Glacier National Park Road Trip - Day 15

“Where are you hiking today?” asked a pleasant young man in the breakfast room this morning. It is Sunday and the old buzzards have been here a week now so were able to tell him about a four-mile hike he could take to Iceberg Lake, where there are actually icebergs floating in the lake. And John was sure to tell him about Johnson's Cafe in St. Mary which is a great place to stop on the way to the trail head. He had a charming French accent. When Linda asked where he was from he said “California". John asked, "Where in California?" He replied, "the Bay Area". And, of course, John asked, "Where in the Bay Area?" To which he said, "Palo Alto to be specific”. The old buzzards told him they live just south of him, in the Bay Area. Linda then answered his opening question: “I'm hiking to the laundry. Our 28-day trip is half over and we are out of clean clothes. Have fun on your hike and be careful.” (Someone died just off one of the trails Friday).

Fannie Mae and John stayed “home” and processed photos.

Cleaning your clothes at a laundromat tends to make you especially thankful to have a washer and dryer when at home. However, it was a nice, clean place with plenty of machines available so that all the loads could go in at once. There were nice rolling baskets and they probably had 100 magazines to choose from. Linda saw one cover that promised an article on 101 Ways To Be Happy. She is a sucker for this type of pap and picked it up, then wondered what magazine it was. In cleverly disguised letters at the top it said “Seventeen”. That's a magazine Linda read religiously from the ages of 13 to 18. She thought it would be interesting to take a look at “Seventeen” over 50 years later and see what's supposed to make teenage girls happy nowadays. But she got distracted by a stack of old “New Yorkers” and has not delved into teen-age happiness yet. Stay tuned . . .

It was past lunchtime when Linda returned from Laundry Land. John was ready for a short break from his photo fun so the old buzzards paused for nutrients. John had fruit and a cheese stick. Linda had her leftover salmon tacos from the Buffalo Grill.

The SONG O' THE DAY is “Seems Like Old Times” by John Jacob Loeb and Carmen Lombardo (1946) on page 204 of The Daily Ukelele. Linda has now made it to songs that begin with the letter “S”. It seems like old times to be preparing to pack up and leave tomorrow. It has been nice being here in Whitefish for seven nights. Linda even unpacked her bag into some drawers instead of her usual factual cliché' of living out of a suitcase.

The restaurant we chose for out last night in Whitefish has gone to the dogs – The Bulldog Saloon & Grill. The building was constructed in 1903. A railroad doctor and surgeon had offices on the second floor. It was also used for boxing matches, a pool hall, card games (poker, pinochle, pan) and a meeting place for Masons and other fraternal organizations. During prohibition, as the Pastime Pool Hall, it  survived by selling everything from guns, fishing tackle, batteries and work gloves, to tobacco and cigars. There was even a soda fountain for teenagers following World War II. The building was known as The Pastime until the late 1970s and then was the Yeti's Den for a few years. The present owners purchased it in 1983 and renamed it the Bulldog Saloon in honor of the Whitefish Highschool mascot. Linda is sure the business would also be a hit in her hometown of Plainview, Texas where the bulldog is the mascot of their one and only high school. If she had only known, she could have packed her Geritol Bulldogs shirt. She is also a University of Georgia Bulldog from time served there in the 1970s. Back to the food. John had the Turkey Teaser (turkey, bacon, BBQ sauce and cheddar cheese) with fries. Linda had Huckleberry Byrd Salad (leaf lettuce, cabbage, chinese noodles, sliced almonds and chicken tenders tossed in huckleberry hot sauce). The Two Old Buzzards would give it a five arf rating. See more about this place at www.fart-slobber.com. (No kidding, that's their URL)

Great place. Good food. Loads of atmosphere! Visit their website.

After dinner, we made due note that Wilma was parked in front of the Red Caboose, a local frozen yogurt and coffee place. We often frequent FroYo in Morgan Hill.  Linda said, "I'm too full right now". John said, "OK, I'll have some yogurt and wait for you". Then, Linda noticed they had huckleberry yogurt. That did it. Game on. So, in we went. Linda got huckleberry, chocolate and mango. John limited himself to huckleberry and chocolate. In an earlier post, you might recall that one establishment refers to the mixture of huckleberry and chocolate as "bear poop". So, bear poop it was! To paraphrase Utah Phillips, "My God, that tastes like bear poop!  But, it's good"! Actually, the Utah Phillips story has to do with moose turd pie.

