Lost Trails Pass, MT to Proctor, MT
After an exciting Superbowl and skiing some beautiful, soft snow that even Radar enjoyed, we reluctantly left Lost Trails Pass for a long overdue day of beauty in Hamilton, MT. Ryan hadn’t cut his hair in 18 months so Vinnie Barbarino from Welcome Back Kotter called and wanted his hair back and I had roots as long as a Douglas fir. We made our way to Attitudes Salon where Wendy did a full overhaul of the Tylers which was no easy task. She worked her magic for three hours when at last we emerged looking more like sheik city folk then country bumpkins from the RV park. She did a great job and I highly recommend her if ever in the Hamilton, MT area.
We headed north setting our sights on staying somewhere along the crystal blue waters of Flathead Lake that night. Unfortunately the pea soup fog that had settled over the lake had other plans. Despite being about 10 feet from the banks of the lake at some points, we never saw the lake even once which is why the Great Northern Brewing Company in Whitefish, MT named one of their seasonal beers Big Fog Boch. Once our tolerance for driving with five feet visibility had been reached, we started to look for a place to camp which was more of a challenge then it sounds given the lack of readability of the signage along the road. Around Proctor, MT we were able to barely make out a sign that read “RV camping Left.” Sounded perfect! As we drove west through a beautiful valley we gained some altitude which was enough to get us out of the fog revealing a full view of the Mission Mountains looming above the valley lit up with alpenglow in all their majestic glory. It was a spectacular display of Mother Nature at her best and a sight I won’t soon forget.
The road took us to the Lake Mary Ronan Lodge and what an unexpected find! Situated along the banks of Lake Mary Ronan was the lodge complete with a restaurant/bar, rustic cabins and RV camp spots. As we pulled in the scene was positively magical with the setting sun bathing the lake and snow with a honey colored hue. Even better was that the restaurant/bar is open every night but Wednesdays and we happen to stumble upon this oasis on a Tuesday. Once we ate dinner we headed to the lodge where we had the pleasure of meeting Kate, the bartender, who is the quintessential “Biler Babe” from Alaska who was quick with a story and a top off of your drink. After a night filled with lots of laughter and wine, we stumbled the 200 feet to our home in a euphoric buzz where we found a very cute dog anxiously awaiting our arrival with ball in mouth ready to play game of fetch. At the point at which I decided I would sleep in the dogs bed that night, Ryan decided that it was time to put me out of my misery and tucked me in for the night. I would show you the pictures but for some reason they were erased. I think Ryan said it was in case I ever decided to run for a public office or something like that…
The next day we left for Kalispell, MT where the Arctic Fox was to have her day of beauty at Gardner’s RV and the RV wash. As I had mentioned in earlier postings, our pipes had frozen up more then we expected and more then once they froze at 25 degrees. Given that a four season RV should be equipped to withstand temperatures between 0 and 100 degrees, we called the manufacturer, Northwood, who suggested we bring her in for a check up. Ryan will go into detail in the RV camping section of the website for those interested, but the gist was that heat was not circulating properly to certain parts of the basement which is the underneath of the RV where the pipes run. They were able to reroute the heat as well as take care of a few other issues while we loitered at the local Montana Coffee Traders.
When we headed back to the RV center we made the mistake of checking out the showroom RV’s to see how the other half lives. Full size kitchens with free standing bars, fireplaces and built in vacuums had us hoping that one of the lottery tickets we had bought since leaving OR would turn out to be a winner, not that we would ever check the tickets to know if there was a winner. Ryan and I have thins thing where we buy the tickets and then leave them tacked up to the corkboard on the fridge. This way we can always dream big because potentially we may have a winning ticket. If we check them this only serves to verify that, no we did not win, and then the dream is gone. So we prefer to buy the lottery tickets and leave them tacked up as a kitchen decoration to be checked no sooner then mere days before their expiration dates. Whatever gets you through the day, right?
We rolled out of the RV center and headed straight to the RV wash to complete the Fox’s day of beauty. We were heading to Heather, Heath and Cash’s home in Whitefish, MT where they made the mistake of telling us we could park in their driveway. Since we figured they had no idea what they had gotten themselves into by making such a generous offer and the fact that they are upstanding citizens if Whitefish, we thought the least we could do was wash off a years worth of road dirt from the trailer before becoming a fixture in their backyard. As we pulled up to the house we were once again reminded of how good we have it. While it may not have a fancy fireplace, built in wine rack or multiple pop outs, the 27T fit perfectly into the Korvola’s driveway a mere 25 feet from their backdoor. And really what more could you ask for?
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