Friday October 7, 2011
One of my favorite reads is Via published by AAA. The magazine features destinations to consider, things to do and things to eat. I especially like the things to eat! I've been a member of AAA since forever and have been glad about that. One of the few things I find where you still get your money's worth. One thing I find annoying though. For some reason my card says that I have been a member since 1911 and absolutely no one has ever complemented me on how good I look for my age!
In the Fall issue I noticed an article on pies and read with gusto. Great luck; one of the mentioned eateries was Loula's Cafe in Whitefish and they were touting the peach and huckleberry pie.
When I fist moved to Montana people would speak of huckleberries with such reverence I thought they had taken leave of their senses. I could not imagine how a berry fruit could deserve such adoration. That was, of course, before I tasted them. Now I love them so much I coined the name Montana Caviar.
I'll never forget my first encounter. Koty and I were on our way to hike the Terriault Pass and came across and elderly gentleman up on the side of the mountain foraging around in the bushes with a small pail in hand. I could not restrain myself so I stopped and climbed up the bank to ask what he was doing. He told me he was picking huckleberries and asked if I would like to try some. From that first mouthwatering bite it was clear what all the todo was about. The gentleman even offered Koty a handful. He loved them too and Koty is a very finicky eater. It was quite generous of this stranger because those berries are tiny and it takes forever to get a even a small pail of those delicious nuggets.
When I read of Loula's I knew I had to go down to Whitefish and try a slice. I called my sidekick Mona and we made a plan to go down to Whitefish and today we did just that. Fortunately, I had called ahead to enquire about the availability and was told that around 11:00 to 11:30 was a good time. We arrived right on schedule and a good thing too! There were exactly two pieces of pie remaining.
Well, all I can say is there was no disappointment, the pie was delicious. The peach huckleberry combination was all I had dreamed and the crust was outstanding. I always judge a pie maker by its crust. You can mess up the greatest filling with a lousy crust. I can't tell you what it cost as I did not see the slice price and my chum picked up the tab. You can also order the whole pie. Now there's a decadent idea!
I'd not been to this cafe before so I scanned the menu and it appeared overall reasonable. I noticed what looked like a very nice selection of hamburgers and I'm a fool for hamburgers. I think I will have to return to try some of their other fare. I would recommend you try Loula's if you should find yourself in Whitefish, Montana. And, you will most assuredly find yourself there if you are coming to Glacier National Park.
If you want to give it a go Loula's is located at 300 Second Street E. The entrance is right on 93 and the cafe is located downstairs. The phone number is (406) 862-5614. If you're looking for the huckleberry pie you may want to call ahead.
©Kinsey Barnard
Showing posts with label whitefish. Show all posts
Showing posts with label whitefish. Show all posts
09 October 2011
28 September 2011
On The Road Again - McDonald Lake - Glacier Park
Tuesday September 20, 2011
Winter lasted so long and delayed so many projects here at the ranch I thought I might not get even a single trip in this year but I was determined. My last project, some fencing, was completed yesterday afternoon. This morning I threw a bunch of stuff in Clementine, loaded up Koty and headed down the road to the Flathead. For those who may not know, Clementine is my Winnebago View.
My first order of business was a quick swing by Glacier National Park. I hadn't been in the park all year and needed to buy a pass. Wonder of wonders I finally qualified for my Senior Pass which allows one to visit any national park in the country, for the rest of your life for a one time charge of $10.00. I don't usually feel as though I get much for my tax dollars but this is something I really appreciate and will appreciate for as long as I can still travel.
Going to the Sun Road was closed due to an avalanche. I don't think it even opened until July so not many got to experience that Glacier delight this year. I wondered around Apgar and took a few shots of McDonald Lake. It was particularly beautiful with the mountains in a shroud of fog. As usual, Mother made me cry.
