July 21, 2014
A good night's sleep and up at 7:30a without an alarm. I love not having that obnoxious noise wake me up. We finished our packing and went down for breakfast late. Jennifer was kind enough to give us a little leeway in checking out as we loaded our bags, checked our email, printed our boarding passes, and added some pictures to our Facebook page.
It's a short 15 mile drive to Columbia Falls from West Glacier but it puts us lots closer to the airport for our 6am flight. Every little bit helps so we don't have to get up earlier than 4am to get to Kalispell Airport. We had made purchases that had to be shipped so we found the UPS store in Columbia Falls attached to the Super 1 Food Mart.
Our reservations were at the Glacier Inn in Columbia Falls so we thought we'd let them know we were in town. Much to our surprise, the room was already cleaned (1:00p) and they let us check in and camp out for the afternoon until dinner time. A nice clean room but nothing to rave about. We decided to have dinner at the Back Room where they specialize in ribs and chicken. Something we haven't had on this trip so we're happy to try it.
The Night Owl & The Back Room are actually two different restaurants in one. You can enter both through the front or go to just the Back Room through the left side of the building. We ate at the Back Room and ordered the 1 lb. of BBQ Country Ribs that came with baked beans, cole slaw, red potatoes, and fry bread. We shared this meal and left fully satisfied again with no room for dessert. But wait! There's a Take-Away entrance and they have blueberry pie in the case! Not huckleberry but the next best thing so we took one piece to go and will share it just before bed at 8p. Hopefully we'll fall asleep quickly and get close to 8 hours before the 4am bell.
Tomorrow morning will be our 6am flight (2.5 hours) to Minneapolis with a 49 minute layover and the final leg to Tampa lasting 3 hours. It won't be pretty but we'll be up at 4a and out the door by 4:30a so we can park the rental car and drop the keys before heading to the gate.
It's always good to get home even though the weather is so much more oppressive with the heat and humidity. Family is the reason that home is called "home" and I can't wait to be back there! Thanks for following this blog...until next year's adventure.
Monday, July 21, 2014
Sunday, July 20, 2014
Rocky Point Hike & Whisky Tasting
Restless sleep last night. AC didn't work and left the windows open. Must have heard 4 trains pass through and smelled the smoke from the fires in Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia. Hopefully we'll be able to close the windows and have the hum of the machine to lull us to sleep and keep the room cool. Just not used to all this quiet!
Heading for our last hike at Rocky Point with the trailhead at the Fish Creek Campground. Supposed to be a 1.9 mile round trip but with a 350' elevation gain. Not sure this flatlander can do that big of a gain but we'll see.
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| Hanging back from the dust and kicked-up stone to preserve the rental cars windshield. |
Rocky Point was a nice easy 1.6 RT with a Nature Trail of .7 loop added to the end. We made our way out and up half of the Nature Trail before it started to rain. With the rain coming down, we turned back to the parking lot but were happy with our 2.5 hours of hiking (well, a few stops for pictures, as you can see) for today.
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| A reminder warning. |
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| And so it begins... |
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| After A Rain |
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| Wild Huckleberries |
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| Storm Sky Building |
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| Red Rust Killing the Plant |
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| Ocean-Spray |
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| Nodding Onion |
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| Pine Cones Forming |
We looked up some of the flower names for labeling our pictures and will do more tonight. With full tummies, we headed for the whiskey tasting at the red barn which is Glacier Distilling. What a fun experience as we each tasted 4 different whiskeys, bourbons, and liqueurs which meant we each got to taste 8 items.
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| Front bar entry with 4 glasses of Rocky Mountain Caesar similar to a Bloody Mary but topped with more than a celery stick because it had a pickle, pepperoncini, olive, and |
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| My 4 whisky blends |
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| Melodie's 4 whisky blends |
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| The back room of the distillery
We packed our suitcases and readied ourselves for one more day in Montana. Everything seems to fit and it's a wonder! We'll wear tomorrow's clothes on Tuesday to eliminate the need for getting back into our suitcase again. We're giving Jennifer here at Glacier Guides all of our leftover food items, styrofoam cooler, paper towels, and bear spray to pass on to the next people who may need it in their hikes.
I'll miss this cool summer weather. It's about 70 degrees right now at 7:30p local time as we sit on the porch outside our room. Sorry to see this journey end but will be happy to be back home with family once again. One more day and we hope for another wine tasting.
Off to dinner then back to relax until bedtime.
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Saturday, July 19, 2014
July 19 - Walk in the Treetops on Big Mountain, Whitefish, Mt.
