When the Sun came up this morning, Debbie noticed the Sky was clear!  I had not had my third cup of coffee yet, so I was not noticing anything!  On overcast days we work on stuff around here, Sunny Days we wander! Too bad in the Winter we have a lot of Overcast days........  We prefer the word Overcast instead of Cloudy.  Cloudy sounds 'thick', 'soupy', 'foggy', etc.  Overcast sounds like maybe something overhead, like a 'sunshade', 'roof', 'umbrella', etc.  Not nearly as bad as Cloudy........   Sometimes in the Winter out here we use the abbreviation CCF for Sunny Days.  (CCF is short for Catastrophic Cloud Failure)  But Overcast days just makes us appreciate the CCF days more!

One of our hardest decisions to make, in our 'state' of wandering, is 'What Direction'?   This can lead to HUGE arguments! (Not!)  Debbie says:  "How about West"?  I say: "How far"?  Debbie says: "I don't know".  I say:  "Ashley Lake is out West of Kalispell."  Debbie says:  "OK".  These arguments get intense!  I had to sit down and rest after that one!

Ashley Lake is a beautiful Lake in the Mountains about 12 miles west of Kalispell.  All the roads across the Flathead Valley are clear of snow and ice until you get up to about 4,000 feet elevation (Kalispell is right at 3,000 feet).  Then they are snow covered....or  I should say ICE covered, and a bit slick but with studded tires there is no real concern.   We headed West out of Batavia on Batavia Lane which becomes Ashley Lake Road and goes over the mountains and down to Ashley Lake which is about 4 miles long and 1/2 mile wide.  Not a large lake out here, but a Lake surrounded by mountains is beautiful.  Quite a few people have homes on the lake but many are only Summer homes.  Unlike the larger lakes like Flathead Lake and Lake McDonald, it freezes over and is a stark white level plain.

Ashley Lake

We left Ashley Lake heading South toward US-2.  We're still are on Ashley Lake Road... as there are many Ashley Lake Roads.  Ashley Lake North, Ashley Lake South, Ashley Lake West and Lower Ashley Lake.....   We noticed that out here in Montana they often do not put the name of the road you are ON on the road signs.  The sign post only has the name of the cross road on it. Hmmm!  Maybe these Montanans know which road they are on.  But how do they expect 'new-bee's' to know what road they are on, much less the Flatland Tourists!  Anyway as long as we were on Ashley Lake Road we figured we would eventually get to US-2.  And just before getting to US-2 we noticed many sets of tracks in the snow crossing the road and going up the hill on our left. Deer tracks!  Those things are everywhere!  We saw several before getting to US-2 just standing in the edge of the woods along the road, I could have sworn one of them thumbed their nose at me!  (probably would have if they had thumbs)

Three of the many we saw along this road

So, getting to US-2, we noticed it was 10 minutes after 12.  We are LATE for Lunch!!!  Debbie had not even noticed, but I had! We headed to Downtown Kalispell and had a great lunch a Sykes.

After lunch we decided to go East on US-2 to East Glacier Park just for the Drive.  Another Huge argument! This one, not as bad as the first, lasted only 4-5 seconds.  Debbie said: "Want to go to East Glacier"?  I said: "Yes".  I did not even have to sit down and rest!  We went East out of Kalispell through Evergreen on Montana 35 and turned left on Montana 206.  Our lot we purchased last April is just 10 miles North on 206, just two miles before getting to Columbia Falls.  This is what it looks like at the 206 and 35 junction and it looks like that all the way to our lot. 

 When we came out to Glacier National Park in past years, we rented an old ranch, Rising Wolf Ranch, on the East side of Glacier NP and thought we would drive by and photograph the Mountains across the road that leads to Rising Wolf Ranch.  Very different in Winter..........

Skeleton Mt (right) Little Dog and Summit Mts (left)

Skeleton Mountain

Calf Robe Mountain on the right

This is what it looks like in the Summer!

Little Dog Mt (left) Summit Mt (center) and Skeleton Mt (right)

Summit (far Left) Skeleton Mt (center) and Calf Robe Mt (right)

Calf Robe Mountain

We drove on up to East Glacier Park and reminisced about the past and enjoyed seeing the small town of East Glacier Park again.  Heading back on US-2 (notice if you go anywhere out here, it is on US-2) we could not even see Calf Robe, Skeleton, and Elk Mountains because of a snow squall that was covering the Mountains.  The weather changes so fast out here, we had only gone 8 miles to East Glacier Park and back, less than 30 minutes and it looked totally different!