Scavenger hunt update: Team “The Old Buzzards” now has 19 of the 20 items for their entry in the San Jose Mercury News Road Trip Photo Scavenger Hunt Contest. They hope to have an agreeable (and hungry) policeman (in uniform) in their crosshairs within the next few days. Maybe the constable in Trout Creek?

There are 16 images in today's photo gallery. Most around the Cheap Sleep Motel and, of course, dinner at the Bulldog Saloon. You can view them by clicking here.

Happy trails!

Glacier National Park Road Trip - Day 14

The old buzzards did not set an alarm clock for this morning but the Fannie Mae alarm went off at 4:50am so she and Linda strolled the parking lot and environs for a while until Mother Nature's call was fulfilled. Everybody slept well after that and arose from their slumbers at 7:40 for breakfast. It was a Kirkland frozen waffle with faux Jif (Skippy in a Jif jar) for John along with some Frosted Mini Wheats and a Svenhard's Bear Claw. It was raw bits twang twang (RBTT) for Linda. Fannie Mae had her usual mix of adult small Costco doggie bits and diet Beneficial (Dr. Rick put her on a diet after noticing that she had gotten  pudgy). Our term is "sausage with toothpick legs".

After breakfast John processed photos and Linda got a self-inflicted haircut. Later she mentioned her DIY haircut to John who said “Thank God, I saw the wastebasket and I thought you were losing your hair!” When he is working on photos he is pretty oblivious to everything except what is on his screen. But the results are worth it. And Linda's haircut wasn't half bad either. And the price was right.

Lunch today was fruit – grapes, plums and nectarines.

While out for an afternoon stroll, Fannie and Linda paused at a table at the almost empty Taco John's down the way from Cheap Sleep. One of their workers pulled up. Linda thought the lady was going to ask them to leave but instead she went in and got Fannie a doggy treat, came back out and visited for awhile. This Taco John's whole crew walked out last week and this lady was dispatched from Kalispell to get the tacos tocking. Her experience is that it is hard to find people in Whitefish who want to work. At least they don't want to work at Safeway (another walkout story) or Taco John's. The lady has been putting in so many 12-hour days that she hasn't been able to get out to pick huckleberries and the season will soon be over. They are only found in the wild. No one has successfully been able to grow them commercially. She said they are getting more scarce all the times because commercial pickers come in with machines that tear out the whole bush and shake off the berries. Linda remembers well the first time she had huckleberries. It was in the early 1960s in Washington State at her favorite aunt and uncle's place by a lake. There were huckleberry bushes galore. Linda picked and picked and munched and munched. With what berries she brought back her Aunt Jean made huckleberry pancakes. Yumm! Before that summer Linda had never known there were huckleberries, other than Huckleberry Hound and Huckleberry Finn.

Dinner was at LouLa's (the owners are Lou and Laura)in downtown Whitefish. The building was a Masonic Lodge for many years, then a community center and now is a very nice eatery with photos and paintings that depict many of the wonders of this area. John had the stuff-your-own burger. He chose bleu cheese for the inside and jalapenos, roasted garlic and bacon for his toppers. It came with waffle fries. Linda had shrimp and sausage gumbo. It was not as good as the gumbo at the Tupelo Grill but it was good (even without okra).

Later in the evening the old buzzards and Fannie went to Whitefish Lake to take photos of the sunset. There were boats and skiers and paddle boarders in the lake and swimmers near the shore. It was easy to tell that this community really enjoys their lake. By the time John finished shooting the sunset (137 images) the crescent moon was far up in the sky to the south. It was around 9:50 and still quite light outside. The moon was very visible and had a silvery cast. In eight more days (Sunday, July 22) it will be a full moon.

Below is one of the sunset shots John took at Whitefish Lake. We'll put the final ones after culling through the 137 images in its own photo gallery.