Alarm wakes us up and we have our leisurely 2 hour breakfast and ready time before leaving for our 10am walk. It will be 2.5 hours 60'-70' above the ground with a guide to tell us all about the flora and fauna. We're very excited for this new adventure.
We reached Big Mountain and met our guides, Andrew & Kelsey, who lead and bring up the rear during our time in the treetops. They explain that we will ride up the mile to their base camp, get our equipment and then walk the half mile to the beginning of the walkway in the trees.
The ride was in an open-air wagon that Andrew pulled up the mountain and our group consists of four other women our age, a husband of equal age, and then a mother and 11 or 12 year old son team. We clambered down out of the trail and into the windowed tent. Just inside the tent were fanny packs for our use with a bottle of water and energy bar. We grabbed one of each and sat down for our instructions on how to don our harnesses and rope carabiners with a double safety lock by looping our two ring ends through the tied loop at the other end.
We partnered up and then practiced on the short little walkway inside the tent as we announced, "One on!" and our partner responded, "One on!" followed by "Two On!" and then walking without leaving our partner behind since we had to repeat her one and two on announcement too. This exercise required clamping one D-ring at a time to each of two different arresting wires as a double safety precaution in case of a fall. Both ropes and wires would not fail...or so they say.
We left our hats and car keys in the tent, put on our loaded fanny packs and headed for our half mile hike up the mountain trail. Andrew & Kelsey told us about many of the plants on the way and some were very unusual.
I think the scariest part of the Walk in the Treetops was getting on the first board. Andrew would stand on the board as Kelsey led the first person across. As Kelsey and company reached the center of the boardwalk, Andrew's end of the planks raised him up a good 2' which made stepping up there almost impossible. As they reached the opposite end, Andrew's board lowered him back to ground level and the next person stepped up.
The side guide rails and support cables were made from arresting wires used on aircraft carriers for the jet's tailhook so they could take a great deal of weight and stress easily. The boards on the other hand are checked and replaced each season but the wires remain in the treetops year round. The land for the Walk in the Treetops is leased from the Stoltze Lumber Co. who practice selective cutting of trees instead of the full-scale demolition of a side of a mountain.
After everyone had gone ahead across the first board, Andrew brought up the rear and it was pretty smooth walking after that initial step. There WERE two good inclines to some of the trees and we were able to stop and pause on two different tree stands and enjoy the view. It's really weird being at the top of a tree looking down instead of the other way around.
Our 2.5 hour trip took 3 hours since everyone in our group was taking photos and having a ball! We reached the end of the hike, disappointed it was over, and hiked the half mile back down the mountain to our tent.
Here we turned in our equipment and were able to sign the log of our great trip and guides before taking the "limo" ride back to the base lodge.
We just HAD to buy the t-shirt and, hopefully next time, we'll get a zip line t-shirt! I've got some serious talking to do to get Melodie on the line.
We ate lunch in the coolness of our car at the top of the mountain before heading back down. Our drive took us through Whitefish and, then in Columbia Falls, we saw IT! A winery with wine tastings 9 miles out of town. So, of course, we HAD to go check it out! Well, that 9 mile drive seemed to last forever through forests of no civilization. Melodie said, "If we start to hear banjos, we aren't stopping."
We ended up at The Flathead Lake Winery and tasted their wares. Perhaps more Christmas presents in my kids' stockings. We bought a bottle of the sweeter Huckleberry Wine for sharing between now and Tuesday when we leave for home. By the way, if you're in the market for a Montana home and/or winery, just look up Glacier Sotheby's for the listing.
Stopped by the Depot Park to see Thomas for my granddaughters and then checked out the location of the Whisky tasting shop very near our lodge. THAT will be for tomorrow after we do our last virtuous hike.
We reached Big Mountain and met our guides, Andrew & Kelsey, who lead and bring up the rear during our time in the treetops. They explain that we will ride up the mile to their base camp, get our equipment and then walk the half mile to the beginning of the walkway in the trees.
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| Our limo for the 1 mile ride. |
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| Base camp in the middle of nowhere Big Mountain. |
The ride was in an open-air wagon that Andrew pulled up the mountain and our group consists of four other women our age, a husband of equal age, and then a mother and 11 or 12 year old son team. We clambered down out of the trail and into the windowed tent. Just inside the tent were fanny packs for our use with a bottle of water and energy bar. We grabbed one of each and sat down for our instructions on how to don our harnesses and rope carabiners with a double safety lock by looping our two ring ends through the tied loop at the other end.
We partnered up and then practiced on the short little walkway inside the tent as we announced, "One on!" and our partner responded, "One on!" followed by "Two On!" and then walking without leaving our partner behind since we had to repeat her one and two on announcement too. This exercise required clamping one D-ring at a time to each of two different arresting wires as a double safety precaution in case of a fall. Both ropes and wires would not fail...or so they say.
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| I can't get the sound to play! Let me know with a comment below if YOU can hear it. |
We left our hats and car keys in the tent, put on our loaded fanny packs and headed for our half mile hike up the mountain trail. Andrew & Kelsey told us about many of the plants on the way and some were very unusual.
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| The Pathway plant used by hunters to follow their game into the woods. When stepped on, it turns over and points the way to the game. |
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| Thimbleberry Plant. Edible. If you have too many and need to heed the call of nature, you could come back to get the leaves that are the "woods" version of Charmin. Note the 5 points. |
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| Now THIS leaf looks the same but has 7 points and is called Devils' Club or a WalMart off-brand of tissue paper. |
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| Twinberries. Poisonous. |
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| Made by the Spittlebug and it looks AND FEELS just like too! Yuk! |
I think the scariest part of the Walk in the Treetops was getting on the first board. Andrew would stand on the board as Kelsey led the first person across. As Kelsey and company reached the center of the boardwalk, Andrew's end of the planks raised him up a good 2' which made stepping up there almost impossible. As they reached the opposite end, Andrew's board lowered him back to ground level and the next person stepped up.
The side guide rails and support cables were made from arresting wires used on aircraft carriers for the jet's tailhook so they could take a great deal of weight and stress easily. The boards on the other hand are checked and replaced each season but the wires remain in the treetops year round. The land for the Walk in the Treetops is leased from the Stoltze Lumber Co. who practice selective cutting of trees instead of the full-scale demolition of a side of a mountain.
After everyone had gone ahead across the first board, Andrew brought up the rear and it was pretty smooth walking after that initial step. There WERE two good inclines to some of the trees and we were able to stop and pause on two different tree stands and enjoy the view. It's really weird being at the top of a tree looking down instead of the other way around.
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| Walkway in the background. |
Our 2.5 hour trip took 3 hours since everyone in our group was taking photos and having a ball! We reached the end of the hike, disappointed it was over, and hiked the half mile back down the mountain to our tent.
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| Rope & D rings disconnected, you wear them hooked together and around your neck for the downhill hike. |
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| Modeling the latest in highline hiking. |
We just HAD to buy the t-shirt and, hopefully next time, we'll get a zip line t-shirt! I've got some serious talking to do to get Melodie on the line.
We ate lunch in the coolness of our car at the top of the mountain before heading back down. Our drive took us through Whitefish and, then in Columbia Falls, we saw IT! A winery with wine tastings 9 miles out of town. So, of course, we HAD to go check it out! Well, that 9 mile drive seemed to last forever through forests of no civilization. Melodie said, "If we start to hear banjos, we aren't stopping."
We ended up at The Flathead Lake Winery and tasted their wares. Perhaps more Christmas presents in my kids' stockings. We bought a bottle of the sweeter Huckleberry Wine for sharing between now and Tuesday when we leave for home. By the way, if you're in the market for a Montana home and/or winery, just look up Glacier Sotheby's for the listing.
Stopped by the Depot Park to see Thomas for my granddaughters and then checked out the location of the Whisky tasting shop very near our lodge. THAT will be for tomorrow after we do our last virtuous hike.
Friday, July 18, 2014
Drive to Polebridge Mercantile
July 18, 2014
After a leisurely morning in our room, we wanted to arrive in Polebridge later in the day so we would be there for a late lunch/early dinner time and possibly improve our chances of seeing a wolf pack. We had another lovely breakfast compliments of Glacier Guides Lodge and "hunted" a chipmunk down the path to get a picture.
We talked with Jennifer, the lodge manager, about our Polebridge plans and she showed us a map and some short hikes we could take off Camas Road aka Outside North Fork Road. She told us about the great bakery in the Polebridge Mercantile and said she hadn't made it up there this season but wanted to pick up some baked goods for the lodge. Soooo, we offered to bring those yummy treats back with us. She placed her order and paid for it in advance and all we had to do was mention Jennifer from Glacier Guides to pick them up. Of course, we'd pick up these goodies since we get to enjoy them for breakfast in the morning!
We headed out around 10 and made an unplanned stop to hike the Huckleberry Nature Trail. The sign states a .6 mile trail with a "hill" at midway. What a variety of vegetation with forested areas, meadows, or new growth since the 2001 fire. After hiking, we question the accuracy of the .6 to be more like a full mile. This approximate one hour hike took us closer to 1.5-2.0 hours with all the photo stops we make but it was fabulous! I was feeling tired before the hike but very invigorated at its end.
