On the road: Montana, part 4
Somers: On the north shore of Flathead Lake
After Finley Point and the magnificent view of Flathead Lake, I am disillusioned when I find myself at the other end of the lake, on the northern shore. I live three miles from the village of Somers - in the pampa, I think. When I look out of the window here, I see a very flat valley and the mountains only in the distance. But I quickly discover that flat also has its charms.
And best of all, I finally have the four-pawed cuddle companion I had envied my neighbor in Columbia Falls. Her name is Tabby and she's a black and white beauty. She makes me laugh - with her insistent loud meows when she wants my attention and a belly rub and with her short grunts when she's satisfied. We have something to talk about all day. She keeps me company while I am typing on my laptop, doing my gym exercises or while lounging on the sofa.
I'm waiting for snow, as I wanted to practise snowshoeing and cross-country skiing. But there is only snow here at the lake for a few days at a time. I go for a ride on the bike I've borrowed. A stupid idea, as it turns out, because the unpaved roads in the neighborhood are muddy, and afterwards I not only have to hose down the bike, but also put my jeans and even my fleece jacket in the washing machine.
So I drive the three miles to Flathead Lake. To my surprise, a sandy beach is spreading out in front of me, transporting me to the sea in my mind. You can't see the southern shore of the lake from here. Seagulls screech. If you have the stamina, you can walk six miles along the beach to the Flathead River. However, the season for this is short and only lasts as long as the water level is low, i.e. from late fall until the snow melts in spring. When it finally does snow a little, the mini puddles turn into a mirror-smooth surface, covered only by a wafer-thin layer of snow. Because I've slipped on ice before and broken both my wrists, my right one a year ago in South Dakota, I move carefully. Can't see the mountains on the horizon at all, hidden in the hazy backlight.
As at the southern end of Flathead Lake, in Mission Valley around Polson, there is also a lively music scene here in the northern Flathead Valley. We go dancing in Whitefish. The town is the hub and tourist magnet of the region. For the annual Christmas Stroll, a mixture of Christmas market and carnival parade, the town closes down Central Avenue for one evening. Trees and streets are festively illuminated and the city center is packed with people. A huge community festival. With dance performances, live music, marsh mellow roasting, a gingerbread competition, axe throwing and "turkey bowling": A frozen turkey serves as a bowling ball and ten plastic bottles filled with liquid serve as bowling pins. The turkey is bowled on a smooth surface such as ice or a painter's foil smeared with soap. Not for animal lovers and vegetarians.
In a liquor store, I discover "real" Christmas market mulled wine, imported from Nuremberg, Germany, my home town. I also find a blueberry liqueur from the Glacier Distilling Company, a distillery just outside the Glacier National Park in Coram, around 40 minutes' drive from Somers. There, further north, there is already snow. I also see a thick snow at the eastern shore of Flathead Lake, near the small town of Bigfork, where the mountains begin their ascent.
There is a lot going on around Flathead Lake during Advent season and the turn of the year. On December 21, the longest night of the year, there is a 24-hour-long mantra chant. And people organize several winter solstice bonfires - on the northern shore of the lake in Flathead Valley just as in southern Mission Valley.
On New Year's Eve, the year 2023 ends near the town of Whitefish with the traditional "Torchlight Parade" at Big Bear Ski Resort: accompanied by the music of a live DJ, more than 200 skiers and snowboarders light up the night as they descend the mountain in the dark with torches. A fascinating spectacle watched by hundreds of onlookers along the slopes, from the valley or from the town.
And then it's already 2024: on New Year's Day, a few dozen daredevils plunge into the very, very cold Flathead Lake in Wood Bay for the “Polar Bear Plunge”.
I decide to take the plunge next New Year's. I also have to postpone the annual Disco Dance Night in Whitefish until next year. Unfortunately, I will miss it as well as - for the second time - a trip to the Blackfeet Reserve because it's time to pack my suitcase. My return flight to Berlin is imminent. With the certainty that "I'll be back", I board the night train to Seattle in the neighboring state of Washington at 10:30 pm. The train departs on time. A good omen.
When I wake up on the train the next morning, slightly knocked out, I get a text message with some pictures: the houses on Flathead Lake are covered in white fluff. It's finally snowing in Montana! And I'll be arriving in Seattle in a few hours…
This story was first published in German on my website.