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Sunday, July 30, 2006

Alaska Day 74

Friday July 28, 2006 St. Mary MT to Paradise MT Log 226 Miles
Upon rising today we notice that our twenty something tents of young church group people are packing it up. Herb sees one young lady with a suitcase bigger than herself, and guesses it contains all her stuff and makeup.

As we head out from the KOA, --Yea! we find a Wal-mart, but with only a grocery shelf, but then a Smith's Food Store with fresh veggies and meats. Nice to be fully stocked after the scant supplies we found around Glacier area. We drive through more scenic countryside and are disappointed that Flathead Lake RV Resort is booked for the weekend, so we drive on in search of a place to stay for the night. At just about the time we should stop anywhere, we find a large turnout with running water at Paradise, northwest of Missoula. A man has stopped to fill his jugs. Herb asks what the deal is, and is told it is an artesian well. Many locals stop -- about every ten minutes -- and some with five gallon containers, some load their vehicles with all it will hold. Depends on who you ask, where the water comes from. Some say it is runoff from a mountain stream. One lady said said she had it tested and they found E-coli, but she allowed as to how her jug may have been contaminated. No-one in the town gets sick. The water is cold, and if you put your foot into the flow, you will get "cold feet."

We filled our pitchers and jugs and Jake's water bowl. After dinner, it seemed like a good idea to wash the RV, so we did. Mountain water should cure any ails the coach has! By this time we have noticed the railroad tracks twelve feet from our RV, and we laugh about whether we will get a good nice sleep. Herb and Bob test it by watching the first train go by, and hoping that this is not a whistle place. The engineer waves, passes by, we sigh relief, and then comes the whistle for the crossing ahead of him.

We slept well.

Pictures are here

Walldog, Willie and Jake


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