Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Western Travels, Day 4

Last night after we returned to the lodge from our day of snowmobiling, Cathy and I went to the main lodge to get a few more pictures with all the pretty lights turned on inside.  The atmosphere was so cozy and warm even though the fire had already died down.  It just felt so comfortable the minute we walked into the room from the outside chilly evening air.  We found a guest book to sign that was resting on the sled-turned-into-a-coffee-table table. 

The extremely large fireplace.  The mantel is even over Cathy's head when she stood near it. 
          
Looking at the dining room which is just off the great room with the fireplace and three couches.  There was an old trunk sitting on the floor next to one of the couches that was filled with board games and on the coffee tables there were decks of cards.  To the left sits the kitchen.
 
As we walked in the door this is the first view that we saw.  The lights add so much to the warmth of the room.

The kitchen that is open to the dining area. 

So after taking it all in and trying not to miss one single detail, we went outside where Cathy used her video camera and as I was walking back up the ramp to our lodge, I got one other picture.  The lights made it look so inviting.  Our suite is up the ramp and down to the left.  We were on the southeast corner of the building. 



                ****Fast forward to the next morning****

Today we'll be leaving this beautiful mountainous region and going back to our respective homes in Oregon and Nebraska.  We had to leave pretty early in the morning to make sure I was at the airport in Spokane, WA in time for my flight that was leaving at 1:30 PM.  We also had the time change over the weekend and wanted to make sure we didn't mess up what time it was in each place we were going to. 
We loaded up the vehicle and were on the road by 7AM Montana time.  We stopped for coffee at a Starbucks that we had seen in Kalispell a few days earlier.  After driving for several hours we found a little cafe in a small town right off the interstate.  So we stopped there and ate a very tasty breakfast. 
Back on the road again, we would take random pictures of the views along the road.  Before we got to the border of Idaho and Montana, we stopped at a place that I remember having visited many years ago as a child, Lincoln's 50,000 Silver Dollar bar, near Haugan, MT.  Except back when I was a little girl, it was called Lincoln's 10,000 Silver Dollar bar.  The business consists of a shopping area for souvenirs and also a restaurant and a bar where one could play slot machines as well.  Inside the bar, high up on the wall over the bar itself, are many large, square boards that have the silver dollars mounted in perfectly straight columns and rows.  Over the years, more coins have been added, thus the larger number in the name!  We stopped to go inside to shop and reminisce.  I found some drinking glasses to add to my collection and the " 'athy's " found gifts and personal selections as well.  We had to get back on the road so we didn't stay very long.  I got my picture of the outside of the building that I wanted and off we went again. 


We arrived at the airport in Spokane and I was able to walk right up and check in for my flight, no line for me to stand and wait.  Because it was about an hour until my flight left, I had to get right through security and up to my gate.  So the " 'athy's " and I said our goodbyes and I proceeded to my gate.  Incidently, my flights home were a lot less exciting than my trip out had been.  I got on the flight I was hoping to and made it home around 12:30 AM. 
It had been a great get-a-way weekend and what better fun than to spend it with family! 
We're anxious to go again but maybe in the summer next time to experience the fun of summer activities.  It would be fun to have the entire family there at once.  Thanks, Montana, for allowing us to visit your great state!

Monday, March 14, 2011

Western Travels, Day 3

As you know, I'm in Whitefish, MT with my sister and her friend Kathy.  And today is a pretty exciting day for my sister and I.  We're going snowmobiling!  We haven't gotten to do that in over 20 years!  We set aside one day just for this activity. 
Winter Wonderland Sports had all the equipment we needed for our day of playing in the snow.  We had all of our own winter clothes and boots.  But they provide a helmet with the rental.  We knew we'd need two machines; one of them was for two people and the other was for a single rider.  Cathy had made our reservations ahead of time so we just had to get there.
Once we found the place, which was west of Whitefish about 20 miles or so,  we had paperwork to sign and then the owner showed us the snowmobiles.  We were amazed that now, snowmobiles have "Reverse."  Since when???  Okay!...what else?  The handle bars had heat in them, nothing new there.  The rider had his own handle bars as well.  Really?  Cool!  We were impressed by what we learned! 
After all the necessary info, he equipped us with a backpack that included:  a put-together shovel, a first aide kit and a put-together probe (in case of avalanches).  Also, he had Cathy wear an arm band that was specifically for finding us if we needed help or if we got into trouble of any kind.  It sends a signal that "pings" every five minutes and the owner can keep track of any rider via his computer.  Very valuable tool indeed. 
We were going to ride on a groomed trail without a guide.  The weather turned out to be perfectly sunny and quite warm.  We had actually worn too many layers and were shedding some of them before our ride even began.