Two paddle boarders enjoy Whitefish Lake as the sun goes down

Speaking of photo gallery. Today's has but 20 images and includes our farewell to the Cheap Sleep Motel. You can view the gallery by clicking here.

Tomorrow will be consumed with laundry, photo processing and packing up to leave. Next stopover is a two-night stay at the Trout Creek Motel in Trout Creek, Montana beginning Monday night, July 15.

The SONG O' THE DAY is “By the Light of the Silvery Moon” by Ed Madde and Gus Edwards (1906) from page 43 in the Daily Ukelele Songbook (365 Songs for Better Living).

Happy trails!

Glacier National Park Road Trip - Day 13

The Old Buzzards decided to do something different today which was to NOT go into Glacier National Park. They've been passing by lots of interesting-looking “stuff” on their way to and from the park for the last four days so this day was devoted to going in and out of several places. You will see some of the sights we saw – the old, the remember these? and the oh, my goodness! – in our photo gallery when we get around to creating the one for today. Thank you for your patience!

The SONG O' THE DAY is “Don't Worry, Be Happy” by Bobbie McFerrin (1988) from page 70-71 of The Daily Ukelele (compiled and arranged by Jim Beloff). You may not have thought of McFerren in years but his song is one of those ear worms that can stay with you for days, and, with its cheery message, that's not all bad. Linda was very merry that it only has three chords so she could concentrate on switching around among whistling, singing, talking humming, strumming and chording. It could be the theme for this whole road trip or for life, if one were able to somehow pack up all their cares and woes, singin' low, oops, slipped into another song. Here's just a Bit o' Honey from McFerrin to get your ear worm tuned up: (Whistle then sing) “Here's a little song I wrote, you might want to sing it note for note, don't worry, be happy. In every life we have some trouble, but when you worry you make it double. Don't worry, be happy.” (Talk, hum, sing). “Don't worry be happy now.” Spoken: “Here, I give you my phone number. When you worry, call me, I make you happy”, etc . . . 

Chain saw art is big in Montana but the old buzzards saw designs they never could have imagined by an artist named David at his place along the highway. It was hard to resist all the trolls, bears, Bigfoot(s?), moose, eagles, mushrooms, benches and trees carved out of cedar and pine but their sizes and prices made resistance a little stronger. Linda only adopted two pieces who are following her home.

Here's an image of someone with their head up their butt

and a nice chainsaw carving as well!

The Eagle's Roost Antiques was much larger than it appeared from the outside. Linda was fascinated by a sofa and  easy chair made of elk antlers. John referred to them as "a liability waiting to happen". Though he thought they were really neat. Another place, Station Number Eight was actually a train depot in Columbia Falls, MT. It is now The Shops at Station 8, where John found a metal yellow bird house he just knew Linda would love. He was correct. It will have a special place in her Secret Garden. At the last antique/junk place where we stopped, the owners had adopted a miniature schnauzer. Didn't have time for Fannie to make friends with "Missy", but here she is....

Missy the Mini-Schnauzer

Now a history lesson: The severe 1900-01 winter left two freight horses lost and starving in the rugged Flathead River wilderness. Found a month later, their owners nursed them back to health. “Hungry Horse” became the name of a nearby mountain and creek and, later, a Reclamation project. At the small community of Hungry Horse, a turn off takes you to Hungry Horse Dam and Lake. The dam enables the reservoir to capture spring runoff to reduce flood damage in Montana, Idaho, Washington and Oregon. It also provides recreation and electricity. Hungry Horse Reservoir has even more shoreline than the Dworshak Reservoir we visited near Orofino, ID.

After stopping at the fruit stand near the Dew Drop Inn (can you say 'cliche'?) where the huckleberries were frozen and the prices were humongous, the old buzzards made a U-turn and stopped for lunch at Willows Huckland, near Columbia Falls. John had a slice of huckleberry pie and Linda had a bear poop milkshake (huckleberries and chocolate). Bear poop was actually very good. Whoda thunkit?

The agenda then called for filling Wilma with gas and get the cooler equipped with a fresh block of ice.

