Walk Around Whitefish/Kalispell with Boris

Well, it's been a few months and I am again ready to post another 'Walk Around with Myself' thread! This time I am portraying the small cities/towns of Whitefish and Kalispell in Montana, where my family recently went on vacation over Easter break. Since we own some lakefront property down there, we stayed the whole week and I was able to get some good shots on Thursday.

I'm also going to do this differently than my 'Walk around Calgary' thread, since I am covering two areas and I took the shots at different times throughout the day (kinda back and forth).

Whitefish, Montana 5,489 (2002)

Okay, so we will start off with the lake and surrounding areas. You will notice that the lake is still frozen over. In the summer the small beaches around it are filled with people and there is a lot of boating. Our condo is in the group of buildings in the second picture. The Big Mountain ski resort is visible in the background of many pictures.



Lately the tourism has picked up a bit so the Lake Association has been putting a lot of money into beautifying the area. The roads are better paved, there are new lamp posts and retaining walls, the waterfront is being changed...



Pure indulgence friends...note the ******* rollercoaster...



Downtown Whitefish just after crossing the rail yards...not much of a skyline to speak of but there are a few gems here...






^

NOTE: I love the look of the town from the ground. It is a cross between mountain town and western...makes me feel at home...

Driving down the streets a bit, I came across some more buildings I thought were worth noting. This is the first time I've seen the local church...




Kalispell, Montana 15,463 (2002)

Now my pics of the larger city start. There were some newer modern buildings present that I didn't bother taking pics of though, only areas of interest... (not much of a skyline here either, but still...)

Center street and 1st Avenue (not the main drag)


Main Street




Okay, now if any of you ever DO visit Kalispell, make sure you go to Moose's Saloon. This is probably the best beer/pizza place in all of Montana. Since it was too dark for my camera to take pictures inside I will just describe it for you. Think minimal light, wood tables and benches, names and such carved into every exposed inch of wood, all eating utensils, trays and plates are metal...and 15" pizzas! Anyways, I took some pics of the facade.



Looking out onto the street from the saloon...


And some final areas of interest in Kalispell. Including:

Kalispell Centre Mall (I love the way the color turned out in the photo)


The local Art Gallery


And a shot looking to the east at the Rockies (both Whitefish and Kalispell are on a sort of plateau...or something like that...between ranges I think. About a 6 hour drive south of Calgary, Alberta. It takes about 40 minutes to drive south from Whitefish to Kalispell at speed limit.)


And then some footnotes:
-Both Whitefish and Kalispell are healthy and growing (albight slowly). There has been some notable development in both, such as brand new communities and some beautification of the downtowns...
-This year is Whitefish's Centennial! (I think) Yay! :dance2:
EDIT: - Yes, that is ME in that picture...I'm a handsome devil...