Day 7/6:
This, unfortunately, was to be our last full day on the road together. But what a great day it turned out to be!
It is so nice have a group of fellow travelers that don't doddle in the mornings but are up and ready to go on time. We were off after a leisurely breakfast. This gave us the chance to warm up after a cold night and cool morning. The weather was spectacular once again. Leaving the Little Therriault Lake CG we followed the same road we entered on. After once more grazing the Canadian border to the north we arched southward and down elevation until coming upon FS114. I'd be remiss not to point out all the wildlife we encountered. Blacktail deer, elk, woodland grouse, raptors, vultures, mice, marmot-like critters, and a red fox. Later on in the day, Ace would have a black beer run across the road in front of him. Nature's zoo in one day.
For me FS114 turned out to be one of the best roads we took on this adventure. The scenery was terrific. The road surface varied from sharp metasedimentary rocks to gravel, to baby heads, but was never dangerous. At some points one is surrounded by ancient forest, the next the vehicles are traversing along the side of mountains on a road cut through the talus slopes. On the hillsides the deciduous trees are just beginning to change color, while in the valley floors the brush has turned magnificent reds, yellows and oranges. Past monstrous forest fire carnage was visible on the several of the mountains slopes we drove by.
About a third of the way along this road we stopped at the FS Tuchuck CG, most of which was hidden away in the surrounding forest. It also seemed abandoned and would be a wonderful spot to spend a night or two while visiting this area again in the future. Before we left it three young mountain bikers rode up and said "hello". They were on their way to a brewery near Eureka for a pint or two. Ah youth! It would have been an arduous task for me to attempt such a ride, but they seemed to think nothing of it.
After crossing one talus slope and re-entering the forest we drove by a KLR650 motorcycle parked along side the road. A short distance later we met a young border patrol agent who was doing his rounds driving from east to west. He said that dirtbike had been there for some time. I wondered what the whole story behind that was. The road follows Trail Creek for a number of miles before turning south near the junction of the creek and the North Fork of the Flathead River. From this point on all the way to Polebridge the gravel roads were very washboardy and dusty.
We stopped at the metropolis of Polebridge for late lunch. It was swamped with tourists who couldn't get into Glacier NP from the primary west entrance. Fire fighters were still working on mopping up several fires within and outside of the park. If my memory serves me the air up here was crystal clear and fresh.
Backtracking a bit we picked up FS115, the Red Meadow Road, to recross the Whitefish Range and find a campsite on the west side away from the crowds and fires. This road, though very scenic, doesn't hold a candle to the beauty of FS114. We stopped to check out the Red Meadow Lake CG. The lake itself is gorgeous, tucked in among the mountain tops. But the camping site was too small and hilly for our needs.
Scenic little Red Meadow Lake
So after a brief stopover we continued south about five miles to Upper Whitefish Lake CG. This is much better for a larger group like ours. The CG is the only Montana state CG we camped at during this trip and was very nice. It is large enough for the various vehicles to spread out quite a bit.
Looking toward the west side of the lake where our troubadours would serenade us from later.
This had turned out to be a short travel day so we had lots of time to set up camp. This gave everyone time to stretch out and enjoy the site. Initially we had a couple of locals nearby shooting off their rifles. I always wonder why people wait to sight in their weapons until the very beginning of hunting season. The noise these guys made let every animal in the neighborhood know it was time to lay low for awhile.
Roger, Terri, ********, Gary and David taking it easy. Ace's ginormous pot on the table to the right.
For dinner everyone participated in creating Frenchie's famous stew. Each of us brought something to toss into the giant pot Ace had set up, and I have to admit it really tasted pretty good! The only things not allowed according to Frenchie are fish and fish-like products. Afterwards Gary lit another fire and we sat for the final night together and shared more memories. Late in the starlit evening we were serenaded by a pack of wolves on the opposite side of the lake. They would howl out for a couple minutes then abruptly stop. A minute or two later after moving further up the lake they took up where they had left off, singing away for a couple minutes then stopping and moving on. It was one of those lift the hairs on your arms moments, and turned out to be the very best way to end our time together. Everyone had an incredible memory of those moments to bring home from that night.
to start out gently before getting a blaze going. 
