Upon our arrival in SLC, we just start wandering and Mister spots this sign. Thinking it may be a nice quiet room to listen to music, we head that direction. As we walk, I give him the option that maybe it's where the Utah Jazz meets before flights. It could happen.
Nope - here is what we find: a mess and what looks like an over-storaged event room perhaps. No idea but not a place to hang out. Off we go again until we discover a place for a snack and a beer. The time actually passes quick and our night flight is ready to board. Ta-ta Salt Lake.
Arriving in Kalispell at after 1 in the morning, (yep delayed upon boarding), it is raining cats and dogs. After locating my mom's car in the parking lot, it's a southern drive down to the lake and a quiet entrance into the house before crashing. Tired is an understatement.
15th - Good morning! It is absolutely beautiful out. No sign of the pouring rain from last night. Big Blue Montana skies greet me as I peek out the door.
After Mom and Mister are awake, it's off to the Woods Bay Grill for breakfast. Along the way, a stop a Sis's to say howdy and invite her along. Her cherry trees in the front yard are in full bloom. Isn't this just gorgeous?
Breakfast is nice and Sis even stops by to visit for awhile. Leisurely, we visit and then return to the house while Mister and I check out the house for sale next door. In doing so, I have a glimpse into my mother's yard. The deck does NOT slope down --- great optical illusion.
And the front - ahhhh, I miss this place more than I thought.
Let's go explore. A drive down the lake seeking more cherry blossoms is our plan. The lake is like a sheet of glass today and oh so beautiful. I'm sitting in the backseat holding Bailey, Mom's miniature poodle, and watching out the window - hard to get a good picture.
It appears that we've missed the big bloom of the orchards and my sister's tree must be late. Everything is all leafed out.
Bailey as he watches along with me.
We decide to turn around at Yellow Bay, but I've never been down to the Yellow Bay State Park and neither has Mom. EXPLORE!!! Woohoo.
It's a longer dock than it looks above.
Mom and Bailey make it all the way out and I try oh so hard to get a picture of him with the water in the background.Well, dang it doesn't work out so well, but at least I tried. Even with Mister's help, Bailey is just more concerned about Mom being 5 feet away.
And Usie --- you get that right? "us"ie.
Looking back towards the shore. What a color difference when the sun is behind the camera.
There is a memorial nearby for the men who died while scaling Mt. Cleveland in Glacier Park in December of 1969.
And a beautiful creek coming straight from the mountain above. I spy someone I know.
And apparently he spies me.
It's time to go back, but it's been great to get out and stretch our legs for awhile. Upon our return to Woods Bay, we decide to take Sylvan Drive and maybe, just maybe some of the trees back there will still be blooming. Nope.
Miss Scarlet in action -
Warm- ups
Drat, we have plans to meet Brock and Jill for dinner. We're hoping that Sis and Joe will finish in time to meet for a bit and things seem to work in our favor. First family pic in a LONG time.
16th - It's another day in the Flathead Valley and things are starting out just the same - me and Mom relaxing and Mister playing.
In the back, a deer is grazing nearby. Ahhh, my heart.
Today is a shopping day so we are off to Kalispell with Mom. I want to make just one stop on the way in at a quilt shop I read about. The Quilt Gallery has a new location and I've never even been to the original location. It's definitely worth checking out. To see all that we saw inside check out this
Quilt Gallery link.
Next up is a stop at the store ---- Mom is drawn to the plants, but not in the buying frame of mind.
As we wander the store, I spot these donuts and have to laugh out loud. Truly. They are "Texas Sized". Hahahahaha I gotta admit --- dang big donuts.
As we are driving home --- this view is just wonderful. Mountains and green fields. Simply amazing.
In the lagoon, we spot a couple of families of geese. Dang --- the little ones are just so cute and these are the best I could do with pictures.
17th - We have an automatic friend each day. Bailey feels as though he has new friends to exhaust. Today, the greeting includes a towel. Crazy dog.
Mister and I are off to explore today. First up is through Bigfork. This historic bridge is about to be either replaced or restored. I'm not sure which but it saddens my heart no matter which way it goes. It is such a part of my own history.
The river as it flows after into the lake from the dam.
Coffee!!! A stop at Fieldheads Coffee Roasting is just the ticket to get this day going.
It looks great, but in truth the scone was just awful. Great coffee though.
We then went up the old river road behind the town only to discover that you can no longer drive back there. Well drat. It's walking only and it's drizzling out. I remember great times along the river watching the Whitewater Festival years ago.
Alright --- on we go and within a short hour, we are in Whitefish. A stop at Whitefish Quilts and Gifts (yep, that's a link to my post) is wonderful and then Great Northern Brewing for lunch. Yes. Big Brown Trout for me please.
I have to make a trip to the ladies room and I gotta tell ya. Both of these had me giggling the entire time.
