FTJ, Entry 110: Magnificent Montana

We are in love. Yeah, yeah, with each other, of course, but in terms of scenic places, we have a new favorite: Flathead Lake, Montana. Nestled beneath the majestic Mission Mountain range in the small but liveable town of Polson, the lake -- the largest freshwater lake west of the Mississippi -- is 27 miles long and a bit bigger than Lake Tahoe. And it is breathtakingly beautiful.

So this is funny. When I went online to check where we were staying in Montana, I was a bit disappointed to realize the park in Polson is above Flathead Lake, not ON the lake, and that we would just have a far off view of the water. Then it got worse: We pull up to the turnoff for the place and I see a KOA sign -- this luxury resort is actually a KOA? Gads.

As we got closer, we started to see the sites.  

Booyah. Oh mamma. Yeah baby. Not your typical KOA. There are luxurious privately owned sites up front that are separate from the KOA -- which also offers the typical gravel campsites behind the private area. But this is the funny part -- well, you kinda had to be there. Anyway, as we came in I told Beau that I didn't want to stay in site 158 on the end, thinking it was too exposed to traffic, etc. 

He did not understand. "Huh?" he asked. "That site is fantastic." I was not buying it. (Maybe I had some bad clams for lunch or something. I dunno what the heck was wrong with me.)

The resort staff also did not understand. "Did you see the site?" they asked, giving me a  look that clearly communicated their incredulity.

"Well, just driving by," I said, somewhat sheepishly.

"Take a look," they advised, rather sternly. "It's the nicest site in the place."

And so I looked. And found that the staff people were correctamundo, kemosabe. Holy momma. The RV site in question is located at the highest point of the private area, on a hillside, and has two stone-paved levels, lovely cushioned patio furniture, a sink and barbecue area, and well, the view is just phenomenal. I iz stoopit.. Site 158, home sweet home.

This is the site I did not want. Yeah, it sucks.

This is the view I did not want. Oy vey.

I think he likes it. Hey Mikey!

The man-made babbling brook.

Buddy heartily approved of the Polson Motorcoach Resort/KOA. He peed his approval on every bush.

The sunsets aren't bad, either.

Oh -- did I mention the full moon?

Loved the moon over the lights of the town. Tough to see from this photo , but it was quite a sight.

No surprise, we loved our RV site, the view, and the park so much we extended our stay from five to eight nights.

It may have been our imaginations, but Beau and I both agree that Montana -- Big Sky Country -- is aptly named. It feels closer to heaven here, if you believe in that final destination. The sky somehow seems bigger, closer, more expansive, just, well, vast. It is quite an odd sensation.

(On the other hand, this could simply be a sign of early onset dementia.)
Of course, in that we were on a lake, we had to rent a boat. The weather was perfect for it.

Captain Beau enjoyed being back at the helm.

Buddy was not especially keen on the boatride. But he was a good sport.

Vanity? I'm so over it. Sort of. Well, maybe. Probably not.

 Where the Buffalo Roam

The National Bison Range is just a ways down the road from Polson. Being the animal freak that I am, this was another "must."

Af first, we only saw a few bison, but we didn't care all that much in that the views were so fantastic.


But eventually we saw a small herd of bison, plus this big fella, up close and personal.

An oddity at the National Bison Range -- a statue (?) of elk and mule deer antlers.

A Taste of Glacier National Park

Then we had to see Glacier. The photos speak for themselves.

The scale of things out here is, in a word, enormous.

Even outside Glacier National Park, each turn in the road, every new vista, is a revelation.  Magnificent Montana, indeed.

Wait -- how did this get in here? (Don't you love the Indian translation?)

The next blog will include photos of two unique museums we visited here.

Tanks, Panky

FTJ, Entry 109: In the Heart of... Awl?

Coeur d'Alene -- a beautiful name in French. Not so much in English: It means Heart of Awl, an awl being a sharp pointed tool used to puncture holes in leather. Beau further explains: The French named the Indians who inhabited the area this because the French considered them such astute traders, i.e., sharp as an awl, heart of an awl, yadda, yadda, who cares? It sounds cool in French.

But the town itself is just lovely. Beau and I could definitely spend a summer or two there.

Speaking of Beau--again -- I always let him look at the blog entries, and he often adds to them. Then he shows them to me so I can check his spelling, etc. Well, on the last blog he made changes that he did not show me, and one had a typo. Gads. My editing job is not over, I guess.

So back to Coeur d'Alene. Our impression of it was that it is a happening town on a fabulously beautiful lake. Very clean, very upscale, very lively. The shops are unique, the people -- a real mix of young and old -- are super friendly, and the weather while we were there was perfection. We really loved every minute of it.

On the town's main drag. Note the huge flower baskets hanging from all the light poles.

Along the streets, there are a number of statues of  Mudgy Moose and his pal Millie Mouse, which are creations of author and Coeur d'Alene resident Susan Nipp.

All kinds of water sports are available on Lake Coeur d'Alene, including parasailing.

The Coeur d'Alene Resort.

We had unbelievably perfect weather to enjoy the lake. So did a lot of other people.

Beau on the world's longest floating boardwalk. It measures 12 feet wide and more than 3,000 feet long. The boardwalk and the marina (365 slips) were built with more than 16,000 float logs and 28,000 pounds of spikes. The construction took half a million board feet of lumber as well.

Having a cool one on the lake. A guy could get used to this retirement stuff....

Out at dinner at the Beachouse restaurant, further up on the lake. A girl could get used to this, too....

Our RV park was pretty great as well. Blackwell Island RV Park is just outside of town, on the river. Very large grassy sites and convenient to everything. There was even a guy selling barbecue right outside the gate, which made Beau very happy. He loved the ribs.

The river beach at Blackwell Island.

Beau chats up a couple from Butte, Montana.

We took a long drive around part of the lake, and were continually awed by the beauty and the impressive lakefront homes. Many of the tiny burgs on the shoreline are quite remote, however, which is not particularly appealing. But the scenery -- it's just spectacular.

The countryside in other parts if Idaho is, not surprisingly,  pretty darned spectacular as well.

The land just goes on forever. No overcrowding here. Wheat fields for miles and miles.

Cabela's. Laura's Kind of Place...Not

Beau just had to go to Cabela's outside of town, since he had not been to one before. To me it seemed much like Bass Pro Shops, just with more dead stuffed animals. Kind of depressing for this animal lover. But I was a good sport about it, sort of.

 

 

 

 

 

I think Beau likes to pretend he hooked these babies.

There were dozens of beautiful dead animals, including wolves, which are very special to me. Hated this.

The Western Skies

We are constantly amazed by the vastness of the west. And the sunsets are unlike any we have ever seen.

 

Incredible, yes?

A Few Oddities...

A moose on a balcony. A lumberjack in front of a school. An eagle sculpture on a realty office. You don't see these in Connecticut.

Oh, forgot this oddity:

It's a long story. Suffice it to say, Beau goes through a lot of T-shirts. So I labeled the bad ones.

Nothing that exciting about this blog, I'm afraid. I'm anxious to move on to the next one -- from Montana, which I have been dying to visit. It did not disappoint.

Tanks, Panky