Real Estate Information Archive

The largest equestrian triathlon in the USA is right here in Kalispell. Starts today and continues thru the weekend. 18 horses were flown in Monday from Baltimore. This event is a qualifier for the World Cup as well as the Olympics. I get goose bumps every time I drive by the farm and see fields of horse trailers. I will again volunteer to be a jump judge on the x-country course on Friday. Always fun to sit right there where the action is. Public is welcome and it is free. www.rebeccafarm.org see: The Event.

Besides this event with close to 500 participants and 20,000 spectators, there is always a multitude of other events going on that I am not up to speed on. Not to be missed: HAIR running in Whitefish thru the end of July. We saw it and it is amazing. Alpinetheaterproject.org is where you can get tickets while they last.

Our hay is in so now we can sail, ride horses, and go camping - around work of course! Weather is awesome, very comfortable in the low 80's and sunny. Garden is going crazy.

Flathead Valley beekeepers are having a field trip tonight to look at some hives and get more education. This is our second year with hives and have soooo much to learn. Lots of knowledge in this group to help all of us beginners.

Get out there and enjoy!

     Should have had a camera, but didn't, so will try and describe the amazing view this morning. I took my horse to Herron Park in Kalispell early to beat the heat. We rode up and up to the overlook. The Foys to Blacktail trail workers have been hard at it and the horse trail is much improved from previous years. Anyway, at the lookout this is what I could see, Big Mountain, Glacier National Park, blue/green Foys Lake, Swan range of the Rockies, and down to Flathead Lake. Of course the whole valley was there also. Incredible! Just me and my horse. Saw one hiker and her dog other than that we had it all to ourselves.

     Farm life: cutting and baling hay, hope to have it in this weekend so we can enjoy the rest of summer. Went from rain to sun and hot but we are NOT complaining.

     Summer Pops at Rebecca Farms Saturday night. Pay by the car full. Going with some friends to enjoy the outdoor concert by Glacier Symphony and Rob Quist.

     Real estate: got an offer on a listing this week, showed another listing, took 2 buyer calls. Usually July is quiet, maybe not this July?

  Nice Sunday outing: Bike the trail in Whitefish. Start at the kid's park on Baker, ride along the river, on to city beach on Whitefish Lake, over to Wisconsin and on the trail towards the Big Mtn cutoff. Quiet, scenic and fun! Afterwards, go to one of 2 new ice cream shops. Homemade ice cream on 2nd, block down from the Buffalo Cafe-awesome peanut butter ice cream!

  Going to the Sun Road set to open today!! Pretty amazing with the weather we have been happening. Rain, and more rain. Over 11" so far this year with 1.4 inches just from Sunday night to Monday night. Unheard of. We only average 16" a year and in the 15 years I have lived in the Flathead, I don't know if we have even seen that. Looks like we could make it this year. Wonderful for the hay crops. Every time the sun comes out and it is a nice day, we beekeepers experience a swarm. Hope we get some honey this year with the bees we have left.

   Continuing to watch the news on the Kalispell City airport, growth and expansion in the future yet to be determined. Pros and cons on both sides of the issue.

Big news: Walmart super store opened yesterday at the north end of Kalispell. Finally more than just Costco close to home for groceries.

   Packed in a lot of summer fun last weekend. Met some friends who were camping at Apgar in Glacier National Park and rode bikes for a few hours. Ate lunch by the Middle Fork of the Flahtead River and saw the raft racers going by. An incredibly nice day. Came home and found one of our bee hives had swarmed. Made the end of the day hectic trying to get zillions of bees off our pasture floor and into a box for some friends to come over and pick up so they could have bees this year.

   Sunday we took the horses to Lost Trail and had a wonderful ride. Love that area, it is huge and you rarely see another soul. The horses did great - all my hard work has started to pay off.

   Next week the western US governors all converge in Whitefish including the famous Arnold from CA. Kinda special to have this event in little old Whitefish.