Back at the Cheap Sleep, John spent some of the afternoon processing photos. Linda is pretty sure he's taken up sewing. He has taken several panoramas at the park and says he is "stitching" them together with the magic of PhotoShop and LightRoom.

The Pin and Cue Bowling Alley down the street has a restaurant of some fame so it was chosen for dinner. John had salad and hamburger steak with grilled onions and baked potato. Linda had a veggie salad with toasted sesame dressing and salsa. The service and food were both a strike (NOT strike out). The restaurant is on one end of the bowling alley and the Rock and Bowl lounge is on the other end.

So ends July 12, 2013, Day 13 on this Road Trip. It is almost half over and the Two Old Buzzards have packed a lot into those 13 days. It has been great fun and there are even more adventures and photos to follow . . .

The photo backlog has been reduced and you can view the 66 images in today's photo gallery by clicking here.

Happy trails!

Glacier National Park Road Trip - Day 12

The Buzzards and their trusty canine companion, Fannie Mae, were off to Glacier National Park by 7:45 am and even before pulling out of the motel parking lot they spotted a deer across the busy street. She was oblivious to the vehicles rushing by and seemed intent on munching on leaves in some poplar trees. Look closely at her very full right cheek when you see the photo.

While getting ready to leave the motel room John spotted the bedside table that Linda had made for herself out of two luggage holders. “Very clever” he commented. “I think I'll shoot it”. “Just let me tidy it up” Linda called out from the other room. “No way, that would ruin it” answered John as he proudly snapped his first photo of the day.

John got his wish. He was hoping for a variety of weather during the road trip. Today started out with dark clouds and no sunshine and by the time it cleared up there were beautiful white puffy clouds to compliment the blue sky and beautiful features of the park.

The intention for today was to drive over the Going-to-the-Sun Road to get to a part of the park had not visited yet and hike to a lake that has some glaciers in it. But both old buzzards had so much fun with animal sightings and noticing things they somehow missed yesterday. Also, there were those dreamy creamy puffy clouds that add a lot to a landscape photo. Linda had noticed a small patch of bear grass which has beautiful flowers. We first saw it on our unpaved road drive up to Heaven's Gate in Idaho. So, she had the patch pretty well pinpointed as to location and we found it. Why did we want to find it? Photo Scavenger Hunt: Exotic flower or plant. The idea was for Linda to lay down (exotically) among the bear grass. It was on a steep slope with a path going up the slope (probably goat or sheep path). The path was covered with little bits of rock and shale. Pretty slippery. After taking the photos, John got down the hill before Linda and took a little video of part of her descent. It's below....

Linda, definitely NOT part mountain goat

Having traversed the park from west to east, it was nearing lunchtime as the buzzards left the park for St. Mary and the Johnson Cafe. They found a place in the shade for Fannie and Wilma, so lunch was inside today. John got a Glacier chicken club sandwich and Linda got a Huge Hugo sandwich (grilled veggies on homemade bread). Both had a bowl of their homemade bean soup. Everything was beautiful and delicious. This is the family's 63rd season. The restaurant has interesting decorations. The checked tablecloths have glass tops underneath which are old family photos and pages out of the guest sign-in sheet from way back when to the present. For more info about this interesting family and their businesses you can go to www.johnsonsofstmary.com.

To get back into the park the old buzzards and Fannie used roads in the Blackfoot Reservation and re-entered the park at Many Glacier. Wildflowers were in profusion in many areas along the way, as were other beautiful touches of nature. It is a place you should really put on your bucket list (except for you, Rusty, unless you already forgot that you came here last year). There were warning signs in the Many Glacier regions that warned against feeding the big horn sheep. John remarked “First I will have to find some sheep”.

Well, we didn't find any big horn sheep to not feed, but ahead of us, there was a bit of a traffic jam. People pointing their cameras and binoculars off into the distance. Being great tourists, we pulled off the road (well, mostly off the road) to see what was going on. There was a huge bull moose standing in a pond about 200 yards off the roadway. Both of us were able to get some shots of the moose.

