June 29 - Around Columbia Falls, MT

White Raven Winery has been a great place to spend 2 days near Glacier NP. Hosts Dan and Rebecca were so friendly. Wine was great and the locals who are part of their wine club accepted us like we were one of them. 

We drove into Whitefish to walk the town and grab a bite to eat at Jeremiah Johnson Brewery. I had hoped to go to a quilt shop but it was all closed up and out of business. 

Back at the winery, we sat around with the local wine club until the winery closed. They had told us about the huckleberry milkshakes and pies in Hungry Horse so we had to make a stop there. 

It’s 10 o’clock and still light out. 

Caught the sunset just before I went to bed. 

Tomorrow we are headed back to Idaho to Riley Creek for the weekend. 

June 28 - White Raven Winery, Columbia Falls

Before we leave for our next camping spot, White Raven Winery, we hiked along the lake at West Shore Campground. 

The weather has been great for hiking. 

While we were hiking, Shan sent me Arlo’s 3-month picture. So thankful for this little guy. 

Pulled in to White Raven Winery around 2 pm. Several campers already in place. I can see why. This place is about 4 miles from the west entrance to Glacier. Great host and good wine. This is our view. 

This is our flight. 

Since it stays light till almost 10 pm, we decided to drive into Glacier. After 3 pm you don’t need a reservation. Wasn’t much traffic either. Lots of twists and turns on this road. Can’t believe that i roads my motorcycle on this road in 2010. 

The first 7 miles was dirt because they are resurfacing it. The car definitely needs a bath. Ida doesn’t want to pull that dirty thing 🤣

The winery owner told us that we might see some wildlife driving into the park in the evening. He was right. Look what we saw. 

Two moose taking a bath. 

It was a long day but so worth the drive. The scenery was beautiful at that time of day and seeing the wildlife just topped off our day. 

We asked the owner if we could stay here another night and he approved it, so we plan to drive to Whitefish. 

June 27 - Lakeside MT, Flathead Lake - Day 2

On our second day at Flathead Lake, we took another hike on their very well marked trails through the woods. The dogs could be off leash so there was a lot of sniffing going on. 

We saw a doe, buck and their fawn on whitetail path, very apropos. Can you spot them?

Took a drive into Kalispell to check out the historic town. 

Found a brewery near Columbia Falls so we checked that out for lunch. 

Their story is interesting. — As Montanans we come from families where our love of the outdoors often begins with our parents.  When our founder (Jordan) lost her mother to cancer, she decided to establish Sacred Waters Brewing Company as a way to keep celebrating her mom’s love of wild places and people. Our brewery is a celebration of that heritage which has been passed on to us and that we’re passing on to our children. A heritage we can all relate to in Montana. It’s a reflection of everyone’s special place outside…, everyone’s Sacred Waters.

We enjoyed the beer and the food and the visit with the chefs. One of the chefs came from Philly. I was wondering when I saw Philly Cheesesteak on the menu. 

Back to the TV to sit outside in the warm weather and read. 

June 26 - Lakeside, MT (south of Kalispell)

Decided we wanted to do a little more exploring in north Montana. Will be staying at West Shore Campground on Flathead Lake. 

Beautiful drive up the west side of the lake. 

There are lots of hiking right from our campsite, so off we go. The boys are happy to be off leash. 

Since we are so far north, it stays light until 10!!  It’s also warm so we can sit out. Had to buy Lenny a different chair so he can get in it easier that the higher ones. 

Tomorrow another hike and then drive into Kalispell to check out the town. 

June 25 - Lolo , near Missoula, Montana

Drove into Butte to for groceries. Pretty large town. Then on to Missoula to Chief Looking Glass Fishing Access Campground. We were going to stay 2 nights but the cost is $24 for non resident so decided to only stay one night since that seems expensive for dry camping and no view! 

Main reason we wanted to stop in Missoula is to pick up some Tangerine Squeezer beer from Hilander Brewery. Tasted some yesterday at the pizza place in Bozeman. Lucky for us they are open today. 

Also, it’s time to do laundry again. 

Chief Looking Glass campground is named  for the Nez Perce chief who led the battle of 1877 against US Troops. 

Will drive north tomorrow to just south of Kalispell. 

June 24 - Bozeman shopping and Drew leaves

After our morning coffee, we drove back to Bozeman for a little shopping, lunch and a quilt shop. 

We had a lovely lunch at Sidewall Pizza shop. The city repurposed an old school and there are shops and the pizza place in it. Great use of space. 

Finally was able to visit a quilt shop and bought some landscape patterns of place we saw in Yellowstone. Yippy!

Then it was time to put Drew on a plane back to Sacramento. What a great week of memories for all of us. Only thing that would have made it even better would have been if Erin could have joined us. Next time hopefully. 

Decided to drive just about an hour west of Three Forks, close to Butte for the night, a little rest and repair a few things. 

Not sure where we will end up tomorrow. Check back. 

June 23 - Moving on into Montana

Before we left our campground at Gardiner, we all took one more soak in the hot springs. That was a new, fun thing for us. 

Then it was time to move near Bozeman so we can take Drew to the airport on Saturday. 

We decided to stay at Bridger Brewing. They are a Harvest Host in Three Forks, Montana, about 30 minutes west of Bozeman. 

Great place to stay. They have a huge parking place for many RVs. Good beer, too. 

Drew and I made a trip into Bozeman to check out the town. Quilt shop wasn’t open but I plan to visit it tomorrow. 

We haven’t made any plans yet after we take Drew to the airport in the afternoon. I think Bill and I will use the time to rest before Linda joins us. 

June 22 - Yellowstone Day 3 - Hot Springs and Lamar Valley

Today started with a soak in the Yellowstone Hot Springs. Ohhh, what a treat. There are 3 pools that are spring fed, a hot 104 degrees, 98 degrees and then the cold soak at 65 degrees. 

Doesn’t everyone read the New Yorker magazine while in the hot springs?? 

From hot springs to Lamar Valley in Yellowstone. 

Bison herds of 40+ were everywhere. 

Lots of construction due to the 7+ inches of rain they had last June and they are still repairing. We need to be back through the Lamar Balley before 7 pm because they close the road for blasting. 

A Ranger had told us if we see a group of people with telescopes, stop because they are viewing wildlife. We came upon a group so we stopped and were able to see through their scopes 2 mountain goats. I took a picture where they were on the hillside but you can’t see them, just the place where they were. 

Stopped in Cooke City and walked the “town.”  Little shops and cafes. Stopped for a beer at the Beartooth cafe, owned by locals. 

After Cooke City we continued to Beartooth Pass. The views were amazing. 

Back through the Lamar Valley, we saw a fox eating roadkill. 

More bison and calves. 

Then we really got lucky and saw antelope, a wolf, a cinnamon black bear with her cubs and 2 black bears within about 15 minutes. 

It was a GREAT day.