I said in a post last week that I am getting pretty antsy, and honestly I have gotten pretty pissed off that I have not been able to get out and about much yet and it is so frustrating. I got the last procedure wrapped up Wednesday so I can finally start easing back into being more active. Since I cannot get away for a longer trip quite yet, I was feeling pretty good so I got out for an adventure today. And what an adventure it was!

This adventure takes place mostly on the Flathead Reservation, a fairly large tribal reservation located here in Montana between Missoula and Kalispell. I have been through a lot more of this area than I realized but it is all so beautiful a repeat is not necessarily a bad thing. I do know that I did find sone new-to-me highways today and that is always fun.

If you travel through a reservation, be aware and respectful of the property even next to the roads. It is all tribal land so you cannot just go wandering about. You will see signs saying “Tribal Members Only” and that is what it means.

These are several places around this part of the state I have wanted to check out since I got here a couple of months ago. I have driven past them several times but never had enough time to stop and really do it right. It is always good to slow down, actually see what you are looking at, read the interpretive signs & brochures and appreciate what is around you.

You really do yourself a disservice rushing through things just to hurry to get to the next place. I have done this in the past – sacrificing the things near just to get farther – and you really miss so much detail when you travel like that. I have learned to slow down quite a bit and see so much more; it is why when I travel I usually only drive for 4-5 hours and stop. It gives me time built in throughout the day for stops and still I can get in a camping spot reasonably early.

This adventure is a wide-ranging array of places as you will see. As I have said before, I will stop at anything that I find remotely interesting, and I am always interested in the history of the things & places I see. It is amazing the things that you can learn if you are even just a little curious and take your time.

I do have another trip planned and a few others in the final stages of planning so I can hit the ground running when I can get away. You can never see everything, but you can really see MANY things and have a fun trip every time.

Montana is huge. When you drive through you really understand the nickname when you experience the vastness of “Big Sky Country”; it plays the part very well. I was on the road in the 80s doing concert work when I first experienced Montana’s enormousness and I understood the nickname immediately.

With that said, let’s hit the road for my first real travel adventure of 2026!

When I left this morning I actually started heading the opposite direction for a different trip. I really wanted to do this one, reconsidered, then re-RE-considered and decided to go for it and I and glad I did. I had the points of interest lined up pretty much the last six weeks or so, but how I get someplace is sometimes not the most obvious route. US 93 is the main artery between Missoula & Kalispell so it can be busy and slow with very few places to pass the tourists who refuse to pull over but insist on driving 10 MPH under the limit, clogging up the road behind them for miles at a time. But, there is no other viable route.

I am notorious for taking a last-minute turn to get somewhere. When I moved to Washington in 2012 I got into Montana (actually, not far from here) and it was go straight to go to California, or go north into Canada to Banff NP. I decided at the intersection to go to Canada. I saw a place I had on my bucket list.

The first part of this trip was the same kind of last-minute decision-making. I took a road that goes west off of US 93 and makes a loop south around the west side of the reservation. I took US 93 south from Kalispell to Elmo and took a right onto MT 28.

What beautiful scenery it was. Desolate and the middle of nowhere.

When you imagine the Old West, this is the scenery that comes to mind; miles & miles of miles & miles. It was a really beautiful drive on a narrow ribbon of two-lane with no shoulders. Small towns barely surviving many miles from anywhere.

I eventually turned onto MT 382 and the beauty continued.

I saw a roadside sign so pulled over to check it out. I was quite surprised at what I discovered reading the sign:

This is why I like to stop and read these interpretive signs. To see the words “…largest on Earth” and then look up to see this was something I would never have given a second glance to, thinking it was maybe wind erosion.

Out in areas like this nobody really tears anything down – they leave it to nature to handle. Yo will see many old wood barns & houses across the landscape. I got a few miles down the road into Plains, MT and saw these cool old school buildings:

I continued on past Plains, crossing the Flathead River at the junction of MT 28 & MT 200. I knew roughly where I was but just took a right turn without checking. I got down the road a mile or two and saw a sign with names of places I have been but it was the wrong way.

