As I am unconscionably behind on these posts, it is time to try something different. I will write some in a more summary and informal way. While it pains me to let the quality drop a little, the alternative is continuing to fall farther and farther behind. Here goes…
September 5, 2013 (Thursday, cont’d) – After checking into the Western Heritage Inn we did a bit of work before driving a very short way to Montana Ale Works at 8 pm. There was a wait but Jenni quickly grabbed a table in the lounge area. It is a huge space, reminiscent of a high school gym but a little narrower and maybe even longer. It is fairly dark and loud but good for those with years to go before AARP membership. My Steep and Deep from Lone Peak Brewery of Big Sky had an ABV of 8.1% and was delicious. This place has tons of beers on tap and all are available in half or full size and cost about $2.75-3.75 for a half or $4-5 for a full. Quite a bargain.
The NFL season opener was on. The Broncos were playing so the TV flashed Elway’s career start and end dates and Jenni thought he was deceased. I got buffalo wings which were crispy and not a ton of sauce. Kind of like a mix between the wings from Espresso’s in Medford and a more traditional offering. The blue cheese was thick and yummy. Jenni’s Pyramid Nitro Weiss Cream Ale tasted like a beer / cream soda combo. This is the kind of place I believe would do well in most college towns.
Sept 6, 2013 (Friday) – Although it was my birthday, we spent the whole day working in the hotel room. Well, we did enjoy some make-your-own Belgian waffles and mediocre coffee in the lobby of our hotel in the morning. And we fit in a 7-minute workout in the room. Look up the 7-minute workout which is 12 exercises for 30 seconds each with short intervals. I cannot imagine it is a perfect substitute for longer workouts, but it is better than nothing.
Enjoyment increased when we walked into town and secured a table by the open windows at Plonk. This place was recommended by a friend we made in Walla Walla. The pork belly appetizer was perhaps the largest portion of said dish I have ever eaten. The texture was a little tougher than usual but I loved it. Our scallop appetizer was a hit. I ordered a steak and enjoyed it but was underwhelmed. It was a NY strip but appeared (a one-knuckle rather than two-knuckle thickness) and had the tenderness more of a ribeye. The waiter said that is because it was grass-fed and from the valley. Environmental concerns and animal rights aside, I like my beef corn-fed. I have found pretty consistently that the steaks I have enjoyed the most are not those eaten in cattle-raising regions. Rather, they are the steaks I get in fancy steakhouses in big cities. Places like Peter Luger, Mastro’s, Bones, Wolfgang’s, Gibson’s, Peter Luger, Strip House, Sparks, Grill 23 and, of course, Peter Luger. That said, Plonk is a nice place with a very good menu and we enjoyed our meal. We passed Blackbird on the way to dinner which also looked good.
After dinner we went to Copper Bar which was in a downstairs space that was very upscale ski lodge. There was a stone wall, long bar with copper and dark wood. A youngish crowd. I ordered the rough mule which substitutes rough stock spring wheat whiskey for vodka. Bad idea. We walked around the block to work up an appetite and saw the neat statue of Jeanette Rankin sitting in a crescent moon at the corner of Tracy and Babcock. Back on the main drag, there was a 12-year old kid playing guitar and singing along with his dad or friend or who knows. He delighted us with Sweet Child of Mine followed by Sweet Home Alabama. Jenni had found a $5 bill on the street in Portland and decided his tip jar was the home she had been seeking for this nickel.
Child prodigy
Artsy utility boxes on the street
Jenni and Jeanette
On the way home we stopped into the downtown Co-op which makes sandwiches etc. I got a salted caramel brownie and Jenni a lemon rosemary buttermilk cookie.
September 7, 2013 (Saturday) – We got a fairly early start for the long day ahead of exploring more of Yellowstone and getting down to our desired campground in Grand Teton National Park.
Bozeman is a nice town and I see the appeal. There is a main street with several blocks of shops and bars and restaurants. We did not see the college campus but I imagine there is more to do there. Outdoor activities abound in the surrounding valleys and mountains. The vibe is laid back cowboy white water rafting guide bonhomie. There are some serious hats and belt buckles, but perhaps even more Oakleys and sandals. A gentleman was playing the upside down buckets on a street corner across from Plonk.
Getting out of Big Sky was tough, not going to lie. We partied a little hardy at the wedding I guess. There was definitely talk of finding a motel to crash at rather than face the 6 hour drive and ensuing tent set-up in weather that threatened wetness. But somehow, miraculously, we made it. And so glad we did. But here’s a tip: NEVER, and I mean NEVER eat at a Taco John’s, even if it’s the only place that appears to sell food in a random Montana town when you are 5 ½ hours into a drive to middle of nowhere, hungover, starving, and about to set up camp in a raining, thunderstorming glacial lake area. I took a couple of bites of my quesadilla and threw that thing in the bear proof trash can where it belonged. Have you ever seen that Jim Gaffigan skit about hot pockets? Where he says the instructions should read, “open container, insert directly into toilet”? Yeah, I’m pretty sure the wrappers on the tacos at Taco John say that explicitly. [To be fair, Alan ate his and his digestive tract did not appear to implode. But really, why run the risk for a high calorie cheese whiz infused heart attack of a meal?]. I had never seen a Taco John’s before, but it’s apparently a big chain out in these parts. Every time we drove by one afterwards I held my fingers up in a big X and averted my gaze. Aside from the Taco John’s though, the drive heading into Glacier is quite beautiful, with the Rockies painting the horizon.
::this is technically on our drive out. happy cows come from montana?::
Oh, also, because I forgot to mention it in my Big Sky post, here’s another free tip: use Doritos as a fire starter! It totally works. I personally believe Nacho Cheese work better than Cool Ranch, but in a pinch it’ll do. (And Alan thinks I’m wasting my time on Pinterest! Pshhh, I learn cool camping tricks that impress all the men struggling to light a Duraflame-less fire).
OK, OK, back to Glacier. It’s a glacial wonderland! We arrived too late to snag a campsite at Many Glacier (known as the day-hiker’s mecca of Glacier), but fortuitously settled instead with Two Medicine. The campsite we chose was not incredibly private, but the view was superb. We had a direct view of Rising Wolf Mountain and a little creek in which we watched beavers swim each night. And, we woke one morning to a pair of long-horned sheep hanging out just a few yards away at the water’s edge. Lovely spot, indeed.
::view from our campsite::::and Rising Wolf at dusk::
Our first morning we had had plans to hike near our campsite, up a steep trail with supposedly stellar views at the top. Instead, due to a forecast calling for rain and thunderstorms we opted to head up to Many Glacier for a 10ish mile hike with more tree cover and slightly less risk of death by electrocution. Don’t worry, the death by bear factor was in full force, so we still got our danger fix in. Which brings me to the bears. We spent a lot of time in bear country on this trip, and I’ll just go ahead and give you the spoiler alert even though I’ve not posted yet about Wyoming… we only saw one bear. Kind of a bummer, considering the stories we’d heard about other hikers’ bear encounters, BUT I think we were lucky because the bear sighting we had was a great one. We spent hours with our eyes peeled, staring out of car windows and through binoculars trying to sight a grizzly or black bear, to absolutely no avail. But driving from Two Medicine up to Many Glacier – while we were OUTSIDE of the national park – an incredible thing happened. A bear literally crossed our path. It jumped out of the trees on the right and scampered across the road to the left. I may or may not have screamed some expletives as Alan slammed on the brakes and my mind wrapped itself around the fact we nearly ran over a bear. He was quick, and I was in awe, so the picture proof of this is less than incredible, but if you look closely through the bug smeared windshield photo you can see a little black blur that is a black bear crossing the road. It was pretty neat.
