Reggae night at Flannigan's nite club in downtown Whitefish, MT. So mant people were dancing with their beers. The music talent in Whitefish is as good as that of Austin, TX in my opinion. 

My new mountain bike is quite an upgrade from my Wall Mart bought bike complete with disc brakes and full suspension. 

Italian style nachos at Mambo's Italianos in Whitefish, MT are quite different from any kind of nachos I've ever had. They were quite tasty. 

Doing shots with fellow worker, Eric (left) and fellow partiers, Tracy and Mike. Downtown Whitefish, MT. One of the good things about partying in downtown Whitefish is that I can walk home and not worry about drinking and driving. 

This is Chandler, the newspaper's photographer. He is also a reporter for the paper. 

The night club seen in downtown Whitefish can rival that of 6th Street at night in Austin, TX. These lovely ladies were some party companions at one of the popular spots in Whitefish. 

The old bridge over the Middle Fork Flathead River  

Playing disc golf in the woods just outside of Whitefih, MT. It was one of the hardest courses I have ever played on. 

Homesteading in Whitefish Montana some 30 miles outside of Glacier National Park.

August 3rd would be my first official day of me moving into my new apartment in Whitefish, MT. Now I believe it’s safe to assume that most people, especially most of the folks back in Texas, have never heard of Whitefish, MT. But believe me, in a few years, everyone will know of Whitefish. It’s going to be synonymous with places like Laguna Beach, and LaJolla, CA, Austin, and Plano, TX, and Jackson, WY just to name a few.

Here in Whitefish, there are two kinds of people. Realtors and poor people. Here, the realtors rule, just like in those places previously mentioned. It’s unbelievable how crappy little houses, and I do mean LITTLE, are going for almost a half a million dollars. So, if you’ re into Real Estate, then pack your bags and move to Whitefish now while the pickings are still good.

So enough about my envy problem with realtors, let’s talk about Whitefish and why it is one of the most sought after places to live. Whitefish is what I consider a recreational town. The town has its own version of 6th Street, as far as, night-life activity and live music goes. The only difference is that here all the bars have casinos in them. Then there's Whitefish Lake which is only a few minutes from town and from my place.

Big Mountain Ski and Summer Resort is less than 20 minutes by car from the Town of Whitefish. Every Friday night there is a concert at the summit of Big Mountain with free Gondola ride to the top. The Resort is pretty cool because that are bars and pubs everywhere with outside decks complete with the view of the town of Whitefish, Whitefish Lake, and the rest of the valley. And let's not forget Glacier National Park. The view of the Park from the Summit is simply spectacular.

In downtown Whitefish is where I work. As I mentioned before, I got a job with The Whitefish Pilot, the location newspaper, as a Graphic Artist. The office is right on main street. Up until today, I walked to work everyday. It usually took less than 15 minutes. I believe this is the first time I've ever work at a place that was close enough to walk to. And I must say to, I can get use to this!

Yesterday, I bought a used full suspension mountain bike, so now, I'll be riding my b ike to work. The editor of the Whitefish Pilot, who also lives in the same apartments that I do, also rides a bike to work everyday.

I got a decent deal on a used bike. It has the all latest in bike state-of-the-art gadgetry. Q would be proud. It has an aluminum frame, disc-brakes all around, full suspension all around, the latest in gear shifting, and a whole lot more. All of this for a mere seven hundred dollars. I rode it for the first time around town today and it rode like a Cadillac compared to my last bike back in Texas. The bike needs a little bit of adjusting, but for the most part, it's in fairly good shape. I'm so glad and happy that I got it.

Whitefish is not without its bad points. One of them is that there is rail yard right in downtown Whitefish. It's the rail line that runs from Chicago, IL to Seattle, WA. The yard is loud with noise from the activity that goes on 24-7. I can clearly hear the noise from my place. 

Whitefish Lake is definitely a recreational lake, and the people of Whitefish are not without their recreational toys. Whitefish lake is only a 15 mintues walk from my place.  

Downtown Whitefish, MT. In the backgrounds is BIg Mountain. If you look closely, you can see the ski runs. 

My first home cooked meal at Whitefish, MT. It felt good to be back in a kitchen again. It was one of the best burgers I have ever made, and yes mother, I cleaned up afterwards. 

Waste not, want not at Loula's Cafe in downtown Whitefish, MT. Loula's is right next door to the Whitefish Pilot which is where I work. I was told that Loula's homemade pies were some of the best around, so tried the raspberry and peach one day. It was ok. It certainly didn't compare to one of my mother's pie on a bad day. 

