to be far trickier than the ascent as the snow was softening up, becoming much slicker. There was one section were walking both up and down was really a bit terrifying as we were walking across the fall line, making it much harder to center yourself and keep from slipping. A fall here would most likely not have ended well and we were all aware of that.

At one point, we watched a handful of youngsters run down the mountain and none of them fell; I on the other hand took a small tumble. Jenny decided to try this method and sure enough claimed it to be far more sure footed. After my fall, I decided to give it a try and I too felt far more stable, so she and I ran down the steepest parts-Billy wasn’t really on board with it!

The hike was awesome; different from any one we have ever taken and we appreciated that. I’m sure when the lake is thawed the view will be superb!

We continued our drive on down the mountain until we got to our next hiking destination, a trail that ran along the shores of Saint Mary Lake, passing by three different waterfalls.

The trail started off with a steep descent through incredibly thick vegetation-the kind you can be sure a bear is hanging out in foraging for berries in. It was here that I started calling out to the bears of Glacier National Park in hopes of not surprising them (one of the three reasons bears attack), and I certainly had no intention of us happening upon and startling an unsuspecting bear.

Funny thing is we happened upon a doe doing exactly that and she honestly could have cared less about us, though I assure you she heard us coming. We literally had to walk a bit off trail to get around her because she just didn’t budge and was clearly not interested in the fact we could reach out and touch her.

The first waterfall was a thunderous cataract and with the steady winds, we refreshed ourselves in its cooling spray. It is amazing how deafening the sound of water can be!

We continued on the trail getting higher and higher above the teal blue lake when we arrived at the junction of another trailhead. The additional waterfalls were still over another mile and a half away, we had already gone a mile and a half which would have made a six mile round trip hike. Billy said his legs were pretty wiped out from our morning snow hike-he should have run down like us, we used far less muscle power trying to steady ourselves-so we decided to turn around and skip the other two falls.

We continued our drive out of the park and headed north towards Canada where we re-entered the park at Many Glacier. We had all said that much of the west side of Glacier reminded us of the Lakes Region of Patagonia-the lush spruce forests tinted five shades of green, the teal hued windswept lakes surrounded by imposing mountains, the wild flowing crystal clear rivers tinted iridescent blue from the glacial sediment that is suspended in its water, and the continuous winds. When we hit the pothole strewn, washed-out, east entrance road, we felt like we had hit Southern Patagonia. The lakes on this side were more of the milky green color with three foot waves rolling down them. The rivers were just as wild but the mountains seemed far more rugged. While the grandeur of it all was comfortably familiar, it was still as exciting and thrilling as the first time we laid our eyes on such landscapes.

We checked into the Many Glacier hotel, an old Swiss chalet style historic inn built in 1915, located right on the shore of Swiftcurrent Lake, where our fourth floor walk up room gave us an incredible view over the lake and Grinnell Peak.

We decided with plenty of daylight left (it doesn’t get dark until 10:00) to take a short walk to Fishercap Lake where the bellhop told us is frequented by bears and moose.

We grabbed a beer, a bit of wine and our bear spray and started out for the short walk. We saw what appeared to be an unmarked trail that led to the edge of the lake so we took that and found ourselves on a small beach where two wildlife photographers told us they had seen a mama moose with her calf only twenty minutes earlier amongst the willows. We sat, sipping our cocktails and enjoying the scenery hoping for the moose to return when a ranger and her daughter came through the woods.

We were having a nice discussion with her when all of a sudden the moose popped back out from the willows behind the ranger maybe thirty yards away. The moose was clearly agitated that we humans were there and she began making a beeline towards us in a hurry. The ranger instructed everybody to backup and keep a distance of at least twenty five yards so we jumped into the woods and got behind some trees as the mama was clearly getting more irate by the second and charged the photographers, grunting at them with her baby in tow. Wow! That brought back some memories for Billy from an all too close encounter in Wyoming-“Run Billy Run!” Thrilling yet a bit terrifying at the same time-you don’t mess with a mama and her baby.

