View of Flathead Lake from just south of Polson

Antelope at National Bison Refuge

Curious bird at Eagle Bend

Resident deer at Eagle Bend

Eagle Bend G.C.

St. Ignatius Mission

Start of our last week in Polson, MT

Howdy again! We are still enjoying wonderful weather here in Polson even though my golf hasn't been so good. I played on Monday, the 24th, here at the Polson Bay G.C. and shot an 81 than an 82 at Eagle bend on Wednesday and finally an 86 here at Polson Bay today. I shot a 45 on the front nine and was never out of the fairway! I just kept missing the greens and then failing to get up and down to save my par. The two greens I did hit in regulation I three putted. Oh well, I played a little better on the back and finally made a long par saving putt on the last hole.

On Tuesday Tippy and I took a car ride to St. Ignatius, about 30 miles south, to see the famous St. Ignatius Mission. It was really very beautiful and all of the paintings inside are attributed to a man with no formal art training. before our visit to the Mission we stopped at the Old Timers cafe in St. Ignatius for lunch and it was delicious! The soup was especially good but may have been outdone by my chicken fried steak. Tippy had a patty melt that looked great and apparently tasted the same because I wasn't offered any. After the mission tour we drove south onUS 93 to the junction with Montana 200. We took Montana 200 west to the junction with Montana 212 and took that back to US 93. On Montana 212 is the entrance to the National Bison Refuge which was the purpose for this loop. We entered the refuge, took the west loop and saw one Antelope. The road then came to a fork with one trail indicating you should allow 2 hours to complete and the other could be done in 20 minutes. Well Alex was home alone and was surely missing us so we took the shorter loop which was as advertised a 20 minute drive. The only problem was no Bison! We didn't see anything that moved as a matter of fact so we left the refuge somewhat disappointed because we didn't see one Bison.

Wednesday was golf at Eagle Bend with Carl Henry and a group of his friends. As I indicated above I didn't play real well but I did manage to separate Carl from $4 thanks to the 6 strokes he gave me. You can see the pictures of the course and some of the resident deer above. Very beautiful! The small bird was very curious and would not leave us alone for quite a while. He was by our carts as we finished the 5th hole and I had to shoo him away so Carl could move the cart. The bird followed us to the 6th tee and stayed so close you could reach down and touch it if you wanted. After we teed off the bird then followed us down the fairway for over 100 yards before finally turning around and heading back to the 5th green area.

Thursday was laundry and coach cleaning and then out to dinner at the Smokehouse on the east shore of Flathead Lake. We had a great meal and got home early to watch some TV and get to bed early as Friday golf was at 9:00 and I have to walk Alex before I go anywhere. I have already told you how bad I played today so I won't go there again other than to say we had a great group and I had a good time even with the poor play. Tippy and I will go to the Happy Hour this afternoon and then eat stuffed peppers that Tippy made yesterday.

Next Friday we leave here and head southwest to the Garrison/Deer Lodge area, less than 140 miles, where I weill play a new golf course called Rock Creek Cattle Company. It is a Tom Doak course and looks great from the website pictures I have seen. Well enjoy the pics and I am sure I will make one more post before we leave Polson.

Our site in Polson, MT

Whitefish Golf Club

Polson Bay Country Club

Polson, Montana

We have been in Polson since August 14th and the weather has been just wonderful. We had a little rain, some cool days when we first got here, but mostly bright sunny days that tell you why they call Montana "Big Sky Country." I have played golf here at the Polson bay Country Club, our RV resort is on the 18th hole, and once at the north course at the Whitefish Golf Club. Whitefish is about 60-65 miles north of Polson but it was well worth the drive. My friend Jay, a Texas guy we met in Great Falls, MT last year and Carl Henry, an old las Vegas friend that now lives in Big Fork, MT, made the trip with me and we had a great round. I had a little trouble on the front nine but brought it back with a 36 on the back for a 77 for the day.

The best I have done here at the Polson Bay C.C. has been 80. I always seem to mess up a few holes each day with three putts or other foolish mistakes. The course here is in great shape and is really fun to play. The mix of holes id very good and the greens are just tricky enough to get your attention. I will drive up to Big Fork on Wednesday to play Eagle Bend with Carl and I also plan on playing a course south of here in Ronan, MT called Mission Mountain G.C. The guys here have said it is really a pretty course and well worth playing.

Tippy and I both love it here and have already made reservations, and have our site oicked out, for next summer. We will leave Mallard Cteek in Lebanon, OR at the end of July and take three days to drive here arriving on August 3rd. We won't depart until September 10th and we are not sure where we will head from here as that segment is still in the planning stages. We have found several good places to eat in the area, the golf is great, and the weather spectacular! What more could one ask?

We are driving up to Kalispell this afternoon, about 45 miles, to do some shopping and get Alex some dog food. I bought her a different brand of dry food here in Polson and she won't eat any of it so I guess she is a one brand dog. There is a Petco in Kalispell where we hope we can find that magic brand!

Our friends Ron & Karen Recer from our Alfa Club are passing through town tomorrow and we plan to have dinner withn them here in Polson. They are staying just north of the north of the north entrance to Yelllowstone Naltional Park this summer and are taking a drive to Glacier National Park in their truck, without their rig, and staying in motels. We had hoped to see them while we are in West Yellowstone in September but due to road construction closures the drive would be just too much. So this trip came up for them and it works great for us as they have to drive right through Polson to get to Glacier anyhow. More later, enjoy the pics and be safe.