Hello, everyone!We left West Glacier two days ago and spent the last two nights on the south end of Flathead Lake, at the Polson Motorcoach and RV Resort. We don't stay often at these places because they tend to be expensive, but every now and then I book one for Lee so he can have cable and satellite TV reception. This one also happened to have a gorgeous view out the front window of Flathead Lake. In addition, a small plane airport was in the next field over, so Lee could watch planes take off and land, but not so often as to be a nuisance.
Flathead Lake is the largest natural freshwater lake west of the Mississippi River. It is in a large valley flanked on all sides by mountains. A good portion of the southern half of the valley, and portions of the shoreline, belong to the Flathead Indian Reservation. There are road signs that use the alphabet of the reservation Indians, which I had never seen before and didn't realize existed. The photo below, of one of the road signs, was taken at high speed as we drove past in our RV, hence the unfocused appearance (ie, it's not your eyes):
In order to get to Ennis, we had to drive over roads we have already traveled, resulting in major back-tracking. We had taken US 90 west through Bozeman, Three Forks, Butte and Missoula to Couer d'Alene in Idaho a a week and a half ago. This morning we turned onto US 90 just west of Missoula, and traveled east through Missoula and Butte. Deja vu. Sadly, we have not yet had the opportunity to stop at Lolo Pass, an area Lewis and Clark dubbed "Traveler's Rest", near Missoula.
There is currently a large wildfire east of Missoula. The foot hills, only a few miles away, were barely visible:
Madison River flows through Ennis, where we are spending the night. Both of these rivers were named by Lewis and Clark, and along with the Gallatin River, form the headwaters of the Missouri River just north of Three Forks. [There is some question over whether Lewis and Clark erred when naming the Jefferson River, rather than considering it a continuation of the Missouri River. But the deed is done, and it will forever make the Missouri River shorter than the Mississippi.]
A note on food:
We have had buffalo and elk burgers in Montana and Idaho, and the best fry bread ever in Columbia Falls (near Glacier NP). I have never had "fry bread", and didn't think I would like it, but it is good! It's probably not healthy, but the restaurant claimed not to use trans fats in their cooking oils. It seems to be a regional delicacy.
Tonight I had one of the best meals of my life in a little restaurant in Ennis. Ennis is a town of 1,057 people, in an area of low population density. But the owner and cook of the restaurant the Continental Divide is fantastic. I had lamb with a subtle mint sauce, and Lee had walleye (a freshwater fish) encrusted with macadamia nuts that he said was excellent. I ate once at Le Bec Fin, and this place is better as far as I am concerned. Yum. Who'd a thought? In the middle of nowhere? It was a pleasant surprise.
Lee is on a quest to see a live moose. So far we have seen one moose in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, of which I posted a photo. Tonight we saw another, next to the restaurant, see photo below. He is not satisfied with either of these. I have told him we are sure to see a moose in Yellowstone, so think positive thoughts!