We watched as the mama walked across the lake (the ranger said it’s only four feet deep) and her baby swam alongside her. Mama kept stopping to eat while the calf was swimming circles. We were surprised to see how long the mama stayed out there for and even more surprised at how long the baby did!

We returned to the hotel a bit jazzed and decided to have dinner in the Ptarmigan dining room where we secured a table window side with an incredible view! We enjoyed another platter of smoked trout-rainbow this time, and bison tenderloin for both Billy and me and a bison burger for Jenny. All very good and what with the company, the view and the reminiscing of our days adventures it made for a perfect evening. It was only topped by seeing a grizzly mama and her two cubs climbing the mountain across from the hotel, all from the safety of our hotel!

We are loving this trip so far. Glacier National Park has quickly escalated to the top for us. It’s no wonder with how it reminds us so much of Patagonia. We never thought we could find any place as pure and raw as Patagonia but it turns out we have-the only difference is there are predators here!

June 27, 2018

Bears, Bears Everwhere

Sunrise on Swiftcurrent Lake and Grinnell Peak

Before we left, I had done my due diligence in finding out what the best hikes would be in each location we were going to be staying in. I had spoken to the ranger the day before, because I had read about the various conditions before leaving home, but most especially I wanted to check with him about current bear sightings and closures as I knew warming conditions, would bring with it increased bear activity, and the Many Glacier area has the highest concentration of bears in contiguous North America.

Just days prior to our arrival, the 2.6 mile nature trail that starts and ends at the hotel and goes around Swiftcucrrent Lake, had been closed due to grizzly sightings and a moose carcass.

So from what I had read, the Grinnell Glacier Trail was the trail to take. There is the option of doing the majority of the hike by boat (saving five miles roundtrip) but we had not pre-purchased the tickets and we missed the waitlist so we decided to hike the whole way there and see about taking the boats back.

We started off, down the same trail that had been closed days earlier, with a sign now posted warning of recent bear activity, and me calling out very loudly to any bears that might be listening. We passed numerous people, some with very small children and some with no visible bear spray…CRAZY FOOLS!!!

The nature trail was beautiful following the shore of the Swiftcurrent Lake and eventually turning to go up and over a small steep hill before coming to the shores of Lake Josephine.

Lake Josephine

We continued on following the shoreline from high above as we made our way deeper into the valley towards Grinnell Glacier. The trail had a fair amount of exposure on it but the views were spectacular-the turquoise color of the lake off to the left and the sheer mountain face dotted with wildflowers off to the right with numerous waterfalls carving their way down the face to the lake below, made for a picturesque scene.

The trail was carved into the side of the mountain with multiple waterfalls trickling down and crossing the trail before continuing their flow to the lake hundreds of feet below. The higher we climbed the barer the landscape became, which made it easier to spot bears but there were also many blind bends on the trail now so calling out became mandatory. The trail was well traveled but this is the very trail that a few years back a father and his daughter were mauled when they came face to face with a mama and her cubs on one of these blind bends.

The views up to this point were spectacular but after one more bend Grinnell Lake came into view below and Wow! The entirety of the majestic view in front of us was almost overwhelming. Grinnell Glacier is barely visible as it sits at the base of a cirque but Salamander and Gem glaciers are. The three glaciers feed the multiple waterfalls that tumble hundreds of feet down into the opaque turquoise Grinnell Lake. It’s no wonder it inspired the namesake, famous conservationist and founder of the Audubon Society, George Bird Grinnell to push Congress to make this area a national park. It truly has to be one of the most awe inspiring natural places in the world.

We could have stopped there but we knew the trail was open a bit further and we wanted to know that we had completed the trail, so on we climbed. We reached the area where the trail was closed and the ranger was trying people away. Thirty minutes prior, two bears had come through on their way down to the mountain. Happy us had missed them!

We ate our snacks and drank in the beauty of the views, sitting in silence, phones and cameras away and letting our senses soak up all that there was to offer.

We had missed the 11:45 return boat trip and decided to not wait around until the 2:45 boat trip, as it was only 12:30, so we decided to hike back along the opposite side of which we came on Lake Josephine. This was clearly a less traveled trail and the bushes on either side were almost shoulder height high. At this point, Jenny suggested I take the bear bell out again and she pulled her bear spray out of its holder and held it in her hand for the duration of the trip. We sang and called out to the bears and laughed and laughed and laughed, which was helpful in taking that feeling of discomfort away.

