Billings to Whitefish, MT, 6/29

On June 29, Kristin and I drove from Billings to Whitefish, Montana, which is only 20 minutes from the park gates at Glacier National Park. We made really good time the whole day, so we had some time to stop a few times and get a good meal:


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The day started in our B&B in Billings. Our hostess had us help her feed the horses when we got up, which I really enjoyed. Her horses were a bit older and very gentle, even if they were a little greedy for their treats. I am still not sold on B&Bs that are just people's homes--the night we got in, I felt like I was intruding on their privacy since we didn't get in until 10pm. Then in the morning, I felt like she was intruding on our privacy--she was cleaning up and stripping the beds before we even had a chance to pack up the car and leave.

After we left Billings, we headed out on I-90 towards Missoula. On this leg of the journey, we found out just how small the towns in Montana really are. We saw Billings, Butte, and Missoula (3 of the 4 largest towns in the state). They were all pretty small, though the towns are not why you come to Montana, of course. The further west we went, the more pristine the landscapes became. We kept missing some big storms as we drove, so the clouds really made our pictures. Right after we left Missoula, there was a severe thunderstorm warning for the whole county, but we barely got rained on. Kristin took this one with my camera, I think it's amazing:


After Missoula, we headed up north towards Bigfork, around Flathead Lake. I really enjoyed Bigfork. The people were friendly, the food was good, and the lake was a welcome sight to see. The couple people we interacted with seemed to have a personality that I associate with someone from California--I wonder if they were transplants. Here we are at our first real meal of the trip:





After dinner, we continued on our way. We saw pre-fab cabins for sale, as well as a cowboy church: