August 16 - 31, 2025 Summer Is Starting to Wind Down

16-Sat-It was a routine day for the most part. After we completed our morning routine, including a walk and chores we just sat outside and enjoyed the morning. I made us a great grilled turkey and cheese sandwich on sourdough bread for lunch. About 3:30 - we drove to Kalispell Walmart so I could pick up my contacts. We got back to the RV about 5:00. For supper we had chili and crackers with berries for dessert.

The story to go with the following three pictures is as follows:

There is an island, easily seen from our RV spot and the dock. Lots of people paddle over there and hang out or picnic. We saw these people paddle over the night before and I guess they stayed there overnight. The next morning a boat came and picked them up.

This island is someone's private property, who does not care if people hang out there. The island is for sale and the list price is about $999,999.00. I am not buying it. Where would you park your car?

See that white round light on the top of the mountain? It is the Blacktail Mountain Weather Station.
Blacktail  Mountain has a ski resort. I am surprised you can see it from our location because it is probably 30-50 miles west, southwest of us as the crow flies. Sara told me about the weather station. 

Sunset at 9:00 PM

Campfire tonight!

17-Sun-Today we walked the loop instead of down the regular road. Then we did our chores. For lunch I made chili  nachos. They were yummy. Kelly was here from 2:30 to 4:15 - so we sat outside and visited with her. We tried to introduce Buster to her by leaving him in the crate and letting her feed him treats. Buster was still not real friendly with her. 

18-Mon-We completed our routine and took a short walk. We gathered up the laundry and trash. Then it was off to the container site to get rid of the trash and then the laundromat to complete that task. I mailed T-shirts to our great granddaughter (Mariana) and to my great, great nephew (Knox). I also mailed a present to my sister, Marsha. Then we went to the grocery store and got gas. We had a late lunch and relaxed. Later we put away all our clean clothes. Supper was Canadian bacon and eggs.

19-Tue-After our walk, I cleaned the outdoor toilet and picked up trash so Steve could start weed eating and mowing. Then we sat outside until lunch time. Kelly was here about an hour. Later the game warden came out about 7:45. I made Hamburger Helper for supper and we had berries for our dessert.

20-Wed-We had breakfast and did the routine chores this morning,. After that we picked up trash on the North beach. That side belongs to DNRC (Department of Natural Resources and Conservation) -so we have not been tending to it much. We went to Burgertown in Bigfork for a late lunch. They have great hamburgers and hand cut french fries. We also stopped at the drugstore and Harvest Foods. The afternoon was spent relaxing. 

See what happened to the dock? Someone must have hit it with their boat and knocked this board loose. Steve tied it up with a leash for the time being. 

This is a house they are building at the north end of the lake. It will be a big one.

flowers

21-Thu-Another day on repeat. Supper was chicken, rice, mixed vegetables and berries.

22-Fri-This morning we were up at 7:30 and got our walk and chores completed pretty early. We left for Walmart at 9:15 and were home by 11:45. We put away the supplies and then had lunch. Next I paid some bills and did some other computer work. We monitored the dock from 5- 6 PM. For supper I fixed sloppy joes and corn on the cob.

This buck visited us overnight! He was here about 1:15 AM, I was not awake to see him.

23-Sat-It was another routine morning. We sat outside from 12:30 - 2:00 to keep an eye on people. We had lunch and I checked the dock again. Tony Powell was here from 2:30-3:15. Then we were back inside to take it easy. 

24-Sun-It was another routine morning. We sat outside until 11:15. Then we had lunch Kelly was here and we were back outside from 2:30 to 4:15 PM. It was hot today. It was 87° at 7:00 PM, which is a little hot for this area. But it is August - so what can I expect? For supper we ate turkey kielbasa, and home fries. 

25-Mon-We had a slow start today - but we did all the necessary things. I reminisced about my sister Pam. Today would have been her birthday. She was 11 years older than me but her birthday was on the 25th and mine is on the 26th of August. We went to Bigfork to haul our trash off. Then we went to the post office, bank, pharmacy and grocery store. Kelly was here from 12:15-2:15 or so. So we ate lunch late. It was pretty hot again - 89° at 5:15. Since it was hot we just ate peanut butter on bread and berries. 

You can see how Steve used a leash  to attach the board to the dock, so it would not get ripped completely off. 

