HIGH WATER LINE

This is the shore of Whitefish Lake, here at the end of May. Usually the water level rises in early June, then recedes a little. When we got here on May 5, the tree on the left was 9 paces from the shoreline. There's not much left of our beach, and with still quite a snow pack on Big Mountain and all the surrounding peaks, we may see an even higher waterline. Our beach may go away for a bit. Area rivers are rising as well.

NATIONAL BISON RANGE WILDLIFE REFUGE

Another adventure on our day off....
We drove about 96 miles south of Whitefish, just south of Flathead Lake.
The National Bison Range is administered by U.S. Fish and Wildlife as part of the National Wildlife Refuge System. It was established in 1908 and is one of the oldest wildlife refuges in the nation. Wildlife found on the range include pronghorn antelope, bison, deer, elk, bighorn sheep and black bear. However, today they weren't found by us....we did see some bison, pronghorn, and deer. Beautiful views from the top!

Some of the scenery we saw on the 19 mile drive up and around Red Sleep Mountain where the refuge is located.

We finally came upon part of the 300 plus herd of bison. On our way, we saw a pronghorn meandering by himself.

CONRAD MANSION - KALISPELL, MONTANA

Another rainy day, so here we are in Kalispell, just up the street from Amber's house...the Conrad Mansion sits on a bluff overlooking the valley and the Swan mountain range. Charles Conrad was a founder of Kalispell, and came here in 1891. After working in Fort Benton, Montana, for 4 years with his brother, at a shipping firm which they eventually bought, he diversified and founded Conrad National Bank, among other ventures. He and his wife, Alicia, had 3 children, the youngest of whom lived in this home until 1964. In 1974, she gave the Conrad Mansion to the city of Kalispell in memory of her parents. The house is three stories, and contains 13,000 square feet of living space. There is an elevator to all three floors, among several other "modern" wonders.
An added perk was that the lady who gave us the tour grew up in Forest Lake, MN, about 25 miles from where we lived. All during the tour, we would remember names from living there, and discovered we had a lot of acquaintances in common.....small world, for sure!

This is the formal entry to the home.

Mrs. Conrad played the piano, and entertained her lady friends in the music room. The table has an original (circa 1891) Battenberg Lace tablecloth.

Mr. Conrad's desk was custom made, and looked out of one of the many large leaded-glass windows in his home. His office was made private by huge pocket doors, and heavy velvet drapes. The drapes and all the window coverings in the house are original, having been stored in the attic for many years.

All the lights in the home are original. They're set up for either electricity or carbide gas. Mr. Conrad had his own electrical power plant nearby. The dining table has six more leaves that can be added, and can accommodate up to 24 people.

Off the dining room is the garden room, complete with babbling brook and a little waterfall.