Farmers Market and more

6/25

A gorgeous sunny day as we went to the Kalispell Farmer’s Market. A nice size market with crafters, honey, homemade bread, & lots of nursery plants represented. With the rotten growing season so far, there wasn’t much produce. With only three produce vendors ( two were back yard growers) we managed to get a huge head of lettuce, some salad greens, swiss chard and we did see some other veggies available. We saw a few unusual crafts represented and just thoroughly enjoyed the variety of things to look at & to buy. Came away with a much lighter wallet! The rest of the day was spent enjoying the campground & a family from Michigan that became our new neighbor. They told us a hair-raising tale. This concerned two tires on one side of their 5^th wheel trailer. Right side rear tire blew out, went through the floor, also damaged a base drawer under the refrigerator as it just missed the water heater. Another tire blew at another time. He had had the tires inspected before they left home. They were told the tires were visibly fine and had plenty of tread. After the two blowouts, one in their home state-the other on an isolated stretch of freeway in South Dakota, the rest of the tires were inspected & in the bottom of the tread grooves, he noticed cracking. These tires were 4 yrs. old on a coach that lives in Michigan. We’ve always heard the experts say to replace tires that are 5 yrs old, even with plenty of tread left, because the tire structure begins to fail. This is just another reminder to keep checking on the tire condition YOURSELF. This family is so lucky that they were not harmed when these tires blew! The evening was a balmy 73* so our after-dinner walk was ever so nice. We watched the deer grazing on the island across the river from us.


	One of my favorite things to do is to wander the farmer’s markets as we travel about. A great source of produce, unusual crafts & things like local honey, jams, etc. This vendor is selling his birdhouses by the hole. More the holes, the more the price.


	Testing the comfort of these handcrafted chairs, it looked like they were seriously looking to buy.


	Produce is scarce at the market as spring was seriously delayed by the incessant rain. But the flowering plant life is abundant & for sale throughout the market.


	Home baked goods were garnering their share of attention. Smelled heavenly.


	Whimsical planters. I’ve certainly seen this type of planter before, just not the toes of the shoes having plants as well. And she even had little plastic ‘bugs’ decorating the laced area as well. Very cute.


	Now, these were NOT for sale. I tried, but to no avail.


	Across the street from the farmers’ market was this grainery. I’m not too certain what goes on in these things, but they are huge & look like an important part of the agriculture in the area. This is located a mere 2 blocks from old downtown Kalispell. And there will be railroad tracks close by.


	Across the river from us is an island. We suddenly saw this female white-tail deer wandering about as she grazed. We’ve been told that in spite of the speed & depth of the river, it is quite possible for her to swim to the island. There does not appear to be any wildlife there except birds & she is quite out of harms way here. She appears quite healthy.


	These tents, some covered with tarps due to the threat of rain, are ‘home’ for a teen youth church group who has come to Kalispell to assist with a Christian version of ‘Habitat for Humanity’. They & their advisors are having a great campout experience. Note the smoke from their campfire flowing over the camper on the right.

6/26-28

The weather is definitely moving out of the rain mode. The days are getting warmer & the rain is not as frequent. Got some great pictures of the coach in the shop in Kalispell. Homer Heller Ford inspected our brakes before we left, telling Gary that they were just dandy. After 46,000 miles we were concerned, but they said they were A-OK. WRONG! That slow leak in the tire probably saved our lives. As I wrote about on the website, we had a very slow leak in our passenger-side outside rear tire. Gary figured out that the valve stem extension was probably to blame & we had to order a whole new set for the 4 rear tires. Not a set to be had here. While we waited for them, we were contentedly sitting in the campground. Just as they arrived, Gary noticed the leak had increased a bit. Got over to the tire store for the fix and they discovered a nail in the tire. They fixed it & while putting it back on, the fella said to Gary, 'Did you know your brakes here are metal to metal?' Astonished, Gary said 'Uh, no.' The shop foreman came out & did a visual on the fronts & that side rear. He confirmed what the first fella told us. We then had to find someone to do the brake job, as the tire shop wasn't equipped for motor homes. To bring this to a quick conclusion: Great repair shop found & $2,000 later, we have a safe coach once again. The rears had to have new pads, new calipers, new rotors. The fronts....just the pads. The fronts weren't too bad.

. We are doing rather mundane things as the coach’s repair took 2 days, so we will break tradition & not log every day. Since we’ve traveled this area so much it is difficult to find pictures & stories different from prior years. We have decided that we’re going to take breaks now & again from daily entries until we leave Kalispell. There are some pics of our day trip to Missoula (260 mile round trip). Another short run to Lone Pine Visitors Center in the mountains just outside Kalispell.




		Gary spotted this sign & almost lost control of the car. He wondered if you got a wholesale cut or shampoo by going inside. He was laughing so hard as he turned the car around & had me take a picture. I did patiently explain to him that you could probably buy hair products at the drive-thru. He like his imagery better.


		We’re not seeing a lot of ‘floating’ on the river. Just occasionally. This family of five seems to be having a good time enjoying the sun & the fast pace of the river.


	Here sits the ‘Roadhouse’ on a lift at Loren’s Automotive & RV Repair in Kalispell. If you wish to watch what they are doing, they have two large windows in their waiting room. They have done a good job on our brakes. Nice people, too.

On our way to Missoula to run a couple of errands & get my hair cut. We are on the west side of the north end of Flathead Lake, seen mid-right in the picture. Lots of haze at the base of the Swan Mountains. Polson is located at the base of the grade. A very busy town full of new residents & boating enthusiasts. The Lake has a great influence on the weather and the towns nearby have grown with out-of-state, 2nd home people enjoying the warmer winters the Lake creates, as well as the recreation provided by the Lake.


	They gather all the cut hair in a central vacuum, remove the bag, compress the hair & send it to New Orleans, where it is processed into some form that allows workers to put it out like a boom to capture the spilled oil. Works very well, I’m told.

Several years ago, during a stay in Missoula, I asked the campground owner to recommend a stylist to cut my hair before I could no longer see through my bangs. She quickly recommended Wendell at Tangles Hair Styling. He is a charming & gifted stylist who grew up in Missoula, so he can answer a lot of my questions about the area as he puts me back in order. So, every year since, we always plan at least one trip to Missoula so I can get my hair cut & visit a man I consider a friend.


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