August 19. 2010 by Merilee.

Missoula, Montana

August 18, 2010

The best laid plans often go astray especially when it comes to jeeping forest service roads on  national forest lands.  We struck out three times today on the back roads.  Early this morning we attempted to drive to the Montana Snowbowl (a ski area) but the road was completely closed for construction.  The other road up the mountain was gated a short way up and only open to hikers.  As my new forest service map shows, many of the roads in the Rattlesnake National Forest and Lolo National Forest are only open to hikers.   Our final strike was Harper Bridge which appeared on my Montana atlas, Garmin GPS and the National Forest Service map.  As you can see from the pic this bridge has been history for awhile.  We did see a jeep on the other side but did not feel the jeep Gods where smiling on us today and did not attempt the water crossing.

We are enjoying Missoula’s many restaurants and shopping areas.  Brad has tasted his favorite Moose Drool brewed here in Missoula and a thin crispy crust pizza so life is good.

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August 7. 2010 by Merilee.

Montana

August 5, 2010

“Oh, give me a home where the buffalo roam

and the deer and the antelope play…

Found ourselves singing this song as we took a wonderfully scenic ride through the National Bison Range in Montana today.  The landscape was pristine prairie with many original grasses.  The 19 mile one-way gravel road called Red Sleep had amazing vistas at every elevation and switchback.  The land, the sky and the light were simply gorgeous.  I have posted a few of the critters we saw.

The ranger warned us to stay in our jeep and not get out in buffalo areas.  The rutting season has begun in earnest and we witnessed many energetic encounters by the bulls.  We saw clouds of dust rising in the air as the big boys displayed dominance in the herd.  After getting some pics, we moved on as the herd was all stirred up, the grunting snorting and deep calls were a little intimidating with only the jeep between us and a couple hundred large buffalo.

The National Bison Range was established in 1908 in response to concern that the buffalo had been slaughtered to the point of extinction.  Part of the original herd was purchased from the Conrad family of Kalispell, Montana, who were early buffalo ranchers,  The animals are now flourishing here and the bison roundup is held in early October at the Bison Range.  The Bison Range is on a parcel of land carved from the Flathead Indian Reservation. To the east is the Mission Mountain range and the south the Bitterroot Mountains can be seen.

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August 1. 2010 by Merilee.

Polson, Montana

July 31, 2010

We have landed in Polson Montana on the southern shores of Flathead Lake.  The Mission mountain range flanks the eastern shores on the lake and make great cherry orchard country.  At 28 miles long, 7-8 miles wide, and more than 300 feet deep the Flathead Lake is the larges natural freshwater lake west of the Mississippi.

Back to the cherries….  The first white settlers on the eastern banks of the lake arrived in 1891 and quickly hit on the idea of growing cherries there.   Fruit orchards were established all along the eastern shore of the lake.  Although they’re subject to periodic killing frosts, Flathead Lake’s cherry trees are productive enough to supply farm stands and roadside vendors around the region.  That is until we showed up!  These smaller deeper red cherries are tart and tasty.

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July 29. 2010 by Merilee.

Glacier National Park

July 27, 2010

I have put this majestic park on the top of my list of favorite national parks.  It is truly special and unique with the many glaciers, mountains, waterfalls, high altitude wildflower meadows and jaw dropping views.  We have enjoyed the Going to Sun Road a few times and keep seeing more details and beauty.  Strongly recommend this two week stop for the bucket list.  Don’t try to see it in one day by driving the Going to the Sun Road.  At each of many pull-offs, one can find pristine lakes, glacial rivers in aquamarine, stellar mountain ranges with the peaks in the clouds.  This view is of Mt Jackson  elevation 10,052.

This pic of the red jammer waiting to load eager tourists to tour in the open air bus through Glacier National Park.  The jammers were an instant hit when introduced in the 1920’s and are still the best way to experience a guided tour of the park.  This location is at the Two Medicine Lake General Store in Glacier National Park.  I have posted many pics on my flickr page if you want to see more.

Lion Lake is just one gem in the hundreds of glacial lakes and ponds in the northwest section of Montana.  This pristine lake is in Hungry Horse Montana in the Flathead National Forest.  Rumor has it the fishing is excellent here. The lake was a mile from our campsite in Hungry Horse, Montana.

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July 23. 2010 by Merilee.

July 20, 2010

Glacier National Park

Often described as the most scenic drive in America, the Going to the Sun Road is far from just scenic.  It is truly magnificent in grandeur.   It is really difficult to convey the majesty in this “Crown of the Continent.”  This day we started in West Glacier and drove by Lake McDonald, old growth cedar forests, crystal clear Avalanche Creek, dozens of high mountain waterfall and glaciers.  It is truly a landscape formed by rock and ice.  The mountains just touch the beautiful blue sky in the most amazing way.

Okay, you must see Glacier National Park in your lifetime.  Put it on your list and find a way to experience it.  Of all the National Parks that we have seen, Glacier is truly on the top of the list.  The season here is very short as the road just opened on June 25 and is scheduled to close on Sept 21st.   While I do not take any stock in “the glaciers are melting” due to global warming,  I do believe that natural climate changes can affect them.  This is a must see.

This pic is taken from below Logan Pass of Gun Sight Mountain and Heaven’s Peak on the right.

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July 15. 2010 by Merilee.

Glacier National Park

July 15, 2010

Exploring the Many Glacier section of the park was quite exciting.  I was off on one side of the road on my knees photographing the amazing high altitude wildflowers.  When I got up and turned around, I discovered that a traffic jam had started.  Down in the field on the other side of the road was a momma grizzly bear with two cubs.  They were just grazing through this amazing field of wildflowers.  This is a shot of her.  The high winds recked havoc with my long telephoto lens.  The foliage was too high to catch the cubs but I did see them both as they frolicked and jumped after mom.

On our way out we came across another big traffic jam.  This time we saw a sow and 3 cubs!  Brad got a very good look at her as she turned and headed right for him and the ranger standing next to him.  The ranger immediately barked orders that everyone must leave now.  I was stuck in the crowd and never did get a pic of this family.  Brad got an eye full of his second grizzly in the wild that he will never forget.

Running Eagle Falls in the Two Medicine section of Glacier National Park.

Today we drove southwest to the Two Medicine section of Glacier National Park.  We both enjoyed the hike to Running Eagle Falls and Trickle Falls.  Can you see that there are two distinct falls in the background?  There was a fly fisherman working the waters under the falls and he said the fishing was grand.

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