In an eventful couple of days, we kayaked/floated down the Clark Fork River in Missoula before packing up our car and heading to Whitefish. When we opted to count on better weather yesterday morning for our river expedition, we knew we would be arriving later to Whitefish. With sunset always happening after 9:00, there is more freedom to make those sorts of decisions.
Our final hours in Missoula were wonderful and relaxing. While it was cloudy, we didn't get any rain, and we had the river completely to ourselves to play music, paddle when we felt like it, and otherwise just float and enjoy our surroundings. At one point Maddie spotted what we believe was an eagle. We never got a close enough shot of it to be sure, but it certainly seemed likely.
After rafting, we had a final lunch in another local favorite with a name we couldn't pass up - The Notorious P.I.G. :) Then it was back on 93 for more of that beautiful drive we had started a few days earlier. This time we drove through the Flathead Indian Reservation, which restored a bit of the faith that had been lost the other day. About 5,000 members of the Salish and Kootenai tribes live on over 1.2 million acres, and the land is stunning, with the Flathead Lake taking up a good portion of it.
We arrived in Whitefish just in time for their weekly farmer's market. Though there was a light rain, we still walked around a bit before heading up to our beautiful lodge up at the top of Big Mountain, where we were chagrined to learn that there was no elevator and we were on the 4th floor. After shlepping up too many bags, we headed back down the stairs and the Big Mountain for a delicious dinner in Loula's Cafe, the restaurant that seems to be the spiritual if not literal inspiration for the film/musical Waitress. Four more flights of stairs later, our rquaint room provided the perfect cozy setting to finish up the season of Stranger Things.
Today was a full day. We were up and headed to Glacier National Park, which is about 45 minutes from Whitefish, by 8:30. Tomorrow, we will be in the park and horseback riding at 7:45 a.m., so I'm going to wrap up today's blog and get to sleep very soon.
While the weather did not cooperate today, the park was glorious even when overcast. Dana had read that both Ken Burns and Dayton Duncan (of America's Best Idea documentary fame) consider Glacier to be among their top five favorites. We drove back and forth twice on the famed Going-to-the Sun Road, only open during a couple of summer months, when we prematurely returned for a horseback ride that was delayed. Luckily we were able to reschedule it for tomorrow morning (thus the crazy early wake-up call) and get back to experiencing more of the park.
We took one relatively easy hike called Trail of the Cedars, where those and other trees were plentiful, along with creeks and lakes and haikus that had been placed throughout. Other than that, we mostly experienced the park from our car, stopping whenever the weather allowed and soaking it all in.
As we left the park this evening, Maddie played "On My Way," a family favorite song from the movie Brother Bear. Daniel was driving, Maddie and Dana serving as DJ's. Suddenly I noticed not a hundred yards ahead, a mother bear and her two cubs on the side of the road. Daniel slowly approached, we turned the music off, rolled down the windows and stopped for several minutes to just watch them. Since it was already after 7:00 p.m. and the busy crowds from earlier in the day had all but dispersed, we were able to experience this extraordinary moment.
We finished our night with another cozy dinner in downtown Whitefish and are now retiring for the night, Tomorrow will be a morning in Glacier, an afternoon in Coeur d'Alene in Idaho and finally our last stop for the trip in Spokane, Washington. As I complete this entry, it's already my mother's birthday in Florida, so I will close by wishing her a wonderful day.
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