We gleefully went the rest of the way into the Many Glacier area (it's only 12 miles deep as far as the road goes). We passed the Many Glacier Lodge, a beautiful resort on a small lake, and reached the turnaround which happens to be at the trailhead for Iceberg Lake. Alas, it was too late in the day to make the 4.1 mile hike (one way). So, we turned Wilma around and headed back home.

Now that you are experts at this, you know what it means when we say there was major traffic congestion just ahead of us and people gawking and pointing their cameras. So, we finessed a parking spot (mostly off the road) and walked to see what was going on. There was a grizzly bear in a meadow and it was only about 150 yards off the road. First standing, then lying down. It was a great sight. John cranked on his camera's high speed continuous mode and started firing away. Between the two of us, we got some decent shots. They will be in the photo gallery when we get it done. We are a bit behind right now.

Huckleberry pie and huckleberry licorice were obtained on the trip back to Whitefish. After perusing the local menus in a notebook at the motel, the old buzzards decided on dinner at the Tupelo Grille (www.tupelogrille.com). John had the Zydeco Combination (shrimp, dirty rice, crawfish, crab, catfish, jambalaya and corn cake). Linda had Loosiana (their spelling) Gumbo (chicken, duck, Andouille sausage). The restaurant had an authentic feeling of jen-u-wine Southern cuisine. Everything tasted SO good. Before placing her order, Linda inquired as to whether the gumbo included okra (normally a strict requirement). “No, you are in Montana” the server replied. Linda only thought of her “shoulda said” about five minutes later in which she “woulda said” this: “Well, you manage to get crawfish to Montana, you should be able to get okra for gumbo in Montana”. It turned out to be some of the best gumbo Linda has ever had – in Louisiana or anywhere (with or without okra)! The cook who started the restaurant is from Tupelo, Mississippi, thus the restaurant name.

An evening adventure was a quest to check off another item on the San Jose Mercury News photo scavenger hunt – a neon sign at night. The Great Northern Brewing Company (www.greatnorthernbrewing.com) had a cowboy (on a horse) saying “Yahoo!” so that filled the bill. The tricky part was that the cowboy was about 15 feet up on a brick wall and John had to figure out how to get Linda into the photo. It was still twilight outside but 9:45pm should be counted as nighttime, at least on Planet Buzzard.

Back at the Cheap Sleep, the buzzards shared their piece of huckleberry pie. Which brings us to the SONG O' THE DAY: Moon River on page 163 of The Daily Ukelele by Johnny Mercer and Henry Mancini (1961). Parts are very reminiscent of The Two Old Buzzards: “Two drifters off to see the world, there's such a lot of world to see. We're after the same rainbow's end – waitin' round the bend, my HUCKLEBERRY friend, Moon River and me.”

There are 97 images in today's photo gallery including the bull moose and grizzly bear. Hope you enjoy them by clicking here.

Happy trails!

Glacier National Park Road Trip - Day 11

The Two Old Buzzards got an earlier start today after having their continental breakfast at the Cheap Sleep with some nice people from Arkansas and Ohio. Linda had carrot juice and raw bits twang twang. John had Shredded Wheat and a Svenhardt pastry. Both had the excellent coffee.

Getting to the park before 9:00 was a great idea. It was less crowded by far. But even later at the peak of traffic at Logan's Pass, it was nothing like Yellowstone (skirt season). And the congestion problem is 98% less than at Yosemite. Most of today was spent on the Going to the Sun Road which takes you completely through the park (road runs east-west) and past the park's largest lake which is McDonald Lake. There were many streams, waterfalls, glaciers and wildflowers. The old buzzards also saw a few wild animals. There was a coyote that seemed to enjoy loping along first on one side of the road and then crossing over to the other. His contract must specify giving equal opportunity to photographers on both sides of the street. Also viewed today were mountain goats (see photo contest below), a robin, an otter and a duckling. The duckling was gradually making his way down the edge of a river where the rapids were very swift. Tourists were cheering for the little guy from the viewing platform about 50 feet above the water. The McDonald Lodge has a beautiful view of the lake. Linda was taking a photo of the lake when she noticed something swimming towards her. As it came closer she could tell that it was a river otter.

