Whitefish, MT

6/28-6/30:

A few days before I reached Glacier was the summer solstice.  Living in the south west and not being particular tuned into that kind of thing, I didn’t give it a second thought.   But up in Montana the sun was up forever.   I had seen an instgram post by a musician friend named Katie about walking around in bright sunlight at midnight.   When I saw it I had the realization that Katie lived in Montana and so I reached out to see what part she was in.   It turned out that she was now living in whitefish, which I then learned was about 30 minutes from the west entrance of Glacier.   She told me about several open mics and offered to let me stay in her spare bedroom.   So, after 3 days of national park spender I drove out to Whitefish.

When I got downtown Whitefish I instantly fell in love.  It was a mixture of old-time prospector and modern hipster flair.   In that first afternoon waiting for Katie to come home from work I found my go to coffee Wild Coffee rosters and go to bar Palace Bar which had lovely bartenders and cheap pool.  Essentially I found everything I would need for a few days in small town life.  

It was nice to see Katie again.   I met her a few years a go at my usual Open mic Haunt PBC (RIP) and she turned me on to another one that I went to a few times at Sidecar.  She was one of the kindest and friendliest people I ever met and a darn good musician.  She was now living in a cute little house on the edge of down town and working as a teacher here in Whitefish while hosting an open mic and playing around town.   She also doesn’t like hanging out in town, so she suggested that we go grab some food and head out to a “nearby” lake and off we went.  After 2 hours of driving through the outer edge of north west glacier we found ourselves at Kintla Lake.   A beautiful out of the way camp just inside of Glacier national park.     Staring over the calm blue water of this lake toward the distant mountains on the other side we enjoyed our sandwiches while chatting with a group of people staying at the campground while on a long distant bicycling trip throughout Montana.  They were a group of guys in their late 40’s who had met in college and now meet up once a year for a trip they call “sufferfest” where they go to a place and bike way to far.  They were a lot of fun.   One of them offered me an edible from Seattle which I happily took and popped into my mouth a little to fast for him to let me know that he usually just takes half.  I was apparently in for an experience.  The conversations and drinks continued and it was wonderful meeting new and interesting people.  But the best part for me was seeing a bald eagle swoop down and grab a fish from the lake just as the edible kicked in.   I can see why people live out here.  During the Drive back Katie played music by a local artist named Mike Murray that reached directly into my soul and the way I have felt throughout my short time so far in Montana.  It was a great Day!

The next day I headed into the neighboring city of Kalispell to go to a guitar store called Music One Workshop.  My capo had broken on the trip and I needed a replacement.   The shop was full of some absolutely gorgeous instruments and equipment.   The guy working there as incredibly knowledgeable as well so it was a great morning.  I then headed back to the bar and played some pool and chatting with the locals.  This activity while possibly not the healthiest has quickly become integral to my journey so far and I think will continue to be.   There is no better way to learn about a place then talking with the locals and where better to do that then the “public” house.  For example, it was here that I learned the residents of whitefish are very cool friendly people.   However, I’ve also learned how annoyed they are with the recent influx of people who have moved to the city.   When covid hit a lot of people left their cities and moved into Whitefish, increasing the population by thousands in a matter of months.  You could tell that this was not something a small town like theirs was prepared for and they made it clear.   Still they were very welcoming and kind in every conversation I had.

That night Katie was hosting an open mic a couple doors down at a bar called Casey’s.   It took place in a really cool upstairs space with a great sound system.   Like any open mic you never know what you’ll get, but I really enjoyed the musicians who played.  From a long time local playing genre bending covers to a recent transplant playing his own swinging originals.   There were also 2 guys who were both from Arizona but didn’t know each other.   It was fun.  While I was there I met a local musician who I had actually read an article about the day before while I was researching busking.  He was a little cold in our interaction, but it was all good.  After the open mic we Katie and I headed across the street to a place called The Remington Bar for a drink.   When we walked in the same musician was there and he said something to which I responded in what was meant to be a sarcastic ribbing style “fuck you”.   However, he did not take it that way and shout “you are on Indain Land”, to which I said “did I say we weren’t”.   He then proceeded to say something to the affect of “you white people” to which I was then offended and Katie thankfully stepped in.   I grabbed a drink and walked away to play some pool and calm down.   I have worked really hard throughout my life to control the temper I inherited from my father, but there are some thing and situations that can rub me the wrong way and let me to not think with a clear head.   Katie came over to say she was leaving cause she was tired, but let me know as well that in talking to the guy she had learned that earlier that day he had been refused a gig because he was native.   That sucked to hear, but was a good reminder that racism is still unfortunately alive and well in our country and that I may need to be on my toes a bit more.

The next day I needed some hair of the dog, so I went over to new spot for me called The Great Northern Bar & Grill Which had the feel of a lively music lodge.   They had $1 pbr tall cans,  how could it not be awesome.  I was sitting at the corner of the bar and ended up bookended by two guys, Dan and Walter, who had both moved to the area a few decades earlier to work at the ski resort nearby.  They were talking about the local ski resort and how they were redoing one of the ski lifts using a black hawk helicopter.  It was wild to hear how precise the piolets were able to maneuver the chopper to land the massive equipment into place at the top of the mountain.   The conversation turned toward me and I let them know what had brought me here which then led to one of the biggest through lines of conversations with people has been how people aren’t working.   Several bars and restaurants I’ve visited so far have been closing much earlier than usual because people don’t want to work there.  I’m personally not that surprised, but it definitely makes you think about how we can change things in order to right the ship that is America following as we continue to thaw from the lost year of pandemic pandemonium.   On that subject Dan the guy to my right mentioned that he had passed a sign in front of a restaurant stating “now hiring long haired freaky people” and then looking at me as if to say “looking for a job” and we all laughed pretty darn hard.   Walter shared that he had spent the last 30 years working as a chef between the resort here and one in Alaska.   He was also able to confirm that the bear I saw in the park was a grizzly, so that’s now off my bucket list, haha.

After a few drinks I wandered to a used sports gear shop in hopes of finding an old roof carrier, but instead I found a wide variety of disc golf discs and grabbed a couple.   While there I also learned of a course not to far away and I was sold.  When I pulled of the road to the disc golf course Smith Lake disc golf course located on the north end of Whitefish Lake, I instantly knew I’d found a cool spot.   Over grown and surrounded by tree’s this course (which I admittedly only played a few holes of) was interesting, difficult and certainly fun.   If you are going to be playing here definitely try to join up with a group or find someone who knows the course so that you don’t get lost in the wilds.

I headed back into town for a second open mic, but Katie informed me that she had her weeks crossed and the one she was thinking of was actually not happening.  Instead the artist that she had played me in the car on our drive back from the lake two nights earlier was going to playing a set at a spot called Gunsight Saloon.  I really enjoyed the tracks she had played me so I headed back to the house to say my goodbye’s to Katie and headed to Columbia falls.  Mike Murray was a great musician and put on a great show.   I even bought a few of his cd’s which is something that I don’t do often even though I know I should.  After a quick Bite I said good by to west glacier and hit the road….