August 1 – August 8 Columbia Falls, Montana

Part One

Our next two destinations in Montana were truly nostalgic for Peter as he lived both in and around Columbia Falls and Red Lodge.

We arrived in Columbia Falls about 2 hours after leaving Laurie and H’s home in Libby, Montana.  We quickly settled into our site in the RV Park and were fortunate to have a large evergreen tree in our site that provided lots of shade in the afternoon and evening.  It was hot!

The next day we planned to explore Kalispell and check out some of the places Peter worked and lived 45 years ago. But first we went to breakfast.  After finishing our meal; to our surprise the waitress told us that the check had been paid by someone who wished to remain anonymous.  Just as we were leaving a man approached and just looked at us. He looked familiar and then said , “Hi, its Bob.”  Of all the people to meet in a random café in Columbia Falls! We have known Bob and Kay for many years and were flabbergasted to see them there. (They were there for a relative”s wedding.)

 After breakfast, we drove into Kalispell and attempted to find the sporting goods store where Peter used to work. However it was no longer there and Peter did not recognize anything in the downtown area other than the old court house which has been re-purposed for other government use.  We then went in search of Peter’s old house on Foothills Road to see what happened to the 5 acres he used to own.  We drove by it a couple of times before he recognized it.  There was a house on the property but it looked abandoned and the driveway was blocked.  Peter knocked on the door of a next door neighbor. The guy hadn’t lived there for that long so didn’t know Peter. Peter was disappointed, but he was undaunted.  Peter continued to knock on other doors in the neighborhood to no avail.   His investigative skills were becoming apparent.   

Back in Kalispell we found the insulation company where Peter worked a lifetime ago.  The owner’s son is now retired and lives in Lakeside, not far away.  More about that later.

The following day we spent the night in Missoula which is a college town. It may seem odd to take a break from vacation, but that’s what we did.  It felt like a luxury to be away from the RV life even for one day (and night).  We went specifically to Rockin’ Rudy’s on the recommendation of H, Laurie, Betsy, Steve and Danny.  Do you remember Jutenhoops in Phoenix?  Well, this is like Jutenhoops on steroids. It is a huge store with a very eclectic mix of merchandise – from the sacred to the profane.  They sell everything from incense to clothes, religious items, jewelry, posters, puzzles, off color stuff and much more. We knew we weren’t going to get out of Rudy’s without buying something. We had fun browsing and of course making purchases.  Peter bought a solar- powered prism and JY a little jewelry. (go figure)

We finished the day with an excellent dinner at the Montana Club, recommended by a local.  Not yet satisfied, we decided to catch a movie at the local theater.  “Once upon a Time in Hollywood” was a bit of a disappoint to us. Then back for a good a night’s sleep at the hotel which included a complementary all you can eat breakfast.

This respite from the RV life also included  a drive along the entire 161 mile circumference of Flathead Lake.  Montana has a lot of water, it is replete with some very large lakes, rivers and streams. Huckleberries, cherries and peaches were in season as there were numerous stands along the route selling the fruit. And lots of cherry orchards along the way.

The drive back to Kalispell was along the opposite side of Flathead Lake. This route took us through Lakeside, an affluent lake town with upscale houses and docks for private boats.   We had heard that the son of Peter’s old boss lived in the area.  Peter did not have his address. This is where Peter’s investigative skills really became apparent. It’s surprising the number of people in a small town who will give an address to a total stranger. Peter may have missed his calling as a PI.

 After an hour or more Peter finally tracked down his old boss’s son.  We spent an hour or more catching up.  He said that another guy Peter worked with, Perry, also lived in Lakeside.  Of course Peter also tracked him down.  So we spent another hour catching up with Perry.  Peter finally was able to make contact with people from his past and was very satisfied.

 Part 2

JY has wanted to experience the Going to the Sun Road since we first met. Peter had a large poster of Saint Mary’s Lake and Wild Goose Island at Glacier National Park.  She found the name very romantic.  It is an iconic scene that many photograph, including us.

As this drive takes all day, Peter booked a cabin on the downhill side of Going to the Sun Road.  We drove past MacDonald Lake on the Going to the Sun Road which goes from the West Glacier entrance to the East Glacier Entrance.  The road gets real curvy once you get past the end of MacDonald Lake and starts the climb to Logan Pass.  We took a hike to Hidden Lake at Logan’s Pass.  It was a challenging hike for JY, but well worth it as we spotted lots of mountain goats.

When driving up the road the passenger is on the downhill side of the mountain and in many places you see nothing but magnificent and majestic scenery.  There is little opportunity to see any wildlife on the drive up to Logan Pass because on the left side of the vehicle in most places there is a wall of rock that goes straight up.  It is a little disconcerting for the passenger and the driver misses out on a lot of the scenery.   However it is important for the driver to keep his eyes on this challenging but scenic drive.

We arrived at our lodging at Rising Sun Motor Lodge exhausted and hungry. We were glad that after an exhausting day, we didn’t have to drive all the way back to Columbia Falls that night. We went straight to bed after dinner and slept 12 hours straight.

When we woke up we decided somewhat impulsively to go to Canada since we were so close to the border. So we went to Waterton Park which is a continuation of Glacier Park in Canada.  We crossed the border into Alberta, a province JY had not visited. There is a historic hotel in the park where we decided to have lunch.

The Prince of Whales Hotel is an iconic structure in a picturesque location in Alberta Canada. We had a typical Canadian lunch – fish and chips and shepherd’s pie. You may remember the praise we had for the fish and chips at Moby Dick’s in White Rock, Canada.  Well, these fish and chips were even better.

After some shopping in town, we headed back down Going to the Sun Road, this time stopping at Many Glacier Resort. This resort is also an iconic structure in a picturesque location.  We also stopped at Apgar Village where Peter lived when he ran the horse concession in Glacier National Park.  Of course much has changed since that time.

We have visited several different parks over the summer – Zion and Bryce National Parks, Escalante National Monument and Glacier National Park.  It’s difficult to determine which we enjoyed the most as they were all so different in unique ways. At this point, Glacier was the most spectacular. However it may be because it was the most recent. What a fortunate experience to have visited such beauty in so many places.