Our Trip to Montana - Day 6

Day 6

After our first night that everyone slept without interruption, we were all excited to embark on a new day.  It is amazing what a good night’s sleep can do.  Since we had forgotten the boys Junior Ranger Passport at the cabin on our first visit to Glacier, we decided to head back.  Instead of backtracking through Columbia Falls, I mentioned that I saw a road that cuts across the river up by Glacier.  I expected that this might save us about 10 miles of backtracking.  The road up was great – 70 mph!  The road across was 35 mph but offered great views of the North Branch and Middle Branch of the Flathead River.  It also turned to a dirt road in areas.  We stopped several times in the forested area looking for wild huckleberries.  We thought we had found some, but when we asked later we discover that they were not huckleberries.  Good thing we did not try them.
We entered the park and went to the visitor center. Once the boy’s passport was stamped we took a few minutes to shop around.  I found a bear paw bracelets and a great deal on a fleece jacket for $10.  Then we explored a road we had not visited on our previous trip. 
After our trip to Glacier, everyone was getting hungry.  We stopped at the Huckleberry Patch for lunch.  When Dave and I would visit his mom we always stopped at this store.  Dave had a grilled chicken breast sandwich with huckleberry BBQ sauce.  I had the Huckleberry Patch Dip.  I was the best French dip I have ever had.  It had juicy layers of roast beef, topped with Swiss cheese and onion straws on a fresh French roll.  It came with a huckleberry BBQ dip.  On the side was homemade baked beans and huckleberry slaw.  The sweet taste of huckleberries with the crisp cabbage and sunflower seeds made it a hit with both Dave and I. 
http://www.huckleberrypatch.com/
Then it was off to the Hungry Horse Dam.  We discover that Hungry Horse was named after two horses that wandered off during the winter of 1900-1901.  They wandered through waste high snow for several months.  When they were discovered by the workers in the area several months later they were severely malnourished.  They had to be feed and cared for before they could made the trek back to the river where they had been working.  Because of this the entire area was named Hungry Horse.
We went up to the dam.  In the past tourists could take tours of the dam.  Unfortunately they no longer do that. 

Ryan Checks Out How a Dam Works




They were working on the road on the other side of the dam, so we had to turn around after crossing the dam.  On our way back down the mountain we went down a side road.  Dave and Josh went for a walk and found a small hand of huckleberries.  We all tried them and enjoyed them very much.
After a quick jot into Kalispell where Rosi and I went to the mall and Dave and the boys geocached, it was time to head back to Columbia Falls.  Dave and I left Rosi with the boys and we headed to Bigfork for an evening out.
We had dinner at the Historic Bigfork Inn.  This was where Dave had his first job bussing tables.  Many of the items were the same as they had been 25 years ago. 
After dinner we headed to the Bigfork Summer Theater to see “My Fair Lady”.   The cast did a fabulous job and transported us into England in the early 1900’s.  They danced and sang the night away.  During intermission Dave and I stepped out into the warm summer evening.  We were greeted with the aroma of the pine trees that surround the village.  The smell bought back many memories. 
Downtown Bigfork


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