Photo contest (between Linda and John)....which of the two photos of mountain goats do you like the best..... top or bottom???

OK, now on with the days activities. Roaming around the lodge area, John and Linda came to a building labeled Reading Room. It was a beautiful place with leather chairs and sofas and books and cookies. Alas, no on was in reading in the Reading Room. Then, just outside we spied a young couple walking toward the lodge. They had to walk right past us. Linda did a marvelous job of getting them to volunteer to be our reader(s) for our Photo Scavengter Hunt item. They were a friendly young couple from Indiana. That provided another one of the items on the Mercury News  Scavenger Hunt. Fannie Mae stayed in Wilma while the buzzards were exploring the hotel. When they returned it appeared as if she had found a napkin to shred (a favorite activity on Planet Fannie). Then Linda noticed a blue stain and remembered that there had been a blueberry muffin wrapped in a napkin and tucked into one of the cup holders. So Fannie had just as good a time in the parking lot as the buzzards had at McDonald Lodge. Her new nickname is Muffin. While inside the lodge in the rest area, Linda was accosted by a lady who really wanted her hat (it shades your whole head and your neck too). “Oh, I got it at Costco” Linda cheerily told her. “Well, there's no Costco here and I need it now” she whined. She just had a dinky visor held on by an elastic band and must have been on one of the tour buses that are open on the top in nice weather like today. So Linda generously gave away her nice pink hooded hat and has a new best friend. Oops, I guess that story won't be too believable when that pink hat keeps showing up in future photos. Oh, well, Linda could have had another star in her crown and blew it.  Way to pay it forward, Buzzard #1!

Right about noon (still on Going-to-the-Sun Road) the old buzzards came to the St. Mary entrance on the east side of the park. They left through that entrance and went to the little town of St. Mary for lunch at Johnson Cafe which was highly recommended by our Ohio breakfast companion. It was 78 degrees and there was no shade in which to park the buzzards' Fannie, so John went in to get huckleberry pie to go. When he came out he said “It was so big, I just got one piece and it is huckleberry ice cream pie so we need to eat it now.” No problem. With the windows rolled down we had a nice breeze and did exactly what Marie Callender always advised: “Eat dessert first”. It was yummy and refreshing and ended up being our entire lunchtime meal, graham cracker crust and all!

After re-entering the park, the trip back had fewer stops than this morning and the old buzzards and their Fannie were back at the Cheap Sleep by 3:30 to look at their treasure trove of today's photos. Speaking of Cheap, it's a good thing that film is so cheap nowadays!

Dinner was at Buffalo Grill again. No Hot Date (sandwich) for John this time. He had the "Snow Ghost" a broiled chicken sandwich on a Kaiser roll with blue cheese and crunchy onion strings. And it came with beer-battered French fries. Linda had "Sweet Chili Salmon Tacos" with that special secret purple sauce and rice and black beans.

After dinner it was time to stop at Safeway for gas and milk and ice before going home for the evening.

The SONG O' THE DAY is I'll Follow the Sun by John Lennon and Paul McCartney (1964) . It's on page 122 in The Daily Ukelele Songbook.

It seemed the obvious choice since we were on the Going-to-the-Sun Road for almost all our time in the park today. There was so much spectacular scenery that Linda did not make it past songs that begin with the letter “M” yet.  It was pretty much a two or three song day. But that's not a bad thing. She seems to be in no danger of losing the callouses that have been building up on the finger tips of her left hand ever since Fearless Leader Jo started our AAUkeW interest group in January.

It has certainly been a wonderful Road Trip so far and we welcome any comments you would care to make: the good, the bad and the wiggly.

The photo gallery for today has 117 images and can be viewed by clicking here.

Happy trails!