26-Tue-We were up at 7:45 today. I opened my birthday cards from Steve. Then we had breakfast and got ready. We took a short walk. Next we loaded our stuff in the pickup and headed to Polebridge, MT to the Polebridge Mercantile. This is my birthday tradition when we are in Montana. We left about 9:30 and got there about 11:30. It is an excursion on dirt and gravel roads. It is 20 miles south of Canada. They have wonderful treats! So we got the Huckleberry Bearclaws and some cookies for us and to share. We got back home about 2:00. We ate cheese and crackers and 1/2 of a bear claw for supper. It was 88° at 6 PM. 

Scenery from our drive to Polebridge.

North Fork of the Flathead River

Signs in the bathroom at Polebridge

Views looking north from Polebridge Mercantile toward Glacier National Parkd

Huckleberry Bear Claw

Me

Steve and I

27-Wed-We putzed around a little bit this morning. After we were dressed Sydney and Sean from FWP Maintenance were here to look at the dock around 9 AM. After they left we did the  chores and walked the loop road. Then we were back inside working on the trail camera card, downloading pictures and deleting them as needed. At 11 AM Sydney arrived and Kelly was here. Sydney put some screws in the dock to hold the board in place. Steve and Kelly helped. I gave Sydney and Kelly cookies. Kelly was here til almost 2:00 PM. We finished clearing the trail camera card of pictures. It was 87° at 4:15. So another pretty warm day. For supper I fixed cube steak, home fries. Later we ate berries. 

Bird

Mariana with her new T-shirt

28-Thu-We were up at 7:45. So we completed our chores and a short walk. The we headed to Kalispell. It was overcast this morning. I wanted to go to REI and buy new shoes and different socks. We also purchased supplies at Walmart. We got back home at about 12:30 and unloaded our stuff. We had lunch and relaxed. Supper was grilled chicken, corn on the cob, salad and berries. 

29-Fri-We were up about 7:30. We walked and came back to do our chores. As we were walking to the parking lot we saw a wire trap that had turtles and a fish or two in it. It was laying by the sign post. I called Tony so he could let the game warden know. Then we went to Bigfork to do our Laundry. I mailed out 4 birthday cards. We also made a stop at the UPS store for a part for the TV that we ordered from Amazon. Sometimes they charge us $5 to pick up a package. Sometimes there is no charge. We got back to the RV and had lunch, then we watched our afternoon TV shows. We walked around the parking lot two times. There were some boys on the dock - rocking it back and forth. I asked them to stop since we are having trouble keeping it in good shape. They stopped that and then started throwing rocks into the lake. Finally they left. I was glad to see them leave. I made chili for supper and we had chips with it.

Turtles & fish in trap

This is the sign where the fish trap was sitting. 

Look at the bird in the old tree. 

30-Sat-So we were up about 8 AM today. We completed our daily routine and sat outside with the dogs. We had lunch and watched some football. Later I sat out with the boat volunteer for awhile also.  We had a beautiful sky this evening.

31-Sun-We were up at 8 ish this morning. So after breakfast and getting dressed we walked the loop road. Then we did our chores and sat outside. After lunch Kelly was here from 1:15 to 3:00 PM. One of the boat volunteers was here (Sara) and I visited with her. Then it was a short nap. For supper I made turkey burgers and we had a salad and chips with them. 

It was still 88° at 6 PM. 

Moon and its' reflection on the lake.

June 27 - July 10, 2022 Summer is Here and We are Busy!

 Monday (Jun 27) We started the week out with a trip to Walmart after we did all the routine things. On Tuesday (28), Steve did weed eating after all our routine things were done. Then he cleaned out the back of the pickup and an RV Bin. Our excitement today was running off two kids on mini dirt bikes. They are not allowed to ride through the access site on them. Plus they were not being safe! They asked about returning on their regular bikes and I said that would be ok. Then two other kids on the mini dirt bikes came through. Steve and I stopped them and as we had them stopped a Deputy sheriff who was out here fishing stopped and flashed his badge at the kids and told them they could not ride them here.  Boy were we glad to have his support! Some guys from FWP (Fish Wildlife & Parks) were here studying the fish. We let them do their thing! Also the dust control truck came through today. It was an eventful day. Wednesday (29) we woke up and it was cool - so we stayed in bed a little longer. We did more mowing and weed eating today. Later we drove to town to mail a check to Stetson for our yard mowing and a birthday card to John. I listened to the Glacier Conservancy Zoom meeting on Historical Lookouts this evening. The high today was 65 degrees! 