The guy that rented us the machines said, "OK, now I know you ladies have cameras.  Give them to me and I'll take pictures."  So we did!

Two passenger snowmobile.
                             
One passenger machine.

Kathy and Cathy....my sister driving.
One of our first stops for pictures was maybe 4 or 5 miles into the ride.  We were so impressed by what we saw that we made many stops for photos throughout the entire ride!  And as we rode, we were getting up into the mountains so the looks of the trees with the snow gradually changed as well. 

We thought this was a gorgeous sight but we had no idea what was to come! 
The trail was pretty wide when we started out but gradually got more narrow the higher up the mountain we traveled.  Such pretty views.
                                     


One of my favorites....the fluffy snow and the beautiful blanketed trees.  Very serene and quiet here too.  We'd stop occasionally and shut off the snowmobiles so that we could take pictures.  Except for the other riders that showed up sporadically, nothing else was out here. 

Down in the valley is a lake...not sure which one though. 

The trees cast some cool looking shadows.

Here, some riders have gone off the trail to have some fun in the fluffy untouched snow.  There's nothing better than fresh powder to ride on!

Mountains way off in the background too.

                                    


Example of the narrowing trail.  The view looking down the side was magnificent!

Another one of my favorites.



Plum Creek....so peaceful looking and the sound of it reminded me of a summer day when you would be out walking through it with bare feet.

Once we rode for a few hours, we came to a spot where we could ride through a meadow.  Again, the snow was deep all over.  We knew we were going to stop for a break and eat some snacks.  I had been driving the two person machine with Kathy on behind me.  We ended up getting stuck as we were about to stop. 
We dug awhile then tried to lift the back end and move it out of the hole that it had been in.  We did this many times.  Cathy took the other machine to see if some riders that we'd seen sitting in the meadow were still around to help us.  Meanwhile, Kathy and I kept digging.  She came back with no luck.  We all tried to maneuver it more and dug more.  Finally....we angled the skis a different direction and managed to move the back end over a bit more.  Cathy took the helm while Kathy and I pushed.  Out of the hole it went!  Cathy kept going with it until it was safe to stop it again. 
This looks over the meadow where we could ride all over the place and also looks over the spot where we were stuck!

Cathy, my sister, looking exhausted after we'd spent a long time shoveling to dig out the two passenger snowmobile that had been stuck.  Good thing we had a shovel!  We would sink to our knees each time we tried to walk in the snow.  We had been stuck for roughly an hour. 

Kathy, standing in the hole where the snowmobile had been and watching as Cathy drove the now unstuck snowmobile to higher ground.  We did it!!!  
 After getting the snowmobile free once again, we rode both of them out to the middle of the meadow and stopped for our snack.  We also wanted to give Kathy a chance to drive one.  She never had.  She rode one big lap and came back.  After we asked her if she wanted to go more, she replied, "I'm good."  But she did it!  And, she even said that if we do this again, she wants her own machine to drive! 
We hadn't been stopped in the meadow more than ten minutes and we heard the sound of other snowmobiles getting closer.  And to make us feel worse, they came from the direction that we had been stuck!  Great timing fellas!  There were four of them too.  We could have had so much help had they shown up a little earlier! 
This little side trail was 10 miles total off the regular trail.  So we began our ride back the main trail.  We happened across a couple that was riding four wheelers in the snow.  Another great way to see the beautiful sights!  We stopped for more pictures...and found this:

Toward the bottom left corner, you see some piles of snow.  The one in the back is on top of an out house and the green roof is an information booth.  That's Kathy and Cathy taking a rest. 
It's hard to imagine just how much snow was on the ground.  But seeing the buildings under that much snow put it into perspective a little better!  Near those little buildings was a creek flowing under a bridge that we rode across.  The water looked so clean. 
         
A small creek with the snow appearing to be flowing out into it. 

The snow has begun the melt down and created a neat design. 