Heading on West of Maria's Pass, we noticed a Deer on a small island in a stream along the road.  I quickly turned around and went back up past it and turned around again as the Deer was on the right side of the road and I hoped that Debbie could get a couple of snapshots before they fled.  They had no intention of doing the 'flee' thing, that word was not even in their vocabulary!  No one was coming down the Mountain behind us, so I stopped in the road and was able to get out of the car and get a few snapshots while Debbie was snapping a few from inside the car.  We got several snapshots before, in disgust, they turned up their tails and left........  Deer are soooo insensitive!

Goofy Deer playing in the stream

Turn tail and run!

Stopping in to West Glacier, we went to a bridge that crossed McDonald creek on the Polebridge road and checked for Ducks.  There were several Goldeneye Ducks on the creek and we got a few snapshots.  Some shots show their 'footprints' in the water as they 'run' across the water to get airborne.   It was late and the light was too low to set up our tripods and get some good photographs of the Ducks.  We will wait a little closer to Spring to get serious about that.

Goldeneye ducks running to take off

While in Glacier National Park we just could not resist stopping by McDonald Lake for a shot or two of the Lake near Sunset.  We found a young couple out on the dock enjoying the view.

Young Couple enjoying the view

And as it gets a little later the Mountains light up with a golden glow!  The Mountains across Lake McDonald are a kaleidoscope of color from first light in the morning to last light in the evening.

Last light on the Mountains

Another great day in Montana!  Even if it was a little 'overcast' as we returned home, we did not even notice.  Of course, Debbie was asleep on the passenger side!

Well, another ER run on Sunday......NOT to worry!  Seems like we only have health problems on Sunday, as through the years, we have been making runs to the ER on that day.  Finger squished in the Log Splitter, Eye problems, Broken Arm, Gallbladder problems, etc. always on Sunday. I’ve been thinking, (I have been known to do this ’Thinking’ thing!), do you think we could just skip Sundays? If we find a Church that has services on Saturdays, maybe we could just leap into Monday. Since we don’t have to go outside the home to work, we have six Saturdays and a Sunday in our week. So we don’t know what day it is, anyway. So how would we know if it is the Last Saturday in the week in order to skip Sunday?  We don’t even know tomorrow will be Monday until we are already into Sunday..... And Monday is just another Saturday......... Soooooo much to ponder...... My brain is tired and I have barely started writing this Blog. 

The ER run this last week was due to Debbie having the worst headache ever in her life (and this time it was NOT me) and nothing made it go away!  Follow up on that later.

All things considered, we are Really enjoying Montana! We did another Snowshoe trip in Glacier National Park a few days ago and made it back to the car without incident. I never thought that ‘uneventful’ would be good, however age seems to change many things. The snow covered Mountains are breathtaking and we just can’t wait to hike in them again!

Debbie walking in a Christmas Card !

As we were taking off our Snowshoes, we noticed the Sun beginning to turn the snow on top of Mt. Brown a beautiful warm golden color.  From the parking lot at Lake McDonald Lodge we zoomed in on the top of Mt. Brown.  The Small bump on top is the Mt. Brown Fire Lookout Tower.  The Lookout Tower is 4,260 feet above us, but the trail to get to it is 5 miles up, up and up.  Gaining 4,260 feet in 5 miles is one of the most strenuous hikes in Glacier National Park.  Hmmmmm..... Maybe that is why we have never done that trail!  The entire trail is up, not a flat spot to rest anywhere, but those that have made it to the Lookout claim it is one of the most beautiful spots in Glacier NP.  (p.s. the Mt. Brown Peak is still 1000 feet above the Lookout) 

On our way out of the Park after Snowshoeing, we just could not help stopping at Apgar to snap a couple of photos of the Mountains across Lake McDonald.  They are awesome as they glow in the late evening sunshine.

We did get a good snow here after Christmas, but had no trouble getting around. Over a few days, we probably got a little over a foot. They have the equipment to take care of the roads here, so getting around is not a problem. It is just different as they blade the snow off to the sides and into the center. This makes ‘one way’ streets around town, so to speak. These photos are showing the snow in the center of the street.