::always be prepared::
::see that little black spot?? that’s a bear!::
Seeing a bear before our first proper hike in bear country of course instilled in me a consequent childlike excitement for bear sightings to come, as well as a healthy does of absolute fear. Thanks to the multitude of bear awareness signs and pamphlets, I’d by now deduced that the worst way to greet a grizzly is by surprise, and so when the national park service recommended I make noise while hiking to avoid death by surprised grizzly thrashing, you can bet I made noise. It’s not always easy to yell out when you’re hiking up hill, plus Alan and I now spend 24-7 together and occasionally, just occasionally, run out of interesting to things to talk about, so we got a little creative. Sure, we used some classics, like “Bear Aware!” and “Hey bear!” These were often interspersed with a simple, “Human!” or “Noises! Loud Noises!” My personal favorite was calling out, “I am a human, do not be alarmed!” This is especially fun when you round a corner into other hikers. (Who, by the way, were not very bear aware!! Nobody else made noise for safety, at least within our earshot. I’d much rather run the risk of being slightly annoying to fellow hikers or mildly embarrassed than to try and play dead while an 800 pound beast with four inch claws bats at me like an antenna topper.) My human chants ignited Alan’s creative side and he re-mixed his own version of the Killers’ Are We Human, singing every so often, “Are we human, or are we bear-ser?” We of course also carried our bear spray with us EVERYWHERE. But thankfully, our bear awareness was rewarded and we were not forced to employ the oversized pepper spray. Nor were we regaled with the opportunity to snap shots of a grizzly and her cubs, but such is mother nature and the way of those ever so private bears.
We had a few other cool wildlife sightings. On the way up our Many Glacier hike we saw the cutest little creatures in the path and then, up close, swinging around and playfully jumping between the trees. We weren’t sure what these little guys were, but they sure moved like monkeys. Upon showing our photo to a park ranger later in the day we discovered they were Pine Martens, a type of weasel that is rarely sighted and even more rarely photographed. We also saw plenty of pika (which, for the avoidance of doubt, are neither paper nor chalk eaters. Those are people with Pica. Pika do, however, make really funky noises, hence dubbed ‘whistling hares’ (so says Wikipedia)), a few mountain goats in the far distance, and these strange fat little birds that did not appear to fly.
::long horned sheep, at our campsite!::
::pine martens::
::pika::
The scenery impressed even more than the wildlife. The pictures do not do it justice (and are rather disappointing given the poor lighting we had. Rain, rain go away), but after hiking about 5 miles into the mountains, you arrive at a hidden glacial lake that is a perfect turquoise and full of floating icebergs. All this is perched in a little pocket of the continental divide. Not bad.
::glacial lake and the continental divide::
Feeling unmotivated to head back and cook in the rain, we opted for dinner at a little restaurant in the Many Glacier village area. It was nothing fancy, but the menu did offer huckleberry ice tea and huckleberry lemonade which sounded quite nice (as well as huckleberry ice cream, of course. We quickly learned that this is a Montana/Wyoming staple). The drive back afforded some lovely views as the sun set. Much like India, you must use caution to avoid hitting the cows in the roads.
::mountains and glaciers at sunset::
On our second full day in Glacier we again hoped to check out the scenic hike but learned that the forecast for the following day promised rain, thunderstorms and hail. This sounded less than ideal for our anticipated cruise down the scenic and legendary Going to the Sun road, a long windy path through the park which we’d planned to drive before camping a night over by Flathead Lake and Whitefish. For those of you who have not had much camping experience I’ll go ahead and let you know that camping in the rain is nowhere near as cool as camping in no rain. I’ve illustrated this with a little venn diagram for your learning pleasure.
So we altered our plans again, deciding to check out all of these spots on a day that offered sunny skies and no large objects thrust from the heavens, and skip a night camping at Whitefish to head out to drier land the next day. While bummed to miss out on a full day at the lake, we couldn’t have picked better weather for Going to the Sun Road. We cruised along with Sven’s top down, enjoying the spectacular views and ever on the hunt for more wildlife.
::looks photoshopped, doesn’t it?::
Flathead Lake was nice, though we were unable to find a tour company that was both open, available and offered at a time that worked for us, so we missed out on the opportunity to see those spectacularly clear waters from a vantage point where it allegedly looks shallow even at depths of several hundred feet. We stopped briefly in Whitefish, but mostly to use wifi in order to find some shelter to get us through the upcoming storm. On the way out we saw a lovely beach with a view of the ski mountain where people were paddleboarding and swimming. Not a bad spot. We could imagine worse things than a cabin in Whitefish.
We’ve been opining much on this trip about how much the weather impacts one’s opinion on a place. I suppose it bodes well for Glacier that we found it so stunning even despite a number of weather scares. It is a spectacular park, that is for sure. I think I had expected more of what I saw in the wintry photos of Glacier, and for that and the continually threatening thunderstorms I’d say I was just ever so slightly disappointed with the area. That, and that fact that we saw less wildlife in the park than we did on the roads in Big Sky. But all in all, it is an excellent little chunk of America (and also makes me want to check out what Canada has to offer just a few miles north)!
September 2, 2013 (Monday, cont’d) – After a Herculean effort to overcome last night’s bender, we arrived at Two Medicine Campground in East Glacier Park around 6 pm. It costs $25 for a 7-day pass valid only at the same park, or $80 for an annual pass valid at all national parks and recreation areas etc. We chose the $25 option but two days later paid the extra $55 to upgrade. For all you old folks out there, $10 buys lifetime access for anyone 62 or older plus up to three accompanying adults! When your social security runs out, you can still enjoy our finest natural wonders.
Glacier N.P. is quite large and it can take a long time to get between places. We intended to camp in Many Glacier because it is known to have the best access to day hikes. However, the park’s online campground status site informed us that it was fully occupied. I think this was for the best because Two Medicine is relatively isolated and quite stunning which means (a) it is more like serene wilderness and (b) we probably would never have seen it had we not camped here. At Two Medicine, we chose site number three from the many available options. This site is close to the entrance and right across a little stream that connects two lakes. Rising Wolf Mountain affords a magnificent backdrop. It costs $20/night and there are flush toilets and potable water. Here, too, one may store food in the car.
Sven effortlessly made the quarter-mile drive down to the general store by Two Medicine Lake after camp was set up. This is a fairly well-stocked country bodega open 8 am – 8 pm with beer, wine, eggs, chips, assorted outdoors gear, some guidebooks, etc. We picked up wood plus a neat, natural fire-starter made of wax and other materials costing a buck. This sure beats $5+ for a Duraflame. A beaver swimming in the lake near our site bade us goodnight.
September 3, 2013 (Tuesday) – Big horn sheep across the stream greeted us this morning.
