Rain, Rain, Go Away

Saturday, 7 August 2010Sunday, 13 August 2017Leave a comment

Saturday, 7 August 2010 Big Sky, Montana

Call us lazy if you will, but after two long days on the road, followed by four wild days at Showcase and then five fun-filled days on the road with Kim, I was ready for a little down time! I have to admit I wasn’t all that unhappy to see it wasn’t going to be a pretty day today. Up on top of Big Sky, it was a bit brisk, or as my son would say, it was a ‘tid bit nipply’ and the sun was hiding. Of course, we only noticed that after we finally roused ourselves about 9 AM. It was great to sleep in! Kim was very industrious, though, and went down to the fitness center to work out. I started the laundry – hey, somebody had to do it!

We were so thankful to Jan and Ed (cousins in law) for letting us land at their fantastic condo for a few days – it was such a treat to be in a home instead of a hotel for a couple of days!! And here we were, in the lap of luxury! It was lunch time before we were ready to venture down the mountain, and since we hadn’t had any luck getting an internet connection, we lugged our computers down the hill with us as we went in search of food. Jan had mentioned a place called the Blue Bird Cafe, and we have a great track record with motels and restaurants named Blue Bird, so off we went. We were not disappointed!

I had a delicious salad with grilled chicken, avocado, goat cheese, and a yummy raspberry vinaigrette dressing, and Kim had a chicken panini. We had both really salivated over the ‘Mac Daddy’ mac and cheese, so we ordered a side to share. Mmmm, was it ever good! It was so rich we couldn’t even eat it all! But we did find room for some blueberry vanilla lemonade, which happened to be an adult beverage and was very refreshing. For a few minutes, we thought the sun might shine, so we left our car at the Blue Bird and walked over to the Hungry Moose, where we had heard there was wifi. On the way we met two adorable Labradoodles named Rodeo and Montana – they were so cute!! We got all situated outside when it decided to get chilly and windy and even rainy!

We moved indoors and had visions of catching up on this blog and being ready to keep it up to date, but we were already so behind that it was a lost cause! While I was fine spending the afternoon inside on my computer, I think Kim was ready for a little more action. As always, though, she was a good sport and we just passed the whole day in the Hungry Moose! I didn’t even take any pictures of it!

By the time we had had enough (well, me anyway – I’m sure Kim had had enough hours ago!) we decided to eat supper before going back up the mountain. Our first choice was The Lotus Pod for Thai food, but they had a 30 to 45 minute wait, so we decided pizza sounded just fine! We walked down to the Blue Moon Bakery and shared a nice pie and had a Blue Moon, of course!

Once we made it back up the hill, we just chilled in front of the TV and finished the laundry, then packed and tried to take a couple of bags down so we wouldn’t have so much stair climbing to do the next day! So, sorry, nothing exciting to report today, but it was good to have some down time!

Just chillin’,

Jan

Welcome to Big Sky, y’all

Friday, 6 August 2010Sunday, 13 August 2017Leave a comment

Friday, 6 August 2010 Red Lodge MT to Big Sky MT ~250 miles

We woke up feeling lucky to have found a room in Red Lodge, and even luckier to have found a room at The Pollard. Even better, breakfast was included in the price, so it was our kind of place! We made our way down to the dining room and prepared for gastronomic delights! We had the most delightful server who greeted us with a cheery smile and even made favorable comments about the Duke shirt I was wearing. The breakfast choices all looked delicious and made it hard for us to choose just one. Kim took the healthy route with the fruit plate, and I was lured in by goat cheese, as usual. It’s a temptation I can rarely refuse, and today’s pairing was an asparagus and goat cheese omelet. Mmmmm!!! Everything about breakfast was perfect – darling napkin rings, cloth napkins, a civilized setting, orchids on our plates, a happy server, and scrumptious food. If only every day could start this way! After breakfast, we poked around the hotel for a bit. We loved the beveled glass that we found in many of the common areas. If you should ever find yourself in Red Lodge, we give The Pollard high marks!

