July 5, 2021 - Flathead, Swan, Salmon and Seeley Lakes

On July 5th, we decided to head north on 93 out of Missoula up to Bigfork. We took 35 on the east side of Flathead Lake when we reached Polson. Then we headed further east and picked up 83 south which was also beautiful. 83 runs alongside Swan Lake, Salmon Lake and Seeley Lake all of which were gorgeous. 

Still seeing some snow on the mountains. By the way, Glacier National Park's west entrance was only a few miles further north. We have already visited Glacier on another trip so elected to avoid the crowds this time.

Flathead Lake is the largest natural freshwater lake west of the Mississippi in the lower 48 states, with over 200 square miles of water and 185 miles of shoreline.  We did see some very nice homes along our ride North. 

Some photos of other lakes on our return route on 83 South.

Overall a very nice trike ride.  We traveled 236 miles. 

Lolo MT west over Lolo Pass - Highway 12 - July 4th 2021

On July 4th we decided to take a trike ride from Lolo MT heading west on US 12. We turned around after 100 miles due to the afternoon forecast. My favorite part was after we crossed into Idaho at Lolo Pass. Highly recommend this scenic drive. It would have been nice to go all the way to Lewiston. We stopped for lunch at Lochsa Lodge. The Lochsa River flows beside highway 12 in Idaho.

There were several locations across the river that lead to trail heads.  

The Lochsa River runs along Hwy 12 in Idaho

 

We decided to stop for lunch at the Lochsa Lodge.   

Lots of Animals and Antlers for your viewing enjoyment.

Food was good, but because of lack of staff, we did have to wait a bit. 

The Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail is approximately 4,900 miles long, extending from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to the mouth of the Columbia River, near present day Astoria, Oregon.