Weatherbeater

After a rainy night, we woke to more rain. And more rain. And more rain.  About 10 we decided to take a short 35 mile jaunt to Big Fork, MT.  Big Fork is an old mining and lumber town now reincarnated as a tourist trap, er, destination, with many nice condos and mansions in the area overlooking Flathead Lake.

Main street is about two blocks long.  Sorry, it's named "Electric Avenue".  Lined with art galleries and restaurants, it seemed to be the typical tourist place until we started checking out the stuff.  The first scupture gallery that we went into was phenomenal. Many of the pieces were done in wood and painted to a lifelike appearance.  The pic of this fish doesn't do it justice, as the sculpture is about 36" long and completely finished (even inside the mouth and gills) to look natural.

In the back, several pieces are still a work in progress:

Notice the lifelike pose, with one paw hanging down! A finished glass coffee table had a sculpture of a bear reaching through the glass top as if it were water, reaching for a sculpted fish on the base.

This bust is of a local military figure, but was not identified.  The artist was not in residence when we were there.

Further down the street we visited a pottery shop, with hundreds of must have pieces.

So, of course, we left with some "useful" things.  Shop after shop, filled with wonderful items, but the best one was the last: