Cary Jo Hofstad

Okay, I missed last week's blog. Glacier National Park was calling my name and I had to get one more camping trip in this summer. We loaded up our camper with bikes and kayaks and headed to Many Glacier on the east side. The campground was full already so headed back towards East Glacier and the Two Medicine campground. What a gem! See photos below. We camped on the lake, went to the evening ranger talks, hiked, biked and kayaked. The campground empties out each morning with everyone heading for the trails. We took the easy hike to 3 different waterfalls with a moose siting on the way. Day trippers drive into the parking lot and take a boat tour of the lake or stop in at the historic general store. We will be back next year!

Flathead County Library designs are in for the new Kalispell branch. Location yet to be determined. We'll see where it goes.

Harvest time: 2 big totes of apples from my trees, tomatoes ripening, squash and pumpkins coming along nicely. The honey bee hives in the garden have helped out immensely! Could do without this nasty year of hornets however.

Had an afternoon sail on Flathead Lake this week. A storm brewed up and it got very gusty quickly. 30 mph gusts are no fun! Took the sails down and headed for safe harbor.

University of Montana Griz game tomorrow in Missoula. Never been and looking forward to it. An easy drive down and back. Should be fun.

Craming all the fun into the remaining days of summer. Never know when the first frost might hit. Real estate sales are definitely picking up so working quite a bit as well. New listings, new buyers, both taking advantage of the slowly turning market.

Why did I want to type in July instead of August for the date of this blog? Is it because summer is flying by and I want a do over on the last month?

We have had some cold and rainy weather in the last week but supposed to be very hot the end of this week. The cold and rainy weather had terrible timing for our rafting trip - 3 days - on the North Fork. We were drenched and cold even with wet suits on. It was a cabin float so stayed in real beds the 2 nights out, Our guide, Dean, was awesome!! Made it as comfortable as possible. All the food was great. What a lot of work lugging all that stuff around. www.glacierguides.com is the place to go for rafting, guided backpacking in Glacier National Park, hikes, fly fishing, etc. Awesome company and great guides. Most guides return year after year, so a lot of experience there.

It is fair week. We will pass on attending this year. Lots of other activities to choose from. Saw Alpine Theater Project's latest play Sunday. Fantastic as always. Whitefish attracts many Broadway performers for each play that they do in the summer.

Working on shelter and fencing for dairy goats - just 2. A new farm land experience. Got 5 layer hens this week. Looking forward to my own eggs again. They are so much better than store bought. Molly the golden retriever is guarding them. Can't figure out if she wants to play with them, attack them, or mother them. Never leaves the coop though.

Real Estate is picking up! 2-3 showings on my listings each day. Got an offer last week and one this week. Buyers are getting much more active and I am receiving many contacts a week through my web site. So encouraging!

We have had some nice rains lately. 2nd cutting of hay is happening so waiting to get my alfalfa in.

Kalispell new City Manager is in town to start her job. Still don't get the need for both a mayor and manager, but that is the way it is.

Glacier International Airport is getting some runway work done. Starting August 3, the airport is closed 3 days a week to enable this project to get completed quickly and while the weather is good.

The new interchange on Highway 93 and Church Drive is just about ready to open. While normal in larger metropolitan areas, a cloverleaf interchange in Flathead Valley is a first. Should keep traffic moving safely - the extra lanes completed on Highway 93 are also a huge benefit to safety.

The current real estate market in the valley is picking up ever so slowly. Expect it to remain a buyer market for a few more months. I have done absorption rate reports this month for all my sellers. Very interesting. Take comparable listings that sold in the last 12 months, divide into 12, that gives you the amount of homes sold per month in that range. Then take all the actives that are comparable listings and divide that by the number sold per month in the last year. The result are the number of months your home or land will take to sell. It is vital to be at the top of the pack in both price and appearance to increase your odds of selling quickly.

A quote about the market I heard in Denver last week:

" Stop waiting for the storm to end and learn to dance in the rain"

The market is what it is, deal with it and move on.

The end of another month of wonderful summer weather and fun has come to a close.

Alpinetheaterproject.org just closed up the hysterical play, Spelling Bee. Great fun! Waiting for the big musical to open in a couple of weeks. Check out their web site for details.

2 of our favorite actors from Whitefish, have a weekly radio program on www.whitefishradio.com, North by Northwest. Gives an idea of what is going on in the valley and is homey and fun to listen to.

As I write this, I am in Denver for 4 days of intensive real estate classes to learn ideas from the top producer around the country to do my real estate business in Montana even better. Have pages of notes already and have chosen a few action items to implement right away. It has been interesting to hear how some of these awesome agents have evolved and changed in our changing market. Some have been so badly hit that I truly feel blessed to work in Kalispell Montana.

A quote I heard this week: "Quit waiting for the storm to end and learn to dance in the rain". Love it!

Activities in the sun: Horse ride to Stanton Lake (16 miles east of W. Glacier) see photo below. Sailing on Sunday on Flathead Lake. Awesome steady wind. Fun day with friends and clients.

Coming this week: Spelling Bee - Alpine Theater Project

Art in the Park - Kalispell

The Event at Rebecca Farms - Kalispell, Olympic qualifying 3 day event. Walk the cross country course Friday and Saturday to watch the jumping over obstacles. Free to the public. Bring sunscreen and a chair.

Take a river raft ride down the Middle Fork in Glacier Park.

Look for that perfect home or piece of land in the Flathead Valley. It is still a buyer's market!!