View from Two Medicine campsite
Bighorn sheep across the stream
The weather forecast was spotty so we passed up Scenic Point and lit out at 11 am for a less exposed hike in Many Glacier. This is bear country. Already smarting from a failure to see said furry beasts in Yellowstone or Big Sky, desperation was setting in. As luck would have it, on Route 49 just a bit before the junction with Route 89 a black bear ran across the road perhaps 50 feet in front of Sven! Shout out to my Cal Berkeley peeps: my inner monologue was on repeat with “You know it, you tell the story, you tell the whole damn world this is bear territory!”
In Babb we took a left onto Many Glacier Road. The road slows but the aptly named parallel Swiftcurrent River and scenery offer solace. We parked at 12:30 pm at the Swiftcurrent Motor Inn (with bathrooms and water) but one could go past here and park right at the Iceberg Ptarmigan trailhead. I am always happy to see Jenni, and there was a can of bear spray in my pocket. There are endless warnings about grizzly bears and the need to carry bear spray and make lots of noise. Shockingly few heed the latter instruction. We were the vocal minority, periodically clapping and shouting things like “noise!” I did my best Killers impression belting out “are we human, or are we bear sir?!”
The trail to Iceberg Lake is in great condition as this is a very popular hike. It is just under 10 miles roundtrip with a stated elevation gain of 1,200 feet, though I believe this is simply the difference between starting and ending levels and does not account for the ups and downs of the trail. Perhaps a quarter of the way up we saw some white mountain goats on cliffs across the valley. Ptarmigan Falls is roughly halfway and would make a pleasant picnic spot. Around the corner is a trail junction and just beyond that we saw some pine martens playing in the trees. These are funky creatures, they look like a cross between a bear cub and a monkey and apparently are the most arboreal of the weasel family.
Bear spray
Pine marten, a rare find
Around three-quarters of the way up we saw some big horn sheep on a hill in the distance. After crossing a mountain stream on a short wooden bridge, we came to a lovely lake with a dearth of icebergs. Panic set in, until we realized that global warming is just a liberal hoax and a few hundred yards further there was a veritable iceberg silent disco rave in a deep blue lake set in an amphitheater of 3,000 foot cliffs (including part of the continental divide). It had been raining for a while and I imagine sunlight makes this place glorious, but it was still quite special. The sound of glaciers calving enhanced the experience.
Lake just below Iceberg
Iceberg Lake
Bird on the trail
We “summited” at 3 pm and spent about 20 minutes there, returning to the car at 5 pm. Early dinner at Swiftcurrent Motor Inn was a family pizza with two toppings for $18 and caprese salad with shrimp for $6.95. The menu is mainly Italian and fairly tasty and reasonable given its remote location. There is a good beer selection and several bottles of wine under $30. Décor is medium colored wood with green or white fence squares on the walls, gingham curtains and green vinyl tablecloths. A slightly nicer version of my old Maine summer camp dining hall. Late summer in this region means huckleberry food and beverage items are pervasive. Here we could have chosen iced tea, lemonade or cream soda, all huckleberry flavored.
On our way home, the Cattle Baron Supper Club in Babb was busy, as was Two Sisters Café a few miles south. We refueled at a pricey Exxon in St. Mary, which has the area’s most substantial grocery store, a few other shops, and the St. Mary Lodge. There are cows all over the roadside and one must exercise caution, especially at dusk. The views and sunset were beautiful.
View to west on drive home
Two Medicine lake
There was a man from Choteau conversing by the stream who cracked me up. He had this accent and spoke in a nasally voice and generally reminded me of Dan Akroyd in Caddyshack 2. “I don’t read” became one of our favorite quotes of the trip.
September 4, 2013 (Wednesday) – Today’s forecast was good but tomorrow’s was even worse than yesterday, so again we bagged plans to hike Scenic Point and instead drove the famous Going to the Sun Road which bisects the park east to west. Our thinking was that Going to the Sun is the most popular activity due to its views and driving it in a hailstorm might be sub-optimal.
Driving to Going to the Sun Road
We ate Ezekiel bread and almond butter for breakfast and stopped for coffee at the St. Mary Lodge, which sits at the eastern entrance to Going to the Sun Road. The scenery is spectacular and there are various trailheads. At a construction stop, we caught nice views of a glacier, which are fewer and farther between than 10-20 years ago.
The Logan Pass visitor center is at the apex of the road and even after Labor Day the parking lot was a mob scene. I dropped Jenni off to take a quick look while I circled for a spot to no avail. Sadly we missed the short hike to Hidden Lake as I think this may be the best location for seeing mountain goats. I remember visiting Glacier in the early 90’s and at one place seeing these goats all over and up close. I think that was at Logan Pass.
Beyond here, the road is a narrow, cliff-hugging affair that is a tad hair-raising. Large pick up trucks must fold in their side mirrors. I was happy to be here on a 70’s and sunny day with the top down. Traversing the park took about 2.5 hours without a lot of stopping. Now on the west side of the park, we drove to Bigfork to visit Flathead Lake. Bigfork is a nice lake town with activity concentrated on Electric Avenue. We had hoped to take a scenic cruise or rent kayaks, but most of the boat rental companies had already closed for the season or needed more advance notice. We stopped a few minutest at Flathead Lake State Park for a closer view of the water. It is said to be remarkably clear, but this was hard to judge in the shallow area we could see. It does seem like a nice area for summertime recreation.
From here we drove north through Kalispell, which looked fine and has everything you might need…Wal-Mart, Costco, Target, Starbucks, Five Guys, etc. I had heard great things about Whitefish so we parked on Central Avenue to see the charming town center. Most of our time was spent doing research over coffee drinks at Red Caboose. Next we cruised over to the city beach. I found this an idyllic locale. It was calm, there were people paddle boarding and the lake is surrounded by mountains with a great view of the Whitefish ski slopes. I do not mean jagged, dramatic peaks but more like Vermont mountains with a higher-starting elevation.
Paddle boarders on Whitefish Lake
Whitefish Lake with ski trails beyond
We were tempted by Piggyback Barbeque near the lake and Southern fried chicken at The Shak. MacKenzie River Pizza is a Montana casual dining chain with a location here. It was disappointing to learn that the Taste of Whitefish would occur tomorrow, just out of our reach.
To return home, we took Route 2 which is definitely not as scenic as Going to the Sun Road but it does not close at night, offers nice scenery parallel to the train tracks and one may drive 60-70 mph. Grilled cheese sandwiches cooked on foil on the campfire grill grate were good enough; the stars better than that.
Observations on Glacier N.P.: The scenery is up-close and jaw-dropping. Our experience was a tad disappointing because it was gray much of the time, and we did not see as much wildlife as expected. There are a lot of options for accommodation. Choose wisely or you might find yourself with a 2-3 hour drive to get from your bed to a point of interest. The backcountry lodges of Granite Park Chalet and Sperry Chalet probably make excellent options for those so inclined. The west side of the park is more developed, accessible and has more recreational opportunities and more mountains outside the park. The east side is less developed, harder to reach and I would say far more spectacular, plus it offers the contrast of jagged peaks and plains.
Observations on Montana: Distrust in the federal government is palpable. Ted Kaczynski took to the extreme and committed atrocities in the name of feelings that are probably shared on a much softer level by many. I read that Montana has the third highest gun ownership percentage in the country, behind only Wyoming and Alaska and just ahead of South Dakota. This is one of the only places I have been where I might choose to drive below the speed limit. Drivers do not speed much, perhaps because the limits are set so high. At gas stations one does not need to input his zip code. Cows are abundant. I was stunned by how many female workers I saw at road construction sites. I love the large parking spaces because here nobody pretends that everyone drives a compact car. Montana is beautiful and uncrowded, and it seems these folks want to keep it that way: http://www.montana-sucks.com/. I found locals quite friendly.