Most of the snow comes straight down and there is little drifting. Although we get about twice as much snow here as in Indiana, it usually comes down an inch or two at a time. The schools got a Snowday when we got the big snow storm, and it was considered a rarity. That almost never happens.  The temperature has been in the low 30’s and almost all the roads are now clear.

We are just a few minutes from downtown Kalispell and the Post Office.  Albertson’s grocery and UPS are just a couple of blocks from us.  Shopping at Kalispell’s north end, which has been built over the last few years,  has a Cabela's, Lowe's, Home Depot, Bed Bath and Beyond, Walmart, Appleby's, Famous Dave's, Costco, and many more stores is only a little over one mile from us.  We also have a nice mall downtown Kalispell.  So everything we need is easy and convenient to get to.  

 Missoula is the closest ‘Large City’ near us. (I use the term ‘Large’ loosely).  Missoula's population is just over 72,300 and Kalispell's population is just over 22,700).  We have been asked by several 'how big is Columbia Falls?' The population of Columbia Falls is about 5,200 compared to Danville, Indiana with a population of over 9,600.  So, for those of you that like me, that are a bit mathematically challenged,  Columbia Falls is about one half as large as Danville, Indiana.  Easy!

Last Saturday we went to Missoula for the day to pick up a tool chest so I could get some of my tools unpacked and also visit some of the furniture stores there. There are several nice furniture stores in Missoula and they deliver to Columbia Falls.   The drive there is beautiful as we usually go down one side of Flathead Lake and come back up the other. The scenery is awesome. It is about 120 miles to Missoula and takes us about two and a half hours, but we don’t mind as the scenery on entire trip is breathtaking.  The images below Debbie just used her phone to shoot out the windows as I was driving.

A highlight of this trip was seeing a Snowy Owl perched on the roof of a house on our way home.  Debbie snapped this photo with her cell phone and if you just had this photo to go by, you would not know it was a Snowy Owl, but we could see it well in our binoculars.

Snowshoeing???

Debbie asked me what I thought I might do for Christmas. Hummmmm......... I decided to count may blessings for the last year.  Easy, I thought at first, then quickly I realized that I don't have enough fingers, hummmmm, and I almost immediately ran out of toes.  I realized I needed as more legs than a millipede!!!  So, I ask Debbie if she thought she would like to go up to Lone Pine State Park and and photograph the Flathead Valley to send everyone some photos of where we live now.  She said that sounded good so we dressed like penguins and loaded our camera gear and headed out.  As we turned onto the Park road, the scenery was awesome.

When we got up to the Nature Center I snapped a photo of the snow covered trees with the Picnic Table to show how much snow had fallen.  After changing to our boots in the Nature Center, (who wants to do that outside in the snow),  we headed out on the trail to the overlooks.  The Scenery is breathtaking!

Here you notice the tree tops are below me and almost close enough to touch.

This photo is looking Southeast across the Flathead Valley.  Flathead Lake is visible in the distance.

Looking across the Flathead Valley at the Swan Mountain Range (almost due East).  Downtown Kalispell is at the left edge of the photo.

This Photo shows the smoke coming from the smoke stacks at the Lumber Mill in Columbia Falls.

Our lot is almost directly in line with the V-notch in the mountains, just this side of it.  That notch is the place the Flathead River comes out of the mountains. The mountain on the left of the notch is Teakettle Mountain and on the right is Columbia Falls Mountain.  Downtown Kalispell is in the lower right of the photo.

This view is looking North toward Whitefish.  The Whitefish Mountain is where most of the skiing is done in this area...  almost in the center of the photo. 

When we returned to the Nature Center, the person there must have been out in the cold a bit too much as he insisted we try Snowshoeing!  What was wrong with him!  He new we had just hiked a trail in the deep snow.  But he was very insistent so we thought we would appease him and try on a pair. (as they rent them there and he must have been getting a commission)  And it was a balmy 5 degrees out!  Did you ever try to walk with a piece of sheet metal barn roofing tied to each foot?  Well, with much prodding from Debbie and the Nature Center tyrant, I relented and we started off.  Again, I can't say it enough, the scenery was breathtaking!

