Western Montana lakes

Recently the family and I got out of the Missoula Valley and did some camping near some of Western Montana's finest lakes. We set up camp at Holland lake for 3 nights, relaxing and exploring the lakes shore. There were 2 campgrounds to chose from, both of them were pretty full with many of them reserved for the weekend. The mosquitos were a bit thick, but nothing a little deet couldn't take care of. Reapplication was key. One of the girls faces got absolutely hammered by the little buggers, coincidence that she's the one with the sweet tooth? Hmmm

We hiked up to Holland Falls (3 miles RT) and took in the great views of the Mission Range. I think the girls enjoyed the hike even more than we did, as they rode in the backpacks the entire way. We're thinking this summer might be the last time they take advantage of that luxury.

On of the other days we needed some downtime (see tired of chasing the girls around) so we got in the car and drove down to Seeley. The DVD player was just what the doctor ordered and the girls were soon quiet, call us lazy....whatever. The day use beach at Seeley is great, so we lounged and enjoyed the dull roar of watercraft in the background. A burger and icecream down at Bayside Burgers, we were all set. On the way back up north, we decided to stop at all the lakes and check out their campgrounds.

We checked out the trailhead for Clearwater Canoe Trail, sounded interesting... one of these days I might have to get a canoe and try it out. Lakes Alva and Inez had some nice campgrounds. Rainy Lake looked nice, a little more primitive without the facilities for motorhomes etc. And Lindbergh Lake was beautiful, we couldn't believe all the homes that surrounded the lake.

The next day we picked up camp and headed north up Highway 83 towards Bigfork. Avoiding the tourist trap that Bigfork seems to be, we stopped in a Flathead Lake Brewing Company in Lakeside. They've got a great outdoor seating area and an even better Imperial IPA. Their pizza hit the spot. Next stop was Finley Point on Flathead lake, an awesome waterfront cabin owned by a retired MFD fire chief. We had a great time on the boats. The grand finale? A tweaked right knee, how bad? I'm not sure at this point, but its pretty swollen although it seems to be improving.

All in all we couldn't have asked for any better weather or company. The temps were in the high eighties and low 90's all week, with no wind or clouds. I took quite a few pictures and have whittled them down, have a look over here (there's a few from aren't from the trip in there too)

http://picasaweb.google.com/kneetopia/MissoulaSummer?feat=directlink





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