There is Definitely no Kudzu in Montana

The trip to Montana came about because Jay's work was sending him there. Jay thought it would be a great opportunity to fly me up with him, especially since it was the week after our anniversary. It was really a wonderful trip, and the longest I've been away from the kids since they were both born. It was strange at first, and it took me a day or so to loosen up and sort of detox from mommy mode. Jay and I talked about how it was so strange to be by ourselves, together, for days. We really are rarely together at all, not to mention together by ourselves. Once the kids came along life shifted to family time. We do go on dates, but that's maybe a couple of hours a month, and time advances and you realize you haven't spent quality time together for a long time. So needless to say our six days was refreshing and just fun.



Where the heck we were: We flew in to Missoula, MT, and drove through mountain passes down to the tiny river town of Salmon, Idaho. We didn't do anything in Salmon besides Jay's work, and once that was done we drove up to Kalispell, Montana, which is about 30 minutes from Glacier National Park, our main destination.



Weather or not: It was cold in Montana. They were having the coldest spring in 11 years. It was in the 30s in the daytime our first days, then gradually warmed up to the 50s! It snowed on us several times, and there was significant snowpack up in the mountains. Glacier was mostly closed, which was a big disappointment, even though we figured it would be limited access when we researched the trip. The trails were several feet under snow, and the famous, historic "Going-to-the-Sun Road" was mostly closed to traffic. This road has spectacular views, and killer switchbacks- one lady we talked to had been to Denali and she said the views in Glacier are way more breathtaking. What we could see was amazing- I have missed the sight and smells of mountains. The limited access was really torture; it was sort of like being stuck in an airport in Italy, staring sadly out the windows, dreaming of Gondola rides and red wine. We just kept saying, "we've got to come back...we've got to come back." But I'm very glad I got to have even a small taste of Glacier.



Wildlife count: I wanted to see a marmot, which is my favorite furry woodland creature of the mountains, but alas, they were probably still hibernating. In Glacier we saw a baby chipmunk, various songbirds, fish in glacier-fed Lake McDonald, and a bald eagle. Later, on our drive back to Missoula we stopped at the National Bison Range and saw bison, antelope, white-tail deer (including a Bambi hiding in a thicket), meadowlarks, ducks, and various other birds. The Bison Range was really interesting- it is a big habitat that you drive through and see what you can see, including lots of bison poo. Sort of like Jurassic Park but less Parkey and without man-eating dinos or any dinos actually. I learned some really fun facts about bison. Like the fact that they're not buffalo. Nope. File that away Jeopardy hopefuls. And a bison's tail is his or her warning flag system. If his tail is down, he's a happy bison. If his tail is sort of peaking up a little, he's getting a little ticked off. If his tail is sticking straight up, he is about to rip you limb from limb so run, you idiot! Why are you standing outside your motor vehicle? Run!



Food- we ate at some great little local places, any of which I recommend. Moose's Saloon in Kalispell is really great- it's a bar basically, sorry, a saloon with those swinging doors that you walk in and the tinkly piano stops, and everyone stares, and someone tips his hat and says "you're not from around here are ya?" The floors are covered in sawdust, and the walls are marked and carved by anyone and everyone, plus they serve great pizza, and a local beer, Moose Drool. It is a dark, malty beer that I'd give 2 stars on my new Merrill's Beer Rating Scale of America and Beyond (the cure for what ale's you). We also ate at a steak house that served spaghetti with their steaks. Weird. The steaks were good eats, but not so the spaghetti. The bacon in Montana is thick cut, by the way, in case you desire a BLT while there. It will break your jaw, so be careful. Jay's new obsession: Huckleberry pies and cobblers. His fave was a huckleberry-peach pie. They like huckleberries out there in Montana.



Things we should have done while there- visit LoLo Hot Springs. I just like to say LoLo. I've always wanted to go soak in a hot spring, but one that is out in the woods, not a pool that's sourced by a hot spring. So we opted out. We also should have eaten at Taco John's- apparently Montana's hottest taco fast food place.



Favorite new friend: Vicki, our friendly GPS lady in our rental car (we named her because we became so close). She really helped us out, but she did get a little pushy sometimes, even obsessive, asking us to "please return to the highlighted route" over and over again when we really did know where we were going. Jay and I thought it might help if she knew our names and if she cussed sometimes. Then we would have listened.





Road Tripping Fun: I already mentioned the National Bison Range, which was an unexpected treat, an unplanned stop on our road trippinness. Another place we visited that was unplanned and that I absolutely loved was the tiny town called Essex, Montana, home of the Isaak Walton Inn. This little town borders Glacier, and it is actually a railroad depot and a stop on the Amtrak line. The Inn was built in 1939, and has a wonderful cafe with delicious food, including Huckleberry Cobbler. I loved this place because of the history of the railroads, and the general quaintness of it all. They have several cabooses that they have turned into snug little cabins for guests, which is a clever use of the old train cars, I think. We also stopped at the Hungry Horse Dam, which is on the way up to Glacier. It was alot of dam fun. It was on a Saturday so everything was closed which was too dam bad. We couldn't get any dam souvenirs. Dam.

Wow, I said alot, but there was alot to be said. The trip was very good. I now declare Montana as a delightful place to visit if you ever get the chance. (For those of you don't habla, Montana is Spanish for Mountain.)