Falling in Love

Yesterday we had an amazing day in the Mission Valley.  I worked for an hour in the morning to assist with setting up a 5k course before we went to explore.  We headed south to St Ignatius and stopped at Stutzman’s Amish Country Store.  

The store is really cute and we picked up a few things to include a roast beef on rye.  We split the sandwich on our way down to the Mission.  This place is amazing and worth the stop.  There are over 250 murals painted on the walls and ceilings which were painted by the mission cook.  The amount of work is unbelievable.  There are also two cabins on the property from 1854 and 1864.  You should check it out.  

From Mission St Ignatius, we headed over to the National Bison Range.  This area is on the reservation and was set aside as a refuge for wild Bison among other animals.  We checked in and paid our $10 day use fee at the visitor center and checked out a few exhibits.  The cashier gave us a map and the lowdown on the range and the roads through it.  

We drove the complete loop and it took us over two hours with a few stops.  What a trip through this amazing land.  We saw tons of Bison, some herds had 50+ animals in them.  We did two short hikes too.  On the bitterroot trail we saw a black bear.  It was brown or cinnamon in color and was eating grass along an open hillside.  The next hike to the high point also offered great views.  It was raining to the southwest, but to the east and north it was partly cloudy and the views were over 70 miles.  You could see up to Whitefish and the gateway to Glacier.  

Besides all the Bison and the black bear, we saw mule and whitetail deer, pronghorn and two bull elk.  One of the elk is going to be huge come fall.  We will definitely come back and do this drive with company, it is a great representation of how things were before.  

On the way home we stopped at the Ronan Co-op to have a beer.  They had a few beers on tap and some root beer and kombucha.  Katy had a beer and I had a kombucha.  We chatted with a nice couple while we had our drink and then headed for Polson.  I think we’ll stop back here again.  The brewery is owned by 350 people in the cooperative.  

In Polson we stopped at Glacier Brewery.  We called to check and see if they had food.  The owner said they were having a crockpot potluck to raise money for a local nonprofit.  We were in.  We hung out for a few hours and made some friends.  We felt so welcomed for being outsiders and the food was great.  The beers and seltzers were great too.  The money raised was for Mission Mountain Enterprises.  This non profit assists adults with special needs to get involved in the community.  It looks like a great program.  We may have been offered paying jobs when we asked if they needed any volunteer help.  

It has only been a few weeks, but this area feels like home.