The Long and Winding Road..

It's true to say that the road from West Yellowstone to Kalispell was indeed long and in places quite winding but in other places there were also some VERY long and straight stretches. According to Google, the journey should have taken us about six hours but with a few stops and the occasional roadworks, I think we added about an extra half hour. 

The terrain was really quite different from what we had seen previously with wide areas of grassland grazed by cattle (typical Montana I guess you could say?). Really, that was the case until we got back up to the Rocky Mountains. The route from around Salmon Lake becomes tree-ish (lots and lots of trees) as you pass through areas such as Lolo and Flathead National Forest - all very pretty I must say and the many lakes make it more so.

We based ourselves just outside Kalispell and are pleased we did so. We took a short trip to look at Somers this morning and found a short path across a field that led us down to the lakeside (Flathead Lake) for a bit of birding. Very scenic:

We then headed round the small headland where it is a little more geared up for boat trips and the local residences Etc.

Our hotel overlooks a small lake and there is a historical trail that starts just across the road:

The big highlight for us was walking along the trail and meeting a very lovely couple (Bob and Sheryl) who own a place overlooking the lake. We had a great chat about all sorts of stuff including someone's (probably illegal) removal of an Osprey nest from atop a telephone pole practically next to their property. The birds have come back this year (as they do every year - one of the birds was just a short distance away) but will probably not now be able to nest. Such a tragedy and testament to some peoples' obscure view of the world in which we live! On the plus side, Bob and Sheryl are liaising with a lady whom we also met briefly (she works at the local school) with a view to re-establishing what's left of the nest on another telephone pole nearby. Let's all hope the effort is a resounding success and that the Osprey's recognise this by nesting next year (and in future years).

So an early close for us as we have another very long journey tomorrow (on to Banff in Alberta, Canada). Not certain what will happen to Blog postings while we are there as there is no Wi-Fi but we will have to see what we can do.