Actually, THREE rivers run through it!

[kmai1961]

Thanksgiving (plus a week or so on either side) in Montana. OK, so technically this is a trip report rather than a walk report, although I daresay that I did walk at least a mile or two (whew; exhausting!) over the course of the two weeks.

Fun facts and observations:

• MTis the 4th largest state, after CA, TX, and AK. Who knew? Realized this only when B&K spent 8 of their 12 hours of driving time traversing about 2/3 of its width.
• The three rivers that conjoin in or near Missoula are the Blackfoot, the Bitter Root, and the Clark Fork.
• The population / attitude of Missoula comprises a bizarre and at times unsettling mix of ultra-liberal hippy types and ultra- conservative scary types. Organic / gluten-free pet food + I’m fairly certain that some (maybe most) of those church wimmens were packing pistols.
• Missoula's wackiest ordnance ordinance forbids carrying “concealed” weapons, which in this case means “on your person,” rather than “hidden.” That is, it’s illegal to carry your gun in a holster, but perfectly within the law to carry it in your handbag or backpack.
• The weather was mostly surprisingly bleak. I assumed that, like CO, Montana would have 300+ annual days of blue sky and sunshine. Apparently not.
• The tiny bits of Glacier NP that I saw were only enough to whet my appetite for a return visit with much more time for exploring. Wolves! Grizzly bears! Moose! Oh my! Not to mention the stunning mountains.
• Some items seemed outrageously and unexpectedly expensive (bread $3-5 per loaf), while other things seem ridiculously cheap (liquid laundry soap less than $3 for a 24-load bottle; gas ~$2.26 / gal – cheap even by US standards, it was more than $3 / gal when I was last there).
• Only in America: dill-pickle flavoured sunflower seeds (although I suppose that's no odder than meat-flavoured crisps); IHOP’s seasonal offering of a breaded and deep fried chicken breast served on a pumpkin waffle (how WRONG is that??! .
• More only in America: PINK camouflage hunting clothes (oxymoron, no?). But I was sorely tempted by a rather fetching "Girls with Guns" tee shirt (not really).
• Risk! (the game). Well worth the time spent figuring out how to play it. Apparently, I DO possess a bit of kick-ass. The boys would (and did) say it’s more than “a bit.”
• Beer drinking + visiting plenty of microbrew pubs is no bad thing to share with a sib.

Lake McDonald, near West Glacier


National Bison Range




dunno what happened to the pic of Moose Drool and Trout Slayer (my fave from this microbrewery); hic!


iconic Montana scene (at the local historical museum)


one of the rivers running through it (the Clark Fork)


frozen (I hope, as there were skaters out in the middle of it ) Lake Como