Tuesday - day 6

Something I forgot about last night - while were dining at JJ's it was very quiet - then suddenly from hidden speakers came Christmas Music. It really set the tone for the evening!
Well we ate at a cute little cafe this morning Chic-N-Chop Restaurant, Inc. Home grown flavor and great waffle with strawberries. It was bustling and even the forestry department was eating there - which I corrolated to be like where cops eat - usually good. Anyway, we were on our way by 9 ish and headed towards Kalispell. On the way we went through Libby. It has the most beautiful huge metal eagles at each end of town and over the entry to it's "downtown" area. It has a very cute rehabed area and was certainly worth another look. And I even found flamingos there!
Kalispell is bustling and seems like a big city compared to where we have been. It is nice and clean and has everything you could think of! We visited Mickey D's and it was very different from any we have been in. It had slate tiles on the wall and a fire place and seats/chairs of knarled logs. It had decorations on the walls - show shoes and skis and was "nice". Like a restaurant! We really like Kalispell and the trees and mountains up here are what we think of when we say living in the mountains. Have to go back. It was a nice 77 and sunny. We headed to White Fish! WOW - this is a beautiful little town that is really and extension of Kalispell. The downtown has been completely rehabed and the parks, buildings, stores, everything is wonderful. This is a come back to spot for sure!
From there we headed to around the lake and stopped at a roadside vender selling fresh Cherries - just picked with a few leaves! They of course are delicious. They even give you a "pit bag". We munched on them as we headed around the lake and suddenly I threw on brakes and backed up. There in her lone nest atop a telephone pole was a bird of prey - caring for her babies. Ric got this great picture from the roadside. It wasn't long after that we were heading out of Rollins, MT when again I threw on the brakes. This time I turned around - I had seen a convenience store/post office/ gas station with a house that was for sale on line a couple of weeks ago. There it was! This lovely log building - so we went in and bought something to drink and looked around. Nice place - close to the road of course but interesting. Wish the building was a house on about 5 acres!
We really are enjoying this trip - sometimes we forget to stop and snap the picture but . . . we are trying to fit a lot into the days and see the different areas so we will know where we like best. So far, since we want forest, trees and mountains the north end of both states has been the most pleasing but . . . there is more to see.
I promised Ric at this point that I would not brake so suddenly again but then we were leaving Polson MT and what to my wandering eye did appear - a scrapbook shop. This is really the first one we have seen so of course we went in. Bought some special things they had printed up on Montana. The women up here are a little tougher than down there to get into this shop you had to climb a loose flight of stairs about 15 of them. I told Ric these would not fly in KC but then they did not have a crop room yet!
Not sure where we are going tomorrow - so it will be a surprise to us all. Hot here - more snow gone off the peaks than usual we have been told. I am like a little kid and excited about any snow I see.
Tonight we are staying in Hamilton, MT. Just a hotel and ate at a little cafe - Valley Cafe - pretty good food and pecan pie that was all pecans - hardly any filling.
Take care and thanks for the comments - it is so nice to hear from everyone!