No, this isn't a tropical island. This is Whitefish Lake in Whitefish, MT. On this day, I took off work at noon, and the pups and I spend a few hours at the lake. 

I was getting my apartment painted so the pups and I took a mini road trip for the day. One of the places we went to was here, Hungry Horse Dam and Reservoir Recreational Park. In the back background you can see the peaks at Glacier National Park. This place was absolutely beautiful. 

Near naked babes at Whitefish Lake in Whitefish, MT. 

Another beautiful sunset in Kalispell, MT. 

Back To Many Glacier With Pat and Donna

After a full Sunday of mountain biking at Big Mountain Resort with my good friends Donna and Pat, it was time for me to go back to work the following day. Pat and Donna, on the other hand, were still on vacation, so they were off to Glacier National Park for a few days of camping.

It was decided that I would hook up with them on Tuesday night at Many Glacier on the east side of Glacier National Park, and spend the next day hiking some where in that part of the park.

After a 3 hour drive, the pups and I arrived at the camp grounds at Many Glacier and met up with Pat and Donna just as we had plan.

I was ready to sit around a campfire and party and drink all night, but they were ready for bed. It seems that after a day of hiking to Grinnell Glacier, they were bush and ready to hit the sack.

Nonetheless I wasted no time with starting a rip-roaring fire with the wood I brought and commense to stay up all night and drink all night by myself.

Well, not totally by myself....Snapper and Comet stayed up with me.

The next day, like usual, I was the first one up. True to form...Last one to bed...First one up. Shortly afterwards Donna was up and roaming around, then later Pat popped up.

Since they did Grinnell Glacier the day before, we decided to do Iceberg Lake which is one of the coolest hikes at the park. Supposely, the lake has iceberg in it. When I heard this, I just vision a big lake with icebergs floating around in it. You know. Kind of like the ocean, but smaller.

Anyway, we were excited about going on this hike. We hit the trail in full throttle until the bad news came. THE TRAIL TO ICEBERG LAKE IS TEMPORARILY CLOSE DUE TO BEAR DANGER. My jaw hit the ground when I heard this. It was the weirdiest thing I'd ever heard.

Disappointed, but not discourage, we were determine to do a hike, so we decided to do the hike to Tparmigan Lake. Though the hike wasn't as strenuous as the hike to Iceberg Lake, it is still a good hike. Just after Tparmigan creek falls, the trail became very steep. I thought, I was going to die. I was wishing I hadn't smoked that half-a-pack of smokes the night before.

ALmost near the lake, Pat and Donna thought they saw a moose roaming through the woods on the other side of the canyon. After looking for a while with my brand new Bushnell field glasses, I thought they were seeing things again. But when we got to the lake, there it was. A real life honest the goodness moose wading in the water near the bank of Tparmigan Lake. There were at least a couple a dozen hikers there staring with awe and admiring the moose from a safe distance.

What did I do?

I freaked!

As quickly as I could, I grabbed my camera and headed towards the moose in the lake. Pat and Donna from their safe location, were wondering. What the heck does that crazy fool think he is doing. And understandably so, they should think that way. It's common knowledge that a moose will charge and hurt humans. But, I didn't care. I knew that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I wasn't about to let some little oh technicality keep me from having an up-close and personal moment with a wild bull moose.

Now, I may be a little crazy, but I'm not totally stupid. I didn't just run right up to the moose and start taking pictures like a mad man. No, I took my time. The closer I got to the moose, the more I took smaller steps and moved with more care and subtlety, until I got less than 50 feet away from it and went no further. I took my pictures slowly and tried not to move to much. The moose was well aware of my presence, the whole time I was there taking pictures. It went about its business as it was wading in the water near the shore of the lake, while every now and then, it would turn and look at me. It seemed to be uneffected by my near presence.

After a few minutes the moose decided to move on. It appeared that it had enough of the water, so, it slowly began to make its exit from the lake. Fortunate for me, the moose decide to exit at a different location from where I was at. And believe me, I was happy too.

Surprisingly, the moose decided to exit at the location where Pat and all the other people who thought they were at a safe distance. It was funny because the closer the moose got to them, the people would scattered like roaches do when a light comes on.

The hike that day was another typical hard one. In other words, a typical Glacier Park hike. But that brief close encounter with that moose, I will cherish dearly for the rest of my life. I would have to say that it was one the best moments in my life, and that, it has made this whole journey I am on, all worth while.

The good thing is, the journey isn't over yet.