Thursday (30) Today everything was pretty routine. There were some guys here who unloaded a dock system. We took a couple of pictures, but didn't bother the boss because there is really no game warden assigned here who can check them out. We did go to town and eat at Burgertown. 

Dock Systems

Grass after being mowed. It looks great! Like a park.

Friday (Jul 1) And it is here! The 4th of July Weekend! The people started showing up big time about 7:00 PM.  Saturday (2) Today I was outside a lot! Tony (our boss) was here about 2:45 or 3:00 PM. He said his eyes were opened! We are doing a good job he said. The place was packed!  There were 48 cars and pickups with trailers outside the gate! The parking lot was full also! A game warden and one in training were here about 7 PM. It was a madhouse with the parking, but most of the people behaved pretty good. 

Dock going in

A beach that is not sandy- it is rocks! But the people love it!

Sunday (3) it rained in the early morning. Today we walked and did all our chores. We also picked the north beach. We took a few minutes to go into town and  pick up stuff at the grocery store. We were back to the RV by noon. The place was packed again! The boss checked on us and we told him everything was OK. I think I got a smart remark from someone - but I try hard to let them go. 

Jul 4th pics 

Moon Shot (3rd)

Monday (Jul 4th) Happy Fourth of July! The high today was 69°! We did all our usual things and putzed around some. Tony P was here at 1:30 and pulled the dock out again. The Game Warden was here about 4:30 - 7:30 PM. He said someone called in a wake complaint. We watched some fireworks over the lake and went to bed. They have been setting off fireworks around the lake for a few days - so no big deal! Tuesday (5) The highlight of today was going to Walmart. This usually tires us out and we rested after eating lunch and putting away our stuff. There is a rodeo in Bigfork over the 4th of July weekend - we never go - because we are too busy at the Lake. We saw this great stagecoach on our way to Kalispell and we made a stop to get pictures. It just looks so pretty against that big, blue Montana sky!

Wednesday (6) We gathered up our laundry after all the chores were done. Then we went to town and finished it. After finishing the laundry we ate lunch at the Mexican place next door. We put away all our nice, clean laundry and then took a nap. Tony P called about 5 PM to check on us. We saw this very pretty Jeep pickup in the parking lot while doing chores. I talked to the lady who owned it and she said it was a wrap. I love that color!

We also took a little drive up a forest road and you can see Echo Lake and Flathead Lake from there.Thursday (7) The dogs were slow to get around this morning - so we did our chores first. Then we took them for a walk. The high today was 74° - very nice. A lot of time when we complete our walk or chores we sit outside and admire the beauty of Echo Lake. We had lunch and and Steve worked on the hinge of the RV hood. It is a little wonky. He had to use JB Weld to fix it. Our boss called and told us he is camping this week-end, starting tonight. Friday (8) Steve was up with Poopsie overnight. I am not sure how long he was awake with her. But we went back to sleep. Then we checked the bathroom and picked up the trash in the parking lot. After lunch I monitored the parking lot and dock pretty close. Saturday (9) I was outside a lot today. I monitored the parking lot and the dock. I had to run people off the dock. I stood outside and talked to Mark, one of the boat education volunteers. They educate people about invasive species. While we were chatting I happened to be looking at the chute where someone was preparing their boat to launch and saw a guy fall down flat on his back. He was about 4 feet in the air loading stuff on the boat and his foot slipped. I was so scared for him. I went to the parking lot to check on him and his wife had already called 911. Then I stayed with him and his family until the ambulance arrived. Steve walked to the stop sign to help keep the traffic away and guide the ambulance in. They had to come in on the outgoing road because the parking lot was so full! It took about 20 minutes for the ambulance to arrive from town. The man was able to move all extremities, but he was in a lot of pain. I felt really bad for all of them. I also fell down and skinned my left knee. We also had a hailstorm and that seemed to clear out the people! Today was a pretty eventful day! 

 

This is the unassuming rock I tripped on!

Sunday (9) We did  our chores and sat outside until about 1:00 PM. We had lunch and then I re-checked the bathroom and talked to the boat volunteer. Tony Powell called and I told him about the accident in the parking lot. We still had 18 outside the gate at about 6 PM. Every day that is sunny, we are BUSY! The causeway is below our parking lot about 1/4 of a mile. There were people parked from our gate all the way down here. All were enjoying the lake!

Fox

Deer

Most every morning we check our game camera and see our nightly visitors! There is usually the fox and one or more deer! FUN!