Glacier National Park - Day 6

Friday, July 11

We awoke early this morning so we could take our time and enjoy the scenery on our way back to Spokane.  We were not the first ones up in Montana's Duck Lake Lodge however because when I went across the hallway to the bathroom around 6:00 a.m. there was another couple already downstairs, quietly loading their things into their car and were leaving.

We did the same, quietly loaded our things in the car and hit the road, first heading east on Duck Lake Road, then south on Montana Hwy. 464 toward Browning.  We stopped in Browning and purchased a breakfast sandwich and I got me a large coffee.

We then headed west on U.S. Hwy 2, back through East Glacier Park (where we stayed overnight a couple of days ago).  U.S. Hwy. 2 skirts along the south edge of Glacier National Park and we could still see the snow-capped mountains off to the north.

 We soon reached the Continental Divide at Marias Pass.

 The road followed the Middle Fork Flathead River valley.  The skies were a little overcast as we admired the beauty of the river and the surrounding mountains.

Before long we left the mountains behind and were traveling through lush farmland and brilliant yellow fields of rapeseed, which I think is used in making canola oil.

 Pretty farms with the distant mountains within view.

 We passed many of these bright yellow rapeseed fields!

We skirted along the western shoreline of Flathead Lake, Montana's largest natural lake.  Earlier in the week, in Browning, East Glacier Park and Babb, we were on the Black Feet Indian Reservation.  Today we are traveling through the Flathead Indian Reservation, which encompasses the lower half of Flathead Lake.

We have been traveling southward on U.S. Hwy. 93, however when reach the tiny town of Elmo, we turn onto Montana Hwy. 28 and go past Hot Springs, all the way to the small town of Plains, which sits on the banks of the Clark Fork River.  Along the way is ranch land on the rolling hills of western Montana.

At Plains we take Hwy. 200 a short distance to Paradise, then Hwy. 135, winding alongside the river all the way to I-90 at St. Regis, Montana.

 

Traveling west on I-90, we soon were back in Idaho!

 

We decide to stop at the historic mining town of Wallace, Idaho.  We found this sign, telling the amazing story of how devastating a fire can be.  Hard to imagine a fire way out west being so large that Montreal and London were affected by it.

 We passed on the mine tours....

 Wallace's quaint downtown area...

 The town was gearing up to host a Bluegrass Festival this weekend with around 5,000 folks expected to invade this small town for that event!

We saw a rocket ship!

 I tried a cup huckleberry ice cream while we were walking around Wallace.  Sort of taste like blueberries.

 Wallace's Stardust Motel has their own space capsule!

 ....and Tom got inside and sat down for a minute!

 After our little walkabout in Wallace we were ready for the last leg of our travels today, so we headed toward Spokane. 

Upon arriving in Spokane, we stopped by the Main Market, where Megan is the General Manager, and picked up her house key and went to their house and napped and read a book in the afternoon.  Feels good to be out of the car.  We have traveled enough for this week.

Tomorrow we plan to just hang out with Austen, Megan, and little Nelson.