Missoula, May 13, 14, 15, 16, 17

 May 13

Mark was sick all night, so we rested today.

May 14- Mothers' Day

     What a lovely Mothers' Day! Mark felt better, for one. We got texts from Nick and Sebastian, as well as Jennifer Wilson. Jecca called. It is the night of Hank's prom and Jecca was a chaperone. He went with Grace, a junior and daughter of a faculty member. They have known each other since pre-school.

    At around 1:30, David and Maura picked us up and we went to the MCT - Children's Theatre where they had bought us tickets for "Matilda" based on the Raoul Dahl book. It was very enjoyable, full of energy.

  

Afterwards, we went to Porte Rouge restaurant. It is a favorite of David and Maura's and we understand why. It was great. Barbara had an amazing chicken dish with a mustard glaze over kale as well as a mushroom quiche. Mark had onion soup and a steak sandwich; he is trying to take it easy on his stomach, so had two appetizers. David had a pork dish with a horseradish and milk sauce and Maura had steak frites. We shared a butterscotch pudding.  Barbara gave Mark an early birthday present of a new, small camera. She had it mailed to David and Maura's. (Wish we had had it when we were in Big Fork.) 

   May 15 

This was the warmest day yet and, after our morning exercises which we are trying very hard to keep up, especially the P.T. parts, we went to Costco and Mark got a new pair of shorts. He did not bring any and the weather warranted them. Then we drove to Good Foods, a favorite grocery store and got some organic veggies etc. Amazingly, we ran into friend Jen Olson who was on her lunch break from school. What are the odds? Other than David and Maura she is the only person we know in Missoula. We went for a coffee at Petit Outre coffee shop and split a croissant.

  Later in the afternoon, we went birding by Waterworks Hill. It wasn't the best time of day to go birding, but we did manage to hear and then locate two Western Meadowlarks. We didn't get a great look at them and they were too far away for the new camera.

May 16

   David got a bolt in a tire, so we picked him and the tire up and took it for repair. Then the three of us went to Petit Outre for coffee and a pastry. Once we got back to David and Maura's the tire shop called that the tire was done, so back we went. Then we went to a spot that they call "Two Miles" as it's the closest swimming spot (for Dutch) on the Blackfoot River. (We saw yellow warblers) We also visited Milltown State Park.  Then, we dropped David off and went back to "our" apartment to have lunch and to fiddle with the new camera.

Along the Blackfoot

Milltown State Park

Milltown State Park

Milltown State Park

 We went to David and Maura's for dinner. Mark marinated chicken and grilled it along with asparagus and rice. 

Maebe climbing the hill

Behind David and Maura's house

May 17

   We did errands in the morning (Walgreen's, groceries etc). We went to Pho Vi for lunch. Afterwards we tried to find the other side of Milltown State Park, but failed. So, we took a walk along that side. There is a haze in the air due to forest fires in Canada.

May 18 - Jecca's Birthday

     Barbara seems to have picked up the stomach bug that Mark had earlier, so spent much of the day in bed.

     Maura left soup on our doorstep which was considerate.

Dutch retrieving sticks in the Blackfoot

Missoula, Big Fork May 8-12

  May 8

   

Willy took us to Logan this morning. (He will travel up to Maine for a few days.) We checked in relatively easily, although had a glitch with Mark's boarding pass we had been unable to put in our virtual "wallet." He had to go back to the check-in to get a new one. Then, we tried to go to the Delta Sky Lounge to wait for our flight, but were turned away by a woman who said that Barbara's card wouldn't scan and that Mark couldn't go in, even if the card had scanned, without an extra payment. So, we left.

   The flight to Salt Lake City was about 5 hours and, other than some turbulence about an hour in, it was view easy. We sat across the aisle from each other and both read audio books. We landed at SLC airport with a beautiful view of the mountains. We tried our luck with the Sky Lounge again, and, lo and behold, not only did my card scan, but we had a free voucher. So, we spent about 2 1/2 hours in comfort and had some good food. Then, we boarded a smaller jet for the hour-long flight to Missoula. The mountains were gorgeous and the view of Missoula was great. We landed early and David picked us up. We all had a lovely salmon meal. We are sleeping downstairs. 

Salt Lake City Airport

May 9

   Maura went off to work at the high school where she is a paraprofessional. David has the day off and, after breakfast and all three of us working out and doing P.T., we went to the Blackfoot River with Maebe and Dutch. Later he dropped us at the airport where we picked up our rental car - a Hyundai Kona which has less than 400 miles on it. 

   We all went out for a delicious dinner at BoxCar restaurant. It was really good. Barbara - steelhead trout. Mark - duck confit. David- steak tips. Maura - pork chops. Then, we went home and watched 3 episodes of Abbott Elementary, a series we had never seen.

May 10

    After seeing David and Maura off to work, we left for Big Fork. We moseyed our way there, enjoying the sunshine and scenery. Flathead Lake is so beautiful. We had lunch by the falls in Big Fork and then went to Maura's dad's house and the three of us drove to Kalispell where we picked up Jordan and went to one of his favorite restaurants - Nickel Charlie's Eatery. Then, we dropped Jordan off and went back to Dennis's and then checked into Timbers Motel in Big Fork.

Flathead Lake

Mark in the rental car

Flathead

Jordan and Dennis at Nickel Charlie's

May 11

    What gorgeous weather we had today - almost 70 degrees, sunny with beautiful white clouds. We started the day by going with Dennis to Echo Lake Cafe - soooo good. Barbara had a crepe with eggs and veggies. Mark had eggs and veggies with cheesy potatoes plus a delicious muffin. They have "Nantucket prices" but so good.  