   Headed with my daughter to the Jewel Basin for a morning hike this week, surprise, surprise, so much snow we couldn't get to the trail head. Must have been 2' of snow across the road, and it was COLD! So, did Lone Pine St. park in Kalispell instead which was just right for the time we had left.

    Election week: mostly primaries but we do have a new Flathead County Sheriff. West Valley School Bond - badly needed expansion in this desirable country school district. I have not heard if that passed yet or not.

    Some scattered showings on my listings in the last week. 2 townhouse buyers I am working with, over all a little quiet. Summer traffic is definitely building. Glacier Park road is not yet plowed out so some travelers may be in for a little surprise. Things are very nice and green around here with all the rain we have had, very much needed. Watching the hay grow and hoping for a great crop.

    Mama goat is producing about a quart a day and we have tried making cheese and mint chocolate chip ice cream - yummy!! Goat kids are a riot. If you need to smile, just hang out with young goats for awhile.

    All the lake home tours are going on this month, Flathead Lake, Whitefish Lake, Bitterroot Lake all happening this week or next.

   Some friends are camping in the park this weekend so we will take our bikes to Apgar and be prepared to hike as well and see what the group wants to do. Supposed to be a wonderful sunny weekend so get in riding and as much as possible.

   Sailboat going in the lake next week for the summer. SOOO much fun stuff to do this time of year!

   First the housing market: Jim Kelly of Kelly Appraisal recently said in the newspaper that our market appears to be stabilizing in the Flathead Valley. Foreclosures seem to have peaked in Jan/Feb. This matches my observations that we are seeing more bank owned listings than short sales, and April was a very good month for closings. Compared to last year, March closings were up significantly, approximately 60% higher than the previous year.

   We took a drive last Sunday up the Star Meadows Road between Kalispell and Whitefish. Round Meadows is an area for x-country skiing and snowshoeing in the winter, horse back riding/hiking in the summer. Beyond that is a long very nice paved road that goes for miles. We didn't make it to the end - Lake Sylvia is 10 miles further off the pavement. On the way back, took the road over to Tally Lake, one of our favorite places in the valley. Tally Lake is 9 miles long, in a canyon.  A very deep lake with no residences on the land around it. There is a campground and boat launch at one end. Being from the Seattle area, it is awesome to us that you can drop a boat in the lake and never see a soul for miles. We learned the hard way that is not always a good thing, a few years ago. We had beached our boat to go for a walk and it wouldn't start when we returned. It is not easy to row a 19' cuddy cab boat. Finally someone came by and gave us a tow to the launch.

   Update on Pick's Bowling Alley in Bigfork. Elizabeth emailed me and wanted to spread the word about their Safe Kids - Free Bowling Club this summer. Please visit www.PicksBowl.com for more information.

Restaurant addition: Three Forks in Columbia Falls. We finally made it there for dinner tonight. Very good and interesting menu. Had halibut cheeks in corn fritters on a salad with aioli and orange vinaigrette, should have stopped there but had their classic burger (sans bun) with garlic mashed on top and mashed potatoes. We both ate and hubby had a glass of wine for under $50! Great atmosphere. Nice for C. Falls to have a classy place.

   Snow Plows working hard on the Going to the Sun Road in Glacier National Park. There is a 20' deep slide across part of the road. Last weekend was gorgeous. Brought out all the bike riders on the road since it is open only to pedestrians or bicycles. Someday I am going to do that but it always sounds like a lot of work pedaling uphill. Besides, this is the time of year to get caught up on chores.

   Started milking our mama goat last weekend with mixed success. The kids are so much fun to watch. Lots of changes for a first time mama.

   Hooves and company, the competitive trail riding club, is doing a poker run at Herron Park near Foys Lake in Kalispell this weekend. Weather isn't supposed to be too great but it is one of my favorite local places to ride. I have been fitting in rides in my arena and around my place on my various horses. Getting them ready for summer and working on different issues with each one.

