So what is a person to do when their weekly stint at the Habitat build site is canceled, and it happens to be a beautiful sunny 70º day in Northwest Montana? Well, go hiking of course!We were looking to do a loop somewhere in the area that included some views, or a lake, or something of interest. So after looking online, we decided to head up to Woods Lake Trailhead, and take a walk around the lake which included some hills, a view and some time lakeside. Online this looked like a 2.6 mile trail which would be quite doable with our time constraints. So off we went.And this is how it went.Access:As with most trailheads in the Flathead Valley, getting to the trail is sometimes the biggest challenge. In this case, we traveled about four or so miles up a one-lane gravel rutted road with min... 09/27/2024

The forecast for Monday, September 16, 2024 called for sun so what better day for some exploring? As it was a Monday, we figured we would have anyplace to ourselves, so off we went to find a new spot for us, Red Meadow Lake.Red Meadow Lake is located near Olney Montana, approximately ten miles from the Canadian border as the crow flies, although it's a lot further if you want to drive it! But back to Red Meadow Lake.AccessTo get to the lake, you need to take Route 93 north through Whitefish. When you get to Olney, you'll make a right onto Olney Crossover Road/Upper Whitefish Road, and you're going to take that about nine miles. At that point, it turns into Red Meadow Creek Road and you'll take that about 11 miles to the lake. Sounds easy, right?How long could that 20 mile drive take? We... 09/17/2024

Yesterday was a beautiful September day in Flathead County, Montana. Sunny, dry, with a high around 80º. It was a perfect day to check out a new trail, Stovepipe Canyon Trail #196. If you're looking for a relatively short hike in the forests of Flathead County, this might be the place for you! Here are a few bits of information about doing so.Access to the trailhead:First, the directions provided by the Forest Service to get to the trailhead are as follows: Take Farm-to Market Road, turn onto Forest Service Rd 913 go 1 mile and turn on Forest Service Rd #2924 travel 3.5 miles and look for trailhead sign.OK, that sounds nice and simple, but here is some more information. First, Flathead Service Rd 913 is the same as Tally Lake Road so you'll be turning off Farm-to-Market Road onto Tally ... 09/09/2024

There are so many hiking options in and around the Flathead County Montana area that there is no way to experience them all! In Glacier National Park alone, there are 162 trails. There are an additional 35 miles of trails available in Jewel Basin, and over 2,200 miles of trails in the Flathead National Forest. Those are only a few of the options available!The Great Bear Wilderness Area is part of the Flathead National Forest, and is located in the Essex Montana area. While nearby Glacier National Park trails do not allow dogs, Flathead Forest has no similar rules. So last week my husband and I and our dog Hercules were lucky enough to be able to experience the Stanton Lake Trail which is about 15 miles east of the West Glacier entrance to the park.As far as trails go, this was a relativ... 07/12/2024

I recently found an online directory of Kalispell City ordinances and thought it would be intriguing to see what some of the ordinances of the past were. The last post covered a 1930 ordinance about salaries for town employees. This one is the only ordinance published in 1933 (not much happened between those two years) and it is all about beer.Ordinance #442, effective March 27, 1933 is all about enforcing the "Montana Beer Act." Surprisingly enough, I cannot find the actual legislation mentioned. Apparently the Montana Beer Act's official title was "An Act to Provide for the licensing and regulation of the Manufacture Sale and Distribution of Beer and other Similar Fermented Beverages, and for the Raising and Disposition of Revenue therefrom." That was evidently too long to remember, a... 06/06/2024

I've written about the Flathead Valley Exchange Club previously, specifically as it related to our 2022 Field of Honor® event. As a reminder, the Flathead Valley Exchange Club is the local chapter (established in 2020) of the National Exchange Club, established in 1911.  Our mission is to focus on helping community non-profits in the areas of Americanism, Community Service and Youth Programs. We provide both volunteer hours and fundraising to help the community become a better place to live.Once a year, we have a Giving party to provide money that we raised from our various fundraising events to selected non-profits. Those non profits are typically groups we met with during the previous year. We have a party to thank them and to give them our donation. The party is free to all attendees... 05/06/2024

