Grouse Mountain Lodge Whitefish

This is a really weird feeling, leaving home for a five month adventure. We do a lot of traveling, but never one of this length. It's required an humongous amount of planning and while we've tried to think of all contingencies, we know that's not even possible. <br>And that's OK--part of the seat-of-your-pants traveling we're best at.<br>We ...

... x-ray then operate) -- good news, he inspected the possible ACL injury and said it is more likely just a joint rubbing (buy a year supply of people pills at Walmart for $40). Hopefully our trip west will keep Bogie somewhat quiet (although he still herds and spins on three legs at every opportunity).<br><br>Visited a Glacier NP Ranger friend of Cindy&#8217;s at her end of year party (most seasonal employees released shortly after ...

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!

Lake Koocanusa - Kootenai National Forest - Driving through forests<br>older than time, glimpsing sparkling rivers through the trees and<br>suddenly coming upon the lake, which is very long and narrow. Clear<br>water, clear air, lots of space, friendly towns. Then on through Eureka and towards Whitefish, where we hope to find a nice ...

Short stop at Belgrade, on the road, then up to this beautiful lake. The Flathead River's various forks crossed our paths several times while in Montana. Boating/resort towns all along the lake front, quiet beaches, tall forests of pine and birch. Very relaxing!<br>

... bars, restaurants, and shops. I had the sampler tray at "The Brewery", and I really liked the Big Fog beer, although, surprisingly, the Huckleberry beer was very drinkable. (I know...sounds strange, but what can I say? I liked it!) Tomorrow we ride into Glacier National Park. But more importantly, tomorrow is July 30, so... Happy Birthday to my beautiful daughter, Melissa! :-) I miss you like crazy kiddo, and I hope you're having a great time at camp :-)

... our family of four would probably have been cheaper. The Glacier shuttles, too, are a no-brainer - they are almost always full, not that much bigger than a car (they hold 12 plus the driver), and probably each keep at least four or five cars off the road. And Missoula's buses, though we rarely needed them, are doing a great job of making it easier for Missoula's residents to swear off cars in town. But what about that bus to Kalispell? We took it mostly because it was too expensive ...

... is the Stumptown Ice Den, also know as the Whitefish Community Pavilion. Stumptown Ice Den is open October through April. Activities available include: public skating, adult drop in hockey, youth hockey, figure skating, skating lessons, broomball, and concessions. It is located at 725 Wisconsin Ave, Whitefish, MT." Well wow. I'm mightily impressed. This Ice Den is really, really nice. But we have got to go, a movie next? Or dinner? The train will pick us up at 9 PM.