There is not much in Kalispell to see or do, unless you are a boater/cyclist/fisherman and have some time on hand, although the downtown area is somewhat charming. So, after a leisurely breakfast at the local Sykes diner which originally opened in the 1890s, I headed out of town to take the long way to Spokane, Washington.

This part of the States is all mountains, rivers and lakes and there are many scenic roads that follow river valleys. The first lake I encountered was Flathead Lake, just south of Kalispell and from there I worked my way west to Montana state route 200 which follows the Clark Ford river northwest to Sandpoint, Idaho. This was the highlight of the trip and provided enjoyable driving that required frequent stops to take photos. After passing through the narrow strip of Idaho that extends to the Canadian border I ended up just inside Washington state.

The map/video page is here.

Looking at the photos I realized they are all very similar. The first is of Flathead LakeThe rest were taken at various points along Montana route 200. A train came along just a few moments after I took the first shot but I was already driving. You can see the train in the video.The next two I like because of the almost perfect cloud reflections. And this I like for the dark clouds.