I recently found an online directory of Kalispell City ordinances and thought it would be intriguing to see what some of the ordinances of the past were. The last post covered a 1929 ordinance about keeping a disorderly house (which didn't have anything to do with messiness). This one is from 1930 and it is a bit more logical than the last ordinance I shared. Ordinance #424, effective May 5, 1930, set the compensation for various job titles in Kalispell. Ordinance #425 also added a salary for an engineer. Specifically, here is what various city careers paid in 1930. Mayor $300 Alderman $120 City Attorney $900 City Engineer $200 City Treasurer $1200 City Clerk $1500 Purchasing Agent $300 Police Judge $850 Chief of Police $1800 Patrolman $1500 Health Officer $600 Librarian $1500 Assistant... 02/27/2024

I recently found an online directory of Kalispell City ordinances and thought it would be intriguing to see what some of the ordinances of the past were. The last post covered a 1928 ordinance about fire access to basement. This one is from 1929. There were only three ordinances put in place during that entire year. One was the annual appropriations, one dealt with driving rules, and the final one was about prohibiting disorderly houses, which is the one reviewed here. Ordinance #420, effective July 29, 1929, dealt with "disorderly houses." What comes to mind when you hear that term? I immediately thought people were leaving trash outside their homes and that was going to be some kind of misdemeanor. Nope, here's the text of the ordinance."Section 642, Disorderly Houses. No person shall... 02/07/2024

I recently found an online directory of Kalispell City ordinances and thought it would be intriguing to see what some of the ordinances of the past were. The last post covered the prohibition era rules in Kalispell. This one deals with an entirely different topic: pipe casings. Ordinance #414, effective May 7th, 1928, dealt with the inability of firemen to put out fires in the basement level of Kalispell homes. This ordinance was put in place to "enable the fire department.. to promptly.. extinguish fires [in]..basements that are used for the storage of goods or merchandise.." The firefighters were losing valuable time putting out fires because they had to cut holes through wood and concrete to gain access to the basement.Therefore, the ordinance indicated every building with a basement... 01/22/2024

I recently found an online directory of Kalispell City ordinances and thought it’d be intriguing to see what some of the ordinances of the past were. If I can find enough interesting material, I hope to share one from each year up until now. The last post covered the 1920 Kalispell ordinances that eliminated many fun activities and/or put limits on them. The next several years had no interesting ordinances, so before I jump ahead in time, I thought I'd provide a little more insight into the prohibition era in Kalispell. As a reminder, Montana ratified the prohibition Amendment in 1918. Ordinance #350 specifically banned the sale, exchange, gifting of any alcoholic beverage. Penalties included a fine of up to $300 or imprisonment of up to 90 days or both. The 1920 ordinances then limited... 01/01/2024

This report covers the residential land market in Kalispell Montana as of the end of November 2023. The number of monthly sales and parcels under contract decreased while active listings remained flat. Overall the residential land market remains a buyers market.   INVENTORYAs of early December 2023, there were 118 residential land parcels for sale in Kalispell which is the same as November's inventory. Five or more acresOf the land currently for sale 31% of the listings include five or more acres. This percentage is slightly lower than last month's report. I define rural as those properties in the 5+ acre category. Those are most likely to be parcels located on a gravel mountain road, agricultural farming land, or acreage adjacent to National Forest or lumber parcels. They are often not... 12/05/2023

Following is an overview of the Kalispell Montana real estate results for the residential market as of November 2023. This report covers the entire residential market, including single family homes, townhouses, condominiums and manufactured homes.According to my calculations, the Kalispell residential market spent the month of November in a balanced market where neither sellers or buyers had an advantage. In November sales were lower than the previous month and remain lower than last year. Inventory decreased for the second month in a row and homes under contract also decreased.  Sales VolumeIn the month of November 2023, there were 48 residential sales in Kalispell which was 14% lower than last month and 9% less than last year. This year's home market has been softer than last year. Of... 12/05/2023

I recently found an online directory of Kalispell City ordinances and thought it’d be intriguing to see what some of the ordinances of the past were. If I can find enough interesting material, I hope to share one from each year up until now. The last post covered the 1919 Kalispell ordinance that started the prohibition of alcohol. Residents still wanted to have fun, but this week's post covers ordinances from 1920 that seem to be designed to stop people from enjoying themselves.The first one, ordinance #352 from March of 1920, covered dancing restrictions. The city council indicated that any person dancing in a dance hall between 12 midnight and 8 am on Sundays, or between 1 am and 8 am any other days will be guilty of the offense of "Unlawful Dance" and will be punished by up to a $20... 12/04/2023