We were shocked when we came across a petite solo hiker who had no bear spray visible. Again! What is wrong with all of these people? Trust me, we were not just being overly cautious. Every single trailhead says you should carry bear spray, every convenient store and hotel gift shop sells the stuff, every park employee, including the hotel security guards carry bear spray, even the wranglers on horseback had bear spray. We returned to the hotel unscathed 4 hours and 8 miles later where we overhead the employees saying a mama grizzly and her baby had just come right through the grounds there. It seems the bears are everywhere!

The hike was most certainly the highlight of Glacier for all of us. It is difficult to put into words something that strikes such a chord with you. We have such a strong appreciation for nature and find comfort in all it has to offer. There is something to be said for spending time somewhere that brings such peace and serenity to your life.

We decided that our hard work was due a reward so we headed to the convenient store in the park where we knew we could indulge ourselves with some huckleberry soft serve, and wouldn’t you know along the way we passed a bear jam!

Our five hour drive back to Missoula was a stunning one. Every bend in the road I could hear Jenny saying, “Oh wow. That’s so pretty.” We passed Flathead Lake, the largest natural lake west of the Mississippi River, and at 192 square miles, it is immense. The drive actually flew by because the scenery was so incredibly captivating that we all forgot about how long the drive was.

Back at the hotel, with take out Chinese food in hand, we all agreed that Glacier National Park was a stunner.

June 28, 2018

A Little Bit of Tennessee in Montana

This morning was another early day as we had various activities planned for the day. Jenny and I dropped Billy off at the Grizzly Hackle Fly Fishing Outfitters before heading south to Lola, Montana where we were going to be doing a horseback ride. Up until our arrival on Sunday, Missoula had been having heavy rains and flooding issues from snowmelt so we had some concern about the quality of the fishing when we dropped Billy off, but I had lined up one of the best outfitters in Missoula, so I had faith that they would know where to find the best water.

Jenny and I had agreed to challenge ourselves by taking a ride today that would take us into new territory-we were going to be riding Tennessee Walking Horses. Neither of us have ever ridden them before but I was familiar with them and their specialized way of gaiting.

It is an interesting choice of horse to use on a ranch that offers mountain rides as Tennessee Walking Horses are known for their speed and their ability to cover a lot of flat ground and were originally bred for use on plantations, They have a fast-walk as their normal everyday gait compared to a quarter horse that can be a whole lot pokey!

We were given a very short lesson in a round pen where we were instructed to use two hands on the reins, more English style but the reins were not connected to each other. After the brief lesson, we loaded the horses up into the trailer and headed out with our guide Sierra to the Lolo National Forest where we would ride through the forest that both the Nez Perce and Lewis and Clark had traveled extensively.

The vegetation here is far more diverse than the mountains around Greer. The forest has cedars, hemlocks, pines and fir trees along with a myriad of flowering bushes, grass varietals and wildflowers, all growing very close together.

Getting used to the horse’s gait didn’t take too long and we both rather enjoyed the speed and smoothness of it all, we even managed a few canters. The ride lasted a bit more than two hours and most enjoyable-we were happy to have had the opportunity to try something different from that which we have become accustomed to.

After riding, we set out to find some lunch and did in the way of a Brazilian restaurant styled after a Chipotle. The food was very good and again something completely different. Our guide had told us about an ice cream place that is old style Missoula and that we needed to go there for a cone, so not wanting to ignore a local tip, we headed there next. Jenny had a mint cookie ice cream and I had huckleberry-both very good.

We decided that since Billy wouldn’t be returning for quite some more time, we would walk around the historic area of Missoula and check out the shops and just get a feel for the town.

We stopped into a vinyl record store that ended up having the best prices for vinyls we had ever come across, it was also the most chaotic one we had been in, but we managed to score some great records at awesome prices.

We enjoyed stopping in some of the other funky stores and having a coffee in a really cool coffee shop. Missoula is a neat town though Jenny did make some comments about their being some “scary dudes” here.

