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“Montana. It’s everything Colorado thinks it is.”

And so we continue our Montana escapades.  After the honeymoon, Tim and I settled down to clean the inboxes and catch up after 2 weeks of the best times 2 people could have with their most loved friends and family.

Monday we decided to see downtown Whitefish (Stumptown) MT, and discovered the superb Montana Coffee Traders.  With good coffee in hand, we worked throughout the day and then drove into the Flathead National Forest, a few miles from Tally Lake. Our goal was good cell service and we actually found passable connections high in the hills.  Here we stayed for 2 days, exploring the backroads and the shores of fiord-like Talley Lake, the deepest natural lake in Montana at 492 feet.

Tally Lake

Deep Blue Talley Lake

By midweek, we returned to town for better cell reception for meetings.  This time we settled down in Kalispell, Whitefish’s slightly more industrial neighbor.  While here we made a regrettable mistake.  We went to Verizon to upgrade our USB modem, the life blood of connectivity when we’re in the backcountry. We were talked into the new MiFi instead.  My recommendation?  Don’t do it.  Run away. We are planning on returning ours as soon as we can.

With subsequently reduced bandwidth capabilities, we spent our next days in town and our nights in the mountains.  Tim rode the rolling Ried Divide Trail and came out of the 22 mile ride grinning from ear to ear.

Downtown Whitefish

Beautiful Days in Whitefish

Friday, we called our new friends from Glacier, Leslie and Ryan, for a bike ride.  They showed us the local Whitefish Trail which winds through the hills around Whitefish Lake.  It was a great time capped off with IPA’s and burgers at Haskill Station.   We are very much looking forward to their next visit to Jackson.

While we traded notes over dinner, they told us that we had to ride Big Mountain (Whitefish Mountain Resort) to get the best views of the valley.  So Saturday morning, Tim and I got on our bikes and pedaled the 8 miles to the top.

Summit of Whitefish Resort

Whitefish Panorama from the top of Whitefish Resort

Summit of Whitefish Resort

Glad to be at the top

As we cruised back down the much enjoyed downhill, we had to stop for Big Mountain’s most unusual trail marker. It brought to mind a favorite Montana quote….

“In our family, there was no clear line between religion and fly fishing. We lived at the junction of great trout rivers in western Montana, and our father was a Presbyterian minister and a fly fisherman who tied his own flies and taught others. He told us about Christ’s disciples being fishermen, and we were to assume, as my brother and I did, that all first-class fishermen on the Sea of Galilee were fly fishermen and that John, the favorite, was a dry-fly fisherman.”

Norman Maclean, A River Runs Through It

Apparently the confusion carries over to skiing as well.  Jesus lives halfway up Big Mountain.

Knights of Columbus Shrine on Big Mountain

Biking Whitefish Resort

Tim tears down Whitefish Mountain Resort

That night we got back into Frank to find another area lake.  We drove miles of gravel road to reach Ashley Lake and some exceptional free camping at the Ashley Lake Campground.  Here we settled in for a relaxing Saturday night off the grid with pressure cooker BBQ to celebrate the last days of summer.

Ashley Lake

Ashley Lake views

Ashley Lake Sunset

Sun sets over Ashley Lake

On Sunday we finally bid goodbye to Northern Montana after 2 weeks of exploration and drove south to Flathead Lake.  We’re now driving I90 on our way home towards Jackson – actually watching Monday Night Football live on our phone as we click off highway miles (ok I am watching, Tim has his eyes on the road). It’s a big leap from off the grid to total connectivity.

 

Comments (2):

  1. Chuck Bradshaw

    September 28, 2011 at 5:11 am

    I met a Montana native while earlier this month and they wish folks would not spread the word about how wonderful Montana is. They are fearful that the state’s population may cross the 1 million mark soon and the Montana will become crowded!

  2. John

    September 28, 2011 at 5:33 am

    Cool pics!

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