Captain Ron persisted for the longest time. The rest of the family crew laughed and joked, saying, “wait, is it getting lighter over the Missions over there?” Finally, even the Captain concluded that moonrise might run late, given it had to rise over the Mission Mountains. It was also getting cooler, he had risen at 5:00 that morning, and the crew, well, the crew had started to grumble a bit. There was no clear indication that the moon was anywhere near rising either.

So, around 11:00 the boat motor was kicked on, and the cruise boat began a slow putter back around Wild Horse Island, heading back to the home port. At that pace, it was a long, long journey the many miles back across the lake. Banter picked up as the family crew knew the journey was drawing to a conclusion...., slowly. And even the Captain with moon performance pressure relieved, took on a lighter perspective - proposing an alternate moon on the water.

Then - less than 20 minutes into the return journey, to the surprise of the moon watch crew - there was the moon - over the Missions! The boat had passed into a shadow side of Wild Horse Island and the view of the Missions was obstructed for a bit. Pulling out of that shadow then, the wonder of a Montana moonrise caught us all by surprise. Truly a moment to treasure as the moonlight sparkled across Flathead Lake. It illuminated the jagged Mission Range and left us all in awestruck silence as the Captain cut the motor and we all sat back to drink in the wonder. In moments like that, all the pieces of the wondrous Cosmic Puzzle do fall into place and some perfect order takes on meaning.

There is no question that the marvel that is Flathead Lake of Montana has a thousand unique and unforgettable vistas, scenes, recreational pleasures for all. The rest of the journey back to the ome port in Dayton was a light and lively jaunt, with the moon shining bright over our shoulder. There is hardly a time that we’ve explored the wonders of the lake that we don’t come home with memories to treasure.

When your own adventure includes a jaunt to or through Montana, plan at least a brief stay in around Flathead Lake. Great places for your base-camp accommodations can be found at either end of the lake - in Kalispell, in Polson or a number of spots in between. Before you go, check for lodging arrangements through www.montanaadventure.com, and be sure to get your reservations plenty in advance as the area does fill up during the summer time.

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