Belgrade to Kalispel

Day 14 Belgrade to Kalispell 308 miles 496km. In Montana.

After a sleep in and toast and honey for breakfast we leave Belgrade at 7-15am and ride mostly highways all day, even these are interesting with a continuous moving panorama and with freshly mown wheat fields and the smelling of new mown hay and the numerous cattle ranches.

It is fast riding day and we keep on the speed limit of 75 mph (120 km).  The mountains in the distance are clear as we are riding west and the sun is on our backs. When we are refuelling Alan points out a guy that has been taking Meth.... he looked dreadful, aging well before his time without any hope....  it is a problem with teenagers and young adults in America. There are large billboards on the highway telling of its dangers.

Stopping at a small town called Deer Lodge we visited a car museum with cars dating from the early 1900s up until about the 1970s, all in fantastic condition. Alan got misty eyed over several of them which reminded him of his misspent youth. The museum was attached to the local penitentiary (no longer used) which also made Alan misty eyed for some reason.

Now heading North we leave the interstate highway and turn towards St Ignatius and Flathead Lake, cherry farms are everywhere along the road and stalls selling cherries are in abundance.  The temptation is too great so we stop and get a pound, they are just delicious, large and juicy picked straight from the tree. We then ride around Flathead Lake (named after the Flathead Indian tribe) and stop at an Italian fish restaurant and Vic and I have fish chowder in a bread bowl...it’s the best yet.

We turn into our motel in Kalispell at 3pm time to have a little shut eye and a shower before we hit the town at 4-30 pm. We all load into Alan’s car and we do a tour of the town, parking in the main street I noticed a hair dresser so I duck in and have a haircut, now there are no more remarks about my helmet head, it is all good!! Did some shopping in a proper western shop where Alan bought a couple of cowboy hats, Vic and I splurged out on some hunting socks (??).

Leaving the shop we turned a corner and came on a small festival with an orchestra and street stalls, the locals were having a great time.

We walked across the 4 line highway from the motel to an excellent restaurant and have a local Moose Drool beer and a wonderful dinner.

We are sitting on the verandah having a whiskey and looking at the mountains that are pink in the setting sun and contemplating on tomorrows ride into Glacier Park which straddles the Canadian American border, the Canadian side is known as the Waterton Lakes National Park. We will be within a short distance of the border.As we sit on the verandah  we watch a flock of ducks fly by over the Rocky Mountain..Drinking  whiskey .............. life is good..