Floatin' on the Fabulous Flathead

We have met some wonderful people here in Kalispell at Glacier Pines RV Park.  These other Workamper couples have become good and fast friends.  We have spent a lot of time sitting outside around a campfire (or not) chatting and sipping a drink or two.  We started an every Wednesday tradition of either a potluck, going out to dinner, or in this case we rented a pontoon boat for half a day on fabulous Flathead Lake.

Flathead Lake is the largest natural fresh water lake west of the Mississippi in the contiguous U.S.--slightly larger than Lake Tahoe.  It is approximately 30 miles long and 16 miles wide.  The lake is a remnant of the ancient, massive glacial dammed lake, Lake Missoula, of the era of the last interglacial.

Once known as "Salish Lake", this body of water takes its name from the Salish (Flathead) Indians who live at the southern end of the lake on the Flathead Indian Reservation.  The lake has an irregularly-shaped shoreline and a dozen small islands, the largest of which is a state park called Wild Horse Island--our desired destination for the day.

Here we are boardin' the boat and getting ready to depart for a fun-filled adventure.

Leaving the dock and heading for Wildhorse Island.

El Capitan Joe!

Mike (left) and Gary (right) up front, taking one for the team.  They got doused a few times with all the wave action up front. 

And here's Mike obeying my command to turn around for this photo opp!

And here's Gary!

William was just far enough back not to get too wet.

 Colette (left) and Heidi (right).

 

Here I am playing with my selfie wand which I never could figure out how to work correctly.  It either took 20 pictures in a row or it wouldn't take a picture at all ... really???  Maybe I need to buy a better one?

Once we moved to the side of the island not shielded from the wind, it got downright chilly.  We wrapped ourselves up in blankets and towels until we rounded the island corner!

 
 
 It was a beautiful day (other than all the smoke from the numerous fires).  We just about had the lake to ourselves since we were midweek and near the end of the season.

  

  The house below is on Cromwell Island.  Both the island and the house are owned by the 87-year-old reclusive millionaire, Robert M. Lee, who lives in Reno, NV.  He is known for his renowned decorative Tiffany & Co. firearms collection and his antique car collection some of which have won awards at concours d'elegance events.  It was such a smoky day that I pulled this pic off the Internet.

The other massive mansion we passed on our cruise is called Whispering Rock Estate and it sits on 24-acre Shelter Island on Flathead Lake.  The house is 24,000 square feet with a 4,500 square foot guest house.  The exterior is Indiana limestone and the interior millwork features African-sawn mahogany, Italian marble and Portuguese limestone--very ethnic!  It is owned by real estate mogul Donald G. Abby who also owns another 47,000 square foot mega mansion in Bradbury, CA.  Both of his properties are on the market, and Whispering Rock Estate recently saw a price drop to a mere $59.5 million!!!  Any takers??  The first photo is an aerial view of the property I pulled from the Internet.  After all, if you're a prospective buyer you might as well see it all!

 

 

 We are now nearing Wildhorse Island.  There are wild horses on this island, but we did not see any.  Later, however, you will find out what we did see.

  

 

Lunch time!  Heidi made us these amazing hoagie sandwiches to order!  We all ate like rabid dogs! 

 

Ready for our trek back to the boat after lunch.  From left to right:  Kay & William, Heidi & Mike, Colette & Joe, and finally Judy & Gary.

 Back at the boat to stow the lunch and take a stroll along the lakeshore walking path.

 That red splotch next to the large tree in the center of the photo is Colette.

 

 Here's Heidi posing along the path

Judy on the lakeshore path.

Fall is in the air even though it's still August.  Around and about we are starting to see the yellows and reds of fall peek out from the ground and between the leaves of trees. 

 Here's Gary and me sitting on a tree watching the water go by.

 One of my attempts at artistic photography.  Sailboat framed by tree limbs.

 A little bit of wildlife on the grounds of one of the mansions on our way back to the dock,

 These rock cliffs feature some petroglyphs ... wait for it!

 A full shot of the petroglyphs.

And close-ups. 

 NOW ... the awesome wildlife we saw ... instead of the wild horses.  There were about 5-6 of these bighorn sheep roaming on the shore of the island.  We were very excited to get a glimpse.

 

 And these two ducks.  Not sure what kind of ducks they are, maybe red-billed?

Kay and William after the BIG mishap ... and I do mean BIG!!  So, we're all looking at the bighorn sheep doing our best to get photos.  I mean we were desperate for a wildlife sighting.  But, we unthinkingly all (well, almost all) of us moved to the front of the pontoon boat for the best possible photo opportunity. 

