I didn’t get murdered in my expensive hotel bed last night.

I had coffee and a muffin in Urban Roast. My understanding is that Urban Roast is a really slow and inefficient offshoot of Starbucks, but with the same product. Twenty minutes to get a below par cappuccino with only three customers in the place. Very fresh poppyseed muffin though. Welcome to Seattle.

A morbid gray hue hung over Seattle , just like in The Killing ( binge it if you haven’t already). Seattle traffic gives Manhattan a run for its money.

Museum of Pop Culture bound, it sounds like the ultimate trivia destination for fact dorks such as myself. It’s and odd organic silvery looking structure adjacent to the Space Needle. Maybe I will do the needle too, though I doubt there’ll be much of a view today .

Is it genetic that the minute a person becomes a tourist they lose basic functions like the ability to move and observe others? I thought it was just Times Square but it’s pandemic at The Needle too. There also that necessity to talk louder and state the obvious “It’s really tall”.

I definitely need another coffee. 

I have an 11:15 viewing ticket. They take a free professional photo on the way in you can download from their website, nice touch.  41 seconds to the top at 10mph, a lot of ooohing and aaahing from my fellow Asian travelers, ear popping galore. Today I’m a tourist!

Ok it was pretty cool. The viewing circle is perfectly calibrated to handle the timed release of the crowds, it’s easy to move around and perfectly clean. The viewing glass is not covered in kiddie snot and dribble, its all very civilized and upbeat.

Today I conquered my lifelong fear of heights , walking against the tide on the rotating, transparent floor and taking touristy photos.

Then a visit  to what is the largest gift store I’ve been in and bought a couple more pieces of kitsch  then on to the Museum.

As I waited in the small ticket line at the Museum of Pop Culture, I asked myself , as I have before, do I prefer my service fast and rude (NYC) or slow and polite (elsewhere)?

Went back to Woops!for that scone and additionally had a feta olive mini croissant with my cappuccino. It was tops.

Resort City Inn was the type of residency I’d hoped to see more on the trip . Small ; central; clean; friendly staff; inexpensive; good sized room and quiet.

Shelly Boyd , is the gracious proprietor of the newly opened Woops! CDA. Shelley recently spent six weeks in NY studying operations in the Manhattan and Williamsburg locations. She found the six week sabbatical a teeny bit selfish but completely invigorating.

 Woops! tries to provide an international range of pastries to cover all tastes and it shows. You are spoiled for choice. Shelley brought me out a sample of the house made Huckleberry jam and a waffle (and it was free so a photo included on the blog is not against my food posting rules, it’s a gift ) , they were scrumptious . I’m hooked on Huckleberry.

Woops! scallion and cheese scone still holds rank as best ever. It was nice to see the store filled up as I left, they deserve every success,

I will miss CDA, I think I know half the people in town at this stage.

Onwards, 290 miles to Seattle.

As warned, the drive across WA is beige paint drying dull. One Irishman’s dream journey was fulfilled though. I passed through the biggest potato producing county in the nation. It smelled like cow shit.

Stopping for gas I noted that, as well as having the best squeegees  of any gas stations, WA also had hand sanitizer at the pumps, a nice touch, if they weren’t all empty.

Moses Lake, where I got the gas, looks like Moses parted the waters and forgot to close things up when he moved on. To misquote Pee Wee, why does everywhere have to have a big butte? More dreariness.

Things got prettier for a bit around the valley and crossing the Columbia River bridge, The wind turbine farm, on the other side, was sci-fi like in its expansiveness.

I pulled off to get a coffee in Cle Elum and had to check out the giant Bull Durham mural .  I know the movie, I had no idea it was tabacco.

Misty at the diner (named from an old C&W song she heard only once, not from the Clint Eastwood movie song) recommended I check out Roslyn, and old mining town with the states oldest saloon.

Yuk . I put that horrible vanilla creamer crap in my coffee by mistake while busy chatting to Misty,  sweet enough to make my teeth itchy.

Harvey? No wonder he stayed invisible.