Spent the night at Whitefish RV Park in order to check out all Clems systems. There were a couple of problems. The most annoying was no water from the kitchen faucet. I decided I had better head for Spokane where I bot Clem and where I take her for repair work. Normally, I make a trip to Whitefish just to de-winterize and make sure nothing has gotten messed up during the winter. This year I never got the chance.
We like the Whitefish RV park because it is close enough to walk to downtown Whitefish and the nice little Whitefish park on the Whitefish River. It is small but has all the amenities.
On A Clear Day .....
©Kinsey Barnard
Winter lasted so long and delayed so many projects here at the ranch I thought I might not get even a single trip in this year but I was determined. My last project, some fencing, was completed yesterday afternoon. This morning I threw a bunch of stuff in Clementine, loaded up Koty and headed down the road to the Flathead. For those who may not know, Clementine is my Winnebago View.
My first order of business was a quick swing by Glacier National Park. I hadn't been in the park all year and needed to buy a pass. Wonder of wonders I finally qualified for my Senior Pass which allows one to visit any national park in the country, for the rest of your life for a one time charge of $10.00. I don't usually feel as though I get much for my tax dollars but this is something I really appreciate and will appreciate for as long as I can still travel.
Going to the Sun Road was closed due to an avalanche. I don't think it even opened until July so not many got to experience that Glacier delight this year. I wondered around Apgar and took a few shots of McDonald Lake. It was particularly beautiful with the mountains in a shroud of fog. As usual, Mother made me cry.
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| McDonald Lake - Glacier National Park |
 | |
| McDonald Lake - Glacier National Park |
Spent the night at Whitefish RV Park in order to check out all Clems systems. There were a couple of problems. The most annoying was no water from the kitchen faucet. I decided I had better head for Spokane where I bot Clem and where I take her for repair work. Normally, I make a trip to Whitefish just to de-winterize and make sure nothing has gotten messed up during the winter. This year I never got the chance.
We like the Whitefish RV park because it is close enough to walk to downtown Whitefish and the nice little Whitefish park on the Whitefish River. It is small but has all the amenities.
On A Clear Day .....
©Kinsey Barnard
26 July 2011
Wild Weather - Clementine Comes Home
Monday July 25, 2011
Between my new solar setup and my RV I'm learning a lot about batteries these days.
Last week I took Clementine, (Clementine and Shadow Photo) , out for her first spin of the season. Usually, I've already been out for a week or two trip by this time but construction projects and weather have skunked me but good. It's was pretty much of a coast down the mountain so I didn't realize something was wrong until I pulled out onto the highway. Clementine has a Mercedes turbo charged diesel and usually goes lickety split but this time she went nowhere with metal to the metal. I stopped at a local mechanics but he didn't have a clue what to do so I ended up having to have her towed to Whitefish. Thanks goodness I have AAA. This one tow saved me way more than the annual fee.
I've always thought if a battery was bad it was dead. I also thought that the battery just started your engine. Apparently, I was wrong on both counts. Clem started but the battery was bad. Because it was bad it was not sending enough power out to operate the engines electronics so Clem just said phooey and quit powering. The battery and diagnostics cost almost $300. Ouch!
One of the nice things about having a tow car, when you are solo, you can send the RV off and then go get it without having to put someone else out hauling you to where you need to pick it up. Shadow is my little Ford Focus that I use.
I spent the morning running errands in Clem and she purred like a kitten. When I returned to the dealership they helped hook up Shadow and I was on my way. Clem was just as happy pulling Shadow as if she wasn't there. This was the first time I had ever been into Don K's in Whitefish. They only recently bought the Dodge dealership and can work of the Sprinter. I was very favorably impressed. Back in 2009, on my way to Holland Lake, I had a very unpleasant experience with the dealership Don K bot the Dodge franchise from Kari Dodge and wasn't ever going back there again.
