Living Across The River From Glacier National Park.: A North Fork Love Story. A Man. His Cabin. The Views.

Seeing a grizzly bear at close range is an adrenalin rush. Getting the chance to white-water raft on a wild and scenic river is something that should never be passed up. Capturing a moose or a herd of elk on film from close range allows you to share that experience with friends who have never or will never get the opportunity to see either one or the other, or both. How about the chance to hike to a high alpine lake in Glacier National Park where as late as August you'll discover that the last mile of that hike is through snow, and upon reaching the lake you'll see icebergs floating? Many people would be happy to have any of those experiences even once. For author Joe Novak, now a full-time resident of the North Fork Valley, across the river from Glacier National Park, those and many more experiences like them have become the norm in his life. This is his story of deciding to buy upon first sight a piece of property far removed from the comforts of civilization. He immediately fell in love when visiting ten acres that were for sale in 1995. It wasn't the ten acres that left him speechless, but the surrounding area. To the east he looked into Glacier National Park. To the west were the peaks of the Whitefish Mountain Range. Seven miles to the north was the Canadian border. Those ten acres were surrounded by literally millions of acres of National Park Service and national forest lands. This is the story of his journey, and the experiences, challenges, and difficulties of living on that land, eventually year-round. He has survived a forest fire and a near drowning to chronicle the people he has come to know, the seasons, the views, and the wildlife. It is ultimately a love story-his love of what is commonly known as the North Fork.