Roslyn is a sleepy old mining town that’s is home to the oldest bar in Washington State, The Brick. It is also home to the ugliest mural I’ve ever seen. Poor Marlon Brando would roll over in his oversized grave.

There was a lot of work going on with the sidewalks and a lot was closed up today. It was all a bit of a dusty mess. Not the best day to visit Roslyn. I checked out the quirky little bookstore , Books and Bites. I have a bigger book selection in the Escalade.

I did talk to Jan and Pam on the street, part of a walking group from Seattle. They had a local map so I asked for local info, since the Museum was closed. They pointed me to the  old minining cemetery and told me to avoid the downtown area in Seattle if I was heading there, that the whole town is ridiculously expensive for accommodation and traffic and parking are a disaster.

Decisions decisions…I picked a town close to Seattle on my map and booked a room.

Made good ground with my audio book, Ranger Games. It’s really holding up.

The last 85 miles approaching Seattle are gorgeous; mountains, lakes, evergreens, tweeny Twilight characters hovering above the forests. Once you hit those mountains the whole dynamic of the landscape changes . What ever did happen to, that stud, Taylor Lautner?

I forgot to go to the mining cemetary.

I booked into Hotel Interurban, Tukwila, 20 minutes from Seattle. A step above my usual fare but – I’m on the West Coast for the first time. And I got a $110 credit from Hotels.com after 10 bookings. Used the gym for a bit since I was on my arse all day in the car.

Heading in to Seattle tomorrow. Hopefully there’s somewhere there I can get a good coffee.

Found out, from my researcher, that Tukwila has been ranked #1 Town for Crime in the USA. Sweet . Good to have a destination when you drive cross country.

I asked the hotel bartender if it was true, that this town has the highest crime rate . He said just in the USA. I feel much better now.

I ate in the hotel.

Some Idaho based recommendations :

On the book front , The 47th Samurai – not the best in the Bob Lee Swagger series, that’s Point of Impact. Most Stephen Hunter books are extremely readable. My favorite is probably Dirty White Boys, it’s almost a modern , demented Of Mice & Men. Almost.

Movies : Napoleon Dynamite. Love it or hate it. I love it.

Song that cheered me up in the butte doldrums : Extreme Ways – Moby ( you know it, you just don’t know you know it).

The Cost:

Hotel: $93

Gas: $53

Dinner: $17

There are sheep under the hotel stairwell .

As it turns out I didn’t sleep in Idaho last night as I thought, I was in Washington. I checked out and took a walk around . The back of the hotel has a three star river view, far nicer than my dreary car park, one star view.

Ok – I checked with the receptionist , I am in Idaho   Post Falls, right on the Spokane River.

My Tom Petty Tee from his last tour prompted a chat with Margo and Fred and their dog from Cleveland, who are sorry they missed him in concert. Too late now. Nothing like images  of dead rock artists to inspire conversation, I’ve found. Should have brought Bowie and Prince.

Hotel Red Lion is infested with pets and children. I’m off to find coffee somewhere else . It’s a crystal sunny day.

Parked right on the Lake in Couer D’Alene and went to Rustic on Sherman Ave for eggs and bacon.

Jason on the street had explained the Moose was part of a series around town, something to do with a kids book he believed. Gives me a mission.

Breakfast was served in a prison tray but man, it was good. Best breakfast food I’ve had on the road; bacon; egg; toast and some kind of extra crispy spuds you cannot fork, I’ve not had before. Mediocre coffee. All the food groups covered.

Shamrocks beckoned. I spotted a store on Sherman Ave called All Things Ireland and hit paydirt with  Sharon Kearns & Terry Bowen. One of the larger stores of Irish products I’ve seen , and definitely the most attractive. It has been very successful here for the last 20 plus years. Very popular with the tourists and of course St. Patrick’s Day a boom, there’s a countdown clock on the walk .

Both ladies have spent time in Ireland, most recently Terry, who shared photos of Galway, . She has seen my fathers bust of Kennedy in Eyre Square  and had taken some shots. Seems everyone gets great weather when they visit Ireland but me.