We met up with Billy around 6:00 at a restaurant his fishing guide had suggested. He had a great day on the water with Matt, who turned out to be from Maryland and wouldn’t you know had a connection to a family that had been Billy’s neighbors growing up.

They had chosen to fish the Clark Fork River, about 60 miles West of Missoula where the water wasn’t running as high and the river is a favorite of many local guides. Turns out Billy had a great day on the water catching about 30 pan-size rainbows and west slope cutthroats, all from within two pockets.

He really liked Matt and that is great because we are all fishing with him tomorrow.

June 29, 2018

Jenny is the Winner

Today’s plan was to meet up with Matt for a day’s fishing on the Blackfoot River. Our weather up until today had been beautiful and we were very lucky that we had clear skies for our trip through Glacier. Today, we woke to overcast skies, chillier temps and the threat of rain.

The three of us were going to float in one drift boat, something we had never done before, and something we knew might be a bit tight. We have always had to hire two boats but this outfitter allowed for three of us to float together.

Jenny and I took the bow, while Billy took the stern. Jenny had said from the get go that she wasn’t too sure if she would fish but Billy and I knew that she would eventually take a rod.

Matt was great, guiding us gently and with humor and enthusiasm. I had made it known from the get go that I always have had an issue with setting the hook. Nine times out of ten I lose a fish because I set the hook too early and end up ripping it out of the fish’s mouth. The good news for me was that was precisely what Matt told us to do-set the hook like you are backcasting-hard and fast!

Right off the bat, Bily hooked into a fish that Matt thought was a Bull Trout, an endangered native fish, that is the holy grail to the local guides. Unfortunately, he lost it; but then I did too on for my first fish on as well as the subsequent five or so fish. Meanwhile, Billy got on the board with a bunch of fish and I was still at zero and Jenny hadn’t even tried yet.

We stopped for lunch on the bank of the river where Matt fed us a delicious chicken caesar salad with chips and cookies. We walked along the river bank, one of the only ones clear of water as the river was still running pretty high, and came across a nest from one of the plovers that was hanging around the area. It is really amazing that they lay their nests right on the ground. with zero protection from predators. We were so relieved that we saw it and had not stepped on it while we were walking around!

Back on board the boat, we convinced Jenny it was time she tried to catch a fish. She semi-reluctantly took the rod and began following Matt’s guidance to a tee. She missed the first two hits-they were so subtle but then whamo! She did a perfect set and got what turned out to be a beautiful west slope cutthroat; AND she beat me on the board. With that, she handed me the rod and sat down to try and warm up a bit.

My turn next and it wasn’t too long until I also landed a fish-finally on the board!

Handing the rod back to Jenny she fished for a bit longer before once again, she did a perfect set and she was hooked into a beautiful fish. Matt was so gentle in talking her through the steps to take as he was trying to stay calm in his excitement for her and the fact the boat was traveling down through some smaller rapids dotted with large boulders at that time. With his expertise and Jenny’s calm disposition and ability to follow directions, she landed a gorgeous 19-inch, fat, brilliantly colored rainbow.

Back to my turn, I caught another fish, a very nice size fish but Jenny’s was still bigger, and Billy continued to keep catching some as welll. Jenny got the rod back but after a while the cold got to her and she handed the rod back to me. I caught one more as Billy had continuously caught fish. The day ended up with:

Jenny-2 fish

Dom-3 fish

Billy-something like 15 fish

All of us got one really nice fish but Jenny’s fish was by far the biggest and she landed it in the most difficult of situations-You go Jenny!

Our float trip was awesome. We certainly enjoyed the thrill of it all, the incredible scenery, the camaraderie with our guide and the feeling of accomplishment that came with it.

By the time we got back to town, we were all a bit tired and we decided to grab a beer and split some nachos at the local brew pub.

Afterwards, we walked down to the old carousel and watched the kids going round, trying to be the first one to grab the brass ring and marveling at how incredibly fast this particular carousel seemed to go.