We had rented the snowmobiles for the entire day.  Sunday's they are open from 10AM until 6PM so we started our journey at 11:30AM and rode all day.  The total miles we actually rode was 60.  It didn't really seem like it though.  We stopped frequently and didn't get cold at all.  The temperature was 47* when we got back to the rental spot. 

This is the map of part of the trail that we followed.  We started where the X marks the spot, on the left side, on the edge of where the white meets the green areas, about half way down.  We rode up and around wherever you see the red marker.  The portion to the south of where we started (the bottom half of the map), was the section that we didn't get to. 
We were so glad we did this little venture.  It had been fun and we would love to do it again!  After turning in our equipment and getting settled back in Cathy's vehicle, we began our drive back to Whitefish.  We needed to find food!  Yesterday, we'd seen a pizza place and decided to go there.  We found The MacKenzie River Pizza Co. and made our way inside.  They had pretty good food.  We loved it and stuffed ourselves! 
After getting in the car to go back to the lodge, we had barely backed out of our parking spot and a girl came up to the passenger window.  Cathy rolled down the window.  The girl asked if she was Cathy Moberg.  Really?!?!?!  I knew instantly who it was!  Cathy replied, "yes but what's your name?  You look familiar."  I smacked Cathy on the arm and said, "That's Veronica!"  Oh---My---Word! 
We got out and went back inside with her and found her sister Cheryl there, along with both of their husbands.  Yes, in the same restaurant we had just been in!  These two girls grew up about 3 miles away from our family out in the country.  We rode the same school bus together and Veronica and I rode our motorcycles all over the place in the summer!  What a small world!  We hadn't seen each other in about 10 years from what we could figure.  We all laughed and caught up on each other's lives in about half an hour's time.  Sadly, no photos were taken.  Amazing and so much fun to see them!

Need I say more? 
Mmmm....it was so good! 
The visit with our former childhood friends/shirt tail relatives, ended much too soon.  We could have sat there all night!  They were in Whitefish to ski and had been doing this trip for a few years, always on the same weekend in March. 
But soon we got back into the car and began driving to Kalispell, MT.  It's another short jaunt from Whitefish.  We had driven through there on the way to Whitefish and discovered that it was quite large and had many familiar restaurants and shopping.  What we saw looked very inviting as a matter of fact.  But, we knew they had a Cold Stone Creamery!  So that was where we were going after our pizza!  We drove there and found it quite handily, making our selections.  From there we went to a gas station and filled up because tomorrow was our day to leave and head back home.  What a great weekend it had been.


Sunday, March 13, 2011

Western Travels, Day 2

Waking up with a view of a sunlit mountain side = Priceless.  Not having a real busy day planned = Relaxing.  Sleeping in and still getting to have a big breakfast in the main lodge = Fulfilling.

The only thing we knew was on a schedule today was our horse drawn sleigh ride that would be later in the afternoon.  So, today we thought we'd drive up to Big Mountain, walk around and take lots of pictures.


After riding the ski lift to the top, we walked around the chalet and looked back down over Whitefish.  At the bottom of the picture you see some thick snow covered trees.  They are called "Snow Ghosts."  (I'll explain in another picture.)
 
Cathy and Kathy.  In the background is Glacier National Park.  We didn't have a chance to visit that. 
 
Here is a close up of the "snow ghosts". ( on this link, click the word older on the top right of the picture.  you'll see more photos from skiers.)   These are simply evergreen trees that are coated with rime ice and snow.  They bend under the weight of it all and at the same time, are protected from the cold temperatures.  They take on the looks of dinosaurs and other various animals;  they are so neat to see all up and down the mountain side. 
 
Another view from the deck of the chalet looking towards Glacier National Park.  Also, you can see some of the smaller snow ghosts. 

Here is just a small section of the different lodges, condos, shops and bar and grill places to visit while on Big Mountain.  Check out the layers of snow on the roof tops.  Some melting had already occurred so it had been deeper!
                       
The ski lift that we rode to the top of the mountain.  Each lift chair held four people at once.  Awesome views of the rest of the world from here too!

It would have been so neat to just ride up and down the mountain looking at everything.  We did have a few people point out the fact that we didn't have skis.  We actually had purchased foot traffic passes in order to go to the top.  We did seem a little out of place without the skis though! 