Sharon was extremely versed in local history and gave me a succinct summary. Couer D’Alene means river of the awl, so named because of the local Indians sharp negotiating skills, not caving for beads and firewater. I’m in the home town of Northern Idaho University .

Sharon’s Daughter is a welding artist , with pieces on display around town. There was a really interesting piece in the shop.

We had a long conversation about Irish history and culture, shared information , took photos and I was off to get a proper coffee at Woop! on Sharon’s recommendation. They had a scrumptious selection of baked products and I tried a scallion cheddar scone. Call it lunch and the new best scone ever.

Coeur D’Arlene has a big St. Patrick’s day parade annually with sponsorship from All Things Ireland.

Seemingly not a lot to see if I decide to head West into Washington for a long long long stretch. Decisions decisions…

I just realized I crossed the Rockies yesterday. That’s why it got so hilly.

It’s the little things remind me I’m not in Manhattan anymore. Six hours parking in the city center, $6, as opposed to a small mortgage in NYC.

On recommendation from my new friends at the Irish store I took a walk to the lake side. At the entry to Tubbs Hill I had a bountiful conversation Melanie and Daniel out of Tulsa & Ketchum, Oklahoma. Let me start by saying, I was very pleased to see I’m not the only tourist taking photos with these goofy moose.

Daniel is an attorney and Melanie worked in healthcare consultancy and they are currently in the first stages of empty nest syndrome. Their daughter just left for school, their son is in Dallas, I believe they said.

Daniel just completed a 90mile D’Fondo cycle around the lake this weekend, with a Tulsa group of 40 cyclists, to raise money for a teenage charity they are actively involved with. Taking advantage of the empty nest  they stayed a couple of additional days. They very generously offered a bed in Tulsa if I pass back that way. Cheers guys!

And they admired my Petty tee shirt.

Today I need to be concerned about fires and cougars, and they don’t mean horny older women. My lesson of the day, never surprise a cougar by springing from a bush.

Tubbs Hill brings you a few hundred feet up for a broad view of the town and lake , very pretty and not a difficult hike. It starts right there on the edge of town.

Seemingly I have incidentally followed the Mudgy Moose Trail. Per the legend of the children’s book, Mudgy is  looking for his friend Millie Mouse, last seen shitfaced in the Coeur Tavern the previous night. Adventure and heartbreak, but ultimately redemption, ensue .

Resort City Inn was right across from where I was sitting checking mail and  looked pretty interesting so I checked in online to the 18 room establishment and walked over.

Thomas, at the counter , a budding origami artist, and a nursing student at the University, is here from Evergreen , Colorado. A rock climbing enthusiast he hopes to go to Missoula or Bozeman next semester. With my extensive expertise on both the Montana towns I was able to give him my sage advise and believe I may have completely changed his whole future for the better.

Thomas is working 30 hours a week here and is a full time student. Another admirable hard working dude.

Really nice Christmas stores are hard to find. Wifey and myself have been collecting Christmas knickknacks  across the world for the past 20 years, to the extend we cannot get a tree big enough to fit them all.

Christmas at the Lake is possibly the most attractive holiday store I’ve been in. Greg and Mary Peak, the proprietors, were involved in fabrics, on the retail and manufacturing side, in Manhattan and Connecticut, for years. They decided to make a life change and had a list of 10 criteria needed to be met by a town to make their move there. Coeur D’Arlene hit all the marks and they move here 17 or so years ago and opened their appealing store.

Coeur is a big Christmas town, featured yearly on the network shows and hosting a festive parade after Thanksgiving.

I’m going to need a bigger tree. I bought more decorations, all good ones.

Paddy’s  Day and Christmas are well covered in this town, I’m coming back.

Favorite book store of the trip so far has to be The Well Read Moose, just outside town; a combined book store, coffee shop and wine bar. The staff knew their books and podcasts ( Hit Parade) and Kathy was even a fan of Taboo on F/X (Tom Hardy), though I’m not sure how the conversation ended up there.

