Last night we had a wonderful meal dining outside of Gil’s Goods at a sidewalk cafe. The best thing about our meal was the trains that passed by as we sat for a wonderful outdoor experience. Livingston is the county seat of Montana and is known as a railroad hub. Bill and I both love the sound of trains, which seem to follow us wherever we land. The haunting sounds and the whistles do not bother us, but maybe some of the occupants of the Murray Hotel are bothered, as there are earplugs beside the bed:)

We had decided not to head to Glacier National Park, but a friendly police officer happened by and stopped at our table the night before, . “If you do not go to Glacier National Park, you will regret it”, said the former Royal Oak, Michigan cop, Between that exchange and the alien spaceship sighting, we decided it was lock and load. Do we need any other random pointers besides these?

We enjoyed our stay at the Murray Hotel, which I would recommend for its ambiance, history, and central location. We packed up and headed to Kalispell, Montana on another beautiful day. There was weather along the way, with rain and high winds, but it did not diminish the views. At one point we stopped for our usual tailgate picnic since our breakfast at the Buffalo Cafe in Bozeman had worn off.

We arrived at the Kalispell Grand Hotel mid-afternoon, just in time to take a walk around this beautiful town. The hotel is also over 100 years old and the room has beautiful appointments that cannot compare to the usual chain hotels. We walked Main Street, enjoyed a brew at the Kalispell Brewing Company on their upstairs outdoor deck, before a great eating experience at Hops. We at Elk, Yak, and Bison burgers and loved every one of their tiny samples.