After spending a few hours at Big Mountain, we drove back to Whitefish and went into town to look around the shops, have some lunch and shop a bit.  This little part of Whitefish is so quaint.  People are so friendly and everyone we saw had a dog in tow with them!  Our first stop was a beer brewery called Great Northern Brewing Company.  We tried one called Wild Huckleberry Wheat.  Yes, huckleberries really do exist.  They are very prominent in Montana.  The moose and bears love them!  The fruit beer was a light lager blended with huckleberry juice.  Not bitter or overly sweet, just refreshing.  Along with that, we ate some chips and salsa.

Our refreshments....ahhhh!  All very good! 

Black Star Beer is this brewery's original. 

 Our walk down the sidewalk took us into a little souvenir shop.  We had all wanted to pick up some things for our friends that were "pet sitting" for us.  But I also wanted a few things for myself.  We were having fun trying to figure out just what to get that would be "purr-fect" for each recipient.  We took a mental note of a few other places; a pizza joint, a wine bar, another bar and grill that served steak, chicken and seafood better known as "Latitude 48*".  We thought that maybe on Sunday, we'd be interested in eating at one of them.
Soon we had to get back to our lodge and get ready for our sleigh ride.  We'd be driving west from Whitefish about 10-15 minutes, to a ranch.  Our winter boots, gloves and cameras were a must.  Though the temperature was in the upper 30's, we didn't know for sure how long we'd be out on the sleigh, if there were blankets for warmth, etc.  So we were going to be prepared.
We made our way to the Bar W Guest Ranch which was nestled between two smaller mountains.  It was so beautiful to see the horses, the huge lodge that was an option for us for the weekend, and the sleigh hooked up to a team of horses.  There was already another car parked near the sleigh and we saw two adults and two small girls that had also come out for the ride.  We were directed by the very friendly rancher to go inside and fill out paperwork and then head back outside to the sleigh.  The familiar scent of the thawing pastures and manure at first made me wrinkle my nose.  But after being in that outdoor fresh air long enough, I didn't even notice it!   

On the sleigh with a view from behind. (pardon the pun) The horses are named Tina and Lulu.  Not sure which is which though. 

Once we got far enough away from the barns, I looked back and saw a nice open pasture for the horses to run.  The main lodge itself is not in the picture but sits off to the right side.  Sadly, I didn't remember to get a picture of that.  Hopefully Cathy did!

Some other horses that were boarding at this ranch.
Included with our sleigh ride was a chili supper served inside the main lodge.  We all gathered around one of several large tables and there was a friendly staff inside that had been cooking and had the table all set for us to eat.  (the pictures of the lodge from the link show exactly what we saw when we went inside for our meal....it was gorgeous!)  We enjoyed the chili along with corn bread, lettuce salad and dressing and a peach cobbler for dessert.  Beverages included a choice of pink lemonade, water and coffee.  A very delicious meal to end our afternoon.  We sat and visited for a long time with the ranchers that gave us the sleigh ride;  one of them is the manager and the other is one of the main workers.  They gave us advice on establishments to stop at later on while in Whitefish for the evening.  Along with them was the other couple with the two girls.  We were surprised to learn that even though they live in Montana, the lady was from a small town near Bismarck.  And her husband had just recently been to the Willison area for work as a cabinet maker!  (if I remember correctly.) 

It was early evening before we headed back to our lodge to shower up and change for an evening out on the town of Whitefish.  We made our way back into town and found a parking place from which we could walk to everything.  Our first stop was the Latitude 48*.  Downstairs was a small bar called The Red Room
We ordered and discovered that they made their drinks very strong.  But apparently, people love it there, which was obvious by how packed it was.
From there we walked across the street and down to Crush, a wine bar.  It's so new that I couldn't find a decent web site for a link.  I only got a picture of our wine that we were drinking so nothing to see there. 
We stayed for a couple of drinks each and decided to call it a night.  We had a big day ahead of us on Sunday! 
                                    