Returning to lunch is the BEST. Yum. Best part is that Mister gets some time to visit about the business. He kinda looks like he fits in here, right?
Whitefish Lake and the City Beach. It's not a wonderful lake but it's literally been over 40 years since I've been up here. Wow.
It's time to head south again and get back as Mom is preparing dinner and we don't want her to do everything. As we pass the northern part of Kalispell, I notice Glacier Quilts and Mister turns right in. Glacier Quilts (yep, link) is a great shop and full of Judy Niemeyer. We decide to try and hit a couple of breweries as well and first up is Bias Brewing. 
The beer is decent but they really need to do something about the little fan in the kitchen. The overwhelming smell of grease was just too much.
From there to Kalispell Brewing. A yummy beer for sure, but not much on atmosphere. It could be the time of day.
We call Mom and tell her to pick the restaurant for dinner. A quick trip back to Woods Bay, change of clothes and within no time we are back in Bigfork for dinner at Grill 459. Funny story here: A few years ago I had a friend visiting the area and told her to go here. What are the odds of a friend stopping in there and them being closed for a family event? Wow. Well, Sherri --- I'm here to tell ya --- it's wonderful. Our dinner was exellent and the time with Mom was pretty good too. On the way home, some visitors along the upper road in the homesites.
As soon as Bailey is let out ----- Hmmmm. Is that my shoe? And another day is done.
18th - Reading the paper this morning --- I have to chuckle at placement. Really??
After lunch, Mister and I went into Bigfork to meet up with Sis and Joe for a beer at Flathead Brewing Company. Back in 2012, we thought their beer to be among the best in the state. Would it hold true?
The view from the bridge. Yep, used to jump from here.
AND the view of Northshore from the brewery parking lot. Oh yeah. I can't believe my dad used to have property here and sold it. Oh drat -- it would be worth millions now.
I can't take it and have to go out on the deck for just a few pictures. Wouldn't you love to have this view each day? I'm struggling here.
Sis and Joe show up and it's a great time to just visit among ourselves. I have missed this time so very much. It's amazing how as you age, you start to hold tight to the things you hold dear.I really need to make a point to be up here more often. Could one of the airlines help out and make the tickets a bit more manageable?
19th - Today we are off to Somers for breakfast with Sis, Joe and Mom. Mister wants a Flathead Lake cafe experience and by golly, he's going to get it.
Breakfast is wonderful! Truly --- go there. As we are driving through town, we spot this fence. Hmmmm. I could do this. Quickly, most likely. I really like it and would love to see it with the sunlight filtering through.
Mister and Bailey have truly become friends.
For the afternoon, my sweetie wants to get as high as he can. Up Crane Mountain we go. It's a great day for it and the road is clear all the way. Well, as far as we go anyway.
I'm not exactly dressed for hiking, but . . .
My sweetie doing what he loves so very much.
Huckleberry bushes everywhere. Once upon a time I lost my brand new engagement ring up here. Do you remember? Well, if not, here is the LINK to that story. It's worth the read. So many memories this trip.
Baby huckleberries even.
Remnants of winter. Yep, we have really increased in altitude.
So many gorgeous sights up here. Just enjoy. A meadow out of nowhere.
Time is flying and we have to get back for the family dinner. I want to help Mom and not leave all the work up to her. Once again, we have a chance for a picture. Smile everyone.
20th - Well this trip has flown by. It is our last day here and I'm sad. We have really enjoyed the stay and wish it could be longer. Bailey has definitely pushed his way into our hearts too.
Lunch is at an old high school haunt. Wow. Not only did I spend a LOT of weekends here, but I worked here for a bit too. My Dad's best friend used to own it. Again --- memory lane is in full force this trip.
After lunch, we drive down to Woods Bay Point for a few last moments on the lake. One of these days, we'll come up here during boating season.
Not the best pic --- it looks like I'm missing an eye, but it'll do.
Yep, that's me.
Sis and Joe are taking us to the airport but first we have important stuff to do. PICTURES!!! Does she think I'm crazy? Really Mom.
Sis, Mom, and I --- not a frequent opportunity.
And just like that, this trip is over. We had heard that there was 24 hour ice cream at the Kalispell airport but somehow we missed it at our 1 a.m. arrival. Today, we spot it.
Our plane --- it's almost time.
And, we're off. Salt Lake, here we come.
And the first ones of the Salt Lake Valley:
Since our flight in Kalispell was delayed, we are late arriving here and have a quick change now. Just enough time to grab a snack and we are boarding. Bye bye Salt Lake.
The flight to Dallas is interesting. We have to go all the way down to Austin to navigate around the storm, but I do manage to get a video of a SMALL amount of what we witnessed. Please watch as it's crazy cool.
And there ya are Dallas. We missed ya. It's good to be home even with a magnificent trip. This is home and there was once a time I never thought I'd say that.
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