Last Stop in the Good Old USA
Trip Start
Jun 01, 2009
1
5
30
Trip End
Sep 22, 2009
Loading Map
Map Options
Show trip route
Hide lines
Where I stayed
Spruce River RV Park
Kalispell, Montana
Friday, June 26, 2009
This morning I awoke to my husband whistling "Happy Birthday", and the day just continued to get better. He prepared my requested breakfast of cinnamon toast, allowed me to open a new tube of tooth paste instead of stomping on the tube to get the last bit of goo out, and even let me listen to 30 minutes of “oldies” on the radio before switching over to Rush. Aren't I the lucky girl? I even got to hear “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”; one of the most nonsensical songs ever made but still a catchy little tune.
I failed to mention that our RV park is in Silver Bow county and only minutes away from Silver Bow Creek. Now why is that worth mentioning? In the 1800’s, before this area discovered its rich hills of copper and molybdenum, Butte became an overnight boom town due to the discovery of gold in Silver Bow Creek. It didn’t take long before the gold was depleted, and the copper mines became the salvation of the area. The sad part of this is that somehow I failed to pack my gold pan on this trip, and as we travel along seeing all these little creeks – one of them even named “Gold Creek” – I am sure we are passing by up our opportunity to pay for this trip in gold nuggets. Do you think Wendell might splurge and buy me a new gold pan for my birthday? I’ll suggest it.
As we packed up to leave the Fairmont RV Park, the temperature felt more like 80⁰ than the 73⁰ registered on the thermometer. The night low had only reached the upper 40’s and the early morning sun under clear skies was bright and strong. Most days we have been fortunate to travel without running the AC, but we were on the road only a few minutes, with me sitting on the sunny side of the vehicle, before I punched the AC button. Tough about your fuel mileage, Wendell; momma doesn’t like to sweat! Further up the road, we took a more westerly route and were able to switch back to vent while the sun was behind us. We have averaged 13.5 mpg since we left home and that makes us very happy. Vent instead of AC certainly helps with those numbers and mpg equates to $$$.
On the trip from Butte, we took I-90W to just past Missoula. Wendell & I both agonized over the fact that it was too early to stop for lunch at one of our favorite places – Mackenzie River Pizza. On our previous trip to Alaska, we stayed at a KOA just south of Missoula on I-93 and it was one of the first eating places we noticed as we left the park to explore Missoula. We stopped for a late lunch and Wendell, who is not a pizza lover, vowed it was the best he had ever eaten. So on our return trip, we also found one in Great Falls and were not disappointed at that establishment either.
We headed north on I-93 a few miles past Missoula and had a pleasant drive, stopping at a roadside interpretive trail for lunch. Wendell had made pimiento cheese the night before so I whipped us up a couple of sandwiches while he took Nitchie for a stroll. What made the meal especially good were the sweet pickled jalapeno slices that Janet Alton had given us during our visit in Angel Fire. Thanks Janet…Wendell said he thinks your dad made those. If so, give our compliments to him. They are delicious.
We continued north and soon found ourselves looking at one of the most beautiful lakes I’ve ever seen….and we traveled along and around it for miles and miles. Flathead Lake, into which the Flathead and Swan Rivers flow, and created by Ice Age glaciers, is almost thirty miles long and fifteen miles across at its widest point, and is the largest natural lake in western U.S. A 160 mile shoreline and water covers nearly two-hundred square miles of Montana - and at 300 feet deep, you'd better restring your fishing reel with some extra line. Wendell & I both picked out several little mountain sites overlooking the lake that would make wonderful summer retreats. It wouldn’t be too much of a hardship to live here a few months during the summer, but no way in the winter.
We continued on to Kalispell and just on the southern edge of town spotted another Mackenzie River Pizza. I had told Wendell if we found one, I’d be tempted to drug the dog. We settled into the Spruce RV Park. It’s small, but has lots of trees and sits on the bank of the Flathead River….couldn’t ask for a much better setting. After much discussion, we did make the decision to sedate the dog and go to dinner at MRPC. The folks parked next to us agreed to come let her out if she started causing a ruckus. Fat chance! After about an hour, she’d look at us with one eye rolled up in the top of her head and the other one trying to focus. Wendell moved the truck to the park office while I stayed in the RV with her and acted like nothing was going on. After he returned, we both went outside and talked to our neighbors, then I closed the front door. Wendell climbed up on the cooler to look inside and she was curled up under the dining table. We walked to the truck, drove to MRPC, had a fabulous dinner topped off with apple cobbler and ice cream. When we returned, Nitchie managed to greet us at the door, but all of her legs were going different directions so she quickly climbed back under the table. At some point, she had attempted to get on/off the sofa because the throw and pillows were down in the floor, but at least she didn’t destroy anything. For you ladies, this was like leaving your newborn baby for the first time with a babysitter. I promise we will never take her on a long trip again. It is just too traumatic for both of us. Wendell is oblivious.
June 26, 2006 (Friday) Kalispell, MT
A nice walk in the cool, crisp morning air revived Nitchie and other than being a bit lethargic, she seems to have weathered the ordeal just fine. When we went to bed last night, she crawled out from under the dining table and staggered into her crate in the bedroom where she slept all night.
Wendell announced that my birthday was officially over and thought I should make another round of migas for our breakfast. That’s the way it is, isn’t it girls? You get to be “Queen for a Day”; then back to the kitchen you go. The rest of the day has been very pleasant…..only a few minor chores. Wendell spent a good deal of time outside washing the truck, then drove to the produce stand near the park. He called to tell me it was a bad idea for him to go there; everything looked good. He returned with plums, a nectarine, a peach, a tomato, a bag of cherries and a bag of beautiful red and green peppers. We’re having fajitas with some leftover steak from a few nights ago and the peppers were the only thing I had on his shopping list.
The internet has been real flakey here today so I hope I can transmit this blog before we leave. I walked up to the office with my computer and it worked fine there, so I suspect it may have something to do with the Tourmaster coach parked between me and the office. That big ole rig seems to be blocking my reception.
Tomorrow, we’ll leave here and cross the Canadian border at Roosville, British Columbia. We have been there before but coming from the other directions. We have our passports, vaccination records for Nitchie, and only a small amount of “adult beverage” so hopefully crossing will go without problems.
We’ll get back to you when we can…..from the other side.