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Western Travels, Day 1

Today I was leaving on a jet plane (does John Denver come to mind?) to head west.  No...not to pan for gold or anything like that.  But, to play in the snow of the mountains!  My sister Cathy and her friend Kathy had mentioned to me a month ago that they thought it would be fun to go to Montana to ride snowmobile and wondered if I would like to join them.  The destination they had in mind was Whitefish, MT.  I was fully on board with that.  So the plan was in motion.  I had to make sure that I could get the necessary days off.  They also had to verify their own time free from work.
We chose the second weekend in March.....the 11th-14th.  They would drive and I'd fly to Spokane, WA where they'd pick me up at the airport.  Perfect.  Southwest Airlines flys to Spokane and I'd go for free, but on standby status.  There has to be a seat open in order for me to get on a flight. 
The drive from there to Whitefish was about 4-5 hours.  My original plan was to fly through Denver for my connection to Spokane.  My whole morning was going according to plan.  I hadn't forgotten to pack anything and I'd gotten to the airport on time to check one bag and made it to the gate with time to relax a while before boarding my flight.  I knew it would be full and I'd probably have to ride in back with the flight attendants.  But it was fine with me as it meant I was still going on that flight!  We were all boarded up and just waiting for the door to close for push back off the gate.  It seemed to be taking a while.  Soon I saw a fellow ramp agent pop his head inside the aircraft and motioned for me to get off the plane.  I should have guessed that the morning had been going just a little too smoothly.  Long story short, because of the baseball team that was flying on the same flight I was going on, they had lots....and I mean lots, of checked baggage.  Thus, there was a weight issue.  My getting off the plane was part of the solution.  (you really need to understand the entire weight/balance concept in order to get all this...) There was a lot of fuel on board as well.  But, there was still one more airplane at another gate scheduled to go to another city a little bit later.  The final plan was to do an aircraft swap.  Move all the bags (about 180 of them) and all the people over to the next gate and put everyone and their stuff on that other plane.  That works but the problem for me was that I only had thirty-five minutes of connection time in Denver.  With all this happening, I didn't stand a chance on making that connection.  I had to find an alternate solution to get to Spokane.  I texted Cathy to let her know I'd be in Spokane four hours later than I originally hoped for; instead of an arrival of 10AM, I was now scheduled in at 2:40PM.  And, now I was flying through Las Vegas.  So, I went to Las Vegas.  The other flight from there to Spokane was pretty full but I was told that it too, had a weight issue.  There was another flight going through Boise leaving in just a few minutes.  It had a few seats left and it was wide open from Boise to Spokane.  Are you with me so far?  So, I jumped on it and I was finally on my way!  Pfwew!!  I didn't even have a chance to let Cathy know the latest developments in all my flight changes.  They were scheduled in only five minutes apart anyway. 
Cathy and Kathy were waiting for me when I finally got through security.  I told them that we would have a good time!!!  It had already been a long day for me. 
We left the airport and found a Starbucks for a coffee and got back on the interstate to head east towards Whitefish.  Along the way, we had all sorts of things to talk about.  When we were getting closer to the mountains, we got the cameras out to take pictures while we rode.  I had been through here in the past but it had been years before.  I think the last time was about 17 years ago.  The scenery was beautiful.  The roads were good but it was obvious just how much snow had been falling previous to our visit.  It was piled up so high along the road that the road signs were partially obscured.


Driving East and nearing the mountains.      






We arrived in Whitefish at roughly 9PM and made our way to Hidden Moose Lodge; a little bed and breakfast just on the northern edge of town.  The sight of it all lit up with holiday lights and tucked into the side of the mountain was breathtaking.  We were very impressed and excited to see more of it.


The main lodge of two buildings.
The temperature was pretty mild as well.  If I remember correctly, it was in the thirties.  But wow, was there snow piled up all around us.  We went inside and found a lady and got checked in.  She sent some wine with us that had been served during happy hour and told us to finish it up.  Okay!!!
Once inside our suite, we were "ooohing" and "aahhhhing" at every little detail that we noticed.  It was decorated in outdoorsy type material such as denim and leather and had different moose items scattered about all over the place.

We were upgraded to a room with a King bed and a pullout due to Brazilian guests that didn't speak English and didn't know that the room was reserved by US!!  So this is the room with a King bed. 


We stayed up for awhile and marveled at our surroundings, discussing our plans for the next day.  The only thing on our agenda for Saturday was our sleigh ride in the late afternoon.  We would have plenty of time to explore before that.  With that, we went to bed pretty late.  It was going to be a fun weekend!