We then walked over to the riverside walk that runs right alongside the Clark Fork River through downtown Missoula and watched the surfers take to Brennan’s wave-a $300,000 man-made wave in the middle of the river, named after a Missoula native that died kayaking in Chile in 2001. It is pretty wild watching people surf in the middle of a river in a land-locked town, but you have got to love their resourcefulness.

This day is always a tough day for me, the anniversary of my father’s passing but I know my dad would be tickled by the adventures Billy, Jenny and I have together. It was a great family day today, sharing firsts with Jenny. We had lots of laughs and lots of high fives. The smile on Jenny’s face when she landed that beauty was priceless, as I am sure the smile on our faces beaming with pride were equally as priceless!

June 30, 2018

On the Trail of Lewis and Clark

The day we arrived, Jenny saw a sign advertising ziplining and asked if we could do it. One of the local ski mountains has it set up on the lower section of their mountain so in looking over their web page it seemed safe and appeared to be in a pretty area. We drove up to Snowbowl in time to make the 10:30 zip and were excited to find out we were the only ones there so we would have it all to ourselves.

The three guides were young and fun, they suited us up with a harness similar to one you would use for paragliding, gave us some safety tips and we were off hiking up the mountain with our heavy equipment slung over our shoulders to schlep them easier.

The first zip line was more of a quick lesson on the three positions they wanted you to assume-the most important one was the tuck at the end when you come flying into the landing area and hit the pads and giant springs that absorb the impact.

There were three more zips, each one progressively longer that brought you flying close to 35 mph through the tops of tall fir trees all with beautiful views. You didn’t go as fast as the one at Sunrise near Greer (that one’s close to 50 mph) and they weren’t as long as the one we did in Costa Rica (one zip was almost a mile), but they were fun and the guides were really outgoing and they were having a blast, so it added to the whole experience.

We left there and made a stop at the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation headquarters. The dioramas were amazing as were the trophy heads hanging on the wall which included some of the largest elk ever taken (at least since records have been being taken), including the #1 and #2 largest elk, along with the #12 taken in Arizona. A really interesting stop!

We decided that since we had no plans for the day, we would drive south through the Bitterroot Valley to Darby along a stretch of road that many told us was one of the prettiest in the state and the most quintessential Montana.

Once we were out of Missoula. and through Darby, the land opened up to a large prairie maybe 10 miles wide as we followed the Bitteroot River through the valley with the abruptly rising snow capped Bitterroot Mountains on the western side and the gentle hills of the Sapphire Mountains on the eastern side.

The Bitterroot is a bit of a geographical phenomena as it is actually a northward flowing river. The area was sacred to the Salish tribes that lived here and historical in Lewis and Clark’s journey to the Pacific. Today, the Bitterroot is the third most fished river in Montana behind the Madison and Big Hole Rivers.

We arrived in Darby about an hour and twenty minutes later and decided on lunch at the Blue Joint, we grabbed a table outside, ordered lunch and sat and watched small town life go by. Darby has a population of 720 people and certainly has that small town feel.

The restaurant/bar we ate at used to be the bank and when Jenny and I went inside to use the restroom, we were treated to a short tour by a local couple sitting at the bar. They pointed out the old bank vaults that are now used as the beer cooler and booze house. The area was at one time a huge logging mecca as evidenced by the signs supporting the timber industry and the dozen or so antique chainsaws hanging from the ceiling. A cool spot with good food and nice people-our kind of place!

After lunch, we took a stroll through town stopping at the Sacajawea Memorial Park and then Jenny and I went into a confectionary whose owner had clearly had a stroke but he was such a nice man and he was talking up his wife, the baker and chocolatier so much that we purchased a few sweet treats.

We exited the store to find Billy engrossed in a conversation with Carl, a local guy probably in his 70s, who had been watering the flowers in the park and stopped to talk to Billy when he saw him waiting for us. They had spoken the whole time Jenny and I were in the store, for about twenty minutes, and we continued to do so for another five minutes or so. He was an interesting guy, a true local character!

We got back in the car and decided to check out some of the fishing accesses just to see how the river looked. It is a beautiful river, perfect for floating!