On driving from the bookstore to my motel, I noticed two gigantic feathers in the center of the road . On research I learned that in Idaho they represent spiritual ascension or really large chickens.

Showered and headed to Crickets for dinner at the bar. Things were happening there for Monday Night Football. Crickets is a great looking establishment , oddities spread all around the place : car grills; merry-go-round horses; vintage signs; beaten up parking meters and a mix of big old leather booths and bar tables.

I sat at the bar and quickly struck up a conversation with Terry and Kelly Matthews and was made welcome by Sean Ryan, the congenial bartender.

Terry and Kelly moved to town from Las Vegas 17 years ago, as they felt Couer D’Arlene was a far better place to bring up their three beautiful daughters (one redhead, one blonde and one brunette aged 29, 27 & 22).

Terry is in construction, there’s a lot of new building in town. Kelly is in Emergency Health Care, which she finds more satisfying than her current job. She is transitioning from Family Health Care where she finds she has to deal with a lot of self inflicted issues and patients that often do little to help themselves.Kelly had tales of smokers on oxygen killing themselves from flash burns when they insisted on smoking with their masks still on.

I found it kinda funny.

I settled up for my very good fish and chips, exchanged details, had a big hug from Kelly and headed back to the hotel.

Sean Ryan told me to come back soon. I might.

Today’s Tally:

Hotel: $96

Dinner: $16

I missed a moose.

Continental breakfast was an array of cold products and a toaster, lots of kids running around , limited space and some frizzy haired middle aged woman reading a local newspaper loudly to her partner. Breakfast buffets are definitely not the way for my cranky morning self. Unfortunately,  it was the only game in town. But good coffee.

I sat under a stairwell . Nobody wears skirts anymore.

Dinner last night was a Duck Prosciutto Pizza. The duck must have flown South, no sign of any on the pie and what remained was a soggy, cheesy, thin dough.

Room was great though. Well fed, coffeed up and ready to check out  the slopes. I took a walk up to Whitefish Village , with its pleasing lodges, stores and views, but currently deserted, save for a couple of unlikely looking mountain bikers . I can only imagine it’s hopping in snow season.

Five miles down Big Mountain and 40 miles back to West Glacier to give Going to The Sun Road another shot .

Got to use my National Parks Pass for the 4th tons getting in the west gate st Glacier. I took the road that would take me fully west to east across Park.

 My first stop was at Avalanche Lake. I don’t think I’ve ever smelled air as fresh as the mix of fir, cedar and maple, as I proceeded along the well marked trails. The entry signs recommended carrying Grizzly Spray – I was empty handed, naked in the Wild. As long as I was not the slowest runner, I’d be grand.

Everyone thinks they are shooting photographs for National Geographic the minute they step in to these parks. There were amateurs with tripods all over the paths.

Mary, the ranger , recommended the two mile hike up to Glacier lake , 500 feet elevation.

Two dozen baseball caps in the car and I didn’t bring one. I’m a foggy glassed idiot.

You could hear the river rushing below as you hiked the teo miles through spectacular forest then the payoff, Avalanche Lake, one of the most majestic scenes I’ve encountered, surrounded by forest and cascading falls coming off the mountains. Worth every step..

Chatted with the Sakas family and we traded photography services. Mom, Dad, two daughters and son in law are out of Mentor, Ohio – my first stop. They had lots of bear spray.

I needed to pee but not that badly.

Back down at the Escalade, I was wet but I was well pleased with that breathtaking five mile round trip saunter . Fortunately there was only one trail there and back so I didn’t lose myself or the car.

I’m sopping, the rain got ridiculous, there was only myself and a couple of eejits in lumberjackets still outdoors. I turned left and headed for the bone in the pork chop of Idaho. I’d gone as far in to Glacier as I was going to in this weather.

Went back to Cafe Delight to put on dry clothes and try the Huckleberry pie (very good). Anne recommended Coeur D’Alene in Idaho as a destination, so that’s where I’m heading.

My first huckleberry pie.