     Later we went to a flat area of Lake Flathead where we went birding on the shore. We saw a mature bald eagle almost immediately and then another a juvenile shortly thereafter. We also saw swallows including a violet green which we think is a life bird for us. We also saw hooded mergansers, mourning doves and others that we recognize. 

Looking back at Big Fork. And, there were eagles!

From there we went into Big Fork where Barbara got some huckleberry honey for her book club. Then we went to Grateful Bread for takeout sandwiches (turkey terrific and BLT) We took them to the Big Fork Nature Trail, recommended by Dennis which he says is called the Wild Mile. It runs along the Swan River, an easy walk. We saw an osprey on its nest and we heard two birds that we have never seen...and still haven't seen! A Cassin's vireo and a MacGillivray's warbler. Merlin identified them by sound, although we tried really hard, we couldn't spot them. They were tantalizingly close. What a nice day.

The Swan River rushing along

May 12

 We went into Big Fork to the Pocketstone Cafe for a very large breakfast. Then we went to Wayfarer's State Park to look for birds. By using all the wonderful aids now available with our phones, we were able to track down a flock of chipping sparrows. And, we also managed to see two "life birds" - spotted towhees, and an orange crowned warbler.. We met a ranger who is in charge of all the state parks on the lake and he was informative, an avid birder.

From Wayfarer's S.P. looking back at Big Fork

Then we drove back to Missoula with a stop at a nature reserve on an Indian Reservation (Saltish Kootenai) called Nine Pipes, a pothole pond. We saw a flock of double crested cormorants, several great blue herons and red wing blackbirds, but the real find was another "life bird" for us - the yellow headed black bird. We also saw Caspian terns and two Forster's terns, which may be another life bird, but we'll have to check when we get home.

Nine Pipes with "pothole" lakes

Nine Pipes

At Nine Pipes

We checked in to the same apartment on Spruce Street where we've stayed before. We went to the Fresh Market for some groceries. Then we went over to David and Maura's for burgers and veggies skewers on the grill.

   

May, 2023 Massachusetts & Montana for the Month

   May 1 - Start to our vacation at Sea Mist Resort timeshare in Mashpee.

We left Nantucket on the early boat, leaving Norman and Jane at the house. They came down for Norman's 75th birthday which was celebrated with Tyler, Alison, Jessie and Chris.

  

We are staying at the Sea Mist Resort in Mashpee where we have stayed once before. Our first stop, as usual, was Pain d'Avignon for coffee and for a croissant. The weather was windy, but sunny and in the low 60s which was great. After checking in, we drove all the way to Provincetown where we got delicious sandwiches at Far Land Provisions. We ate 1/2 the sandwiches in the National Seashore Park. Then we visited the Birdwatcher's General Store. From there, we went to Nickerson State Park where we walked a bit around Cliff Pond and had the rest of our sandwiches. It was a great day.

At Cape Cod National Seashore

At Nickerson State Park

Nickerson State Park

   We got some food at the Stop and Shop to eat at the apartment and went to the hot tub and dry sauna and had the entire place to ourselves.

  May 2

 We spent the middle of the day in Bridgewater with the family - the folks, Mary, Phil, Sandy & John. Afterwards we drove back to Mashpee for an early dinner at Cook's Seafood which was good. The weather was changeable - sun, rain and even some hail in Bridgewater.  Another hot tub and sauna to found off the day.

  May 3

    We spent the morning in Bridgewater and then went back to Mashpee Commons where Barbara bought a pair of pants. We drove to East Falmouth for some Thai food for another late lunch. Then - hot tub and sauna again.

   May 4 - May the Fourth be With You!

Visit to Sandwich to see Megan. (Bo was asleep)

   We did laundry in the morning. We went to Tumi in Hyannis for lunch. Mark had steak tips with Peruvian spices and Barbara had one empanada and tuna ceviche. We met Jane and Norman at Pain D'Avignon before their trip home. Then - back to the resort and another spell in the hot tub and sauna.

May 5

   Today Barbara had an eye appointment with  Dr MacQueen at Lens Crafters. Amazingly, her eyes have slightly improved and will have a lesser prescription sent to David and Maura's in Missoula.Then we went to Bridgewater for pizza, but Grandpa was already back in bed by the time we got there. But, we had a nice visit with Alice, John and Sandy. (Mary is in Maine for the weekend.) Then we went to Mass Eye and Ear in Bridgewater and had ear tests. Both of us have almost the same hearing as we did last year and both of us having pretty much the same profile. We will investigate hearing aids - see how much they are covered by our insurance etc. From there we picked up Greek salad and pizza (2nd meal of day!) and went to Matt, Maureen's and Penelope's in Taunton. At 2 and a half, Penelope is engaging, fun and alert. We also checked out their 11 chickens!

Penelope, Matt and Mark looking at chickens

Penelope after her trip to Disney, dressed as Rapunzel

Maureen and Penelope

May 6 

   Today we. checked out of Mashpee and headed for W. Roxbury where we picked up our lamps from the fix-it man. They are lamps we bought the first year we were married. Then we stopped at Green Papaya for a light lunch and on to Concord to stay with Jec, Willy & Hank. Jec and Willy are training for their hike across England and went for a run. They are also working hard to put in several gardens in front of their house. Later, we went across to a food truck at the baseball field and got sandwiches. Hank coached the faculty - student basketball game. (None of us attended, but he seemed to have a good time.)

May 7

    A gorgeous summer day. Jec and Willy met friends for lunch. We did a laundry and pared down our clothing for our trip to Montana. We also did a bit of gardening at the campus garden which has been rejuvenated under the direction of sophomore Miroslav, a Ukrainian refugee.