Even though we were not as far along as we thought we might be by now, we decided to take the scenic route to Big Sky. The Beartooth Pass Highway is thought by many to be one of the most beautiful roads in America. It cuts through the majestic Rocky Mountains in a series of switchbacks and hairpin curves, each with breathtaking views. Even better, it would put us off near an entrance to one of our favorite National Parks, Yellowstone! But first, we had a detour to make. One of the reasons we were in Red Lodge was because of Kim’s summer job at Timbercrest Camp, a Girl Scout camp just a few miles away, so of course we had to go check out her old stomping grounds. The ride up was on a tree-lined, little-used road, and I could almost see why my sister, who HATED camp when we were kids (I tried to spend the whole summer at camp!) had loved this place. When we emerged from the car to look around, I could hear the rushing water of a creek just below us. The entire camp was encircled by gorgeous mountains, and the smell of evergreens and the sound of silence is unlike anything we experience on a daily basis. We were a bit surprised that the camp was not full of campers in early August, as it did not seem to be abandoned. There were still cots in the cabins and chairs and tables in the dining hall, but it was all locked up. At least we got to look around uninhibited! Maybe girls today aren’t interested in spending a week in a relatively primitive setting, with no flush toilets, blow dryers, televisions, or cell phone service. Their loss!

After our little walk down Kim’s Memory Lane, we headed for Beartooth. It was a wonderful drive, marred only by a good bit of road construction taking place. That’s always a hazard of a summer trip in the northern states, since summer is the only time much work of that kind gets done. We had one place where we had to stop for about twenty or thirty minutes to wait our turn for a one-lane ride, but even that was fun. We were behind a pickup with the cutest dog in it, and we enjoyed listening to the tales of the many motorcyclists out that day. While I suspect that there are always plenty of bikers out on these fantastic roads on a perfect day like this one, the fact that this was Bike Week in nearby Sturgis, South Dakota, even added to those numbers. It would be a wonderful way to see the USA! Just after we had finished our escorted one-lane miles we came across a small flock of mountain goats near the Wyoming border. We were hoping we’d get to see plenty of wildlife once we got to Yellowstone, too.

Before long we came to the northeast entrance of the Park and we were almost immediately rewarded with a spectacular sight – fields FULL of bison! We got really tickled when one big ole bison dropped down into the dirt and started rolling around. Dust was flying everywhere and he looked so happy – guess he just needed his back scratched! We drove through Mammoth Hot Springs, which was bustling with activity, but once we got back on the figure eight road, most of the traffic was going the opposite direction – lucky us! A bit later we saw LOTS of cars pulled off to the side of the road and even some rangers directing traffic, so we knew it must be something good, and it was – a black bear was cavorting on the hillside! And some people who had left their brains at home were hopping out of their cars and campers, cameras in hand, and heading straight for it. The rangers were doing their best to remain calm and get people back to their cars, but some people were actually arguing with them! They are probably the ones who would sue if the bear attacked them – go figure! As we got closer to the geyser area of the park we expected to see herds of elk, and we did – so fun! There was more road construction, and while we were stopped, one of the bikers who was behind us drove up alongside us to chat. He had been behind us on Beartooth Pass and recognized our car. He and his friend were from Regina, Saskatchewan, and they continued south toward Lake Yellowstone as we exited the park at West Yellowstone. HERE is a great guide to what you may want to do/see at Yellowstone.

Once we were on the road to Big Sky, it was a pretty straight shot, and before we knew it, we were passing Buck’s T-4 (a restaurant that had been recommended to us by our Red Lodge friends) and soon we were headed up the mountain to Jan and Ed’s place. We were in luck for a few days as we would be staying in a fantastic condo belonging to Rex’s cousin and her husband. It was so nice!!! It was so hot when we got there that we put on our shorts and pulled the cushions out for the furniture on the rooftop balcony and popped a chilly one. About the time I got comfortable and had my kindle in hand, it clouded up and got chilly! The view was spectacular and it was really great to be in a real home and in the same place for two nights! We were about to get hungry, so we opted for an early dinner and rode back down the mountain to Buck’s. YUM! One of our best meals so far!! We started out with a couple of drinks – a gin and tonic for Kim and a huckleberry mojito for me, and then Kim had the prime rib and popover special and I had bison. Both were served with mashed potatoes and broccolini and we shared a delicious wedge salad. We talked to a delightful couple from Billings at the table next to us – they started salivating (but resisted) when they saw our chili chocolate pots de creme. Oh man, was it ever GOOD!!

Once we were back at the condo, we attempted to get online, but we had no luck. Rats! Oh, and did I mention that the condo was on the third floor and that the elevator decided to go on the fritz right before we got there? At least we were getting our exercise! We ended up just watching a little TV and chilling until bedtime. What a perfect day!

Dreaming of dark, rich, chocolate with a chili pepper kick,

Jan

Rockpile to Red Lodge

Thursday, 5 August 2010Sunday, 13 August 2017Leave a comment

Thursday, 5 August 2010

Gillette, Wyoming to Red Lodge, Montana ~ 325 miles

Kim was rarin’ to go this morning, as she hopped aboard Old Paint here at the Rockpile Museum in Gillette. We grabbed a little bite to eat as we left the Hampton, then stopped for some tea at the Subway across the street, and soon we found ourselves at the Rockpile Museum, which we thought was going to be a rock museum…but not! It was a really well-done exhibit of lots of old West and old Wyoming relics and history. The entire wall that you can see in the photo behind Kim was full of rifles, and the entire room was full of guns of some sort. They had license plates from every year for this county in Wyoming, and one room was full of vehicles and cowboy equipment. As you might expect in Wyoming, rodeo is a big deal – one whole room was dedicated to local high school rodeo teams and stars. Several local families have been rodeo winners for generations, both girls and boys. We spent over an hour here – it was worth the stop to take in the local flavor, and it was free. You may have noticed that $5 is about our limit for attractions unless they are really, really good, so free is gravy for us!

Our destination today was originally Big Sky, Montana, but we’re thinking we might not get quite that far. We left Gillette with a bead on Billings, but we had stops planned in Story, WY (for lunch) and at Little Bighorn (for history), and then we were taking a side trip to Red Lodge so that Kim could skip down Memory Lane a little bit. As we got off the interstate to make our way to Story, we thought to call the place we were planning to eat lunch. Rats – the phone had been disconnected! We decided to check out the town anyway, just to get off the interstate for a while. Sure enough, we found the place we had read about in Road Food and it was indeed “Shut”.We liked the look of it and wondered how badly the economy was affecting things out this way. Still hungry, we wound through town and found the Wagon Box Inn and Cafe, even seeing a cool statue in a creek and a fawn crossing the road on our way. As we pulled into the parking lot, the car behind us unloaded with a couple from Memphis. Small world, huh? We sat outside and enjoyed sandwiches and the 75 degree sunny day. Aaaahh! On the way out of town, we stopped at the Post Office to mail some cards to Mom. It had a little garden planted in front of it and there was the sweetest black lab out front who really wanted to come with us. Too bad the car was full!

We got back on the interstate long enough to get to Montana, then we hopped off again to visit this museum, which shared land and signage with a Conoco gas station in Garryowen, Montana (gotta love that name!). You never know where your next history lesson will find you! We were not allowed to take photos inside the museum, but it was worth the stop. Lots of original photographs of native Americans and Army personnel were housed here, and there was an interesting movie full of even more conflicting information about the Battle of Little Bighorn. As we drove through the hills and valleys of the high plains, we could just imagine the prairie being full of grazing bison, teepees dotting the landscape, and we wondered how things got so out of hand as Americans moved west.

At the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, there were memorials to the US Army personnel who lost their lives in June, 1876, and there were also memorials to the horses who perished and to the Indians whose lives were lost. Although the Indians won this battle, the public outcry over the loss led to the ultimate demise of the native Americans of the west. Being in the area makes me realize that in many ways, the battle continues. Kim and I have talked a lot on this trip, as we always do, especially when we are out west, about early settlers and the obstacles they faced. Geography, up close and personal, really helps history come alive.

From the Little Bighorn, we sped up to Billings and managed to find the Rex Hotel. How could we resist? We weren’t ready for a meal, so we just enjoyed a bit of liquid refreshment on the patio. It was fun people-watching – the Rex is downtown, just across the street from the Depot. As we left Billings, we passed a Muffler Man – this one was holding a rifle! We just had to stop for this photo op! By now, we were fairly certain we would not be making it all the way to Big Sky, so we decided to find a place to stay in Red Lodge. Not only that, we had a dinner recommendation!

The neon at the Red Lodge Cafe was great, but the food was lacking. And if you can tell us exactly WHAT a halibut loin is, you’re smarter than we are. We ate it anyway! We had noticed that the Rotarians were in town (“Welcome, Rotarians!”) and motorcycles were in abundance, so we thought we should find a place to stay. That proved to be not so easy, but we finally found a room at the Pollard. Nice place! Once we’d secured our room, we hit the streets (well, the street), hitting the Montana Candy Emporium and then stopping for dessert at a local restaurant, Bridge Creek Backcountry Kitchen and Wine Bar. Too bad we hadn’t eaten dinner here, too.

Totally worth it! Not only was this peach blueberry cobbler delicious, we met some very friendly people who gave us a ton of restaurant suggestions for us to try out in Seattle. Names, addresses, and phone numbers – we may have to stay there for a week to eat our way through the town! It’s been a wonderful day!

Visions of good meals dancing in my head!

Jan