Trip to Montana

Well I begged off work on Thursday and Friday and at 10:30 AM thought Hmmm Mileage contest started April 14... Looks like a good weekend coming up...Hmmm Think I'll go to Montana. So I packed the bike and started out and arrived in Missoula about 7:30 In time to meet Art and Betty and Horst at Hu-Hot for dinner. It was a good trip. A little construction in Alberta had me sitting for about 15 minutes in a rather chilly spot as the wind whipped across an ice covered lake.

I stayed with Art and Betty and the next day it was raining a bit so we decided to go by truck to Philipsburg. I went for breakfast with Art and then he and Horst and I went mall walking for some excercise.

We enjoyed our trip to Philipsburg and had lunch at a place called Doe Brothers which used to be a pharmacy in Philisburg. And of course one does not go there without a visit to The Sweet Palace..the World's largest Candy store.

This is some scenes taken on the way .

I again spent the evening at Art and Betty's and the next morning met some of the old gang at The Press Box for breakfast. The rain stopped and things dried out so I headed for Cour d'Alene. Art rode with me as far as Alberton where I stopped at The Fat Belly Deli and at the Book Store to say Hello to Keren as I had not been there for awhile. Then onward to see Jordeane. I had not seen her since November when she was in a Care Centre recuperating from her accident. II did not know what to expect but she met me in her shop cleaning up from her wheel chair and when I arrived asked if I would take her to Costco in the sidecar..Of course! She is amazing and got in and out of the sidecar no problem. She still cannont put too much weight on the one leg as it is still mending. BUT WOW!

I had been asking about some of the local shrubs that were blossoming and found out that the yellow is Forsythia and the white one is Star of Magnolia. Very beautiful and it is only April.

So after a great visit. I headed out on Sunday morning. It was an absolutely perfect day. Not too hot or cold, No wind, Gorgeous scenery. I traveled north to Bonner's Ferry and then west on 2 to Montana. I stopped for lunch at a cafe called Odie's Place in Troy Montana and then for once I stopped at Kootenai Falls. I think Oh I should stop everytime I go by so this time I stopped. After a little bit of a hike I went to the Falls and to the Swinging Bridge over the Kootenai River .

The following were taken from the Swining Bridge downstream. I would just like to catch tthe guy who said it was only 400 yards..More like 1/2 mile.

I found the hike down kind of interesting as I had to go over this structure to get over the train tracks and as I returned as train passed under me.

Once I reached Libby I turned East and went past the Libby Dam and Lake Koocanuska to Eureka. I was undecided what my next step would be so stopped at Trapper's Saloon for dinner and then decided to go to the Riverstone Lodge. It was such a beautiful evening I sat out on the porch of my little cabin and listened to the robins and meadowlarks and wiled away the evening reading. I was delighted to find my friend had gotten his book published. I had read his manuscript for him. I bought a copy of the book and met Steve for breakfast the following morning where he signed it for me.

I headed for home so I could vote, find out wether they wanted me at Fleet Brake and I had a cub scout meeting as well.

It was a truly amazing trip!!!

Coming home after a great weekend

I see I need to check my posts before I actually publish them for spelling errors and I am not sure what I am doing wrong when I import pictures from my e mail. Mine are nice and clear but the ones Carol sent me are unfortunately fuzzy. Anyway we had a rather uneventful trip home on Monday. We had breakfast at Wheat Montana in Kalispell and bought several loaves of our swirl Rye bread we all like so much. Fairmont is a beautiful destination in Montana. Above is proof I was actually there. A few deer crossed our path on several occasions.

Got home in time for cubs and Wednesday I go to work. Everyone benefits by a lovely break like this and I love learning more about Montana. A friend of mine recently gave me a beautiful book. Motorcycling Montana. I highly recommend it.

Continuation St Patrick's Day 2012

After buying a lot at the Sweet Palace in Philipsburg Montana we went through the Pintler Scenic Route and into Butte where we drove round and round looking at the sights looking for our motel which we found later was back a few miles in Rocker, Montana. So we went back and checked in and  then back to Butte for more sightseeing and dinner and a free party called a shelaiglah shindig. We saw a lot of beautiful old buildings but a lot of the more popular tourist stops are not open yet at this time of year.

We had a wonderful supper of corned beef and cabbage at the Chef's Garden and then headed over to the Mile HIgh Event Center at Star Lanes to the Shindig. The entertainment was a great band called the Potato Famine and we saw the Copper City Cloggers and the highlight was the Edmonton Police Pipe band..I guess they have been doing this for 25 years. Now here is the catch...The Shindig was put on by the Democratic Party of Montana...I never knew I had so many close friends in Butte wanting to shake my hand and get me to vote for them?????It as a fun time though and afterwards we headed for our hotel.



