11th Day (Kalispell - Thompson Falls)

The standard breakfast in a typical American hotel is not for everyone. Especially 'biscuits and gravy', with the remarkably gray color of the sauce or the extra yellow tinted industrial scrambled eggs make many shudder. Depending on the quality of the establishment, these 'delicacies' are quite acceptable - and here at the Greenwood Village Inn & Suites, Genevieve ensures that this is the case in the mornings. She is friendly, fond of the area, and for the moment, you are her 'favorite guest'. She knows the German word 'Schmutz' and has had several 'folks from Germany'. Morning small talk is also something typically American, always shallow and not deep. I love it.

Since we only have a 200 km drive ahead of us today, we take our time and visit the Charles E. Conrad Mansion Museum on site, a Victorian mansion of its time with 26 rooms and our guide Natasha, who explains the special features of the house to us in a one-hour tour with a nasal voice. She is still a student and loves this property since her grandma showed it to her once. And indeed, it is interesting to get a closer look at American history, which is not so far back when it comes to white people. And after all, the American President Theodore Roosevelt has stayed here several times since he was a friend of the house. But: you are not allowed to take photos and, to make things even more amusing, a stray cat joins us on the tour, which was adopted by tour guides 16 years ago and now seems to be part of the presentation. It is noticeable that black Americans are not present here at all, neither during the lecture nor among the attendees or the staff. What a difference from the Southern states 10 weeks ago.

Our journey then takes us past Flathead Lake, which, idyllically situated with Flathead Forest in the background, offers numerous water sports enthusiasts the opportunity to indulge in their hobby, camping in one of the numerous state parks that attract visitors as the little brother to the national parks. They cost much less money (in this case 6 US$), but are also not included in the annual fee for all NPs if you pay it like I did last year (then it was 80 US$). But they are often much less crowded and very well maintained, and are excellent for a short or long stay. What is missing is a cafe, so you should bring your own consumables, the packaging of which can then be disposed of in a bear-friendly trash can.

At Elmo, we leave Highway 93 and turn right onto Route 28. What follows is another highlight of the road trip. The vast expanses of Montana are unique, and here too, you are often alone on the road. The sun beats down on the prairie landscape, it is pleasantly warm, and at numerous stops, we sometimes can't believe our luck to be able to admire this landscape. Even the huge trucks that occasionally glide over the road here are romantic to look at and symbolize the enormous distances between the small towns that have settled here.

In Plains, we then take the famous Montana Highway 200, which, with its total of 1136 km, is the longest of its kind in the USA. It leads us through a valley with taller and more rocky hills on the right and left to Thompson Falls, the destination of our journey today. There, we have booked the Riverfront Motel, which is located just outside and is nestled in a wooded area. In addition to the normal standard rooms, which are rather small, they also offer log cabins for travelers who want to stay longer. The nearby Clark Fork River can be reached in 3 minutes on a trail, where you can make yourself comfortable on a swing by the river. Despite the proximity to the road, it is pleasantly quiet, and at 'Big Eddys' in downtown Thompson Falls, you can end the evening comfortably on the terrace with a river view with draught beer and tasty snacks.