Always a better Alaskan

when you return from a trip to the 48. Whitefish Montana is a really gorgeous place...the problem with gorgeous combined with world class skiing, fishing and boating is that ...well...it's a bit like Aspen Colorado, awful groovy. It's a place that is just a little different than the rest of my old home state and I guess that's alright but after you've been in the Alaska outdoors most everywhere else just kinda pales in comparison . The secret in these things in life I think is to appreciate each for what it is and not what it isn't...make sense ? So just to stay on topic here's a couple pics, the typical summer home and the good work they're doing for habitat at the same time, I kinda like the tee pee for guests I suppose.

For our very first morning walk we strolled right into a genuine Bon Spiel. Now I'd never been to one and I only know what it is because we wanted to get a motel in Ft. Nelson B.C. during one time in 1977 and all the rooms were taken. So it was kinda cool for me to see what the sport of Curling is all about some 38 years later. There was a certain excitement in town that morning so I got these pics of the action and some of the training regime.

I couldn't believe our luck, that very night we attended a real Bavarian style Octoberfest with all the fixin's. The polka music really is fun and although not my favorite ethnic choice the food was pretty darn good. Here's apic of MP purchasing a strudel for desert and we of course we had some ' pilsner' style lager.

For me the best part of the night was the Stein Holding Contest which like all the events here entailed beer and beer drinking. The gal in front of this pic was the hands down winner. She held that full Stein out like that for more than 3 minutes and then still had strength to get it to her lips. She told the crowd she was a new Montanan and it was pretty darn obvious she is going to fit in just fine.

With all the ' oompa oompa music going on there was plenty of dancing and this gal who danced alone did a kind of can-can thing that the crowd really went bonkers for. I think she had me by a year or two but I have to tell you that she never cracked a sweat, I'd be melting after trying that deal.

We decided to summit the peak at Big Mountain Ski area...with the help of the Gondola of course. Everywhere we went we did 3 to 4 mile hikes and the air at 6000 feet elevation added a new challenge to our recreation. It is absolutely gorgeous there so we got out to see as much as we could.

We found a ' summer luge' and as MP talked on the phone I noticed a lot of adults were riding it so I decided we're all in on that deal. Wow, this ain't no carnival ride. It hit speeds of 30 mph if you didn't brake and at a couple spots you actually caught some air. I went first and snapped this pic of MP as she hit the finish chute.

Naturally I was driven to the water. I wanted to use this trip to investigate the fishing possibilities and just what that was all about. I just scratched the surface but I learned enough to know that someday I need to do some destination Montana fishing. Here's a pic of us having lunch at Hungry Horse Reservoir . Good Montana table fair, a 16 ounce Rainier ( seems like the state runs on 16 ouncers ) and a bag of Lays Kettle Chips...Pepper with Sea Salt of course. And there I am in front of the Blackfoot river outside of Ovando Montana...now that's a long way from the Kenai River at Mile 14 but I could see myself drifting through paddling a raft and casting a wooly bugger at the shoreline....just the same but different.

One of the things that my running buddy likes best about Montana is that it's a fruit growing climate. The valley is renowned for it Cherry harvest and Apple trees are everywhere. Here's a pic of MP taking advantage of a little ' road kill '....those McIntosh Apples were so good we walked by this guys house everyday....pretty cute eh ?

You can't go to that Part of Montana without going to Glacier National Park. I remember when my friend Tony drove the ' devils backbone ' outside of Durango Mexico he told me his Suburban could have used a hinge in the middle....now I know what he's talking about.

At the top of Logan Pass we decided to do a 3 miler to the ' Hidden Lake ' view spot. Of course it's all up hill one way and all a knee load test the other way. But we made it. The mountain where I got all these shots is just over my shoulder....kinda looks like that monolith in ' Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind '...doo-tee-doo-too, doo-tee-doo-too... And at the top they had some wild animals scheduled for us, I don't know how they do that but maybe it's because they don't kill everything there...like some places.

As we drove the high plains around the Park and back around to Essex Montana we ran into the coolest guy and I just might steal his business model someday. Sitting on this gorgeous overview was the 'Traveling Piano Man' . I heard him before I saw him, he had a tip jar of course but I have the feeling it was the love of music combined with this place that really drove him. A Montana original this guy and all I can say is....wish we had more like ya in this ol world buddy.

The big reason for the trip was MP's mom's 90th birthday party. She has this huge wonderful family and and they all came out....lots of love. It seems Mary is kind of gentling with age as I think she is starting to like me.  Our oldest son Max came out from Minnesota and he and I stayed at the Iconic ' Lamplighter which has been run in Helena since the 1930's. With the exception of Closing time on Saturday night when things got a little loud it was a wonderful stay. Here's the whole fam damily.

Me and my best friends as we are breaking camp.

Tom and Angel....my steady friends.

Well I know this is turning into a novel but I thought you'd like the pics. I got a few more things to expound on but I suppose now is a good time to quit...and notice I didn't say a single bad thing about the Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game....But do yourself a favor and enlarge this next pic of the old Menu form the Oxford in Missoula. This place has been around since the 1800's and is the place where we'd all refuel at 3 a.m. when I was a skiing / college bum....before I became a guitar playing fish bum of course. I'll never forget forcing down a platter of Brains and Eggs at 2 a.m. and then feeling like I accomplished something....ah, it's a good life grasshopper.