The paved road gave way to around 10 miles of gravel road on our 25 mile drive to Polebridge. We drove a section of paved road which began with a warning sign from the landowners. One landowner had constructed a two mile fence line on both sides of the road and called his/her ranch the Rocky Bar O at 8500 North Fork Road. The fence line alone must have cost a fortune! We thought we'd try our hand at researching who owns these acres of Montana land.
Before the 2001 fire, you wouldn't have been able to get views of the valley below because of all the old growth forest. The new growth is still young enough to allow us to take a shot at the valley on our gravel road.
A couple cute "Little Library" stands had been erected for anyone wanting to give or take a book.
Reaching Polebridge, a few more signs reminded us of a new four-letter word.
We made a few purchases and ogled the fresh-made breads and pastries. We bought one of the bread muffins and a huckleberry bear claw along with some other goodies. Picking up Jennifer's order, we put everything in our cooler away from the heat and sat in the shade to have our sandwiches. Unfortunately, the Northern Lights Saloon was closed until 4 and we were ready to head out at 3 so having a lunch/dinner there was out of the question.
The trip back was unusual. The ridges in the road were devious. They rattled the steering wheel and made the tires slip and slide like they were on ice. Slower speeds and driving more in the center of the road was needed. After getting back on a paved road, we decided to stop in Apgar at Eddie's for a huckleberry cobbler with ice cream. It was delicious and filled my last huckleberry taste bud need. Marius from Romania had been our server yesterday and we promised we would be back for dessert so we asked to be seated where he would be our waiter.
We delivered Jennifer's Polebridge pastries and assured her we would be down for breakfast early before the goodies were gone!
Shower and blogging. Tomorrow is our Walk in the Treetops back on Big Mountain so we need an alarm wake-up to get moving with breakfast and making the 45 minute drive to the mountain.
After a leisurely morning in our room, we wanted to arrive in Polebridge later in the day so we would be there for a late lunch/early dinner time and possibly improve our chances of seeing a wolf pack. We had another lovely breakfast compliments of Glacier Guides Lodge and "hunted" a chipmunk down the path to get a picture.
We talked with Jennifer, the lodge manager, about our Polebridge plans and she showed us a map and some short hikes we could take off Camas Road aka Outside North Fork Road. She told us about the great bakery in the Polebridge Mercantile and said she hadn't made it up there this season but wanted to pick up some baked goods for the lodge. Soooo, we offered to bring those yummy treats back with us. She placed her order and paid for it in advance and all we had to do was mention Jennifer from Glacier Guides to pick them up. Of course, we'd pick up these goodies since we get to enjoy them for breakfast in the morning!
We headed out around 10 and made an unplanned stop to hike the Huckleberry Nature Trail. The sign states a .6 mile trail with a "hill" at midway. What a variety of vegetation with forested areas, meadows, or new growth since the 2001 fire. After hiking, we question the accuracy of the .6 to be more like a full mile. This approximate one hour hike took us closer to 1.5-2.0 hours with all the photo stops we make but it was fabulous! I was feeling tired before the hike but very invigorated at its end.
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| Scat. Bear? Deer? |
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| Can you see me? |
The paved road gave way to around 10 miles of gravel road on our 25 mile drive to Polebridge. We drove a section of paved road which began with a warning sign from the landowners. One landowner had constructed a two mile fence line on both sides of the road and called his/her ranch the Rocky Bar O at 8500 North Fork Road. The fence line alone must have cost a fortune! We thought we'd try our hand at researching who owns these acres of Montana land.
Before the 2001 fire, you wouldn't have been able to get views of the valley below because of all the old growth forest. The new growth is still young enough to allow us to take a shot at the valley on our gravel road.
The trip back was unusual. The ridges in the road were devious. They rattled the steering wheel and made the tires slip and slide like they were on ice. Slower speeds and driving more in the center of the road was needed. After getting back on a paved road, we decided to stop in Apgar at Eddie's for a huckleberry cobbler with ice cream. It was delicious and filled my last huckleberry taste bud need. Marius from Romania had been our server yesterday and we promised we would be back for dessert so we asked to be seated where he would be our waiter.
We delivered Jennifer's Polebridge pastries and assured her we would be down for breakfast early before the goodies were gone!
Shower and blogging. Tomorrow is our Walk in the Treetops back on Big Mountain so we need an alarm wake-up to get moving with breakfast and making the 45 minute drive to the mountain.
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