“The Ramparts of God” Part of the joy in being retired is freedom of time and as the temperature began to approach the 100’s in Billings I decided to leave town and spend three weeks exploring the Rocky Mountains of northwestern Montana. The plan is to head northwest from Billings to Glacier National Park, cross over into the Flathead Valley, explore the forests of the northwest corner of Montana, then turn east and tour central Montana before returning south to Billings. Augie the doggie and I packed up and hit the road. Come along!
Kalispell, MT
Kalispell (native Salish for” flat land above the lake”) is the commercial and financial center of the Flathead Valley. Originally founded by the Great Northern Railway in 1891 as a division point at the west end of the Marias Pass stretch, the railroad actually abandoned Kalispell in 1904 in favor of Whitefish to the north. However, by that time Kalispell was solidly established as the commercial center of the valley and the loss of the railroad did not spell the end (which was unusual, typically where the railroad went so did the people). The completion of Highway 2 through Marias Pass into Kalispell insured the survival of the town and Kalispell is now by far the largest town in northwestern Montana with a population of over 21,000. “Old town” Kalispell centers on the intersection of Highway 2 (east/west) and Highway 93 (north/south) about 7 miles north of Flathead Lake. “New” town Kalispell rises on top of a bluff north of the intersection stretching towards Whitefish and contains all the usual big box stores, Walmart, etc. A highlight of my time in Kalispell was a delightful dinner at niece Diane’s house with barbecue by husband Mike and entertainment by little daughters Lilly and Emma. Thanks!
The historic Great Northern Railway Depot anchors the north end of the historic downtown district.
Main Street is also Highway 93, stretching north from Missoula to the Canadian border. Most of commercial Kalispell lies along the highway and the traffic jams through town are legendary (and very real, as I can easily attest to!). Let’s take a walk down Main Street
Just a block off the main drag sit the old Post Office (built in 1917 and currently the Flathead County Library) and the Central School (built as Kalispell’s first school in 1894 and currently a museum).
The founder of the city of Kalispell, Charles Conrad, was a legendary figure in the building of the north valley. A Civil War veteran and businessman who first came west to Fort Benton on the Missouri River in Montana at the age of 18, Conrad had made his fortune creating a shipping and trading empire on the Missouri River. Conrad came to the area in 1891 on a trip to Spokane, Washington, with his wife and young daughter and stayed in this new “paradise.” Creating several businesses and a bank, he helped shape the future of the north valley. A sign of his commitment to the area was the building of his home on the western edge of the city near the shores of the Flathead River. The Conrad Mansion, 13,000 square feet of Victorian elegance in the wilderness, was completed in 1895. Originally built on a 71 acre estate, the mansion now sits within three beautifully landscaped acres. The house was occupied by the Conrads until 1971 when the last daughter, Alice, died and left the mansion and its’ grounds to the city of Kalispell as a museum. The house was closed the day I visited, but I was able to walk around the grounds.
At the time of its’ construction the Conrad Mansion was alone on the east edge of town but in the early 1900’s the wealthy of the area rapidly their own claims to immortality in the blocks between the commercial strip and the Conrad Mansion. Houses vary in size from cottages to mansions, though none as large as the Conrad Mansion. Maple trees were planted along the newly laid out residential streets and today they form green tunnels for about a 12 block area known as the Eastside Residential Historic District.
Given my fascination with architecture, this was a tailor-made opportunity for a walking tour. Let’s stroll…
Back to Main Street to wrap up the Kalispell tour with a visit to an iconic Kalispell experience, Norm’s News. Norm’s is in the first floor of the shorter building on the right of this block kitty-corner from the train depot. The taller building originally housed the Kalispell Opera House. The block was built in 1896.
Norm’s News has been in continuous operation since 1938 as a combination news stand, candy shop, and most importantly, a soda shop. A long, narrow space has the soda fountain along the north wall, candy and magazines along the south wall, and tables down the length of the middle.
A visit to the valley isn’t complete without touring Flathead Lake. Dangling like a sapphire pendant dangling from a verdant emerald chain, the lake is surrounded by mountains on three sides to the west, north, and east with rolling hills to the south. I am going to go around the lake clockwise, starting in Kalispell and driving about 15 miles to Bigfork at the northwest corner of the lake, down the east side and around to Polson at the southern end of the lake, and then back up the west side of the lake back to Kalispell.
Heading southeast from Kalispell, the road crosses the flat plain until it climbs briefly up to Bigfork, where the mountains reach the lake. The east side of the lake is heavily forested and steep, with a number of small bays dotting the shoreline. At the crest of the hill passing the turn-off to Bigfork we get our first glimpse of the lake and the road descends to cross the Swan River and our first stop, Wayfarers State Park. The view from the boat ramp are spectacular as I first look northwest towards Bigfork (you can see the bridge over the Swan River, than across the lake to the western shore and mountains beyond. You can see that the smoke still hangs to the west.
About five miles south of the state park one of the anomalies of the micro-climate in the valley comes into view. For a stretch of about ten miles along the eastern shore of the lake a narrow strip of land at the base of the mountains is perfect for growing cherries! Cherry orchards blanket the descending land between the highway and the lake shore. The extremely hot and dry weather this year has made the cherries ripen area so numerous fruit stands dot the highway. I’m driving on a Sunday so the highway is relatively crowded with tourists and locales taking in the views and shopping for cherries! These views are taken from the side of the highway, looking across the cherry orchards and west across the lake.
The land grows visibly drier as we reach the bottom of the lake and the dense forests recede towards the horizon and rolling tan hills of grass occasionally dotted with trees come into view.
Flathead Lake is approximately 16 miles long and 30 miles long but the shoreline is much longer due to the number of bays around the perimeter. The largest bay, Big Arm, pierces west from the main body of the lake, which is just over the low range of hills in the center of this picture. The Mission Mountains rise to the east of the lake.
Further up the west side, the Mission Mountains maintain their reach towards the sky above the pines that partially screen the lake.
We complete the circle and return to our RV park, which sits on a bend in the Flathead River just east of Kalispell. I am once again reminded that Augie the doggie is very lucky. Once again, he scores in the “potty“ department. The view from the dog run is pretty spectacular looking northeast towards Glacier National Park.
Next up: “The Garden City”
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