DAY TRIP TO BOWMAN LAKE

We drove up the North Fork road that parallels the park along the Flathead River. First stop was Polebridge, kind of a little settlement that has a mercantile, a "nightclub/restaurant", and kind of a hostel. The food at the merc is....TDF! Homemade breads, pocket sandwiches, and wonderful baked goods. We grabbed some lunch and took it up to Bowman Lake for a peaceful picnic with a view.

BIG FORK

This is a cute little town located on the northeast
tip of Flathead Lake. Here is the Swan River,
running really high. That's a little power
station that was built in the early 1900's.

All the shops along the main street of Big Fork have beautiful hanging pots and flowerbeds. Makes me want to get my hands dirty!

HUNTING FOR CRYSTALS

Bonnie found some good information in a gem and mineral book that led us to an outcropping of limonite with pyrite. It's a greenish rock, and has pyrite crystals embedded in it. You just have to find it! After a series of turns on a couple of numbered forest roads, we found the location and went to work with our assorted hammers, pry bars and rock picks. We came away with some nice finds. It was so much fun searching through rocks and finding a treasure. We could tell we had the right place, due to the large array of rocks scattered about. One of many hiding places, we are sure.

KOOTENAI FALLS, WEST OF LIBBY

We took a day trip to visit Libby, the dam, and the reservoir built on the Kootenai River, named Lake Koocanusa (another name combination). The falls here are wide and split.

Darrell, Bonnie, and
Melinda try out the
Kootenai swinging bridge...it did swing a little in the middle, which was really spooky.

MARTIN FALLS

This waterfall is located off a remote road, somewhere north of Whitefish. It's at a pretty high level, as all of the streams and rivers here are. We just happened to see the sign and went for a look.

A TRIP TO KINTLA

This was a field quite crowded with lupine....
couldn't resist trying out the panorama feature
on my new camera.

KINTLA LAKE

This lake is located in the northwest corner of
Glacier. It is reached by a 15 mile long, really
bumpy dirt road. But worth the ride. There is
a primitive campground there, with 13 camp-
sites. You can hike from here to Boulder and
Brown Pass, and back to Bowman Lake. We did
not, as our sleeping on the ground, hauling 40+
pound packs, swatting away mosquito days are
probably over.....but.....ya never know.

First thing we saw were these two loons. They made quite a ruckus as they flew off.