Flathead Lake

I was looking forward to a visit to the Bison National Refuge. Not far up the road, but with spotty internet service, I learned that they are closed. It's too bad they didn't have "closed" signs on all of their highway street signs, as I later learned, on the internet, that it was posted there. It was a lovely drive none-the-less and with one pull out where I got to observe a long train, passing right by me. I watched closely to see if I could spot any bison. No such luck, as I made my way around this preserve, watching from the highway. After a quick pit stop to pick up some huckleberry hand lotion, huckleberry chocolate brownie, and a huckleberry empanada....okay....and also a huckleberry drizzled turtle....I was on my way further north towards Flathead Lake.  


I am passing through Indian Reservation territory. I wanted to stop at the Ninepipes Museum, but alas, they're closed. I stopped at a mission, and they too were closed. But I did a mini hike in the Ninepipes Wildlife Refuge, which was an open swampy lake filled with birds, mostly geese and white egrets, with a view of slightly snow tipped mountains.  But with this open terrain it's already quite hot. So I decided to find a place at the Flathead Lake.

As I headed north, I saw dark plumes of smoke. And after a quick stop to pick up some flathead sweet cherries, where young girls cashed me out, they told me that Bird Island is on fire. As I got closer, I could see quite the view from the shore, where this island was completely engulfed. It brought back some memories of my own neighborhood, with fires this spring, and I hoped that everyone was safe, although it was very heart-and-gut wrenching sight to see this.

I stopped at three different state park campgrounds which were all filled up. It seems like alot closed up. But I found a private RV site with dry camping for the right price. It's hot again. I'm really hoping in the next day or two, at the most, it will be in an area of cool weather as I need to climb into higher elevation. 

The best part of my day was that I noticed blue berries on a rather large bush. I called the camp owners to ask if they were blueberries. She said no, they're similar, they are called June berries, and they're sweet, but with less flavor like a blueberry. I asked if I could harvest some of them, so I got myself at least a pint, and am looking forward to having them for breakfast.



















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