Glacier National Park Road Trip - Day 10

The Two Old Buzzards and Fannie Mae went on an exploratory trip to Glacier National Park today to sort of get the lay of the land. They took their time getting up and about, so did not arrive at the West Entrance until around 9:30am. They went into the Apgar Visitor Center to stamp their passport, get a pin and talk to one of the rangers. They decided to explore a mostly unpaved road (Camus). Yes, even in a National Park the Two Old Buzzards managed to soon make their way to the unpaved roads . There were beautiful views of trees, mountains, puffy clouds, snow, wildflowers, old buildings and rivers. They saw  three deer, a squirrel, a dead skunk in the middle of the road (sounds like a good song title) and had some up close and personal contact with a few mosquitoes.

The Two Old Buzzards found both fauna and flora on today's

drive in and around Glacier National Park

By noon, the buzzard pair and Fannie had reached Polebridge which is a tiny Montana community outside the park. They stopped (as instructed by “Off the Beaten Path Montana” book) at Polebridge Mercantile and had a picnic lunch under some nice shady trees. Out back of the store was an air-conditioned outhouse (it had windows open to the sky) that you will see photos of in the gallery. There is a bakery in the mercantile. They are famous for their cinnamon buns but there were lots of other chocolaty and yeasty treats as well. It is next door to the Northern Lights Saloon and Cafe. It was not open for the day yet but Linda took photos of some old signs there.

The return from the park was on the same road (only one way in and one way out). They stopped to photo some giant reddish/orangish poppies that were the largest Linda had ever seen. The insides were a very interesting shape and were purple. Linda is going to cut the poppy pod to see if she can extract some kind of opiate.

They stopped at Huckville to try a slice of huckleberry pie but staffing was short-handed (literally) and the chief cook and bottle washer was having trouble grilling a hamburger. The grill was outside of what must have once been a drive through window and she had to stick her top half outside to tend to the grill, which must not have been cooperating. It was a pretty unusual arrangement (and sort of funny if you weren't her). Meanwhile there were other people in line in front of us so it seemed prudent to hold off on the huckleberries until tomorrow. Linda has her eye on some special socks John spotted for her while in line.

Back home in Whitefish John and Linda explored three stores in the vicinity of the Cheap Sleep Motel. There is an Army Navy store that has everything from dried food to bandannas and other doomsday prep items. Linda got a bandanna. John found a cable we needed at Radio Shack and we scoped out the Chinese Wall Restaurant.

The SONG O' THE DAY is “Let the Rest of the World Go By” by J. Keirn Bremman and Ernest Ball from The Daily Ukelele Songbook. It goes with the restful day. Some of the phrases in it are “where the west winds call”, “across the great divide”, “perfect peace” and “a kindly sky”. The great divide is also known as the continental divide and it DOES just HAPPEN to run through Glacier Park. Gene Autry was one of the first to record “Let the Rest of the World Go By”. Some others who did so later were Ringo Starr, Connie Francis, Pat Boone and that good old sausage makin' Plainview, TX boy Jimmy Dean. Linda is now up to Moon River (yikes, 12 different chords) on page 163. After several more songs beginning with the letter “M”, she will be approximately halfway through the book's 365 songs.

The old buzzards walked to the China Wall Restaurant for dinner. It was too close to bother with flying. John had the house special which was a combo of lo mein and crunchy noodles stir fried with vegies, beef, chicken, pork and shrimp with China Wall special sauce. Linda had oyster sauce chicken with baby corn, carrots, green peppers, snow peas, straw mushrooms and water chestnuts. While waiting for their meals they studied the Chinese Zodiac on the  place mats. John was born in 1944, the year of the monkey. Therefore he is very intelligent and is able to influence people (OK, some people). Linda (1943)  was born in the year of the sheep and thus is elegant and creative. Both the Monkey Buzzard and the Sheep Buzzard enjoyed their choices. The Monkey Buzzard's fortune said that his nurturing instinct will expand to include many people (can you say founder of Friends of the Morgan Hill Senior Center?). The Sheep Buzzard's fortune said that she should use her charm and personality to obtain her wishes (good luck with that). And there were two Chinese kisses (well, really Hershey kisses) on the plate with the fortune cookies. John said he was glad we hadn't eaten in a French restaurant.

There are 57 images in today's photo gallery which can be viewed by clicking here.

And so another lovely day comes to an end as the two old buzzards and their Fannie let the rest of the world go by.

Happy trails!