Sept. 17 - From Kalispell, MT to Dillon, MT (302 Miles)

Blue Line is our route

Today at 8:30am was the day we started moving south.  It really doesn’t take long to secure everything inside the 5th wheel. I had the 'pink' jobs inside finished so Jim said to put the slides in, which I did. I went outside and I’ll be darn if I didn’t leave the broom hooked onto the side of the unit and the slide had it half behind it. So the slides came out again so I could get the broom. Just when you think you have it all done there is always something you forget.  You would think by now we would have it down to a science.

Today we took highway 93 south which winds it’s way around Flathead lake on the west side. The lake is sort of in a valley with mountain ranges up and next to the lake. Because of the weather there was a lot of heavy cloud cover and the lake was uncased in a thick haze.

Very dark and dreary drive

Click on Pic to see who owns this RV Park

The mountains looked like ghosts were hovering over them with flowing arms sweeping down to block out much of the top of the range.  Every now and then the top of a mountain would show thru.  On the other side is where you will find the small towns scattered here and there. These towns can hardly be called towns as they are so small and quaint. You might see a couple of stores and that’s about it. 

But once out of the towns the landscaping is gorgeous because it’s all rolling hills. This land is farmed so much of what you see is the cut fields that are either a golden brown or a lighter green color.

Sheep

Round Bales of Hay Stacked

 Looking up the mountain range you might see a small heard of cattle or sheep grazing in the fields. Also interspersed in among all this are small very dark green trees or in some cases bushes. I can only imagine how beautiful all this would be if the sun was out and the sky would put on it’s show but unfortunately it is raining. Flathead lake is quite a large lake and looking down I was able to see many boats and resorts on the lake. Beautiful spot. The lake really ends at a town called Polson which is perhaps the largest town along the west/south side of the Lake. All the towns seem to be what I would call a 'strip town' with everything on one road and in this case it is highway 93. One thing I have noticed everywhere we have gone in Montana is the lack of zoning restrictions concerning housing. Right next to a new beautiful home you might find a trailer or a double wide. Just seems so out of place to me. Employment is much better in the west than in the east that is for sure. I’ve seem many help wanted signs but am not sure what the pay scale would be.

Around the city of Missoula the rain finally stopped.  One side the mountain range was encased in tall pine trees while on the other side of the road the mountain range had only a tree here and there among almost white grasses.  This was not farm land as there would be no way to mow the fields but they certainly added to the beauty.

Barn Shot of the Day

Much of today was overcast and of course raining.  As we neared Dillon, MT the cloud cover was so heavy I was surprised it did not envelop us in it.  Just as we were pulling into our site for the night the sky finally cleared up and a little blue sky appeared.....and it's not raining. 

We are sitting here with the fireplace going relaxing doing not much of anything.  We are 5096 feet above sea level so I am thinking it might get a bit chilly tonight.  It was 41 degrees this morning when we left Kalispell, Mt.