Will Be Coming Down The Mountain When We Come.........

Still smokey outside from the fires in CA. Sunrise is still beautiful.  Sipping on my coffee in front of the fireplace. :-)

It warms up fast here in the mountains.  Today the ski lifts are open for scenic rides up to the summit of Whitefish Mountain.  I have never been on a ski lift as I don't ski.  This is a big step for me, I'm a little worried about getting on and off the chairs.  

We decided to take the small ski lift down to Base Lodge for lunch and coffee.  The guys made sure we were on safe talking to us the entire time where to stand for the chair to catch us in the back of the legs and sit down.  We pulled the bar over us. :-)  We enjoyed our lunch and sipped coffee watching all the activities going on.  We are going to the top of this mountain and after that we are going to go on the Alpine Slide.

We are ready to go back up the small section of this mountain and catch the next ski lift to the summit.

We are on the chair lift to the top now and the view is stunning.  The views of Flathead Valley and Glacier National Park are amazing.

We watched several bikers take the trek down the mountain.  They are brave!

Some views of our ski lift ride back down Whitefish Mountain.

Time to head to the Alpine Slide.  We can do this!! The guys in charge gave us instructions on how to start AND STOP THE SLIDE.

We are on the slide and ready to take off.  I'm a little nervous as this is my first time doing this also.

Well, it's time for dinner and we are going into town to try out the local BBQ place. 

Good Nnight from Whitefish Montana

Hikes, Water Falls AND Great Views

On our way to the Southeastern side of Glacier.  We are going to go to the Two Medicine entrance.  We stopped and got out of the car to look at this huge statue of a man.  Need to know what the importance is.  Awe ha, it's John Stevens Memorial.   He found a suitable railroad passage across the great continental divide.

Marlon spotted a bird and I DON'T know what it is. 

Hiking this trail to see if we can spot any bears.  We have our can of bear spray in case we encounter a mean bear. LOL, The only thing we found was bear scat. ugg

We stopped at Two Medicine Lake and it was packed with people.  The huge historic general store, boat ramp with wooden boats were all closed for the season.  Most people had packed a picnic lunch and were trying to find a spot to sit along the water.  Marlon and I took pictures and stacked some rocks down by the water to show we were there.  The view of Sinopah Mountain was not as clear as it could have been. There are fires in CA and the smoke is here in Montana.

RISING WOLF MOUNTAIN the view was great from Two Medicine Lake.  I really wish there were no fires in CA. It is making the Avery here had to see.
We have driven for 2 hours and we are done for today. We still have to drive back to the condo.  We stopped at different pull-offs and enjoyed some of the views. The first pull-off was to hike to Running Falls.  Running Eagle Falls holds a religious significance for the Blackfeet Nation.  At this location, Weasel Woman, later known as Running Eagle because of her bravery and warrior status. The short hike was an easy one. I loved all the beautiful scenery and walking across a wooden bridge.  The rocks under the bridge were RED/Purple.

We have reached Running Eagle Falls. There are two falls that come together as one.  Totally amazing and we can hear the water so loud.

I am just loving this adventure we are on.  Exploring out west is amazing.  As we were leaving the area I could see birch trees lining the road.  I wish I could take a picture and show you how amazing it is.

Goat Lick Overlook is a quiet walk and the scenery is loud with color. We never saw any mountain goats but it was still worth the walk.  Marlon and I sat on a bench enjoying the peace and quiet.

Wonder why this place is called Goat Lick?  Read this sign.

Fall in the air.

I have never seen a drive-through coffee place till now.  We have found our way out of  Glacier Park.  We both need a beverage and this will hit the spot.

Time to find a place to eat before we head up the mountain to our condo.  Decided on eating at Craggy Range Bar & Grill.  Starters were a Manhatten for me and a nice cold beer for Marlon.  Dinner was good, burgers and fish and chips.

GOOD NIGHT

Utsumoniyia, Japan - Noriko Arrives

I love that our friendship shows in our faces.  No matter how long we are apart, our friendship starts the same as it did before.  I appreciate Norriko came all the way from Nagoya to Utsunomiya to have dinner with me.

The Three Amigo's are finally all back together.  A friendship I will cherish for the rest of my life.

Taka chose a Japanese style dinner at MyStays Hotel.

Haha, we are only pretending to be sitting on the floor!  There is recess under the table so we can sit comfortably.

Vegetables and other in a dashi sauce.  Daikon (Japanese radish), tofu, boiled egg, a cabbage roll, something named Konyak and pasta shaped things made from fish paste.  Everything was delicious.

Karage, or fried chicken.

Pickled okra.

Fried daikon.

Salmon salad.

I ate all of this so don't ask Marlon how it tasted.  Tomato tempura and cheese.   Mmmmmmm

More tempura.  A couple kinds of fish, mushrooms, eggplant and other vegetables.

Noriko showed me how to make a chopstick holder with my chopstick paper cover.

Kanpei to the best friends ever.

Noriko gave me this beautiful picture frame.  What a beautiful gift.

Nice to see Kurumi again.  She came to the dinner after work.  She even took us home so we didn't have to take the bus.  She is such a sweet heart.