I recently found an online directory of Kalispell City ordinances and thought it’d be intriguing to see what some of the ordinances of the past were. If I can find enough interesting material, I hope to share one from each year up until now. This week's post will cover a Kalispell ordinance I found from 1919.The United States Prohibition lasted from 1920 to December of 1933. Even though it didn't officially start until 1920, three quarters of all states had ratified the 18th Amendment by 1919. Montana beat that date by voting for prohibition to start on December 31, 1918. And that is how Kalispell City Council's ordinance #350 came to be. Specifically, this ordinance stated that "Every person who sells, exchanges, gives, barters, or disposes of, any ardent spirits, or any compound there... 11/07/2023

This report covers the residential land market in Kalispell Montana as of the end of October 2023. The number of parcels under contract decreased while monthly sales and active listings increased. The residential land market remains a buyers market.   INVENTORYAs of early November 2023, there were 118 residential land parcels for sale in Kalispell which is only one more than October's inventory. Five or more acresOf the land currently for sale 35% of the listings include five or more acres. This percentage is slightly lower than last month's report. I define rural as those properties in the 5+ acre category. Those are most likely to be parcels located on a gravel mountain road, agricultural farming land, or acreage adjacent to National Forest or lumber parcels. They are often not locate... 11/06/2023

Following is an overview of the Kalispell Montana real estate results for the residential market as of October 2023. This report covers the entire residential market, including single family homes, townhouses, condominiums and manufactured homes.According to my calculations, the Kalispell residential market spent the month of October in a balanced market where neither sellers or buyers had an advantage. In October sales were lower than the previous month and remain lower than last year. Inventory decreased for the first time since April and homes under contract remained relatively flat. Sales VolumeIn the month of October 2023, there were 56 residential sales in Kalispell which was 21% lower than last month and 19% less than last year. This year's home market remains softer than last ye... 11/05/2023

I recently found an online directory of Kalispell City ordinances and thought it’d be intriguing to see what some of the ordinances of the past were. If I can find enough interesting material, I hope to share one from each year up until now. This week's post will cover a Kalispell ordinance I found from 1917.After reading the five page ordinance #340, you might think the streets were a mass of confusion before this Ordinance was passed. And you also might assume the Mayor and Town Council were fed up. Here is what this ruling covered:Traffic must keep to the right. The ruling specifically indicated if you were passing a car going in a different direction, both must stay to the right, and if you were passing a car going in the same direction the one passing should drive on the left of th... 10/30/2023

A huge congratulations to my buyer clients on purchasing land for their new home and shop!This wonderful family recently moved into the Flathead Valley, and they were hunting for land that was free of covenants and building constraints. They were also hoping for privacy and lots of woods and wildlife. They wound up with a beautiful parcel with over five acres of land and gorgeous mountain views. The property is within 15 minutes of town and all the area has to offer. There is already electric available, cell service works and there is plenty of southern facing sunlight. And the property is located off a very private gravel road. What more could one ask for?The featured photo is one of the views from the specific area where they plan to build their home (although there are many options f... 10/18/2023

A totally unexpected find in my area of Kalispell Montana has to do with mushrooms. Please note that I am not a professional forager, so feel free to take my input with a grain of salt. That being said, here are my experiences so far with wild mushrooms in northwest Montana. First, in our first Spring at our property, we found these interesting looking mushrooms growing at the edge of our driveway. I remember my husband spotting them, and asking, "What is that?" So when I came home, I checked the photo online and they looked a lot like morel mushrooms. I then posted a picture on a local Facebook page and I was bombarded with excited people telling me those were definitely morel mushrooms, and they were quite desirable and delicious.So after doing a little additional research, I decided ... 10/12/2023

This report covers the residential land market in Kalispell Montana as of the end of September 2023. The number of parcels under contract increased while monthly sales and active listings decreased. Unlike the residential housing market, the residential land market remains a buyers market.   INVENTORYAs of early October 2023, there were 117 residential land parcels for sale in Kalispell which is 13 less than September's inventory. Five or more acresOf the land currently for sale 36% of the listings include five or more acres. This percentage is slightly lower than last month's report. I define rural as those properties in the 5+ acre category. Those are most likely to be parcels located on a gravel mountain road, agricultural farming land, or acreage adjacent to National Forest or lumbe... 10/06/2023