Glacier National Park Road Trip - Day 18

Barefoot Brew was the expresso stop for the Two Old Buzzards on their way out of Trout Creek, Montana. Flowers and three gigantic ladybugs decorated the coffee “grounds”, In fact, the ladybugs had obviously been bowling balls in their past lives.

It was 8:04 as Wilma and her passengers rode outta town on Hwy 200 and by 7:47 they had reached the Idaho border. Yes, that is correct...they had gained an hour. The Kaniksu National Forest was beautiful. We were driving along Hwy 200 with the Clear Fork River on our left. John spotted an old bridge ahead going across the river. We passed it, then he saw a road exiting to the left that look like it would go to Clear Fork. We took it. It wasn't long until we discovered that there is a new bridge for cars and the old structure that John saw was not a foot bridge. And, at the near end of the foot bridge (which is wide enough for a car, but blocked off) we a pole with a nest on top. Can you say osprey? First we heard it scolding us for being there. Then, as we walked beyond the pole onto the bridge, the osprey took flight. Neither of us were prepared for that and didn't get a shot off. Sooo, we went out onto the bridge and took some other photos. The river was sooooo calm. The clouds were so puffy, small, and beautiful. The hills and the trees were reflected in the river just like in a mirror. Barely a ripple. THEN, along comes this fellow drift fishing in his aluminum boat, his faithful dog beside him. Very quietly drifting down the river. Soon, John noticed a shot. Here was this boat, fisherman and dog not only on the river, but reflected in the river just like the clouds, trees and hills. Game on! He calls his image "Fishing in the Clouds".

You can't see the water (maybe you'll notice a few ripples).

All you can see are reflections in the water

along with the fisherman, boat and dog.

Done with that, we headed back to Wilma. No sooner had we returned to the van, than our osprey returned to the nest. John, ready this time, walked back onto the bridge. Nothing but scolding. Then, he slowly walked back toward the pole stomping his feet. Success! The osprey took flight and he managed to capture several shots. But, our day with ospreys is not yet over. Read on!

Back on the road toward Wilbur, the buzzards noticed signs that they were near a turnoff for the Beyond Hope Resort. It seemed like a name to go along with the Potter's Field Lodge and the Grave Creek Cabins that we've mentioned before. And it was well worth going two and a half miles out of the way to see a place called Beyond Hope. On the way, there was a cute deer who paused to scope us out. Beyond Hope is situated on a beautiful lake and appeared to be a very nice place to spend time. Upon leaving, Linda noticed a street up the way called Above and Beyond Hope.

The mystery was soon solved after we continued on the route. We came to a town called, as you might have guessed by now, Hope (located right after New Hope). Makes sense...there's Hope. Then, there's New Hope. Finally, there's Beyond Hope. Hope was founded in 1889 and it is in an eagle nesting area. There was a giant nest right in the middle of old Downtown Hope. However, it was not and eagle, but an osprey. John got some great shots of it.  Linda also saw a "Worms for Sale" sign but they were not open. Perhaps you have seen the video the old buzzards made about the Squiggly Wiggle Worm Ranch. It is available on YouTube to view for free by clicking here,  but the worms will cost you.

An osprey returning to its nest with some "building materials" for

home improvement

John had a lot of spottings (thus photo opportunities) of old buildings and new-mown wheat fields along the way. He also had great fun exploring the location of a future railroad museum that is a work-in- progress.

It is day 17 of this Road Trip and today was the first time the old buzzards have stopped at McDonalds.The location was Sandpoint, Idaho and it was the perfect time for a rest stop and some senior coffees. They have not purposely avoided McD's. It just turned out that way. Lots of places on this Road Trip have been too small to even have a McDonalds.

At 11:07 Washington again welcomed the buzzards. John stopped at a Yoke grocery to get bread for his  sandwich because his stomach did not understand the time change and thought it was time for lunch.

Like that restaurant name in Montana, our lunch was “on the fly” as we headed for Wilbur, Washington. John had a Drpur, a ham sandwich and Linda had coffee and the leftovers from her fruit salad. Both had cheese sticks.
It was surprising to see so much flat farmland in this area. The fields looked lush and well cared for. There seemed to be more wheat and hay than anything else.

By 2:15 the old buzzards rolled into Wilbur, Washington and found their motel – The Willows. The room was not ready so there was time to go to see the reason Wilbur was chosen as today's destination. Quiz time: Do you know what is larger than the Great Pyramid of Egypt, able to hold back the force of a mighty river and more powerful than a million locomotives?  And is NOT a fictional superhero? It's the Grand Coulee Dam, our country's largest concrete dam and hydroelectric project. Constructed 70 years ago, it blocks the Columbia River, forming Lake Roosevelt, which extends 151 miles upstream to the Canadian border. It is as high as the Washington Monument. There is enough concrete in the structure to build a six-foot wide sidewalk around the world at the equator. Wouldn't that be handy? The old buzzards and Fannie enjoyed seeing the dam and were back in Wilbur by 4:30 to check into their lovely room at the charming Willows Motel.

A picturesque little spot in Wilbur, WA

 

Dinner at the Alibi

 

A really nice chef salad

 

The motel host recommended that we have dinner at The Alibi. It is a cute place in Downtown Wilbur. It is both a family restaurant AND a saloon. At 9:00pm, they throw out all the minors and the serious drinking begins. Linda commented to the server about how busy she was taking care of everybody by herself. She said, “Oh. I don't really work here, I'm just filling in. I drive a school bus and school's out.”  John and Linda both got the chef salad. John got mud pie for dessert and when the server set it down, she had brought two forks and John generously shared his delicious treat with Linda. Yummm! (John's comment - after 48 years, you learn!)

There are 106 images in today's photo gallery which you can view by clicking here.

The SONG O' THE DAY is “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah” by Ray Gilbert and Allie Wrubel (1945).Whee, it was a wonderful Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah day. The buzzards traveled from Montana, across the panhandle of Idaho and into Washington State. They really got to see a lot of territory. Very often today, it was the things they pulled off the road for, that ended up being the most interesting.

And, Linda came to the 365th song in Jumpin Jim's Daily Ukelele Songbook. As the neon sign in Whitefish, Montana said: “Yahoo!” Never fear, Linda brought another book, just in case she met her goal of going through the 365 songs before the end of the trip. Stay tuned . . .

Happy trails!

Glacier National Park Road Trip - Day 17

Ever wonder why something costs so much more than seemingly similar items? After enjoying her raw bits twang twang, Linda tromped out to gather huckleberries with her camera, John and Fannie in tow.  John went along to shoot some macro shots of the huckleberries and some other flowers around the grounds. There were many more huck bushes than she estimated on yesterday's post. But, after picking for a while from the first two bushes, she brought Fannie (and John) back to help John process photos in the room. When the berries Linda had picked so far were put into a basket in the room, they barely covered the bottom – and it was a small basket! This time she took only her gathering bag since picking hucks requires using two hands at once (Fannie had not helped much since she was continually pulling on the leash to go towards more interesting-smelling paths). Ahh, progress! After about an hour's worth of gleaning, Linda had about three cups of huckleberries which were more than enough to fill the basket. And, she how understands why they are quite expensive at fruit stands (about $5 for a taster cup). But, oh, are they good! By then it was lunchtime so she was able to have huckleberries along with sliced apples, peanut butter and carrots. Yummers!

A clump of a few huckleberries before Linda got to them.

The Noxon Reservoir is really close to our motel and seems to be well-used by boaters, fisherpersons and swimmers. There is an access point with picnic/bbq areas, launch ramp and docks just outside the north end of Trout Creek. John  thinks that it would have been better if they had also named it after Mr. and/or Mrs. Wood so that it could have been the Noxon-Wood Reservoir. And Linda has the perfect tagline: “The Lake Where You Always Have Good Luck”.

We're sure you've heard of knotty pine, but have you ever heard of the KNOTTY Pine Saloon? There is probably one somewhere, but we went to the NAUGHTY Pine Saloon, which is one of about ten businesses in Trout Creek, Montana   (www.naughtypine.biz ). Oh, and as of the 2000 census, Trout Creek has a population of 261 people. John got a Bud Light and Linda ordered ginger ale but quickly changed her mind when she saw a sign for huckleberry slush. The buzzards had fun talking to some locals who advised them to go to Vermillion Falls and take a short walk to get to the Falls. They cheerfully provided directions. The lady to John's left said the trail was easy and that her mother has MS and had no trouble hiking to the falls. So the buzzards took their advice and set off on yet another adventure. Thus, did John end up picking the SONG O' THE DAY: “Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen” (an African-American Spiritual) from the Daily Ukelele Songbook. Only, as he sung it, he changed the word “Trouble” to “Bumpy Roads”. The  route he eventually took was as bumpy or bumpier than the Forest Road on the way to Heaven's Gate. Remember its name? The Seven Devils' Road! And, to add insult to the bumpiness, the old buzzards never did find Vermillion Falls OR the easy hike to get there. Those locals back at the Naughty Pine must still be laughing at the bumpy goose chase they sent the old buzzards on. But the bartender, Lorne, was very nice. He didn't even charge for Linda's huckleberry slush and he gave her a tank top from last year's annual Big Sky Blues Music Festival that the Naughty Pine Saloon puts on each year www.bigskyblues.com . PS: the old buzzards don't really think they were led astray on purpose. Both buzzards and their Fannie just seem to have a penchant for washboard roads. So far Wilma has held up fine, Noxon-Wood . . .

The Old Buzzards got their dinner from We Are the Branches right across Hwy 200 from the Trout Creek Motel and RV Park. There was outdoor or indoor service and they decided to roost indoors for their meal. Linda had a giant fresh fruit salad. It didn't come with dressing and it didn't need any dressing. There were cherries, watermelon, plums, nectarines, grapes and cantaloupe. John had a huckleberry milkshake and a "Carl's" Burger. The owners raise their own beef and it is Grade AAA+ certified at a USDA controlled packing plant. The very delicious Carl's burger comes with grilled jalapenos, Swiss cheese, grilled mushrooms, all the regular veggies, potato chips and is served on a homemade bun. The buzzards had the whole dining room to themselves which was nice since the chief cook and bottle washer was also the server and the salesperson for the antique store next door. She apologized for the service being slow but it was an interesting place with lots to see while waiting. And, the food was great and very inexpensive.

