Great Northern Historical Trail

Made a long and hilly ride up the western shore of Flathead Lake, stopping again in Big Arm. A closer inspection revealed a significant milkweed colony along the southern shore of Flathead Lake. There are anecdotes of monarch sightings here and as far north as Kalispell (another 40 miles north).

On the north end of Flathead Lake is the Great Northern Historical Trail. This was once a railway that served a timber mill in the nearby town of Somers, until it was abandoned and eventually turned into a bicycle path. I found a nice resting place with a bench and planted a way station. Hopefully this will be part of a broader pattern— converting old roads and railways to bicycle paths, converting lawns into gardens, and converting marginal land into native plant and pollinator sanctuaries.

-Comrade Caracol