Friday and Saturday activiies.

Location, West Glacier, MT

Yesterday we all drove to Whitefish, Mt which is west of here, to the Big Mountain Ski area. The group wanted to go Zip lining but found that they were booked solid for the day. Arrangements were made for returning tomorrow about noon for those who wanted to run the Zip lines.

We broke off from the younger members and drove into Kalispell for lunch. After lunch Clyda and I drove south through Kalispell and east to Big Fork which is an artsy-fartsy town. We walked the streets looking in art galleries.

We drove back by a different route and through downtown Columbia Falls.

Today while 8 of the group drove back to the Zip line, the 4 of us remaining drove east about 30 miles on Hwy 2 to the railroad stop of Essex which is home to the Isaac Walton Inn. It is the only “Flag stop” on the Empire Builder route of Amtrak. That means, Amtrak stops if a passenger wants off or on the train and has a ticket.

We had lunch in the small restaurant, which was very good, while watching the trains go by. Later, we explored the hotel especially the downstairs bar which is filled with train memorabilia.

On our way back we saw a black bear run out of the woods and get a drink in the river. There was no way to stop for a photo as the shoulder was very narrow so we only have a memory of it.

Before returning to camp we drove to Hunger Horse Dam and visitor center. The canyon, dam, and local town are named after two horses that wandered away from their owner and survived for a month on their own.