I had thought I might spend a night in Whitefish and get Clem de-winterized at an RV park. Boy am I glad I didn't. At 8:30 am when I left for the Flathead it was dark and cloudy. By the time I returned, around 5:30 it was pretty warm and partly cloudy. It took me about an hour to unhook Shadow and get Clem buttoned up. Around 7:00 pm it started to darken with thunder rumbling in the distance. By 9:00 the skies simply unloaded. At first I just heard the thunder start building but then I could hear this continuous rumble and couldn't figure out what it was. It was kind of like the sound of a jet. I found out soon enough what it was as hail began pounding down the size of marbles. I guess because it was relatively warm, around 65 degrees, the hail started to melt immediately. As I stood out on the deck watching I noticed the water was shooting nearly a foot out of the drain spout. I've never seen anything like it.
With all the torn up ground from recent construction I feared for my driveway which is gravel. Sure enough the water had come down with such force everything was underwater and running right down the driveway. I donned by rain gear and pelleted by hail I worked furiously to channel the water off the drive. If I hadn't been here to take immediate corrective action I cringe at the thought of what might have come home to. As it was I was ought until 10:00pm trying to keep things from total wash out. I was able to do a pretty good job and keep the wash out to a minimum. In the middle of the night the rain started up again and all I could do was cross my fingers.
I don't know what's going on with the weather but it sure seems to be extreme all over the planet.
©Kinsey Barnard
Between my new solar setup and my RV I'm learning a lot about batteries these days.
Last week I took Clementine, (Clementine and Shadow Photo) , out for her first spin of the season. Usually, I've already been out for a week or two trip by this time but construction projects and weather have skunked me but good. It's was pretty much of a coast down the mountain so I didn't realize something was wrong until I pulled out onto the highway. Clementine has a Mercedes turbo charged diesel and usually goes lickety split but this time she went nowhere with metal to the metal. I stopped at a local mechanics but he didn't have a clue what to do so I ended up having to have her towed to Whitefish. Thanks goodness I have AAA. This one tow saved me way more than the annual fee.
I've always thought if a battery was bad it was dead. I also thought that the battery just started your engine. Apparently, I was wrong on both counts. Clem started but the battery was bad. Because it was bad it was not sending enough power out to operate the engines electronics so Clem just said phooey and quit powering. The battery and diagnostics cost almost $300. Ouch!
One of the nice things about having a tow car, when you are solo, you can send the RV off and then go get it without having to put someone else out hauling you to where you need to pick it up. Shadow is my little Ford Focus that I use.
I spent the morning running errands in Clem and she purred like a kitten. When I returned to the dealership they helped hook up Shadow and I was on my way. Clem was just as happy pulling Shadow as if she wasn't there. This was the first time I had ever been into Don K's in Whitefish. They only recently bought the Dodge dealership and can work of the Sprinter. I was very favorably impressed. Back in 2009, on my way to Holland Lake, I had a very unpleasant experience with the dealership Don K bot the Dodge franchise from Kari Dodge and wasn't ever going back there again.
I had thought I might spend a night in Whitefish and get Clem de-winterized at an RV park. Boy am I glad I didn't. At 8:30 am when I left for the Flathead it was dark and cloudy. By the time I returned, around 5:30 it was pretty warm and partly cloudy. It took me about an hour to unhook Shadow and get Clem buttoned up. Around 7:00 pm it started to darken with thunder rumbling in the distance. By 9:00 the skies simply unloaded. At first I just heard the thunder start building but then I could hear this continuous rumble and couldn't figure out what it was. It was kind of like the sound of a jet. I found out soon enough what it was as hail began pounding down the size of marbles. I guess because it was relatively warm, around 65 degrees, the hail started to melt immediately. As I stood out on the deck watching I noticed the water was shooting nearly a foot out of the drain spout. I've never seen anything like it.
With all the torn up ground from recent construction I feared for my driveway which is gravel. Sure enough the water had come down with such force everything was underwater and running right down the driveway. I donned by rain gear and pelleted by hail I worked furiously to channel the water off the drive. If I hadn't been here to take immediate corrective action I cringe at the thought of what might have come home to. As it was I was ought until 10:00pm trying to keep things from total wash out. I was able to do a pretty good job and keep the wash out to a minimum. In the middle of the night the rain started up again and all I could do was cross my fingers.
