July 11, 2009 KALISPELL TO DEER LODGE

Had a very good night's sleep, and were in the process of closing down the computer when Gede and Terry (Lu's sis, etc.....Sorry, Ter.... you're the etc...) showed up on SKYPE....
Had a fun time chatting while looking at each other face to face...
That SKYPE is something else...... And it's free.....
So...... Enough advertisement already (as long as everyone got the point?)........
Here's for you who follow us on Google Earth:
We pulled out from Glacier Pines RV Park at 9:18, and headed East on Hwy 35 through Creston, then missed the turn-off at Bigfork, so we had to drive through town, which was no problem, since we got an up-close and personal look at the Northern side of Flathead Lake.
Of course, we missed the next two turn-offs as well, but finally ended up finding Hwy 209, which took us over to Hwy 83.
The highway took us along Swan Lake and through the town of the same name. The scenery is absolutely wonderful! (I'm uploading the pictures we took today onto my PICASA WEB ALBUMS, so have a peek)
Somewhere South of Condon (Lu made a little joke about the name, and, sure enough, a bit down the road, we saw a sign where someone had made the last N into an M.... Oh, what fun! She must be psychic?), we pulled off along the road for a pit stop (it's beyond words what it means to carry your own port-a-pottie?!), and a few bites of yogurt.....
OK.... We ride through the Swan River National Wildlife Refuge for a while, then follow the Swan River down between the Mission Mountains to the West, and the towering peaks of the Swan Rang mountains to the East, to the intersection of Montana Hwys 83 and 200.
Just as we approach the intersection, we get a call from my old buddy, Ben VanDeren, who's son owns a RV Park in Kalispell..... I tried to get hold of Ben a few days ago, to find out where that RV Park was located, but no answer, so I left a message, and, true to my luck (or lack thereof), he just got home to Washington, and hadn't had a chance to call me back... Short story long, he just left the place, and his son ownes the RV Park across from where we stayed! If we'd only known!
Anyway, we had a great "catch-up," and promised to keep in touch.
After our conversation, we headed East on Hwy 200 to Hwy 141, which we took to Avon, where we turned onto Hwy 12, at about 12:50.
Unfortunately, "Molly," (our GPS, whom I've had some minor problems with in the past), decided (a mere 4, or so, miles away from I-90) to take a short cut, and (having made up my mind to trust her this time) I hooked a sharp 180 degree left turn.....
As soon as I left asphalt for gravel, I knew something wasn't kosher, and it was confirmed by Lu yelling, "Oh, no! That bridge ain't wide enough!"
Following her gaze, I saw a sharp 90 degree turn, a small incline across a railroad track, and a tiny bridge across a tiny creek. "Oh, shucks, Hon, that's no problem!"
And it wasn't.... It gave us at least a foot of clearance on both sides, but the road........!!!!
No asphalt here! No, no.... It'd been newly gravelled, and not with the small stuff you see in most populated areas in Washington.... This stuff was heavy duty.... Probably got it from some river bottom somewhere.... And it was basically a one lane road, climbing up a pretty good hill, then down it, the whole time driving about 5 mph until we hit I-90, about 4.5 miles ahead!
The moral of this tale is: You should trust your instincts, and not rely entirely on modern marvles, such as Molly.
Arrived in Deer Lake at 1:25, and got the trailer situated, and then took a well deserved nap for about an hour, before heading out to explore the town.
Drove up and down Main Street (about a mile long). Decided to get a haircut, and looked for about half an hour before finding one of two barbers in town. She did a good job, and it cost only ten bucks......
After that we headed for the Broken Arrow Steak House, Bar and Casino, which, according to my new hair dresser, had the best steaks in all Montana.... We didn't quite make it to the restaurant, but we found the bar had fantastic hors d’oeuvre, great liquids, and we came away quite satisfied with a bill that resembled a tip in Washington!
That's it for tonight...... I might take a day or so off from my Blog to concentrate on exploring this area, but stay tuned, I'm almost certain there will be more updates.
Here's the link to my PICASA WEB ALBUM:
http://picasaweb.google.com/Kjell.and.Luanne/KALISPELLToDEERLODGEMONTANA#