Rails to Trails Kalispell Montana

Yesterday, we took a walk on the Rails to Trails project in Kalispell, Montana. It was partly sunny and very blustery. On this trail you can walk, or bicycle, either to Kila or Somers. Pretty long walks but you don't have to go all the way. The distance is one of the reasons why we like the trail. We can walk as long as we want in one direction. Today we went three miles toward Kila for a six mile round trip. On this type walk we average three miles per hour. It was a nice two hour walk.  I know this because, last year, Kinsey bot a Bushnell GPS tracks this stuff. Also there are mile markers on the trail. :)

If it hadn't been for the wind it would have been perfect fall weather. For the duration of the two hour walk we only encountered two other hearty souls pushing against the wind. Wind makes me frisky. I tried my best to engage in the puppy crazies but alas this is a leash path so I wasn't very successful.

So far it has been warmer and less snowy than it usually is for this time of year. Kinsey says it's the El Nino. There is snow starting to build at the higher elevations but the valley floor is completely clear.

The Flathead Range as viewed from the Rails to Trails path 11-18-15

If you are looking for a nice, scenic walk this Rails to Trails path is the perfect place for it.

Aussie me on donated park bench. I promise my feet were clean.

As mentioned in my last post Kinsey has a new project for this winter. She is taking up acrylic painting. This should be good. Because she is a compulsive writer she is keeping a dairy of her adventure on a new blog Diary of a Would Be Painter. Mostly she is keeping it to track resources and experiences for herself. Some of the things she discovers might be of interest to other beginners.

Ciao for now,
Molly Montana

©Kinsey Barnard

BEST BREAKFAST IN THE FLATHEAD

Near as I can tell, Kinsey is passionate about two things; eating and exploring. Thank goodness for the exploring part. If that weren't the case she would weigh five thousand pounds and I wouldn't have nearly as much fun. I might even become a little porky myself.

Contrary to what the "experts have to say, she believes you should consume lots of calories. She thinks our bodies are like cars. They stay in better working condition with use, which requires fuel. The trick is you gotta burn that fuel. The car burns only as much fuel as the work it does needs. We just need to do the same, limit our fuel intake to just what we use up. Anyway, we think eating is a GOOD thing.

Yesterday Kinsey had a hankering to go out for breakfast. We headed to her favorite breakfast spot in little Somers, Montana.

Somers Bay Cafe. (If you look real hard Kinsey & I are in this photo.)

Somers is a tiny town at the head of Flathead Lake. In 1900 the Somers Lumber Mill was built and with it the town of Somers. Somers was the name of one of the executives. The ego of humans never ceases to amaze. They just love to name things after themselves. The mill and company town of Somers died around 1948. Today it's a quaint patch of Montana history. It's also home to the Somers Bay Cafe.

When it comes to breakfast Kinsey doesn't go for pancakes, waffles and  french toast type fare. She's more the eggs, breakfast meats and potatoes sort. Her favorite is an omelet. They don't actually make omelets at the Somers Bay Cafe. They make what they call a "scramble". It's like an open faced omelet and really good. Kinsey likes the Denver Scramble which is ham, cheese, onion, bell pepper and melted cheese. It also comes with yummy potatoes, not hash browns, more like an O'brien and toast of your choice. Plenty of food, even for Kinsey. A cup of coffee will run you $1.50 with endless refills. The cafe is run by a couple who could not be more welcoming and friendly.

Naturally, while all this culinary delight was going on I got to sit in the car. I'm just telling you what Kinsey reported. The good part for me came after breakfast. That would be the exploring part.

Somers Ice House

As mentioned, Somers is a tiny town. Just a couple of blocks really. What we did find was a Rails to Trails path that took off just a block from the cafe. We think this path goes all the way to Kila. I don't know how far that is but maybe 20 miles? We only walked a couple. Point is you can eat and walk it off all in Somers.

Kinsey thinks the Somers Bay Cafe is the best place for an eggy breakfast you'll probably find. Give it a try if you are in the area. If it's lunch and a hamburger you're looking for try The Craggy Range in Whitefish.

I'll leave it to you to get your directions on your own GPS.

Ciao for now,
Molly Montana


©Kinsey Barnard

Many Glacier Will Have to Wait

Well, howdy. Did I get a big disappointment this week. Mom packed up Clementine, hooked up Shadow and I thought we were headed for Many Glacier. The plan was to go to Kalispell, get Clementine some routine maintenance and then head on over to St. Mary's.

The work on Clem was scheduled to take about four hours so we took off for the Great Northern Historical Trail.


The "trail" is a tarmac walkway but very nice and lots of things to see. It heads west from Kalispell and takes you into a very pretty rural area.


There is an amazing array of birds to be found on this walk. We saw beautiful meadow larks, blue birds and mountain swallows. Pictured above a mountain swallow sitting on a post. View full version.



We also spied this little robin who had built her nest on an old trestle beam. View full version.



Then there were these painted turtles doing, well, what ever they were doing. There really were a lot of critters to see on this, really, not very primitive trail. View full version.


Before log we started to see nasty looking clouds forming and a few people we met started talking about winter weather over on the east side. Mom called the park and sure enough they were expecting snow. Well, that was the end of our trip. Mom wasn't about to drive all that way to sit in Clem for a week. We high-tailed it home in the rain. Mom could be heard grumbling for two days as she hauled everything back out of Clem. Full version.


So, we've been amusing ourselves around here and took another walk along the Tobacco River where we came across this old car which looks like it has seen better days but mom thought it was kind of photogenic. Okay, so mom's a little daffy. :) Full version.


Mom was very delighted when we came across this blue-winged teal pair. Full version.

Anyway, I guess it's never a good idea to get too married to plans cuz they sure have a way of changing. Darn! But, mom says we will give it a go again when the weather improves. So, I wait impatiently.

©Kinsey Barnard Photography