Saturday, September 8, 2012

Whitefish to Sula


Arriving in Downtown Whitefish, a cool little arty town


One of several great brewpubs


Historic train station (above and below)






A reunion with Chuck Haney (2nd from left), renown photojournalist and frequent contributor to ACA's Adventure Cyclist magazine, for breakfast at LouLa's.

Chuck wrote a major piece in 2005 about cycling in Northern California where a photograph of Herb, Jim Regan and I was taken on Coleman Valley Road and featured on the magazine's front cover.


Whitefish Lake


Taking Farm to Market Road from Whitefish to Kalispell


What the heck are these things?




Taking a much needed break on our way to Flat Head Lake




Arriving at beautiful Flat Head Lake


One of the major highlights of the tour, spending 3 full days at Bill and Kathy Douglas's family compound on Flat Head Lake.  It is located on "This is it" Road.


R n R time . . . its time to give our butts a break . . .  onto the paddle boards


Herb taking the sailboat out


Dennis working on his blog


Al fresco dinners on the lake


Enough to make a huckleberry pie


Another decadent treat - masseuses came to the lake to tend to our bodies


Getting a tour of the lake on the family outboard


This 25,000+ sf home on a private island is for sale for $75 million 


Prayer flags at sunset


Don't cry Kathy . . .

At the end of our stay, we all chipped in to buy this photograph for Bill and Kathy as a token of our appreciation.  Huckleberry heart, how appropriate!!

We had a fabulous time! . . . many thanks for your gracious hospitality


A day trip to see the Garden of 1,000 Buddhas in Arlee, a truly amazing place.
The Garden was recently completed and sits in a lotus shaped valley surrounded by low lying hills.
















Note the "fragile" symbol on the crate.  Very clever!


The founders worked cooperatively with local Indian tribes in establishing the Garden


The meal and pies at the Laughing Horse Lodge on Swan Lake was one of the best of the tour. 


A small yet beautiful lodge


We found pie heaven!


A great meal was had by all


It's also a dog-friendly establishment


The Clark Fork River bisects the city of Missoula, a beautiful university town, where we spent a couple nights


The University of Montana campus is impressive - very neat and tidy with nice architecture, expansive open space and cool art pieces










Art along the river


Missoula train station




Long lines at the Big Dipper, a favorite hang-out during the dog days of summer . . . I believe I had 3 huckleberry shakes here




Concert in outdoor amphitheater on the river


A must visit for long-haul cycle tourists - the ACA headquarters


The building on the right is a converted church and main entrance to the offices


The new 2-story addition


We first arrived on a Sunday so the offices were closed. We came back the next day.


The courtyard between the two buildings


Group photo inside the lobby.  Much to our surprise, one of the three photos displayed on the wall was the one taken by Chuck Haney of our 2005 Sonoma Coast tour (Herb pointing).


That's Herb, Jim Regan and me on Coleman Valley Road - pic on the right


Jim Sayer, executive director, giving us a personal tour


Artifacts on display in the offices






A poster board of every cyclist visiting the ACA offices this year.  According to Jim, this is a record setting year.


Magazine covers on a wall.  Note the one on the left . . .




Office in the new wing


Gosh, this photo is on everything . . . ACA brochure

OK, enuf gloating . . .


On to Sula, a very small town south of Missoula


Taking a spin in the Sula Valley








Site of old Fort Sula


The one room school house has been restored






The thing that looks like a medieval catapult is called a beaver slide and is a hay stacker 


Pastoral Sula Valley


Mike on Hwy 93 leaving Sula and heading to Chief Joseph Pass


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