September 5, 2013 (Thursday) – We woke and packed up early fearing rain and hail. Tracing our route back to Bozeman, we again passed through Browning, which seems to be the home of the Blackfeet Nation. At our campsite we had heard talk of recent peaceful protests. I think there is ongoing tension here between the tribe and government. There are several roadside stops with large dinosaur figures, apparently this area was fertile ground for fossils.
View to the west on Route 89
Beyond several miles of construction, we ate lunch at Chubby’s Diner in Augusta. What a classic spot. There were hilarious signs and notes, like the permanent advertisement of free food all day tomorrow (jest) and the poster for an upcoming lawnmower race (real). Jenni’s eggs and toast came with enough hash browns for four people. I ordered the Super BOB (breakfast on a bun) with eggs, cheese, two large spicy sausage patties and raw onion with hot sauce on a sesame burger bun. Strong. This is the kind of place where when you ask if they can do iced coffee, they simply say “no,” even though we all are sure they have ample supply of the two key ingredients. If you need a place to crash for the night, check out the Bunkhouse Inn.
CHUBBY’S!
Store in Augusta
We made it to Bozeman a little before 2 pm and Sven sheltered us from a torrential downpour while we awaited a response from an airbnb inquiry. This never came so we checked in to the Western Heritage Inn.
I interrupt my regularly scheduled posts to share with you the most memorable and hilarious moment of our time in Montana, and possibly my life so far. I’m sure all in attendance at Dave & Barb’s wedding heard of this, I’m guessing word has spread as far as Butte, and now for your viewing pleasure… here is Seth losing his pants after he fell in the water on our rafting trip. (more detail to come in the Montana posts)
First, apologies for such a long delay between blog posts. I could blame it on sorting out health insurance, car troubles and planning our trip to Asia etc., but such a hiatus is simply an unacceptable way to treat my beloved readers!
In an attempt to return myself to your good graces, I have some breaking news to share: Montana is really big. And it is sparsely populated. If you find yourself lamenting that the world has become too crowded, spend a little time in these parts.
August 29, 2013 (Thursday) – We packed up camp and set out from Idaho for a luxurious wedding weekend in Big Sky, Montana. Route 3 put us on I-90 a bit east of Coeur d’Alene and we avoided driving the same road as yesterday. At an elevation above 4700’, we crossed Lookout Pass into Montana. There is an eponymous ski resort located here, though I would not imagine it merits more than an hour or two of travel.
Interstate 90 passes most of the state’s largest cities and we broke for lunch in Missoula. Only burgers are on offer at the Missoula Club, perhaps the executive chef sought the no-creativity crown from the name-giver. We sat at the bar with a close-up view of the flat-top where the chef prepared some very tasty burgers. Two singles with American cheese, mine with bacon, and a root beer to split. The Mo Club also serves shakes and malts. It is reminiscent of a double-deep, alcohol-serving, Montana style version of White Hut (credit to Jenni).
In addition to solid grub and ambiance, I had a wonderful “technology is everywhere” experience here. The walls are covered with old black and white photographs of University of Montana and local high school athletic teams. An older fellow saw me admiring the display and approached to tell me that he was on the 1953 state championship football team (and that his son owns nearby Red’s bar, I think). He then pulled out his iPhone to show me pictures of a recent team reunion and told me he posted them on Facebook, after which he heard from classmates he had not communicated with in 50 years.
I grabbed a coffee at La Bella Vita, which is the first combo belle epoque furnishings / barista establishment I have visited. We continued east on I-90 and spotted a billboard for the Testicle Festival. How bizarre that Dave and Barbra did not choose their wedding weekend to coincide with this romantic event? The drive was fairly scenic, much of it along a river. Especially so on Route 191 which I believe runs through the Gallatin Valley from Bozeman south to Big Sky. Apart from the usual summer construction delays, the trip was smooth.
Seth and Jill had already checked in so we went straight to the Mountain Home we had booked at Moonlight Basin. Our foursome headed back down the hill towards 191 where we saw a big moose right on the side of the road! We grabbed drinks, snacks and breakfast supplies at the aptly named Hungry Moose Market & Deli in the Big Sky Town Center before heading to Dave’s rented home where Dana cooked up some terrific chicken wings and ribeye steaks. It was so nice to catch up with Dave’s family and meet Barbra’s. The stars were outstanding.
August 30, 2013 (Friday) – Today we went to Yellowstone, but I am going to cover that in a separate post. Many more wedding guests arrived today so in the evening we had dinner with close friends at Buck’s T-4 Lodge down on Route 191. The menu was more extensive and upscale than I had anticipated, and we all shared an excellent pheasant quesadilla plus Jenni and I split pan seared red deer loin with truffle risotto and Montana natural lamb. It is a nice place and the meal was tasty, though not superb. Some of us hung out for a while back at our house.
Lone Mountain Trail runs about 10 miles from Route 191 up to Moonlight Basin. There are a few different commercial areas, it appeared that the Big Sky Town Center is the most robust. The scenery is great and the wildlife most impressive. Lone Peak is a commanding pyramid that stands guard at 11,116 feet of elevation. The meadow area closer to 191 sits around 6,000 feet and Moonlight Basin around 8,000 feet. In addition to the moose mentioned above, we saw many deer, some bighorn sheep on the roadside, others saw a bear near the lodge on wedding day and Jenni promises she saw a wolf in the early morning on our drive to Yellowstone! A few of us may also have seen a wolf. Our hearts tell us so, though statistics might suggest it was a coyote. But it sure did look like a wolf.
Aside from the dining options I tried, some recommended spots include Blue Moon Bakery, Choppers Grub and Pub, Lotus Pad, Broken Spoke, Olive B’s, Rainbow Ranch, The Corral Bar and Steakhouse and The Cabin Bar and Grill.
August 31, 2013 (Saturday) – Today was a great day. We saw Seth’s ass and didn’t even have to use the A.K. Plus, Bugaboo Cafe cooked the Montana Size breakfast sandwiches with much hog. We grabbed these before rehearsing at the chapel and then heading to white water rafting the Gallatin River. Montana Whitewater Rafting Company guided us through mostly class 1 and 2 rapids. In my raft were Jenni, Phil, Seth and Jill. The weather was perfect. Seth was cajoled into joining after declining via email because he was only interested in class 4+. After all, it was not long ago that he had run a West Virginia dam release with class 5 and 6 rapids. Shortly after we set out, the raft hit a little bump in a mild rapid and out popped Seth. We all laughed hard. Phil immediately reached for him and ended up pulling down his shorts. But we believe he re-secured his under garments before being pulled out of the water. At which point his shorts caught on the rope on the side of the raft, and he was left flopped over the side, half in and half out, limp as a dead fish, big white ass facing the world with his shorts at his ankles. This was one of the funniest experiences of my life. A raft with the same company (but visitors outside our crew) was in perfect position just upstream and the guide got some amazing shots.
