Do You Like Ninjas?

From Missoula we headed north up to Flathead Lake.  We are staying at a state park called West Shore and it is about 10 minutes south of Lakeside, MT.

Our site at West Shore State Park

Our site is beautiful and just up the hill from the lake itself.  The water at the lake looks like the Caribbean.

The lake from the campground

It is so clear, but the water is fresh and a little chilly depending on how hot the day feels.

The best skipping stones.

The beautiful water of Flathead Lake.

We have stayed here for 2 weeks and are so glad we had planned on that extra week.  When we first arrived we spent the first day relaxing and checking out the park itself and playing in the lake a little bit.  We are about an hour from Glacier National Park and we spent a day up there attending programs, becoming junior rangers, and hiking.

Ranger-led hike.

Crossing the bride on John's Lake Loop trail.

We explored Kalispel and while searching for a park to eat our lunch in we came across a little music in the park.  Great way for the locals to have a fun lunch break.

Sofia and I having a picnic in the park in Kalispel.

The Shally's met us this week and we had a blast.

The scene within 10 minutes of the Shallard's arrival.

Mr. Day-go and Henry goofing off.

We got to have them for 4 nights and 3 days and had tons of fun.

Rented a boat on the lake and pulled a floaty behind.

The big girls........who you callin' big :)

We delayed our entry and timed it perfect.

We spent a day in Glacier, having a picnic, hiking John's Lake Loop and driving further up the Road to the Sun to Logan's Pass.  The drive was very beautiful and for me, a close if not equal contender in beauty, to the Rocky Mountain National Park.  We enjoyed a few campfires, game nights, beers and adult time.  It was such a nice visit and I'm so, so glad they made the long journey to come out and hang together.

Picnic in Glacier

John's Loop Trail with Shally's

Lunch at the local brewery.

Roasting brats :)

Saying goodbye :(

Some things that I really enjoyed about this area were the beautiful crystal clear water and our favorite town in area was Whitefish.

Delicious Ice Cream in Whitefish, MT (Thanks, Lanessa:)

Very cute place with a lot of the things we have mentioned before that we like in a town.  Tons of stuff going on for families, markets, what they call a "beach" :)......I call a lake shore, but either way it's a great place to swim and cool off with lots of water sports going on.

City Beach area in Whitefish, MT.  You can see the ski runs in the background.

They have the Big Mountain right there that is a ski resort during cold months and while we were there they had several summer sports going on.
One of our afternoons in Whitefish we went to the farmer's market and had some great food.  We met up with our friend Lanessa's brother, Jimmy and had a nice visit out on the lawn.

Hanging out with Jimmy at the farmer's market.

I still don't love the casinos in the area, but they seem to be less noticeable in Whitefish.  We also visited Big Fork which was a cute little pass through town with some beautiful properties on the lake shore.

Diego went out of town for a few days for work stuff and the girls and I hit Glacier one last time hiking up to Avalanche Lake.

The roots of a fallen tree.

I took a ton of pictures in an effort to capture how beautiful the gorge was at the entrance of the trail, but couldn't do it justice.

Gorge on Avalanche Lake Trail.  Not sure the name.

On Avalanche Trail hike.

The hike was a 2 mile trail with a 500 foot gain and felt a little tough.  Maybe because of the heat or maybe it was the tinge of smoke in the air from one of the many wild fires around the area.  Not sure, but at the top it was worth it.  A pretty lake with waterfalls all over the mountains in the distance.

Avalanche Lake

The hike down was much easier.  At the end of our last week in the area, the girls and I went back to Whitefish, had lunch

Loula's for lunch!  Another Lanessa tip.

and then headed up the mountain to do the aerial adventures park.  Luna would only have been able to do the easy routes unless her mom agreed to go too.  I agreed and there was a point at the first obstacle that I felt this course was not made for adults, but we all had a lot of fun and the ziplines were the best.

Ready to go.

Great stop.  It ranks up as one of my favorites.

Beautiful Sunset drive home. (minus the power lines :)