So, not long after we started out, I found Snowshoeing to be not too bad............ Hummm......
Debbie seemed to be quite happy with all this plodding through the snow.  Sometimes I wonder about her.......

The trail was awesome, so we just kept going.  I thought she would have frozen by now, but she was practically jogging up the trails!  We climbed to the highest point on the trail and could see the Snow covered peaks of the Mountains in Glacier National Park!  WOW!

The trails became more awesome as we went and I began to think maybe I was enjoying this!  But far from it for me let that be known!  So I tried not to smile but that did not work well either.........

You can tell I was trying very hard to maintain my composure.  All went well, except as Debbie was leading  ahead of me, somehow, still not sure how, I apparently tripped, (so very unusual for me) and fell.  Fortunately, Debbie had her back to me and was not paying attention for if she had gotten a photo of this I would have not been able to show my face in public!  Oddly, I had not thought to ask (I would have never asked!) how to get up if you fall down.  With a bit of woodsman wisdom that I have acquired over the years, I was able to figure it out and got to my feet and dusted myself off before Debbie bothered to notice. (Before he FINALLY caught up with me!)  Hopefully she won't read this blog and find out. (Too Late) Of course nobody else reads these, so I feel I am quite safe rambling along about this embarrassing little detail.

So, we headed back down the trail to the Nature Center.

The scenery had to be experienced to be believed.  My words cannot begin to express what it was like.

As we approached the Nature Center, we noticed we were almost overheated.  An awesome experience, even at 5 degrees, we found Snowshoeing to be a great form of exercise for us.  We plan to do it often this winter.

Snowy mountain roads!

Well..........  Most of you that KNOW me, know that I sometimes do dumb things.... very rarely, but it has been known to happen.......  Well, the other day I may have come close to that... it's still in question.  Anyway, it was a beautiful Sunday afternoon and we had not had but a little snow here in Kalispell.  Nothing was on the roads and just some spots in heavy grass in the neighboring fields, so we decided to go for a drive......  Nothing unusual, just a drive in the country.  We noticed the hoarfrost (frost on steroids) up in the mountains and thought it would be good to get a couple of photos of it.

Heading up the mountains, we noticed on the map that the road simply went up and over a mountain and into a valley on the other side and back to US-2 and to Kalispell.  Simple!  Nice drive and some good hoarfrost photos.  As we climbed in elevation, we noticed the roads were snow covered and packed into ice. 

Things started to become a little, not much, but a little confusing as a number of roads turned off the the road we were on, and at times we could not tell which road was the one we were on, hummmmm.  But, anyway, we got up into the mountains and the hoarfrost was awesome.

So Debbie got out the Garmin and input a small town on US-2 that we thought we would be going through.  So, following the Garmin, we noticed as we got higher and higher into the mountains, the road became two ice-packed ruts in deep snow!  Our Prius was beginning to drag the snow down the center of the road, NOT GOOD!  Watching my driving closely, Debbie says, "Joe, don't look now but we are no longer on the road"!  Slight cause for concern......  A Prius with worn tires on Forest Logging roads that go for miles and just end!  Beginning to be a bit more concerned, we found a place we could stop, one of the few level places in the whole mountain range, and were able to turn around.  Did I say the road was now a single lane, of just two icy ruts?  Having no idea if we could get back to the main road (I use 'main road' very loosely here) or not began to raise the 'concern' level to close to Panic, but of course, we kept our cool!!!  It was a little disconcerting that we did not have warm clothes, food or water with us and were more than 10 miles from the nearest human.......  As we were trying to get back to the 'main road' Debbie noticed where we left the road the Garmin was following.  Later we talked to a 'local' as we were going down the mountain and he told us that road had been closed by the Forest Service many years ago!  Thanks, Garmin!!! Anyway, by the Grace of God, we were able to make it back to the 'main road' and continued slowly down the mountain.  The 'local' that I mentioned earlier gave us directions to get on down to civilization.  We were on the 'other'side of the mountain than we had anticipated and we were one and a half hours drive on good highways back to Kalispell. AMEN!  But, anyway, we did get a few photos!  The part that was disappointing to us was that it was beautiful up on the Forest Service roads and we were far too un-nerved (to say the least) to get our cameras out.  When we got home, Debbie had to take a screwdriver and pry my hands off the steering wheel.