   Honey bees are hard at work. We are going to split our hive, over populated and crowded. Got stung 2x already, they are more aggressive this year so need to suit up to check out the hives each time. They went after my Golden Retriever who innocently followed me into the garden to inspect the hives. Poor Maggie, I chased her out and swatted the bees off.

   Salsa Dancing has come to Kalispell. A native from Honduras teaches classes in Kalispell and Whitefish and tonight there is a dance at the Eagles in Kalispell with live music. Sounds fun but I want to be outside in the sun on these beautiful nights.

   African drumming being taught tomorrow by the Drum Brothers at Alternate Root in Kalispell. My conclusion: there are just too many things to choose from, summer must be on the way!

    The morning sun is streaming through my windows today. It is getting light just after 5am and staying light out until after 9pm. Love these long sunny days! Rode my horse afterdinner the other night and didn't come in the house until after 8:30.  Baby goats are frolicking and jumping through the field in the sun as mama goat tries to keep control of the situation.

    Is it safe to set out my broccoli and onion starts yet? Probably not with the below 32 degree nights.

    Showing homes up by Glacier National Park today to an out of state buyer. Good day for a drive. Many closings coming through daily, the market is definitely picking up.

    From the local papers: the[pedestrian over pass in Whitefish across Wisconsin from parking to the Lodge at Whitefish Lake is drawing much criticism. Some say it looks like a boxcar elevated above the busy road to Big Mountain. Seems like someone in the city of Whitefish knew what it was going to look like before it was built and suspended.

    Profiles of all those running for office in the Daily Interlake. From Sheriff to Judges and every where in between. Primary is coming up quickly and my absentee ballot appeared in the mail yesterday.

    Centennial birthday events for Glacier National Park have started. Look on the internet for dates and events throughout the summer. On a travel note, if you are driving the "short cut" from I-90 at St. Regis to Hwy 93 at Flathead Lake, be aware they are rebuilding that road at Hot Springs. Adds 30-45 min to the drive with traffic lights and pilot cars. Still shorter than any other route.

The city of Kalispell officially voted to NOT allow the growth of medical marijuana in the city limits. It was in the Daily Interlake everyday for awhile but is now voted down.

School elections were held this week. New board members for the various districts are now in place. Where I live there are 2 districts. What we call a "country school" district which is an elementary that goes up to grade 8 and then the Kalispell district for high school. Most of the valley is like this with many country schools take care of the lower grades unless you are within a city limit.

2 goat kids were born on my ranch Sunday! They are adorable of course. Cinnamon and Mocha, female and male. See photo below. Hard not to hang out in the goat barn and just watch them.

People getting grumpy around here about the weather. Rain and even snow! Should make a huge difference in our fire season this summer thankfully. But, still hard to see white stuff falling in May! Making the outside spring projects pile up since it is too nasty to be outside.

     Green all around. Recent rains have certainly greened up the valley. Snow in the mountains this week, hopefully good forest fire insurance for the summer.

     The elevated walking bridge is installed in Whitefish across Wisconsin St. between Whitefish Lake Lodge and the new property across the street. Should elevate parking issues and make it safe to get across the street.

     Tis the season for theater productions from middle school to Flathead Community College. Many to choose from. Heading to the Docks restaurant tonight with friends for some music in Lakeside. I am hoping it is inside as it is definitely too chilly to be outside by the lake listening to music!

     Hope to work with the horses this weekend. Learned so much at the Mark Rashid clinic last weekend in WA. All about using your mind and energy to work with the horse, a united effort to get the job done. Plan on setting out cones in the outdoor arena to work my young guy and keep his mind busy while we improve on turns and moving forward.

     Every real estate deal these days has its challenges, but getting them to the closing table anyway. Be it appraisals, inspections, sellers not wanting to spend money on fixing anything, loans, you name it, I have seen it in the last few months. After 12 years, keeps me on my toes and always learning. This is why I love my job - never the same from day to day!

     Heading out to see if our goat babies were born during the night, due any day now.