People apparently drink too much coffee!

I counted 14? coffee shops in Columbia Falls  population 5,400!  Some were quite close to others.  Granted I'm not a coffee drinker, but really, how could the many shops survive?

Occasionally we do have to do maintenance.  Thurs, Fri. and Sat.  we're devoted to this--mostly.

On Thurs. we made a trip to Kalispell, 17 miles from our RV Park in Columbia Falls.  It has a population around 23,000 and is the largest town around.  The Glacier Park International Airport is located at KaO0lB4lBt3BIlispell which is also 33 miles from the main West Glacier Entrance.  The downtown area has boutiques, breweries, museums, galleries, restaurants, and so on.  On the north side you can find major stores  like Target, Walmart, Home Depot, Lowes and lots more.  We went there for some shopping.

Lunch at Frugals in Kalispell, a local northeast chain, providing the highest quality product at the lowest possible price.  All sandwiches are cooked to order.  My ketchup only had everything, however.  Who puts mayo on a hamburger anyway!  We shared cheese curds.

I was so looking forward to Sweet Peaks ice cream, Made in the Mountains, a must stop in Kalispell.  Their ice cream and sorbets are crafted in Whitefish using Montana dairy and a selection of quality ingredients from the mountains.  I already knew that I couldn't have Huckleberry, Flathead Cherry Chocolate, S'mores, Under the Big Sky or any other of their other delicious sounding flavors, but I was content getting the dairy free Strawberry Lemonade Sorbet.  OK, to be honest, I was hoping to get a little taste of one of the ice creams from Pat.  One little spoonful couldn't hurt, could it?  THEY ARE OUT OF SORBET for at least a week.  I checked stores in other towns with the same results.  Pat declined any and I left crushed.

Mountain Berry Bowls instead of Sweet Peaks.  It was maybe OK, but not Sweet Peaks!

On Thurs. we had washed the car and scrubbed off a years+ worth of tar and bugs.  On our way home from Kalispell Fri. we gave it another wash and then waxed it when we got back.  One nice thing about having a small car.

Sat. the RV got a much needed wash.  That took a while.  We have decided to wait until later in the year and splurge on hiring an RV wax service.  I cleaned windows, in and out, as well as the screens.  I made a trip to  Whitefish, population of 7,700 and 10 miles from Columbia falls.  It has a booming touristy downtown.  I only went to the quilt store for thread but I did walk the main street. Pat stayed home and grilled dinner.

All four seasons on a wall in downtown Whitefish.

Sun. we returned to Kalispell for a special caulk to repair an RV window.   Then we checked out Lone Pine State Park nearby   featuring beautiful views of the Flathead Valley.  On a clear day you can see Glacier National Park and Flathead Lake.  Smoke from fires in Alberta Canada covered Flathead Valley today though, so the views weren't there.  Still a pretty park.

On a clear day, looking past Kallispell,you could see Glacier National Park in the background.

When we got home Pat fixed the window and I sealed some things in the bath.  The toilet seal, well, let's just say we hope that's finally fixed.  That was/is a struggle.  After dinner we walked around Columbia Falls.  It has a population of 5,400, lies on the Flathood River and is 17 miles from the main entrance to Glacier.  It is not as touristy as Whitefish.  It has been ranked as one of the best and safest places to live in Montana.

City Park across from our RV Park.

Shops at Station 8.  This was the first train depot for Columbia Falls in the late 1800's.  I saw a picture of a pie on their website so I might have to check them out tomorrow.

A lot of the coffee shops are small but some are bigger and serve food too.

A couple of blocks before we got back to the RV park Pat spotted 4 deer in a yard.

Tomorrow is our last day in Columbia Falls.  Lots to accomplish!  I hope to get to an art gallery near here that was closed Weds., check out Columbia Falls a little more, finish a rug project, do a little more on the Shutterfly books I'm working on (one for Clara's camping trip with us in April and one for Cyrus and Samira's recent stay), a8[nd with Pat's help do a little more picture organizing on the computer.  Then?  We spend the next week on the road enroute to somewhere.  Temperatures have been chilly at night, low 40's, but in the 70's during the day.  I think we're heading to where it will be a bit warmer.  Fine with ne!

Where are the Piepers now?  Columbia Falls, MT.