MOONlight Basin, the PG-13 version
At this point in the season the river was pretty mild, but whitewater rafting is always supremely enjoyable. Nobody did the zip line also offered onsite. After some relaxing jacuzzi time on our home’s deck, we boarded the 4:30 pm school bus shuttle to the rehearsal dinner. The ride up to the mountain top pig roast catered through Cache Creek Outfitters was on a narrow dirt road that we shared with some cows. With a little vino in hand, we took a horse-wagon loop ride and enjoyed the views and late afternoon light. The pig was wonderfully tasty (I went just with the Carolina-style vinegar sauce though there was also a sweet sauce), there were heartfelt toasts, a s’mores station and a local bluegrass type band. Another highlight was the welcome/warning from the proprietor informing us that there was a grizzly in the area so think twice before wandering off.
Wagon ride at Cache Creek
Groom and fellas
Did I mention I dig on swine?
The after party, of course, was at our house. We put a large dent in the Glenlivet 12 that Koz had given me, and Jenni wowed the crowd with her backcountry knowledge that Dorito’s make an excellent fire-starter. I guess if Duraflame tasted as good then I might shrug off all those chemicals, too.
September 1, 2013 (Sunday) – I cooked some bacon, eggs and cheese then relaxed a bit before donning my tuxedo and visiting Dave and Barbra’s new cottage and then the lodge for some wedding party pictures. Newly endowed with stylish blue-striped socks, a fine silk bow-tie and a Tiffany money clip, I was ready to celebrate the marriage of one of my dearest friends in the world. We had a fabulous night of dancing to an awesome Montana band, followed by an after party in the penthouse suite at the lodge and then the after after party back at our house. We hit the pillow around 4:30 am, best I recollect.
Beautiful bride and the Tufts crew
September 2, 2013 (Monday) – We beat the odds and made it to the brunch at Dave’s original mountain house. I was pretty crushed and placed low odds on completing the six-hour drive to Glacier National Park. A large iced latte from the coffee stand (these are ubiquitous in this region) in the Conoco lot at the intersection of Lone Mountain Trail and Route 191 helped us get started. After passing through Helena we stopped for gas in the tiny town of Augusta. It would have been cheaper in Choteau but this is not territory flush with civilization. The drive becomes especially scenic around Dupuyer where the Rockies loom to the west juxtaposed against the plains to the east. Dinner was a sordid affair consumed between the Taco John’s drive through in seemingly dejected Browning and our campsite at Two Medicine on the east side of Glacier. TJ’s makes Taco Bell feel like organic kale and quinoa.
Please note that I cannot insert a hyperlink to Two Medicine campground at the moment because lunatics have hijacked the Republican party and shut down the federal government. But hey, when you can print the world’s reserve currency and after trillions it remains so, why not shove your middle finger in the rest of the world’s face and hope for the best?
Montana with its great skies. Big Sky lives up to the name, that’s for sure. It seems like you cross the border into the state and all of a sudden there’s more fresh air and the horizon has doubled. And once the sun falls and you look out at those millions of stars? Big Sky, for sure. I am very glad that Dave and Barbra decided to get married in Montana. They planned an incredible intro to Montana weekend and it was great to see the state for the first time amongst good friends, kind new faces and a host of superfun activities.
We stopped first in Missoula to see (albeit briefly and from afar) Barb’s alma mater, and to eat some delicious hamburgers at a college bar. The Missoula Club, for all its kitchen glory (essentially a two by two flat top grill, plus a blender for milkshakes), makes a mean lunch. And by lunch I mean cheeseburgers. And shakes (though we forewent these on account of our waistlines). Nothin’else. It was here we got our first taste of the endearing Montana culture: the older gentlemen seated next to Alan saw him looking at some old black and whites on the wall and stood up to point out the 1953 High School State Championship Team and his smiling face among them. He then proceeded to whip out his iPhone and share pictures of his reunion that he posted on Facebook. Love it. This man was at least 75.
::entering Big Sky Country::
::where the magic happens at Missoula Club::
::site of good burgers and kind old men::
The drive into Big Sky was beautiful and full of wildlife already. In fact, just a few hours into our time at Big Sky we saw our second moose of the trip just chilling by the side of the road. After a low key night eating some mean wings and steak the groom’s brother cooked up, it was up early the next day to head out to Yellowstone (including my first foray into Wyoming!). While difficult to peel ourselves out of bed before 6am, it was worth it, because before we even arrived in Yellowstone, nay before we even got off the road that the Big Sky resort is on, I had an epic wildlife sighting. It saddens me to have no pictures to prove this, but friends, I saw a wolf! He was perched up on the top of a hill overlooking the road, and man was he majestic. He looked like Mufasa, peering out over his kingdom before the day’s hustle and bustle had begun. A beautiful, silvery beast he was. Bummer, he was the last wolf we sighted. No such luck in the national parks this week. But in Yellowstone, we did see elk and bison aplenty. (I’m tempted to call bison only Tatonka from now, though I’ve yet to see Dances with Wolves so I feel like I lack the street cred to do so.) Dave & Barb organized a lovely tour which was pretty much family and the bride and groom and ourselves. We had about 15 people on a little bus, and one of the best tour guides I can ever remember listening to. And trust me, that’s appreciated on an 8 hour tour. He took us around for a full day, covering Madison Junction and Lower then Upper Falls, Uncle Tom’s Trail (which included a staircase that engaged my fear of heights not insubstantially – worth it for the rainbows you see in the falls), Old Faithful, and lots of other Geysers, including one that visitors rarely see erupting. We also got on board with the western huckleberry craze by trying some huckleberry ice cream at Old Faithful. Delicioso! We closed out the solid day with a dinner at Buck’s T-4. The food was decent – I very much enjoyed the New Zealand venison, but everything else I tried paled in comparison – and the company was superb, as it was a great chance to catch up with friends from LA and elsewhere. Always a good time with Alan’s Tufts friends.
::moose on the loose::
::beautiful elk::
::bison jam::
::bison jam in Yellowstone::
::natural beauty::
::rainbow!::
::huckleberry ice cream with the groom::
::looks photoshopped right? I promise it’s not::
::bison::
::i want a hot tub built exactly like this in my yard one day::
::Old Faithful::
::more geysers::
::aren’t those colors stunning? too bad you’d basically dissolve if you jumped in there::
Saturday was a good day. This is the day of the Mooning Rafter. You may have seen the photo I posted earlier (it was too good to wait), and I’m here to give you some more color, which will add to the enjoyment of that doozy of a snapshot. We set out to hit the Gallatin River white waters for a little rafting trip. I was mixed emotions on this whole process, as it sounded scenic and entertaining, but mostly like a terrifyingly unpleasant way to die. I am afraid of many (most?) things as you will come to see if you continue reading this blog, and white water rapids are chief among said things. Getting a prep lesson in which you are warned that your participation may result in your demise and given tips on how to avoid death by rock impailment makes me uneasy, and I thought of bailing on numerous occasions. In the end, comforted by a raft full of good friends who mostly did not make fun of my terrified faces and mild panic attacks at each rapid above Class 1, I hesitantly partook (in other words, where rapid class > 2, I essentially ditched my paddle to hang on for dear life (I tried, I really did)). Seth, however, was the opposite. He almost bailed because these puny rapids were too small-fry for his Class 5 Dam Release West Virginian rafting experience. And this was made clear to all on our little raft. Yet shortly into our float, after a small pass which to any other rafter that day appeared unassuming, Seth went flying off the raft and into the water. After a brief moment of shock and horror on my part, everyone burst into laughter seeing our fearless Class 5 Dam Release West Virginian rafting aficionado flailing about trying to get back into the raft. When our friends and guide began trying to pull him back in, his shorts caught on the rope and we all got to know Seth on a more intimate level. (In case you missed it, here it is one more time) His wife valiantly threw herself to his side of the raft and tried to help him pull up his pants, but the damage was done. And the raft behind us? I think one of the women put it best when she said “I was really afraid we were going to get balls.” Here’s a little video to give you more of the live experience (full credit to Seth for being a total sport and laughing with everyone throughout this ordeal and then putting together this epic little movie).