We had passed a sign that said “Knife Sale” which of course intrigued Billy. He wanted to go check it out because he envisioned elk antler handles and hand forged blades at a discount so we turned down a side street into a residential area that was a bit shady looking and arrived at the house. The man had a table set up outside his camper selling knives made in China. He was a disabled vet and before Billy got out of the car I told him he had better buy something! He and Jenny went to peruse the offerings and chatted with the man for a bit. Billy settled on a knife for $30 and when they turned to leave the man gave Jenny a knife that said, “World’s Greatest Dad,” and told Jenny, “You know what you need to do with this.” It was a very nice gesture.

Heading back home, we stopped in Hamilton to check out the Daly Mansion. Riverside, is a beautiful 40 room mansion built by the widow of Marcus Daly, a copper magnate to be used as her summer residence from 1910 until her death in 1941. We had missed the last tour for the inside and the grounds were closing in twenty minutes, but we had enough time to walk around and enjoy the beautiful gardens and the largest cottonwood trees I have ever seen.

Instead of heading back the highway we came down, we took the country roads back which gave us an even better perspective of Montana. We passed through cute towns, especially Stevensville whose Main Street was awesome! We would have definitely stayed to walk around if it wasn’t already getting late.

The last stop was to try and see Traveler’s Rest State Park, the only confirmed camp site of Lewis and Clark, but the gates were closed-oh well…

We returned to the hotel and went out for a light dinner to the same place we had a few nights ago, followed by ice cream at Sweet Peaks-a totally awesome ice cream joint where we got a scoop of Grand Fir Chocolate Chunk-chocolate ice cream infused with pine extract and needles from local fir trees-absolutely delicious!!!!

Another fabulous day in Montana!

July 1, 2018

Jenny, a Griz? I Doubt It!

This morning we decided to grab breakfast out at a place better than ihop or the free breakfast offered by the hotel. We went downtown to a place I had read about and had a hearty breakfast to prepare ourselves for the flight home.

Passed this train on our way to breakfast.

Billy’s flight was out three hours before ours so we dropped him at the airport and bid him adieu. Jenny and I then drove to check out this crazy hippy bus called the Ghetto Gypsy, we had seen parked. Turns out it is a business and can be rented for different events-totally crazy!

From there we drove through a residential area of Missoula where some of the larger older homes are located. It was a beautiful neighborhood with all the homes immaculate with lush green grass and gorgeous flowers beds and pots. Why is it that mountain towns always seem to have the most bountiful yards?

We were close to the University of Montana and still had a few hours to kill so we decided to walk around the campus and check it out. It’s not really a contender as far as Jenny is concerned but it’s always neat to see another campus, to give you perspective and a point of comparison.

Jenny is so excited to get out of high school and go to college, so it’s fun to walk around and share her enthusiasm.

From there we went to check out a few other stores and get a cup of coffee at the same coffee shop we stopped in before. Just as we sat down, I got a text from Billy that his flight had been cancelled due to an ill flight attendant and the airlines was working on getting him home today. Poor Billy…he has had some bad luck with traveling lately! Jenny said it was karma for walking past the piece of trash on the trail in Glacier that she then stopped and picked up. She said the karma came back around to her in the form of a venti chai latte from Starbucks-we had ordered and paid for a grande but they accidentally made her a venti-karma? Maybe. Too funny!

We enjoyed our coffee and then watched as some unsavory characters milled about on the streets, including the same “scary dudes” from a few days before, and the woman screamer, but this time there was a new guy. We watched as he pretty much was trying to hold himself up using the wall and getting into it with some of the other street people. We waited for what we thought was enough time for them to be gone but when we walked out of the coffee shop, we turned right and saw a group of them sitting on the ground, so we took a quick left and came upon a bunch across the street, another quick right and we quickly crossed the street where we saw the new guy standing there shaking a small tree with all of his might. Another quick right and we were in the clear.

Montana was a great trip, it had something for everyone and lots for all three of us! The beauty of Glacier National Park and Jenny catching that big trout, will not soon be forgotten.

As an after note, we were sitting in Minneapolis and Jenny opened her carry on, and look what made it through security! Crazy thing is the guy in front of us had his butter knife taken away. Not really very comforting….