Linda went out and picked more huckleberries after dinner since she hardly made a dent on them this morning and there were several hours of daylight still left.

The photo gallery for today contains 34 images, none of which are of Linda picking huckleberries late into the evening. You can view the photo gallery by clicking here.

We are off to Wilbur, WA tomorrow for a night's stay at the Willow's Motel. Soon we'll be visiting Mt. Rainier National Park.

Happy trails.

Glacier National Park Road Trip - Day 16

The Two Old Buzzards and Fannie Mae bid a fond adieu to Stumptown today and headed for Yaak. “Where's Stumptown and what's Yaak?” Stumptown is the nickname for Whitefish, Montana because that's the name the area was first called in the late 1800s. In 1901, when the Great Northern Railroad  started to build in the area, a lot of tree stumps had to be cleared away because of all the lumbering that had been going on  for several years. The railway was completed by 1904 and the area was then named Whitefish.

Back to Yaak. It is a tiny town (population 248) in northwestern Montana that we read about in “Off the Beaten Path Montana”. It is about 12 miles south of the Canada/USA border. The author described Yaak as being a great place for Road Warriors who enjoy visiting places seen by relatively few travelers. So it sounded like the perfect cup o' Road Kill for the old buzzards. Just think about it, not many places remaining in the contiguous forty-eight states can claim to be more off the beaten path than this isolated corner of the Big Sky State. The buzzards are proud to report that they found it and only got lost once. Heck, they got lost more than that finding their way in and out of Whitefish. You just can't always believe where those GPS devices tell you to turn. Today's adventures were mostly on Forest Service roads which were very good and the traffic was mostly nonexistant. On the way to the Forest Service roads, John made a u-turn for photos in Eureka. There were also some unusual business names. Would you go to Grizzly Eye Care? How about Potter's Field Lodge? Just down the road were the Grave Creek Cabins. Might your appetite take a dive if you arrived at the On the Fly restaurant? Got tension? Have a Moosage (see photo gallery for cute moose sign). A first for Linda was a huckleberry latte' which was so large it lasted for at least 50 miles. There were oodles of wildflowers as we got higher in elevation. It was easy to stop along the road to take photos.

The Dirty Shame Saloon in Yaak was closed when we arrived but lunch was available across the street at the Yaak Saloon. John had a garlic herb chicken breast sandwich. Linda had a bean burger. It was described on the menu as being the perfect meal for bark eaters. They had a nice patio out back  with wooden booths. John got a Yaak t-shirt and bumper sticker next door at the Yaak Mercantile to prove to the world that he had found his way there. Linda got a postcard with a recipe for huckleberry pie and another one with Yaak photos.

South of Yaak there were signs for a scenic area leading to Kootenai Falls and a suspension bridge at a historical area. The old buzzards and Fannie were enjoying their hike and had just passed over the railroad tracks on a metal bridge leading to steps that were a part of the hike. They were metal steps that had large openings in the design – large enough for Fannie's paws to go right through so she wisely realized that she wanted nothing to do with proceeding. Since there were no volunteers to carry her to and from the suspension bridge and the falls, everyone made a u-turn and headed back.

The next scenic stop was more rewarding. A server at the Yaak Saloon had told John about Ross Creek Cedars which was easy to find. There was a 1/2 mile nature trail with lush ferns, lots of cedar trees from small to huge, various other pine and fir trees, streams, mosses, lichen and information placards to explain the inner workings of Mother Nature's handiwork. Below is a picture of Linda caught in between two huge cedar trees.

How about a little squeeze?

Our destination for today was Trout Creek, the huckleberry capitol of the Montana. They have had a huckleberry festival in August for the last 30 years or so. The old buzzards and Fannie Mae are staying at Trout Creek Motel and RV Park. Just a few minutes ago Fannie Mae and Linda went out for a stroll and, lo and behold, they came across at least 10 huckleberry bushes. Linda is going out tomorrow with her camera and a container for huckleberries.

Another nice motel. Clean and reasonable.

Linda got in lots of ukelele sight reading today and is now on songs that begin with the letter “T” in Jumpin Jim's Daily Ukelele. While she was on “Sing” by Joe Raposo (1971) John suggested that it would make a good SONG O' THE DAY”. You might remember Joe Raposo of Sesame Street fame. Here's a little of how it goes: “Sing! Sing a song. Sing out loud, sing out strong. Sing of good things, not bad; sing of happy, not sad. Sing! Sing a song. Make it simple to last your whole life long. Don't worry that it's not good enough for anyone else to hear. Sing! Sing a song!” You might say that this is Joe's version of “Dance Like Nobody's Watching” for singers and wanna-be singers.

It was a surprisingly busy photo day with a final count of 84 images. You can view the photo gallery by clicking here.

Happy trails!

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!