So much of the drive from Montana to Idaho reminded me of the opening credits from The Shining (and closing of the original cut of Blade Runner for any trivia geeks). I90W is the most beautiful highway I’ve ever driven.

Rain turned to a magnificent evening as I drove West, rounded Flathead Lake and negotiated  the plains.

 245 miles later I’m eating Cajun Chicken and Pasta in Crafted, Coeur D’Alene, Northern Idaho . Everything is closing at 8. Six hours plus driving today and I’m in another different time zone.

I just found out from my server that Coeur D’Alene is on Lake Coeur D’Alene. Coincidence? Becca was a real sweetheart and gave me the run down on town and what to see. She’s studying pediatric nursing and was the only person that would talk to me today , if only for a fleeting moment.

My Escalade smells like a damp mongrel.

“Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeres Karly”.

Hotel: $98

Gas: $52

Dinner: $15

Some Montana based recommendations:

Lonesome Dove: I know the story of a cattle drive from Texas to Montana will not appeal as a concept, but this is such a magnificent book. Watch the mini series after you read it. My favorite book.

Black Cherry Blues: I’m not one for book series, but the Robicheaux novels, from James Lee Burke, are masterful.

Movies: Arrival; Little Big Man (also a great book); Shooter & Open Range – both worth a peek. Thunderbolt and Lightfoot – excellent 70s heist movie with young Eastwood and very young Bridges.

Today was wet.

Breakfast at Zootown, cheddar, ham and pepper bagel. Chelsea is going to Ireland for 10 days next May. Everyone is going to Ireland. Brian is having issues putting down late night tracks . Brad is back from Vegas and everyone’s is happy to see him. Brian is playing air guitar to The Killers. Chelsea is working on het degree in Social Studiesand working with refugee family’s in Missoula , some from the Congo. Brian would love to see U2 but hasn’t yet. He heard Bono lost his voice.

Missoula has taken  in over 270 refugee family’s here in Montana. Chelsea worked in Jordan for a number of months last year, with Syrian refugees. Some of the issues that Refugees need to deal with in their new USA home are food poisoning , food cant be left in the open air here as it could in some of their homelands and a fear of the snow. Many of these emigrants have never encountered cold ot seen snow before and need to learn how to dress. Honorable work.

On everybody’s recommendation I took a meander around the river side, Saturday Farmers Market. Some of the more interesting sellers were the Hillbilly Hindu ( honey lemonade) and The Wandering Jew of Old World Remedies ( I have no idea). It’s game day, the town is humming. You have not lived until you hear Amazing Grace played on the saw. The saw, much like its Celtic cousin, thd bagpipe, needs the right piece of music to portray its true beauty as an instrument.

So many people I met in Missoula told me they came and never left, or left and came back . With its fun, funky mix of people and establishments and nature right on the doorstep, I can understand why . I’m sorry to leave.

Glacier National Park, Going-To-The-Sun Road – here I come.

The first hour out was bland but then a large weird sign that just said Museum appeared on the horizon .

And how often in life do we get the chance to drive down Memory Lane! I had found the Museum of Pioneering Americana, whatever the hell that is.

Who would have thought a drive down memory lane would bring me to the most fun Museum I’ve been in, just off the highway in Polson, Montana.

It’s impossible to give a real sense of this place. All of $6 entry it’s got a main building mobbed with curios as its entry and four acres of eccentric memorabilia: army collectibles; the states largest stuffed buffalo; a preserved 50s diner; military helicopters and Jeep’s; antique gas pumps; a magnificent collection of antique motorcycles; creepy dolls and hearses; foldable bicycles;historic buildings ; an alien autopsy center…………….tip of the iceberg…

Just go to the place , it will put a huge smile on your face. What a fabulous find. I bought another t-shirt.

Marge, at the gift counter, recommended I take the more scenic route 35 around Flathead lake into Bigfork. It was a good call but driving North brought me in to rain. I stopped at Bigfork for a drink. Picturesque little town but a lot of it already closed for the season. Stopped in at the Garden Bar, lots of drunks watching the Grizzlys .