I pulled over and turned around, stopping to take a picture of this interesting hillside with lots going on with trees, geology and the antelope bitterbrush:

Now that I was heading back east toward my destination the scenery started to change a little:

As I approached US 93 at Ravalli, MT I pulled over to read this sign about the history of the area:

I turned right and headed south. My first destination was still a few miles away and I am just so excited to be out on a road trip I can hardly stand it. It has been too long since I have had this kind of trip and I am in my element. The first part of the adventure was awesome and I expect it to stay that way!

This stop is a place I NEVER expected to be here for many reasons that I will not go into. I was surprised when I discovered it and had to see it.

Not far off of US 93 near Arlee, MT is the Ewam Garden of One Thousand Buddhas. This is a real buddhist temple and not some hokey tourist trap. They do retreats and have a gift shop with all sorts of souvenirs, incense, prayer flags, bowls, statues, clothing and books.

I did get in my exercise walking around and it was so calming being there. The first thing you see walking in from parking is The Eight Great Stupas:

I continued on up toward the Garden and there are lots of statues and rocks with the teachings of The Buddha inscribed throughout the campus.

As you walk up to the Garden and you really see the size of it it can be surprising. It is really big, with the thousand Buddhas radiating from The Great Mother on eight arms. The sign above talks about the significance of the layout of the wheel.

When you get to it you are asked to walk the traditional clockwise path around the outside. Along the way you sill see different statues with a sign talking about the figures.

It is a quiet, calming & peaceful place and I really enjoyed my 3-4 hour visit. So much so, I will definitely go back again.

I left there and made a quick stop back in Ravalli, MT. There are a few interesting buildings there I wanted to photograph. I pulled into this parking spot outside this old train station:

Next to it, but inaccessible, are a couple pf odd buildings. I could not get a picture but I will try again. There is another place I want a picture of but the highway is pretty busy along there so it is like you’re playing Frogger with yourself to get a good shot.

It was a short drive to the next stop in St. Ignatius, Montana. I will be stopping at the St. Ignatius Mission:

I stopped here to see this building. It is on the US Historic Register and has significant history in this area. Not necessarily the kind of history I want to hear about, but it is history and it cannot be changed.

I walked the grounds first, stopping in a little gift shop/visitor info building that was once the home of the nuns. It is a small building. This early portable organ was in there. It is not very big.

As you can see, the building is beautiful inside.

I left this place and it is off to the next one!

A little farther up the highway is another site with historic significance. I got to the site and they were mainly open earlier than normal for school groups. I did get to spend some time there talking with a docent and this place has quite a rich history and a bit controversial.

Fort Connah Historic Site is just south of Nine Pipes on US 93, which I was told has an excellent museum. It sits in a beautiful part of the valley. The buildings are down the gravel road so you can drive back there, park, and get your history on.

In June every year they have a “rendezvous”, a nod to the history and traditions of the trappers, hunters and early settlers. I have been to a few in Colorado and one or two in Missouri. They are fun to go to and you can see how these folks really lived in those days.

One of the interesting things about these buildings was absolutely genius. The way they were constructed they were portable:

The logs on each side had a “tab” on each end, and the upright post hade a groove cut down the middle of both sides. It is basically a mortise & tenon joint. They would put the uprights up then slide in the walls. When it got to the top – as you see here – they would put in the small pieces to lock it in.

What genius engineering. Never had to leave a building, did not need to keep cutting trees and shaping logs. They could probably make any size they wanted too.

I bet you are hungry after all of this. I know I worked up an appetite so I think it is time we check a box on my foodie list.

One place that caught my eye coming through in March was Richwine’s Burgerville in Polson, Montana.It has been there since 1962 so I know I had to try it.

They have quite the varied menu and many things looked really good. However, a place named “Burgerville” means you gotta have a burger the first time. I got a cheeseburger with mustard & onion and a small fry. I parked under the awning in back and grabbed a table in the grass. Awesome spot to eat.

The burger was good. A thin patty cooked perfectly, fresh-sliced onion bathed in just enough mustard – all lovingly caressed by a bun toasted on the flattop. Classic.

Well, that is today’s incredible journey. What a day it was. I needed that so badly and I made the best of it.

Thanks for checking out my blog. Hope to see you again!

Shawn