I don't know what's going on with the weather but it sure seems to be extreme all over the planet.
©Kinsey Barnard
13 May 2010
Whitefish, Montana-Clementine Pre-Flight
The weather is finally warming up and I am starting to get the wander lust. I usually take Clementine on an outing to the Flathead just to test out all the systems cuz if anything is amiss I have to take her to the Flathead anyway. Clem certainly was raring to go, she got over 20 miles to the gallon, I love that Mercedes diesel!
When we take our check trip I always stay one night at an RV park in Whitefish. From it you can walk right into town in about fifteen, twenty minutes. For those who may not know Whitefish it is a quaint little western town that you will most likely visit if you go to Glacier National Park.
It's amazing how much snow is still on the mountains. The photo below is of what's left on Big Mountain, the local ski area. I apologize for the poles. I'm told Going to the Sun Road won't be open for another six weeks.
The walk into town can be quite nice if you take Baker and walk along the Whitefish River. You can tell by the landscape that winter has been loathe to give up it's grip.
Whitefish River
Back at the RV park I'm having some problems getting water in the bathroom basin. Cannot for the life of me figure out what the problem is. Finally thought to take the strainer off and it was chock full of sand and grit. At first I couldn't imagine how that could have happened but then it dawned on me. I had used one of my irrigation hoses to flush the anti-freeze. I hadn't thought to flush the hose. I draw my irrigation water from one of my ponds oops!
Early next morning we took another wander down the river walk and I found this scene.
Whitefish River-Whitefish Montana by Kinsey Barnard
I was really hoping to find some wildflowers to photograph but the only flowers I found were in a window box on Central Avenue, the main drag.
Petunia-2 by Kinsey Barnard
Ok, I admit it I went a little wild with these petunia images but it was fun and I think they look kind of cool! :)
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Petunia-1 by Kinsey Barnard
©Kinsey Barnard Photography
When we take our check trip I always stay one night at an RV park in Whitefish. From it you can walk right into town in about fifteen, twenty minutes. For those who may not know Whitefish it is a quaint little western town that you will most likely visit if you go to Glacier National Park.
It's amazing how much snow is still on the mountains. The photo below is of what's left on Big Mountain, the local ski area. I apologize for the poles. I'm told Going to the Sun Road won't be open for another six weeks.
Big MountainThe walk into town can be quite nice if you take Baker and walk along the Whitefish River. You can tell by the landscape that winter has been loathe to give up it's grip.
Whitefish River When the willows come out of hibernation they turn yellow and it looks more like fall than spring.
Whitefish RiverBack at the RV park I'm having some problems getting water in the bathroom basin. Cannot for the life of me figure out what the problem is. Finally thought to take the strainer off and it was chock full of sand and grit. At first I couldn't imagine how that could have happened but then it dawned on me. I had used one of my irrigation hoses to flush the anti-freeze. I hadn't thought to flush the hose. I draw my irrigation water from one of my ponds oops!
Along the River WalkEarly next morning we took another wander down the river walk and I found this scene.
Whitefish River-Whitefish Montana by Kinsey Barnard
I was really hoping to find some wildflowers to photograph but the only flowers I found were in a window box on Central Avenue, the main drag.
Petunia-2 by Kinsey Barnard
Ok, I admit it I went a little wild with these petunia images but it was fun and I think they look kind of cool! :)
Petunia-1 by Kinsey Barnard
©Kinsey Barnard Photography
27 September 2008
Clementine Throws A Fit, Squirrels Find a Home and A New Book Gets Published
Well, what a time we have been having. This is the time of year when we start battening down the hatches here at the ranch and start checking out gear for our winter photo safari. Clementine and Shadow are our most important participants. Regular readers will know that Clementine is our Winnebago motorhome and Shadow is our little Ford Focus tow car.