Lesson one in Glacier, not a lot to do when it rains. The Locals are happy for the rain with all the recent fires around though.

Fortunately I’m enjoying my latest audio book, Ranger Games, non fiction about a group of Rangers robbed a bank. It’s a fascinating story and social study.

Drove on to West Glacier and got coffee and tater tots with Aoli, a house made specialty, at Cafe Delight, right at the entry to the Park. Best Tatar Tots ever and Anne at the counter set me straight on where to look for accommodations – 40 miles to Whitefish , a ski town. Anne’s ex was an Irishman from NY. What can I say ? She leaves here for Florida when the season ends in a couple of weeks, going to Key Largo.

It’s coming down cats and dogs here at West Glacier.

Lesson two in Glacier : Huckleberries . All I know of huckeberries is Doc Holliday (Val Kilmer) in Tombstone repeatedly saying “I’m your Huckleberry”. Will try some pie later.

Fortunately Kandahar Lodge has a restaurant and a bar, because I was not driving back down those 5 mountain miles in the dark.  It’s a beautiful ski lodge with a roaring fire in the lobby, the first hotel wifey would really have liked. It’s booked up as most other residencies in the area are currently closed for the season.

Took advantage of the gym and steam room then went to the bar to eat. I’ve seen bigger bathtoomd , 8 seats and that includes two at the bar counter. I’m 33.3% of the clientele. The steam room was bigger.

Talked to no one and to add insult to injury the bartender had a mingey beard and an man bun telling loud not interesting stories and jokes you just know he had told a thousand times and probably aren’t true and says “like” every two words. Thsts my job.

The bar closed closed at 10.

Hotel: $135

Dinner: $22

Gas: $43

Hoping to get some sun for Going-To-The-Sun tomorrow.

Over breakfast I had a long conversation with Lee and Bonnie Manicke , locals from nearby Polson. They were in town last night to see a performance by Herb Alpert and his wife Lonnie Hall.

We could bond over Herb, I used to play a lot of his pieces back in my Brass Band days -Spanish Fly a big crowd favorite.

Lee enjoyed the show but is more of a C&W man, Bonnie loves Herb (a favorite of my mother too) who they felt still sounds great but his hearing is not so hot. He had a hard time with audience questions.

Lee is about to turn the same age as Herb next month, 83. The couple celebrated both their 50th Anniversary last year and the arrival of their first grandchild December 30th, to keep up the family names.

Lee , now retired, ran his own property appraisal business from home.

They gave me great instructions on what to see and how to get there. You can’t beat local knowledge.

A pleasant way to start the day.

I’ve put on my hiking boots, for the first time ever, to act like a real traveler for a day.

Missoula definitely has that artsy college feel; purple hair; piercings ; ill fitting jumpers;  plaid shirts ;the great unwashed and a spattering of homeless; douchey man buns & beards ; coffee shops and bars, lots of bars.

Love this town already, so I booked another night, different hotel.

Splendid first cappuccino of the day at Zootown with a coolest kid on the block baristas.

A number of people recommended the M Trail, across the bridge, behind the football stadium , so I took a stroll.

I crossed the Clark Fork River , from A Rivers Runs Through it and caught a trout in my backpack in the very spot Brad Pitt stood in his waders. I had a local restaurant debone and sautéed it, with a little butter, a little garlic, a little black pepper, and a little lemon juice, for a small fee.

The walk took me though the Montana State University, home of the Montana Grizzlys , playing tomorrow. Suddenly the name “M   Trail” started to make more sense. UMs Mountain is one of the most popular trails in the state, cleared by students in 1909.

I shouldn’t have worn jeans. It’s in the 70s and not a bit of shade on this mountain.

I met a seven year old and his mom finishing the hike. I could do this.

There are 14 Trail options. It’s .8 of a mile up to the giant M. I was thankful  for all those elliptical hours. You could see the Grizzly an the field below training.

I definitely should not have worn jeans.