Word of Seth’s ass spread quickly, and it made for good fodder at the rehearsal dinner, which was a true Montana experience. Set atop a mountain, complete with horse drawn wagon rides, a roasted pig, s’mores station, and bluegrass band, it was a rehearsal dinner unlike any other I’ve attended. The wedding, too, was a spectacular Montana affair. We danced to the tunes of a local band, ate fantastic bison short ribs smothered in a huckleberry sauce, and stayed up late laughing and drinking Montanan beers. Wonderful weekend. Congrats again Dave and Barb!!!
::sigh, Montana you are lovely::
::horse drawn wagon ride::
::pig!::
::me and the hubs, huckleberry drinks in hand::
::Tufts crew::
::I adored the little details at this wedding, including the personalized menu!::
August 27, 2013 (Tuesday, cont’d) – Our departure from dry, grain-filled eastern Washington and arrival in pine-forest covered Idaho was noticeable almost immediately. The road past Heyburn State Park (probably a fine place to camp) is scenic with lake views. We refueled in St. Maries and turned north up to Harrison, the closest town to our campsite and home to a general store, coffee shop, bike/paddle rentals etc. Less than a mile beyond, we saw a moose on a little island in the lake, and an osprey perched on a tree branch by the roadside. What a perfect welcome to summer camp on Lake Coeur d’Alene (CDA)!
Moose on a little island
Osprey, a/k/a the sea hawk
The access road for Bell Bay Campground in the Idaho Panhandle National Forest is three miles long and mostly unpaved, meaning it takes Sven 10-15 minutes just to get to/from Route 97. The reward is well worth it. We arrived a little after 3 pm. Our reserved site #4 was fine but on the inland side of a small loop (itself the lower loop of the campground), and the manager let us switch to the much more desirable site #8 as the campground is half-empty. Site #8 sits directly above Lake CDA facing south/west with gorgeous views and sunsets. It is not so private with the neighboring site occupied (though that only lasted one of our two nights), but this campground is more remote and scenic than our prior stops. My only serious gripe is the incessant buzzing of bees, though thankfully this subsides in the evening. We set up and walked down a short path to the swimming dock for a little exercise and a dip in the cool but refreshing lake.
View from our campsite
Swimming dock
Swimming dock to the side
There was no one else around, and a little rest in the afternoon sun on the dock may have been the most relaxing hour of the trip thus far. As I write leaning back in my boat chair overlooking a lake surrounded by pine-covered hills at sunset in perfect weather, I could not be more content.
Each time we camp it is amusing how minimalist is our set-up compared to all others. Almost everyone else at least has an SUV and brings a large family size car camping tent, a proper stove, tablecloth, lantern, big chairs, etc., and a high percentage have full campers/trailers.
August 28, 2013 (Wednesday) – The morning was drier and warmer than our prior camping nights. After some oatmeal, tea and coffee, we departed for Coeur d’Alene. While not so far as the crow flies, it takes a solid hour due to the unpaved campground access road and hilly and windy Route 97. We were in search of a coffee shop for what we thought might be a few hours of work. Java was packed, so we opted for Calypso’s. It is spacious and comfortable and serves reasonably good salads and sandwiches, which is nice because we were there from 11 am til 6 pm! At least we got to walk through the farmers market that runs Wednesdays from 4-7 pm on 5th Street between Sherman and Coeur d’Alene Avenues. Thankfully we found some potatoes (Idaho’s most famed export) to wrap in foil on the grill with more chicken thighs, but the market was not particularly impressive. There was live music there and a much larger production around the corner at 6th and Sherman.
On the drive home, we saw deer in several places, including one for which I had to brake intensely. Route 97 hugs the lake at enough elevation to afford constant views. It is friendly to convertibles, and the blue skies and temperature in the 70s made for a pleasant joy ride. We made a campfire, cooked dinner (perhaps psychosomatic but the spuds were scrumptious), and thoroughly enjoyed our bottle of 2012 K Viognier from Charles Smith.
Another spectacular lake sunset
Critical surgery, or just eating Idaho spuds?
Although we saw relatively little and did even less in our brief time here, I can offer a few ideas to help orient you. The town of Coeur d’Alene sits on the north side of Lake CDA and is fairly substantial with a population around 45,000. Sherman Avenue between 1st Street and 7th Street seems to be the main thoroughfare, with activity on Lakeside Avenue as well. There is a little waterfront park in town, and Tubbs Hill is a forested peninsula extending into the lake with some walking trails. Lake CDA is a popular cycling area. The Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes runs more than 70 miles between Mullan and Plummer, and we were quite bummed to miss the Route of the Hiawatha Rail-Trail. There are shops in CDA renting bicycles, kayaks, paddle boards etc. We also heard that boating and fishing through the Chain Lakes makes for a nice day.
Of course there is much more to do in Idaho. In the southern part of the state, Sun Valley is a legendary year-round resort and stomping ground of the rich and famous. I would love to visit someday, but it was serendipitous we skipped it this time as we missed horrific wildfires. About an hour and a half north of CDA, Schweitzer Mountain was voted by Ski Magazine the best kept secret in North America.
In Idaho we did what I imagine many Idahoans do: not much. Which is not to say it was unenjoyed – quite the opposite. We recharged at Lake Coeur d’Alene (the honeymoon capital of the west! or so I’d read somewhere). Our campsite, at the Bell Bay campgrounds, was a fair hike (and by hike I mean an hour plus drive) from the city of Coeur d’Alene, but the remoteness was well worth it. Of wildlife, there was plenty. On the drive in we saw our first moose of the trip. We saw countless deer (including some dangerous encounters driving back from Coeur d’Alene at dusk!), a bird that looked a bit like a bald eagle, and some kind of fish jumping out of the lake. And the campsite itself had a stunning view. We got a spot right on the lake’s edge. It was perfect for writing, reading, sunset watching, star gazing (great stars!), it was a short walk down to swim, and perhaps best of all it was dry so we were able to dry out our molding (gah!) tent. My only complaint is the bees. I had never experienced bees like this before. They hover around you and your things incessantly, yet don’t appear to want to eat anything. Even when our oatmeal bowls lay out they would check them out and then come back to buzz in our ears! It brought back flashbacks of my high school cross country team incident (one of my teammates stepped on a nest while trying to pee in the woods and half the team got stung. Two girls had to be taken to the hospital, one of which had a bee lodged in her ear canal! So buzzing by my ears totally freaks me out). The bees reminded me of what an annoying toddler might be like, constantly by your side, all “what are you doing? What about now? What’s this? What does that do? How do you spell obstreperous? Do dogs have feelings?”
