Day Two - Sandpoint Idaho to Missoula Montana

We are pleased to bring you this glitch free day! We turned right out of our hotel this morning, made three more right turns and arrived at the Doubletree in Missoula! It just doesn't get much simpler and we enjoyed a day of beautiful scenery, great weather, and a really nice lunch stop in Thompson Falls at Big Eddy's Deck Cafe. We're not sure if there is a big guy called Eddy or if it is named after a big eddy in the Columbia which flows right by.  We prefer to think there is a Big Eddy!

 

This ride in the morning along the side of Lake Pend Oreille was spectacular. This is truly a boaters heaven and remember we live on a pretty good lake ourselves. Quick quiz - anyone know the origin of the name Pend Oreille?  Don't Google it but if you know submit your answer. We'll put up the answer tomorrow. 

In the afternoon as we headed further east the scenery changed more to ranchlands and farming but we also got some magnificent views of the Rockies. 

 

Missoula is a really cool city that is now updating itself. Money and business is moving in and renovations and new buildings are everywhere. Hana, you might like this one. 

 

There is still some very nice heritage architecture everywhere.

 
 

The with a painted pony!

 

Lastly, Clark Ford river running fast with the big Missoula 'M' in the background. It would be a good hike up there.




Comments

  1. Unknown7 June 2017 at 20:08

    Well, that's a better day! Sounds like a super nice ride. Have a lovely night and enjoy your time in the saddle tomorrow. Be safe!
    Love love love.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Unknown8 June 2017 at 12:05

    I want the pony for our front yard!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Unknown8 June 2017 at 13:59

      Ok. We're gonna need an angle grinder, the pickup truck and a rustling trip to Missoula! It's at the Missoula Children's Theatre.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day Thirteen - Alamosa to Denver Colorado

Image
Our final riding day - but with a brilliant twist!  In the middle of the night came the idea that our friends John and Donna might be riding the exact opposite route to us in the morning and perhaps we might be in the same place at the same time. Some early morning emailing proved this theory to be true so, with a minor adjustment to our start time we agreed to meet at a coffee shop in Salida at 10.  At the appointed hour we were there and look         We met up with them and their travelling companions Samo and Bojana from Slovenia!  They rode off southeast to Durango and we turned north to Denver. We enjoyed a super day riding through central Colorado - mountains, passes, rolling ranchlands with only high winds and a long delay for a crash to mar the Rocky Mountain high.          We arrived Denver in the late afternoon and the ladies treated Andy and the author to a great Italian dinner downtown. So that's it. Tomorrow we tak...
Read more

Day Ten - Chinle Arizona to Santa Fe New Mexico

Image
The crew has become restless - we tire of endless open spaces and beautiful valleys and canyons. An insurrection is brewing as Santa Fe looms. High speed tarmac, Route 66, Breaking Bad locations and retail therapy are now the priority. The plan is hatched last night at the daily Jack Daniels meeting.    With that in mind the route is reshuffled to run through Gallup and Albuquerque and then Madrid (Mad Rid) to Santa Fe. But the captain extracts a price. We start with breakfast at Denny's where the northernmost Denny's t-shirt is worn with pride!  And right opposite the restaurant is this most attractive retail offer. Although what you do while the item is on layaway doesn't bear thinking about!   We start with a smooth ride down to Gallup and a coffee at the historic El Rancho hotel - well known to the Fukawi!   From there a 2 hour interstate blitz at 80 mph and temperatures that eventually hit 102F for lunch at Loyola's. Again a Fukawi haunt and the scene of bo...
Read more

Day Eleven - Santa Fe

Image
A very cultural day. No riding! We started out from the Luxx (lobby below) around 9 and headed straight for a French bakery breakfast.    With a crepe on board we went to see the cathedral just off the square but a funeral in progress limited our viewing.      From there we went to the New Mexico History Museum. Wow! You could spend a day just there. We had no real knowledge of the to and fro for ownership of this area. When La Donald talks of building a wall and having Mexico pay he should perhaps remember that America took this land (New Mexico and Arizona) by force when Mexico refused to sell it! This is a real photo- not staged   And this is a real stage (coach). Not too comfy!   Perhaps this is why they don't allow alcohol on the reservations. The bottle is tiny, kind of airplane sized.    From there down to the rail yard district for lunch and some interesting art galleries.  Lastly the Georgia O''Keefe gallery and then a well earn...
Read more