INCH BY INCH

Inch by Inch we slowly make our way closer to Glacier National Park.  Yesterday we drove just 160 miles from Coeur d'Alene, Idaho to just outside Missoula, Mt.

Landscape near our RV stopover at Missoula.

This morning we drove just over 60 miles to our current location in Polson, Montana.  Where is Polson you ask?  It is on the southern shores of Flathead Lake and on the Flathead Indian Reservation.

We watched the sky grow darker as we drove north and I was certain we would end up in major rain however it never rained a drop and we arrived bone dry.  The sky continues to threaten and we have watched the temperature go from 72 down to 60 and back up to 71 with a couple hours.  That probably sounds pretty good to our Las Vegas family.

For the two days we will be here we hope to drive all the way around Flathead Lake one day and the other we would like to visit the National Bison Range.

On a terraced hillside.....

... facing Flathead Lake.

On arrival.....

..not looking too friendly.

But, after all, ARE in the mountains in Montana...

View out our windshield with things starting to lighten up.

FLATHEAD LAKE FACTS

Flathead Lake is the largest natural freshwater lake by surface area that is west of the Mississippi River in the contiguous United States. With a surface area of between 191.5 sq mi and 197 sq mi, Flathead Lake is slightly larger in surface area than Lake Tahoe, but it is much smaller in volume.

The lake is a remnant of the ancient, massive glacial dammed lake, Lake Missoula of the era of the last interglacial. Flathead Lake is 27.3 mi long and up to 15.5 mi wide. Flathead Lake has a maximum depth of 370.7 ft and an average of 164.7 ft . This makes Flathead Lake deeper than the average depths of the Yellow Sea or the Persian Gulf. It is one of the cleanest lakes in the populated world for its size and type.

Now you know and we can all sleep better.