::blogging with a view::
::those pesky bees::
::idaho, udaho::
::moose!::
::lovely sunset at our home for the night::
::reading by the fire::
::sunset nigh two! idahoan sunsets do not disappoint::
We spent two nights in this soul searchers paradise of a campground. On our full day in between we drove down to the city of Coeur d’Alene and spent much of the day blogging. Not terribly exciting, but we were at least escaping the bees at a really funky coffee shop called Calypso’s. Great spot for chai and pretty good cheap-ish sammies if you find yourself hungry in Coeur d’Alene!
Want to know how to feel so happy you laugh until tears stream down your face and you snort for air? Drive down the coast of a beautiful lake with the top down and your best friend by your side and go nuts on the air guitar at the end of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Freebird. Like, real nuts. (Also do this late night after a great friend’s wedding. Apologies to Barb’s parents for our debauchery on the balcony!)
Oh, and because we were in Idaho we of course picked up some LOCAL taters to cook up for dinner. SCRUMPTIOUS!
::idaho potato::
So Idaho was not eventful, but certainly fulfilling. I found this quote to be quite fitting: “I think probably one of the important things that happened to me was growing up in Idaho in the mountains, in the woods, and having a very strong presence of the wilderness around me. That never felt like emptiness. It always felt like presence.” Marilynne Robinson
::don’t let that poo-smeared welcome sign fool you, goodness lies ahead::
I. LOVE. WALLA WALLA. Oh, let me rephrase… I ❤ ❤ WW!!! The place so nice, they named it twice! I think I spent at least three hours trying to convince Alan that Walla Walla is where we should live. Wine, good fresh food, a college community, and the trees – those old old trees. Oh, the East coast in me just purrs at the the sight of those beautiful old trees and homes. And the BACKYARDS?! They are positively divine. The days are hot in the summer, but the cool evenings and those perfect breezes? I DIE.
Before I digress too far into my love affair with Walla Walla I suppose I should get to the wine (since I know my dad is my number one reader, and I wouldn’t want to leave him hanging any longer). On our way into town we tasted at two wineries: Woodward Canyon and L’ecole. The tastings are cheaper here than in Willamette – almost all were $5 for five or six wines. Plus everyone is so friendly they offer to pour you more of whatever you liked. We enjoyed the tastings at both though the tasting room at L’ecole was a bit more interesting to see as it was in an old school building. Highlights at L’ecole for me were the 2010 Syrah and the 2010 Estate Merlot from the Seven Hills Vineyard (cedar, black cherry, baking spices and an earthy mineral finish). The ’09 Apogee was good too. As for Woodward I preferred the non-vintage, though it’s only sold at their tasting room.
Not far from this fine start we headed to downtown Walla Walla, which is a super charming downtown area full of wineries. Unlike many wine regions I’ve been to where the wineries are spread apart down long winding roads through the vine-covered hills, the majority of the can’t miss winemakers have tasting rooms conveniently located within a few blocks of each other in downtown Walla Walla. Perhaps not as scenic, but no DD required! And that’s a huge plus when the wines are so delectable and affordable. In case you couldn’t guess yet, in the battle of Willamette vs. Walla Walla?? Walla Walla for the win! (Let’s see how many times I can say Walla Walla in this post, shall we? It’s so fun, just say it out loud three or four times. You will laugh. Walla Walla Walla Walla Walla Walla. You can’t help sounding like a muppet character (doesn’t one of them say wakka wakka?)).
Downtown Wineries:
Charles Smith. Charles is a rock star. The man has a big head of long curly blond hair, his tasting room is a super funky modern event space, and his wines have cool names like “The Velvet” and “Boom Boom!” Also, his wines taste good! We really enjoyed our tasting here. We went with the “high end” wine tasting, which included a 2010 K Merlot Stoneridge Vineyard (93 pts, Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate), two Syrahs we enjoyed (the Milbrandt and MCK), as well as a tasty Viognier that was rated 94 by Robert Parker (2011 CS Viognier). The chill and generous sales guy let us taste some of the wines that weren’t on our tasting list as well, and he trustingly let us leave owing $10 because we said we’d be back . We also met some folks from South Dakota who were super friendly and gave us some good recs for our time there.
Mark Ryan was our next stop where we tasted a number of great wines. We ended up purchasing a bottle of the Suicide Red for our picnic dinner. It was such a unique tasting wine (80% Syrah, 20% Mourvedre). I have only good things to say about the Dissident Red and Wild Eyed reds as well.
Last but not least we tried the Flying Trout/Tero Estates. Wines were pretty good, but I was several tastings in at this point so I unfortunately have no specific rec’s, except to note that we tried another Torrontes which Alan is becoming a big fan of (white wine from Argentina). We also met some new blog followers from Jacksonville and Bozeman! Shout out to new readers!
too cute. “this sumr I went to Walla Walla. and it such! Because my dad was wine tasting. All day.”
downtown walla walla
Charles Smith, so classy
rockstar wines
Also downtown, not just about the wine:
If you like mid-century modern furniture, stop in to the awesome vintage furniture shop called Debouche. Be sure to strike up a conversation with the equally awesome owner. She’s a hoot and a half. I promised when we had a home again that I would return to Debouche to furnish it.
The lunch spot we went to, also downtown and called Olive, was kind of my Coral Tree meets Walla Walla. Jenny, I hope you’re reading this, because if we had gone to law school in Walla Walla, we would have LIVED here. Ample seating, wifi, coffee and tea, delicious food, and the best study aid of all time: wine. Wonderful Walla Wallan wines. Look, did you see there how I turned Walla Walla into an adjective? I love it so much I’ve made an adjective out of it. I’m going to start using it as a noun to identify things I love. Like, “those pants are so Walla Walla. This party rocks – it’s totally Walla Walla!” Coral Tree, for those of you not in the Brentwood know, is a little food spot in Brentwood that my law school study buddy supreme and I spent countless hours studying at. More often than not these study sessions devolved into wine drinking and bonding sessions. Olive’s set up is similar, in that you order at the counter and they bring out your food to you. The menu trumps Coral Tree by far though, with an impressive offering of salads, pizza, sandwiches, coffee and tea drinks and a great beer and wine list. Alan and I split the duck confit salad and an apricot chicken salad sammie. Yum yum.
CarltAnn B&B
Our B&B was another highlight in Walla Walla. We stayed at the CarltAnn House, which is a cozy little bed and breakfast (only 3 rooms!) we found on AirBnB. It’s run by an older couple, John and Nathan (though we only met John during our stay). I just adored the place and the neighborhood – old trees lined the roads, herbs and veggies grew in the garden, a great old magnolia tree sat in the backyard housing a chorus of crickets and dragonflies. We stayed in the Anne Belov Room – named after an artist friend of theirs whose art accents the blue room. It’s one of the three bedrooms on the second floor which share a nice, huge bathroom. We were the only guests the night we stayed. The creaking oak floors, white trim, old wood furniture, ornate old doorknobs and a lovely seating area in the backyard… so beautiful.
