Kootenai Falls Montana

Wednesday we took a drive over to see how the Kootenai Falls were falling. They were falling very nicely, thank you very much. The Meryl Streep movie "River Wild" was filmed here. We love Meryl almost as much as the river. Class acts are hard to find these days.

Kootenai Falls May 11, 2016

Kootenai Falls May 11, 2016

After visiting the falls we went around to the north side of the river and walked the Kootenai River Trail. It's a wonderful walk along the river where you can see just about anything from bears to eagles fishing. It's about the easiest, most beautiful trail you are likely to find.

Molly Montana on the Kootenai River Trail -Please obey the leash laws

We saw some big horns but they were not in the high cliffs along the river but in someones back yard! Smart little dickens.

Big Horn Grazing in someones yard

It was a great day and a serene walk. Saw exactly two people in two and a half hours we spent on the trail.

Kootenai River May 11, 20126

If you are traveling through Libby, Montana don't miss the Kootenai Falls or the Kootenai River Trail. Both are great places for a picnic.

Until next time,
Molly Montana

©Kinsey Barnard

Hungry Horse Reservoir

This weekend we decided to take a drive over to Hungry Horse to check out the fall colors. There is the town of Hungry Horse, Hungry Horse Dam and Hungry Horse Reservoir. Hungry Horse is a local favorite for hiking, fishing and camping. Hungry Horse is about fifteen miles from Glacier National Park. If you're visiting from out of state you should check it out, especially if you are here in the Fall. Glacier is beautiful but there are so many other beautiful places with less traffic and Hungry Horse is one of them.

On the way over we crossed the Flathead River and it was looking mighty pretty all dressed up for Fall. If you look closely there is even an intrepid fisherman on the river.

Flathead River

As pretty much everyone knows the West has been plagued by drought conditions and northwestern Montana is no exception. All I can say is I'm mighty glad we are up river. In any event the reservoir was pretty low. Below is a photo taken this weekend and one taken at full pool.

Hungry Horse October 10, 2015

Hungry Horse at full pool. Tiny speck in the middle is the same little island in the photo above.

We traveled down the west side of the reservoir and only went as far as Doris Creek, which isn't very far at all. If you have the time and an adventurous spirit you can drive around the whole reservoir. It'll be over a hundred miles. It's 58 miles to Spotted Bear which is a the far south end of the lake.

We were only out for a walk in the woods in the autumn and had gotten a bit of a late start. So we hiked up 895A which goes along Doris Creek. Along the way we came across a young family cutting firewood. There was something very lovely about the scene. A family together out in the forest, in the beauty of a Fall afternoon, providing for themselves a warm and toasty winter. Also, warming is that the heat will cost them $5.00 for all the wood they can cut.

There's not a lot more to tell other than we had a really wonderful, colorful afternoon. I'll let Kinsey's photos do the rest of the talking. The point of this exercise was finding color and that we surely did.

Cottonwoods in full Fall color

A walk in the woods at Hungry Horse

Aspen in Fall color

Me stuck in the car whilst Kinsey fools around

Sometimes it's hard to believe we live in such a beautiful part of the world. We are grateful we walk in this world with our eyes open. It's truly a gift. Soon the snow will fly and all this amazing color will only exist in photos and memories. But, the gods willing, we will be able to experience it again next year.

And, would you believe this is the sunset we were treated to at the end of the day? If you are color junkies like we are it just doesn't get any better than this! Oh, how we love Montana!

Sunset over the Flathead Valley

Ciao for now!
Molly Montana

©Kinsey Barnard

Taylor Creek - Gallatin National Forest

After consulting our mega map (see The Lake that Tilted) Kinsey ordained we should take the trail to Albino Lake in the Gallatin National Forest. As usual, I had no say in the matter. I make a to do about having no say but the truth is, I don't really care we go as long we go!

BIGFORK, MONTANA

For some time now Kinsey has wanted to have breakfast at the Pocketstone Cafe in Bigfork, Montana. So, last Wednesday she decided to give it a go.

Naturally, I got stuck sitting in the car. Kinsey told me she wouldn't be long. An hour later she returned. Seemed like a day. Things hadn't gone too well in the restaurant. The waitress forgot to put in her order and it was a half hour before she figured it out. Then it was another twenty minutes before Kinsey got her ham and cheese omelet. The ham was so hot she burned her tongue. Needless to say her Pocketstone experience wasn't what she had hoped for. I say, that's what she gets for going to a $10.00 omelet place. For once I was better off staying in the car! Ha Ha!

Bigfork is a very cute little artsy village on the Swan River at the north end of Flathead Lake. We wandered around the village looking for meet and greet training opportunities, which I am sorely in need of. Not my fault. I don't get a lot of practice up at the ranch. People were very friendly and I tried my best not to jump all over them. Also, I got nothing but compliments about how pretty I am. I felt like a princess.

I did get the fright of my life. As we were walking along we came upon this life size sculpture of an Indian chief on his horse. The second I saw him I bristled and barked. I planted my feet and refused to pass by. It took quite a bit of cajoling to get me to move along. The thing sure looked real to me.

We drove home via Creston and Kinsey saw an old red barn she just could not resist photographing.

Bigfork, Montana

The Indian who scared me.

The red barn in Creston, Montana

©Kinsey Barnard

HUNGRY HORSE & THE JEWEL BASIN

On day three we rose early and headed back to Hungry Horse. Our objective this day was Handkerchief Lake. It's about thirty miles down the west side of the reservoir. As you can see from the above photos the reservoir was looking mighty fine this fall morning. It was an awesome drive. VIEW MORE LANDSCAPES



The only folks out on the road were wood cutters and there were lots of those. You can get a wood cutting permit from the Forest Service for five dollars and for that five dollars heat your home pretty much all winter. The rules are you can only cut down dead trees but because of the fire three years ago there are dead larch everywhere. Larch, otherwise known as tamarack make great firewood as they have a high BTU and there were some really nice sized trees. Montanans are always up for passing the time of day so we stopped to chat with these guys. Mostly the conversation centered around how lousy things were in the economy.



Finally we found our way to Handkerchief Lake. As usual it was a pretty lake. It's located right off the road so the only hike involved was around the lake itself. The above photograph is just of clouds floating on the water that I thought looked pretty. I'm a regular sucker for reflections.



Whilst picking our way around the lake we came upon this group of mergansers paddling along on the other side of the lake. I was so focused (pardon the pun) on the mergansers I tripped over a log and went flying. Fortunately, the mergansers didn't reach this photogenic spot until after I had righted myself.



This last shot is of Handkerchief looking northwest into the Jewel Basin. Handkerchief is fed by Graves Creek and the creek comes out of those mountains. I really fancy this photograph as it looks almost like an oil painting.

It was a great trip to Hungry Horse and the Jewel Basin. We will certainly do it again because there is a lot we didn't see.


©Kinsey Barnard