Hotel Finlan



The next morning we got up and headed into Butte again to get a good spot to park for the parade. We went to the BS Cafe and had breakfast and I met a man by the name of Larry Johnson and he and his son Nathan have just published a book called Montana Waterfalls which I purchased in Whitefish on the way home. Then we watched the parade which was quite long witha lot of local talent, a lot of politicians and of course the Edmonton Police Band again. Because everything was booked and we could not get our room for another night we went to the Marcus Daly in Anaconda. Marcus Daly was the founder of Anaconda. We checked in, watched their St. Patrick's Day Parade and then went to Fairmont Hot Springs and had a great swim and soak. Back to Anaconda we had supper at The Daily Grind. Another rather quaint restaurant and I had a pastrami and cabbage sandwich in the Irish tradition.

The next morning we had breakfast at a place called Donavan's in Anaconda and were delighted to learn some more history from the menu in the restaurant. The stack from the smelter is 585 ft 1 1/2 inches tall. May23,1918 the first brick was laid and Nov 30,1918 the last one was laid. 1980 they stopped smelting copper. Marcus Daly wanted to name the town Copperopolis but apparently it was already taken so someone else named it Anaconda. After breakfast we headed back to Fairmont Hot Springs for another swim before the BMW meeting and it started to snow and it snowed and it snowed. It probably snowed four inches while we were in the pool and had lunch. We even went to the outdoor hot pool where one could hardly see for the falling snow. About 13 or 14 showed up. Everyone kind of trickled in because of the deteriorating road conditions.

The trip from Fairmont to approximately Drummond was very slow and cautious. There were 10 vehicles which had gone off the road. Two of which had gone flying by us slower folks. We stayed behing the Huddy's from Helena til they turned off at Garrison and headed East. Two of the vehicles were semis. Quite scary but as we proceeded west we eventually ran out of the snow and accumulation and actually headed up between the Swan and the Mission mountains to Kalispell where we stayed at the Motel 6. I took Carol to Nickel Charlies for dinner before we turned in.

March 15 /St. Patricks Day in Montana

On Thursday March 15 I deliberated about taking the bike and sidecar to the Western Montana BMW meeting in Fairmount Hot Springs in Montana. However on looking at the weather report and the conditions I might be traveling under I decided to take the Highlander and my friend Carol. As you will see by the following posts It was a good decision. Carol and I left Calgary about 9AM and decided we would travel a different route as Carol usually goes the same way to the US and I wanted to make this trip eventful. So we entered the US through Carway south of Cardston. Of course St Marys is closed at this time of year and although the roads were good this is what it looked like...

As we crossed the border I had commented on almost bringing the motorcycle and the lady border guard thanked me profusely for not doing so or I might have brought on a blizzard. As we crossed between East Glacier and West Glacier we decided to stop for a bite of lunch and found this quaint little place called the Snowslip Inn and I had a homemade turkey barley soup and Carol had a BLT sandwich with fresh cut french fries to die for.

This is a Montana Buffalope

We continued on after lunch and I took Carol down the east side of Flathead Lake and I called Betty Heidrich from Big Fork to find that her and Art and some friends were having dinner at 6:30 at the Mustard Seed and we were invited so we checked in at the Brooks Street Motor Inn and had a delightful dinner at the restaurant and gave Betty her Birthday gifts. Annie and I had brought a bird feeder and birdhous in John Day Oregon in July and Betty's birthday is in Nov...We were just a little late. I also told everyone that in Calgary The Mustard Seed is our homeless shelter..a far cry from this high class Asian restaurant. The next morning we met Art, Hal, Jerry & Carolyn Abbott and Roger at The Press Box for breakfast and then headed East as I wanted to take Carol to Philipsburg and the Worlds Largest Candy Store and they are not open on Saturday. So we had a room booked at the Motel 6 in Butte for Friday night never dreaming that Butte has the largest population of Irish descendants in the United States and that St Patrick's Day is a highly celebrated occasion.

Missoula Trip 2012 Additions

My friend Carol just sent these pictures of our trip to Missoula to me today and I had already done the blog so decided to just add them on. There is one of me in the restaurant at Somers, Mt and a picture of some photos on the wall of the cafe.Then a photo of me with my trophy in Lincoln.Mt and then some of the road east of Lincoln to Lethbridge...Feb!! Look at the copious amounts of SNOW????