There are viewing benches strategically positioned all the way up. The Big M was not at the plumit. Holy God – I had more to climb.

I had a multi faceted conversation with  Gail Oss & and her beautiful step daughter Bella, and her two rescue puppies, as we all descended the mountain.

Gail, a genealogist, does volunteer work as a DNA Angel,  searching to find birth parents for adoptees.

Gail delights in the humane aspect of the work and takes huge intellectual satisfaction in putting the puzzle pieces together. Just today she got a tearful call from an adoptee she helped reunite.

Gail and her husband, from the Bronx, did a three week exchange in Galway 15 years ago. They frequented Roisin Dubh’s bar when they were there. Roisin’s is a two minute walk from my home, along the canal, back in Ireland  Where they loved the Pub culture that was a time you could still smoke in bard, which they found tough.

With a sackful of adoption stories to share,  from the uplifting to the heartbreaking, Gail would like to start a blog and is trying to come up with a catchy title. I would look forward to reading them.

Gail gave me explicit recommendations for Glacier, which I’m going to follow. She’s a seasoned visitor.

I should have worn shorts.

Crossed the other bridge from town the center and visited  Shakespeare & Company, on a recommendation from Lorna. Shakespeare’s had an unusual book collection in a fun store and the owner knew Lorna. Said she was a peach.

 I bought a graphic, award winning novel, Kindred and Last Exit to Wisdom by a renowned Montanan author.

There are some attractive boutiques and restaurants over the Higgins Ave Bridge and a nice riverside walk that side, overlooking fly fishermen and kayakers.

Then back across the river and into Plonk for a drink, a wine bar and upscale restaurant with an old school detailed ceiling. Best OJ and Club Soda I’ve ever had, tasted like a 2015, buttery with a hint of oak.

Once again, on a Lorna recommendation, I went to Top Hat, a downtown Gastro Pub, and hopping music venue. Met Steve at the bar. He just back in from a day of trout fishing, having arrived in town Tuesday. He shared some photos of the rainbow and cut throats he caught the past few days, all get thrown back. He been coming here fishing a dozen plus years from Minneapolis and had seen Missoula improve on each visit.

Steve had his own consulting services firm, is a Harvard business grad and was a Basketball recruit at UND. Steve and I were able to make the comparisons between his background and mine, on the Kayak team for the Regional Technical  College Galway.

The marinated chicken tacos with the House Hush Puppird were delicious.

And then the music began.

Red onion Purple opened for Kuinks and between the two they covered a broad spectrum of musical instruments: bass chellos; fiddles; banjos; drums ; ukulele; guitars and my favorite instrument of the night , a saw. You haven’t heard music until you see a saw player.

Sadly no cowbell.

Onion opened with an odd cover of Golden Brown by The Stranglers, a favorite of mine. Red Onion Purple sounded great but did look like an SNL skit , as Steve pointed out.

Both bands were completely fun.

We crossed the road to what must be the melting pot of Missoula, The Stockmans Bar; an old school drinking establishment with an age range from 21 to 90 and as big an ethnic mix as you are likely to find in Montana. There was also a sampling of testosterone fueled local bodybuilders, wandering the floors.

As the Stockmans logo says,  “Liquor in the front. Poker in the rear.” There was indeed a bar as you entered and a Texas Hold ‘Em game running in the back. The blaring Rap music was a strange selection for the establishment but everyone seemed in fine form .

Steve and myself finish our drinks and went out jolly ways. Hopefully we will reconnect in Manhattan, where he travels to frequently.

Breakfast at the hotel wasn’t so great.

Looks like there is a lot to see around Bozeman, so I booked in here for a second night .

Plenty of space in my Ramada suite, though the TV size to bed distance ratio is well off, binoculars needed. I’m sleeping like Rip Van Winkle this trip no matter what the bed.

Grabbed some eggs, but couldn’t drink the Ramada’s weewee Java. I drove to Main Street and found Wild Joes Coffee.

