Salmon, ID to Kalispell, MT

Well... this is the second time I've written this post due to the lovely internet here in Kalispell. I'm sure this one won't be as cleverly written as the previous....

Heading north on Highway 93 out of Salmon, ID this morning, we followed the Salmon River through the tiniest of villages and towns. In North Fork, we stopped at the General Store that mainly services fishermen and rafting tourists. However, I do believe that I found the coolest sticker so far here. What do you think? 

We continued through the Salmon - Challis National Forest making small stops here and there. I'm quite certain that Mom is tired of my frequent stops for photos. As I'm sure I was early on in Trey's photography journey. Although photography is a secondhand hobby for me, it is something that I've grown to enjoy immensely over the past few years, but I digress. 

Continuing through the Salmon - Challis National Forest, I wish that I could bottle the crisp, sweet Alpine aroma. We crossed into Montana on Lost Trail Pass at 7,014 feet above sea level. We stopped at the rest area and I used my Jetboil to make some tea - as it was a cool 54 degrees. Now in the Bitterroot National Forest, we followed the Bitterroot River through small towns finally arriving in Missoula. We headed to Target so I could pick up my prescriptions (and wine). We decided to take advantage of the booming metropolis of Missoula and crossed the street to REI to find a replacement for one of my now child-sized skorts. Without any luck, Mom suggested finding the nearest Athleta. To my surprise, there was an Athleta a few miles away and I scored a replacement on summer clearance!  After making a snack stop at the grocery, we headed north on Highway 93 to Kalispell alongside the Mission Range and Flathead Lake. 

After checking into the Econo Lodge (and promptly opening my wine), I worked on my web chores and began planning our route to Glacier National Park for tomorrow. 

• Day 13 stats: 267 miles, 1 state, 2 NPS; 371 Subarus.
• Running stats: 3,049 miles, 9 states, 19 NPS; 894 Subarus.