58: And on the 58th day, they rested

Just a few random thoughts about Montana on our day off:

Just clouds - BIG clouds!

It really is BIG. Things here GO LARGE. If there is weather, it's BIG weather.  BIG clouds. When the sky was clear, it was so BRILLIANTLY LARGELY blue it hurt my eyes. Winds blow STRONG. The sunsets are SPECTACULAR in a crazy, wildly colored way.

We are trying to plan the next phase of our trip, which is largely about getting to the next state, South Dakota, where we would like to visit Mount Rushmore.  And so we are acutely aware of how LARGE Montana is.  It could take us another ten to twelve days just to get out of the state!

Montanans really like their beef. I have had prime rib, chicken fried steak, and hamburgers here. All delicious, and all very substantially portioned. Hamburgers particularly. If we're not talking half a pound, I don't know why we'd bother. It's all good. I've had a hankering for beef lately - must be all the cows we pass as we ride along!

Despite the size of the meals we have been served, we observe that folks here are generally very fit. Not a lot of heavy people. In fact, in Kalispell and Whitefish, I had the feeling that everyone there had been brought in from the cast of some action movie. Everyone was young, good-looking, and very fit.

Cherry orchards on prime waterfront real estate

Speaking of Kalispell and Whitefish - and the northern end of Flathead Lake also - they are booming! Many, many new developments with snazzy golf courses and luxury homes. Particularly along the northern end of Flathead Lake. It appears to have become a destination for affluent retirees.

Not Conservation - but Production!

And yet, the cherry orchards along the lake are still in production, and look just beautiful. A few are for sale, which makes me wonder if they too will go the way of golf courses and luxury townhomes. Better come see it now, while the orchards remain.

In deference to the hunters, I assume, the open spaces for waterfowl are named "Waterfowl Production Areas" - not Conservation areas.  I guess that helps get folks to agree to set aside the land. After all, one cannot hunt ducks if there are no ducks to hunt, so they have to have their babies somewhere. I've never seen signs like these before.

Another sign - which my friends at St Paul's in Houston will be happy to see - the local Methodist church proclaims its solidarity with the victims of the Orlando massacre.



We do sometimes have fun in ways other than riding our bike. In Polson, we had our dinner at the bowling alley and bowled a game.

Don't try this at home, kids!

And I found a great yoga class today in Missoula.
If you are here - try the Inner Harmony Yoga Studio.  Great space, wonderful instruction. Brian Baty will test you and help you, gently, find peace in the pose. Wonderful!