Diamond Lil Inn Kalispell

... one more party tonight, then we're off in the morning for Salt Lake City, our first 10 hour leg.<br>But tonight we get to eat off Linda's 10# rainbow she snuck out and caught without us. DANG her hide. She really is our hero though--the Fish Dancer extraordinaire.<br>Rick's cooking a gourmet feast, the divas are gathering--husbands beware!

... National Park (NB: US used so as not to be confused with BC&#8217;s Glacier NP) was a twelve mile dead-end road directing us to Many Glacier with a lake plus dam and many gorgeous mountains with some small glaciers attached. We did, however, get to view a Grizzly at close range (let me know if it is just a large cinnamon Black Bear).<br><br>Our next foray was to visit one of the park&#8217;s information centres and get the never ...

Kalispell is actually starting to feel like home away from home! The mechanic ran into delays, truck won't be ready till Wednesday, so we are catching up with laundry, grocery shopping, haircuts, and resting. Wondering what we'll find when we open up the trailer after this long week. Need to get re-organized before we head west again. <br>

Victor, ever the worrier (and usually with good reason!), wanted to check out the truck's funny business, so here we are in Kalispell. The Toyota service guy confirmed something about the cylinders and a cracked gasket and parts have to be ordered. It will take a week to get repaired but it's under warranty yet, so we're still smiling. They are ...

Glacier National Park is fantastic. The highway, named "Into The Sun<br>Highway" (exactly what we were doing!), hugs the mountainside, dips<br>into valleys and brings you up through glorious passes. It's like a 50<br>km scenic roller coaster ride. Wheeeee!

... br><br>Something that has caught my eye in these parts are the small, free-standing espresso shops, little cabins that offer great coffee at a drive-through window. They're everywhere and very uniquely decorated. Haven't seen them elsewhere, yet.<br><br>Hidden in the trees after miles of gravel roads, we come upon this beautiful ...

... winter. We took a gondola ride up (and lift chair down) Big Mountain for a panoramic view of the surrounding area. We also took a drive to Swan Lake and the Swan River Wildlife Refuge -- no big wildlife seen, just birds, butterflies and the quiet that a refuge offers.<br><br>The area around Kalispell is quite scenic but we hadn&#8217;t seen anything yet&#8230;Glacier National Park was next and beat all comers!

... all in one little country. Thank you for taking an interest in my travels, reading my ramblings, and putting up with the junk email notifications. I have enjoyed sharing my blogs with you all, and hope you have enjoyed them as well. Telling my stories to you has helped me commit all the details to memory and document the trip. Take care, and keep in touch! I'd love to hear what's happening in your corner of the world. Peace, Danielle

... I was proud of Jared Diamond for avoiding this until he mentioned, "No one advocates a return to the horse to solve the problems of cars." Well, maybe I do!) But I think that by returning to our ancient roots - not, perhaps, abandoning all modern technologies, but choosing only those few that support the flourishing of small and sustainable communities of people - we will be, if not happier, at least more connected and fulfilled. So, for the moment, I am planning to stay close to home.

... of all ages and sizes running together. But where are the Spokane bums? During our two hours in the park we never saw one smelly bum. Everywhere else we've gone and back home in Orlando, otherwise pleasant parks have their share of bums sleeping on the lawns, shaving in the drinking fountains or lurking behind buildings. We saw none of this in ...