Trip to Missoula

Feb 17/2012
At the last minute I decided I needed to get out of town so with my friend Carol I headed for Missoula Montana. We left about 1PM and as it was getting dark and I was getting tired we decided to stay at the Motel 6 in Kalispell. We had stopped at the Hummingbird in Arlee and bought some licorce which they are famous for. After we checked in we walked over to Los Corporales and had a lovely dinner. That night it snowed a bit on the vehicle but was still quite nice so the next morning we headed out and stopped at the Somers Cafe for breakfast. I have been here a few times and it is a really great breakfast spot with great decor. Then on to Missoula. On arrival we went directly to the Harley shop because I wanted to buy a shirt and then on to Big Sky BMW where I put an offer on the 2007 R1200RT I have been looking at. They will let me know on Tuesday if they accept the bid or not. Chuck Reaves and Mike McIntry were there from the Western Montana BMW club and they will be at the meeting tomorrow also.
We then went over to Tingley's the Yamaha dealer to say Hello to Mike and Betty. Always good to see them and tell a few jokes and tell them about my adventures. Then we went to the Book Exchange so I could get some reading material and then to Brooks Street Motor Inn to check in. Later that evening Betty and Kifflen and Carol and I went to Appleby's for a girls night out. Then off to bed.
The next morning Carol and I enjoyed a great breakfast at the Lucky Strike in Missoula but a lot of the gang I usually have breakfast with were away so we ate alone and then went to the Safeway Gas bar to say goodbye to Betty. Then Carol wanted a few things from WalMart so we stopped on the way out of town and who should be at the checkout but Gill..One of the fellows who used to be in the old group but I had not seen him for a long while. Good to check in with old friends.

Then we got on the road heading north on 200 to Lincoln, Montana. We were a little early so I took Carol to the Hi-Country Meats place. This is a must stop if you are in Lincoln. They sell the best beef jerky and they are a gift shop as well. I want one of everything. So we managed to drag ourselves out of there a little lighter in the pocketbook. And continued on a few miles to The Pit Stop on the east end of Lincoln. The owner made homemade pies for us...Lemon Meringue..Coconut Cream and Chocolate Cream..Too die for.

There were about 20 at the meeting and none of them could believe that I had come all the way from Calgary for this event. But they did award me with the high mileage award for last year. It will stay at Big Sky BMW in Missoula with my name on it.

After the meeting I was a little concerned about the snow flurry passing through Lincoln but 2 miles down the road It was clear and dry and there was absolutely no snow all the way to Lethbridge. We called Ann and went over to her house and then Ann, Linda Liptak, Carol and I went to Boston Pizza for dinner. We had a nice visit with Ann and then turned in and this morning on the news it said there was a bad snowstorm in Calgary and the roads were icy, lots of accidents..etc so we got on the road with a little trepidation. It was clear and dry all the way to Calgary..I kept wondering when we were going to hit the bad roads.
Tomorrow I have to go to work???? Guess I do not have that retirement thing quite down yet.

Jan 2/2012 The Next Day

After leaving Borrego Springs I headed back to Palm Springs and arrived safe and sound at Ken and Karen's. After visiting for a bit It was decided that after I turned the bike into Eagle Rider in the AM Karen and I would go up on the Palm Springs Tram.
Up to that point I did not even know such a thing existed and apparently it is the second steepest Tram in the world. The car holds 80 people and the floor revolves 2 and 1/2 times on the way up. Monday was a bad day to go as for most people it was a holiday in lieu of New Years Day so we spent most of our time in 1 line or another but it was still something to see and experience.

This was taken out the door of their mobile home the next morning. The following are pictures of the Tram ride.

There was a little bit of snow at the top as we were at 10,000 ft elevation on the top of Mt. Jacinto

That evening we went to Marketplace Fish and Seafood Restaurant on Palm Canyon Drive where we dined outside. The food was excellent. The snow was in contrast to the next day when I walked to a nearby Cactus garden and enjoyed a wonderful array of desert cactus.

This is what it was like just walking down the street from their place.

This is truly a beautiful city and I really longed to stay but unfortunately I had to head home the next day.
Ken took me to the airport and what a beautiful airport it is and so little stress. The checkin is tight out front  Outside! Just stop, walk a few steps, Checkin, Drop off luggage and carry on through the security checkin.
The flight was great just a little bumpy landing in Calgary because of the wind. The next pictures were taken in the Palm Springs airport. Again what a beautiful place.

So until my next adventure.....ENJOY!