It’s also only a block away from the Whitman College campus and a few minutes walk from downtown, so for dinner we walked back and picnic-ed at the B&B with meats and cheese we picked up at Salumiere (great wine/cheese/meat/provisional shop downtown), as well as the bottle of Suicide Red we picked up. We were joined by our host and sat out in the yard chatting for a few hours. Lovely conversation, he’s traveled quite a bit himself. We’re tempted to make a movie about his life, the stories were so beautiful. To give you a sense: he had always wanted to see Ireland and learn to play the fiddle, so he quit his job and went to Ireland and asked around until he found fiddle players that more or less took him in as a fiddle apprentice. Years later, in the US, he met someone who held their fiddle bow in a similar fashion and discovered that they had learned to play from same guy! We told him his life sounds like a screenplay, but he said he was too shy to want it made into a movie. I think the story is too good to not be shared.
August 26, 2013 (Monday, cont’d) – Though it doesn’t feel like wine country, tasting rooms begin to appear on Route 12 at least 14 miles west of Walla Walla. We stopped first at Woodward Canyon with a quaint tasting room selling cookbooks from Mozza and Smitten Kitchen, among others. Social media is everywhere these days. This spot feels like the middle of nowhere but offers 5% off purchase if you check in with Yelp. We gladly paid $5 to taste six wines. Next was L’Ecole just a couple hundred yards away. This is a much larger establishment and also offered six wines for $5. A packed car facilitated the necessary discipline to forego buying bottles.
The drive to WA
At L’Ecole winery
Reininger and Three Rivers are nearby and came recommended, but we continued on Route 12 and exited at 2nd Street then turned onto wide Main Street and parked. Sunny and 80s suited us fine. Apparently it often breaks 100º in summer and gets quite cold in the winter. Jenni fell in love with Debouche, a sizeable store selling mid-century and Danish modern furniture and accessories. She vowed to return when we have a home to decorate. Though someone had recommended Graze sandwich shop and I had read about Green Spoon, we chose Olive for a late lunch and did not regret it. It is spacious indoors and there is ample sidewalk seating. You order at the counter and the menu is tantalizing. We split a duck confit salad and apricot chicken salad sandwich. Jenni got a chai latte and I splurged on an iced mocha. There is WiFi and it is open until 9 pm.
Main Street, Walla Walla
Olive marketplace
Olive sidewalk seating
Re-energized to taste, we checked into the CarltAnn House, a proper B&B that we happened to find through airbnb. It is a pleasant, older house with a few rooms on offer; we chose the spacious and light-filled Anne Belov room (named for the hosts’ artist friend whose work is on the walls). There is a large shared bath, which works particularly well when you are the only guests.
CarltAnn House
Anne Belov room at CarltAnn
John (the proprietor, along with his partner, Nathan) gave us a few recommendations, and we walked through the Whitman College campus to Charles Smith on Spokane Street. This place rocks. The namesake is a character with long, curly, silver blonde hair. It is a big industrial space where all the furniture and walls are on wheels, making the room easy to rearrange for private events and their own parties. Each Thursday is bluegrass and burgers night from 6 pm until close, no cover charge. We opted for the $10 premium tasting (vs. the $5 standard) and enjoyed the wines and conversation with our pourer and a couple visiting from South Dakota who offered recommendations for our upcoming visit. We were offered additional or re-tastes free of charge, and permitted to leave without paying after we said we would return to buy a bottle (which means the tasting fee is waived). A flyer informed us that the 6th annual jazz and wine festival took place the prior weekend.
Art on Whitman campus
Charles Smith labels
Charles Smith tasting room
One of many cool bumper stickers at Charles Smith
Around the corner on Main Street, we hit Mark Ryan Winery for a $5 tasting of six wines. Here, too, the fee is credited against any purchase and additional or re-tastes are graciously offered. A rather different vibe from the rigid structure of most wineries I have visited. This is an attractive tasting room and we departed with a delicious bottle of the 2011 Suicide Shift red for $25. The Marcus Whitman is the most well-known hotel in town, and within the structure is a tasting room for TERO Estates and Flying Trout Wines (part of TERO). They waive the tasting fee and offer a 10% discount on purchases for hotel guests. Apparently I like torrontes wines from Argentina (we had bought a couple bottles of the Recuerdo after tasting at Ma(i)sonry Napa Valley in May), a tasty and typically inexpensive white varietal. Perhaps the cumulative wine deserves an assist, as we struck up conversations with a supremely friendly woman from Vachon Island and couple from Florida. Making our way home, we stopped at Salumiere Cesario and bought finochiona and creminelli calabrese charcuterie; triple crème, naked goat and Point Reyes blue cheeses; and Raincoast Crisp seed crackers. They sell La Brea Bakery bread but were out of French baguettes. Also available is a robust selection of large-bottle specialty ales and impressive array of fancy salts in bulk containers.
Ales at Salumiere
Salts at Salumiere
True to our word, we grabbed the 2012 K Viognier (from the Columbia Valley AVA) at Charles Smith ($25, but feels like $15 net of the tasting fee), and John set up a lovely spread on the back patio with our picnic items and Suicide Shift red. Midway through dinner, John joined with another bottle of red and regaled us with his own life stories. I will not recount all, but his biography boasts multiple sabbaticals, including a trip to Ireland where the fiddle fascinated him and a follow-up trip where he found elder statesmen to teach him the secrets of the strings. I realized here one of the more compelling benefits of extended travel is that we are so much more open to in-depth conversations with strangers. John is a lovely man, but had we been on a romantic weekend getaway we might have preferred privacy at dinner. Instead, Jenni and I are together 24/7 and welcome company! Not to mention, folks seem to want to talk to us more now that our story has changed. It is very peaceful here; the sound of crickets dominates. I found it hilarious when John said “Walla Walla is the town so nice they named it twice” that he had never heard that about New York, nor I about Walla Walla.
We are now big fans of Walla Walla. It feels tiny, in part because there is so little nearby (the closest major airport is a four-hour drive). Yet this town of roughly 32,000 is just about the size of Jenni’s and my hometown combined, and sports a Sears (Hometown Store) and Macy’s on Main Street. I also found myself thinking about the cost of living arbitrage available to those who can earn a living as entrepreneurs or working remotely. I suppose this is obvious, but home prices and general costs are a function of a place’s desirability based on various lifestyle metrics and the supply of well-paid jobs to support those prices. In other words, LA is so expensive not just because it is awesome but because there are so many high paying jobs to support the prices. In Walla Walla, one can buy a 6,500 square foot historic mansion for about $600,000 (vs. maybe $4-6 million in LA), despite that it does not seem to suck here.
August 27, 2013 (Tuesday) – John prepared a gluttonous spread of meats, cheeses, fresh muffins, egg quiche, bread with a few jams, smoked salmon, fruit, tea and coffee. We fit in another enjoyable conversation then hit Safeway for the usual provisions and were on the road a little after 10:30 am. We took the most direct route to Bell Bay Campground in Idaho which included scenic roads that were hilly and windy but overall pretty fast-moving. Route 12 East passes endless rolling hills of (harvested) grain and several elevators. The first town we bisected was Waitsburg, with its own little brewery. Next was Dayton which has gas stations, a movie theater, a couple chains and several places to stay. We took Route 127 out of the valley and crossed the Snake River where there are several barges for grain transport. Eastern Washington is dry with grain everywhere, while almost immediately we encountered pine trees and forest in Idaho.
champagne&backpacks 