This week I went out to fire up Clemmie and her battery was dead. Not to worry I just boosted the engine battery with the house batteries and let her charge for twenty minutes. But, a couple of days later it started to rain and I noticed I had left the the driver's window down. When I went to put it up the window moved like glue. The battery was dead again. When I checked under the hood what did I find but a million pine cones some industrious squirrel had squirreled away for the winter. It appears we aren't the only ones preparing for winter. I was convinced the little varmits had chewed the wiring so the next call was to AAA. Away went Clemmie to the Dodge dealer in Kalispell 75 miles away. Clemmie's chassis is a Dodge Sprinter with a Mercedes diesel engine.
The Dodge people spent a day rooting around in the engine but couldn't find anything amiss. Apparently, it wasn't the squirrels fault after all. So, they sent me off to an RV dealer to check for a wiring problem and/or a battery drain. That is where she remains. Hopefully, we'll find out what the problem is next week.
We did manage a little trip to Lake Koocanusa. That's the Koocanusa in the back ground and Koty Bear looking handsome as usual. KOTY'S KORNER
The picture above shows Mt. Baldy across the Koocanusa and as you can see it already has snow on it. Those mountains are actually in British Columbia. Not only is fall in the air but a little bit of winter too. Now is when I start worrying about not beating the snow on my way out of town. If there is anything that gives me the terrors it's driving on snowy, icy roads. MOUNTAIN and LAKE LANDSCAPES
On our way home from Kalispell we did take time out to take a walk along the Whitefish River in Whitefish. The above photo is of a beautiful old willow bending it's branches down along the river. With the exception of the leaves on the right hand side the entire photo is just a refection of this stately old tree.
This last photo is of a giant sunflower. It was still in great shape. It seemed to be leaning over asking us what we were up to on this fine fall day. It reminded me a little of "Day of the Triffids" a story I once read in grade school. FLOWERS are among my favorite subjects to photograph. They are so colorful and alive.
Last but certainly not least I finally got my book THE FINE ART OF PHOTOGRAPHY published and I'm quite pleased with the results. Check it out if you have a chance.
That's it for this week.
Ciao for now,
Koty & Kinsey
©Kinsey Barnard
05 July 2008
I'm Too Sexy For My Shirt!
Dang! I am good looking aren't I? :) And, what a week I had winning the Arte de Pico Award I have no idea what it means but it must be a good thing right?! And, many thanks to those of you who offered congratulations.
So, what did we do this week? Oh, yeah, we went to Whitefish and Kalispell to do a little shopping. No shops in Eureka. The above is the best shot of a moose mom ever got! Don't tell her I said so. This one is outside our favorite outdoor store.
On the way home we stopped for a stroll along the Whitefish River which runs right through Whitefish and has lots of ducks floating around. They have great walking paths along the river.
On Wednesday we had a gully washer of a storm. Like everything else this spring the monsoon arrived late too. There was thunder and lightening like you couldn't imagine, rattled the windows. I don't like that stuff! I hid out in the house whilst mom tried to save the driveway. But, the rain came down so hard and so fast there was no saving it. When she came back in she looked like a drowned rat. Nice try mom. Better luck next time!
Thursday we went down to Dickey Lake. It's one of the more beautiful ones around here. The water has that rock flour stuff from the glaciers and it makes the water the most beautiful shades of blue. The lake is half private and half public. This house was built by some folks from Alberta. Lots of Canadians around here these days what with the tar sands and the very strong Loonie. Must be lots of money in that sand!
And, here's my favorite photo of the week. Some people say I have an over active imagination but this looks to me like a fuzzy headed, green monster munching on it's lunch whilst a little grouse hen looks on. She had better be careful. She just might be on the menu for desert!
Green monsters are cool! Thunder and lightening I have no use for. I sure hope that's the last of that!
Well, that was our week. Hope yours was great too!
©Kinsey Barnard Photography
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