The next thing I see is the boat tipped forward and water gushing (yes GUSHING is the right word) into the boat.  Before I knew what was happening my shoes and socks (which were on my feet) were below the water line!!!  Holy mackerel, Andy, we were all flying fast to the rear of the boat, but Kay was faster than all of us almost knocking Heidi flat!  Now Kay wasn't being mean-spirited.  She actually almost drowned in a car accident years ago and this incident brought up those bad memories.  Whew!  It was a close call.  Apparently, it's supposed to be impossible to sink a pontoon boat, but we gave it our best try!

 After leaving the pontoon boat behind, we drove to the town of Lakeside for dinner at Tamarack Brewery which was right on this lovely little creek.  Looking to our left, this is the view from the outdoor patio where we were seated.  Lovely!

Here you can see the outdoor patio looking right.

 
 Kay and William ordered the nachos.  They were muy grande as you can see.  No, they did not finish them that night, but William had a great lunch the next day.

 Here's the gang after an unforgettable day on the lake. 

  Happy tummies. Great memories. Good friends.

 

Palms 128:2

When you shall eat of the fruit of your hands, you will be happy and it will be well with you.

Beautiful Swan

"Beautiful Swan"

A Haiku by "Lady Bird" 12/29/14

 

a beautiful swan

the river makes no sound

in a timeless space



 



Our adventures in Montana continue ... actually, they trickle in bit by bit!  With golf lessons, physical therapy appointments, Polka Dot Powerhouse meetings (women's networking group) and work, we have been challenged to find time to get around.  Yesterday, was a perfect day--we had nothing on the calendar!  So, even though the mountains were shrouded in smoke (from the California and Washington fires!) and cloud-covered (i.e., not the prettiest day ever), we decided to take a drive and do some exploring.

First stop?  Swan Lake located east of Flathead Lake and the town of Bigfork.  The Swan River comes from the south and fills the lake.  In the early 1900s Swan Lake began as a community of loggers cutting timber for lumber and the ties to build the Great Northern Railroad (sounds like a great correlation to Whitefish, doesn't it?).  Some say that their name comes from the trumpeter swans that used to populate the lake (notice the use of past tense?).  Others say that it was named after Emmett Swan, an early resident.  Others simply say the name comes from the mountains to the east.  Their big annual event is the Huckleberry Festival.  Montana is known for two fruits--huckleberries and Flathead cherries ... yum on both accounts!

Here's beautiful Swan Lake.  It's 10 miles long and 5,280 feet (or 1 mile) wide.  So, it's a narrow, small and twisty lake that is said to be hard to navigate.

 

 

From Swan Lake, we drove to a Swan River crossing.

 

Here's Gary standing on the bridge that crosses the river.

 

Here I am on that same bridge.  There were so many wasps buzzing my head when we were on the riverbank that I couldn't handle it so we took off fairly quickly after that.  There were a lot of yellow wildflowers that attracted the wasps.  Drat!  It was a kill-joy for me!

 

 Sadie on the river bank.

From here we doubled back on our route and headed north towards Glacier National Park and Polebridge.  On the way, we took a detour down this wilderness road to a wildlife viewing area, but alas no wildlife in sight.

 The Jeep looking rugged and trail ready!

Next stop?  FLATHEAD CHERRIES!  At the road side stand, they had these awesome stuffed bears. 

 

And here's a picture of that charming cherry sweetness sitting in my lap.

From there we entered Glacier National Park heading to Polebridge which is just outside the western-central edge of the park. 

And on to Lake McDonald--but the north shore which is the way less-crowded, less-touristy side of the lake.  The road on this side doesn't go very far, there's one campground, and no lodges or other tourist attractions to bring in the madness.

 

On to Polebridge--a two-building town!  But these two businesses are very well known!

There's this fabulous bakery (Polebridge Mercantile) that, among other delightful delicacies, has a tasty treat--Huckleberry Macaroons! Oh, yummalicious!

Next door to the Mercantile is the café/restaurant.  Gary read about it in the local newspaper and had to go there.  We had a nice, frosty, refreshing beer at their bar, served in canning jars, of course! 

 

 

The last of the photos are just some Montana scenery on our way back home.  But look at this tree.  It's August 4th and the colors are starting to change!  It's definitely early for this to be happening and we're not sure why.  Could it be because it's so dry?  I don't know.  What's your guess?

 Wildflowers, but not in abundance like we saw 12 years ago--things have dried up early.

 

 

We're still on a Rocky Mountain high, but now in Montana.  The mountains in Glacier National Park are part of the Rocky Mountains.  On a clear day, this would be a stunning photograph.

 

Isaiah 30:29
You will have songs as in the night when you keep the festival, and gladness of heart as when one marches to the sound of the flute, to go to the mountain of the LORD, to the Rock of Israel.