On the way home

Left Diane and Gary this a.m. and drove through Kalispell, Libby, Bonners Ferry, through Sandpoint and settled in Newport Washington tonight.  What gorgeous country with so many clear lakes and rivers.

Glacier

goat

Many Glacier Lodge.  Not many glaciers now.

A bit cloudy and hazy, but an enjoyable day traveling through Glacier with Gary and Diane.

Sheep

Waiting for construction

Crews work to retrieve worker who had gone over the edge in a loader.

Under the Big Sky

Finally, an evening under the Big Sky.  A gormet meal of fresh fish and dining outside overlooking the valley.

fish finally

After a day of rain with some exploring, and a day of wind, with more exploring around Polson, Gary and I finally got on the lake today.  The sun shone bright and the winds were calm.  The lake trout grow big here, sometimes above 30 lbs.  We caught six and released three.  With Gary's fish alone, our motorhome tiny freezers were full.   Tomorrow we hope to drive the 80 some miles north to camp just outside Glacier.

On to Flathead Lake

On Wednesday morning we met up with Gary and Diane in Coeur d Alene.  We traveled east together marveling at the beautiful countryside, especially the Clark Fork River.  We are parked in Polson on the south shore of Flathead Lake.  We will spend four days here, at least one of those days fishing. (MT fishing licence in hand).

Akers Airport

We left on Labor Day, heading east with Glacier National Park as our final destination.  On the way, we stopped and visited with Cailyn's parents, Alton and Marti Ann, who live near Worley, Idaho.  We parked our RV near their airport hanger and spent a day exploring the area.  It was flashback time for me as we visited Lake Coeur d Alene and some of the areas that I had spent some very enjoyable weekends in my high school and college years.

Stryker Homecoming

Barb and I were honored to be invited to the welcoming home ceremony for the 4/2 Strykers returning to Ft Lewis from Iraq.  We sat in a gym setting and watched, via video, their plane land at nearby McChord AFB.  Two hours later, the 300 soldiers marched in formation into the gym.  The pride of accomplishment, the fact that no casualties had been incurred in the year long deployment, and the reconnection of family and friends made for a very moving evening.  

family

Justin, Grace, Cassie, Mom and Grandparents