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7/5
Perfect day for exploring the countryside. Weather not as humid and fairly cool. Gary & I drove over to Clark Fork on Hwy.200 & turned onto Clark Fork Rd. The scenery was spectacular. (Do I keep saying that?) Very tall evergreen covered mountains rise sharply from a valley so green with grain growing in this agricultural area. Trees dotted some of the landscape that had not been cleared for planting. Acres of white-petal daisies with their egg-yolk colored centers filled pastures. Tidy farms & ranches are scattered throughout this huge valley that has the Clark Fork River running through it. Occasional herds of cattle spread out in huge pastures & some small herds of horses, as well. After several miles of this, in the blink of an eye, the decent road became less than nice. What we didn’t know at the time was that we had crossed into Montana. We saw a sign for the Amber Bear Inn & Restaurant and decided to stop for lunch. We turned off Clark Fork Rd onto a decent dirt road for a bit and then onto a less than decent dirt road to the Inn. The 400-acre Inn operates as a bed & breakfast but there is demand for their restaurant, and the fine food served there, from the general public. So this restaurant, hidden away in the trees and fields of Heron MT, enjoys a flow of traffic you just wouldn’t expect. After perusing their lunch menu, we selected our meals. The food was terrific! They also have free-roaming chickens, guinea hens, goats, a horse and a llama to entertain you. They free-graze or scratch for bugs in the acreage in front of the Inn. In the backdrop of this view from the dining room is a irregularly-edged wandering lake stocked with trout & small-mouthed bass. Floating on the lake were Canadian geese. We enjoyed our peaceful & well-prepared lunch and departed for our campground. Nice day!
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Some sights along the Clark Fork Road
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These fields are covered in daisies like those shown below.
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One of the views from the inn’s dining room.
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Some scenery on the drive back to the rv park.
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7/6
Not much happening today. A little housework while Gary bucket washed the coach. Heavy dark clouds threatened rain all morning, but it was all bluster. Cool & nice. Went to Sandpoint to get groceries not available here. 16 miles to a supermarket. Don’t know what red bell peppers are selling for at home, but here I paid $3 apiece for average size. These gas prices are gonna kill us all. Or starve us.
The four of us had planned to have dinner at Beyond Hope’s 4-star restaurant. Once again, in the middle of nowhere (without even a grocery store) there is this wonderful and pricey restaurant a short walk away on the lakefront of the campground. The parking lot outside is full of cars from outside the rv park. A small, but interesting menu, a decent wine list and desserts to die for are bringing in diners from everywhere. We ate outside under the shade of umbrellas placed around the deck. Everyone ate outside. Beautiful temps and a great view of the lake and the water sports going on out there. The meal was beyond description…..easy to say one of the best. It was one of the highlights of our stay here. An incredibly special treat that will be long remembered. A nice walk back to the Roadhouse to end another special day.
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Our walk to dinner with Ted & Anne.
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Our chef schmoozes with the diners, who are well pleased with their dinner.
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Our hardworking and personable waitress made sure everyone at our table was served efficiently.
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Vanilla Ice cream with choices of toppings & an unusual tall, triangle cookie & whipped cream served in a footed glass made a pretty presentation for dessert.
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Leaving the deck of the restaurant with this view in our camera’s eye.
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c) Lanesroadhouse is a copyrighted web site. No reproduction of copy or pictures without express written consent.
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