A bit of a contradiction, Wild Joes has the peace, love and happiness vibe of a college town, and a couple of semi-automatic rifles in the window. A modern look with high ceilings , very good cappuccino  and delicious, fresh, cheddar,  maple , bacon scone. Best scone I’ve ever eaten. I almost caved and took a food photo.

Ellen sat down beside me on the coffee shop, leather sofa. Out of NYC, upper West Side, from the same street my wife lived on. Ellen moved here to be near her daughter, who’s has a baby due January. Ellen misses all things Manhattan. Only here a month and working the local radio station, she has not figured the place out yet. Like Manhattan, no one she had met yet is actually a local. Her daughter fell for Bozeman for the skiing. Snowboarding and hiking. Bedsides the college, that seems to be the main draw.

Ellen did not strike me as a selfie candidate.

Everyone told me I had to go to The Museum of the Rockies, so I went to The Museum of the Rockies.

 

The sign on the paleontology room door said knock if I had questions. I had questions , I knocked.

Anne came out of the dinosaur bone cleaning lab to answer my questions. Her expression said “No one ever knocks. “.

Montana is renowned for its excavation sites, particularly in the North East. Back in the 1880s there was a bone prospecting rush on the region, when every museum in the world wanted a full dinosaur skeleton. The Natural History Museum on the Upper West Side features many pieces from Montana .

Anne’s family’s , Romers , are originally out of Pleasantville NY and claim a few street names there. 30 years in Bozeman, she loves the town, but felt you need to be fourth generation to be considered a local.

The University is renowned for paleontology studies.

Anne is a volunteer bone cleaner, as was her bone scraping colleague, from Brooklyn. The Museum has one of the best Triceratops collections globally , the display ranging across size from infant to big old adult, an imposing display.

And that’s Dr. Bones paleontology lesson for today kiddies.

There was also a Native American Indian exhibit and a display of wagons and old vehicles, and a cannon. I flew through those and bypassed the Planetarium.

It really is an extremely inviting museum and the excellent gift store a bonus – bought a Dino-cap and key chain. Diane, upbeat and helpful, warned me about fires in Glacier National Park and that seasonal closings are starting up there. They can get snow this early around here.

As I was told, Bozeman is the fastest growing Micropolitan (a town of under 50k) in the country. Bozeman had a population of on 17k when Diane moved from Minnesota 47 years ago.

No one is from Bozeman.

It got cold here today.

I drove a half hour on the back roads to the Montana Grizzly Encounter, a rescue shelter.

Ella, manning the ticket hut, at the Grizzly Encounter is here from France with her boyfriend.

They currently host five rescues at the Encounter. Each bear has its own personality and they don’t all like one another, so the bears come out in public when they feel like. Only Brutus was feeling like it today .

Paige, the MC, knew her bear facts inside out and rattled them off like an enthusiastic auctioneer at a cattle mart.

Amy, working in the gift store,out of Minnesota, commented on my accent. She felt she lost her accent since she moved here. She hadn’t that I could hear but then all you Americans sound the same to me.

They call this time of the year the newly weds and nearly dead’s season. Such are the visitors. The kids are all back at school. The sanctionary is open all year long.

Amy, is one of 3 business owners of Grizzly Encounter and actually does the rescues. She also runs a non profit rescue and recently rescued a yearling bear cub that was adopted in Texas. Amys oldest rescue was 18 years old with a twin, now 32, and still at the Rescue. The twin died of leukemia.

Amy had rescued dozens of black and Grizzly/Brown beers over the years.  The sanctuary construction started in 2002, opened in 2004. Thd five bear, currently housed, cost $900 a week to feed.

I learned today that a Grizzly is a Brown bear.

Brutus the oldest rescue was the size of a squirrel when he was first brought in. He now weighs 900lbs. You’d know him from commercials and movie appearances, and I believe he did Oprah.

Amy actually ran off with the circus when she was 17. That’s where she developed her love for bears.

While I was chatting. Amy got a random email from a Paige O ‘ Toole, looking to volunteer at the center. No family member of mine, this is real work.

Each day a live goat is thrown in the enclosure and the bears get to fight for mutton and their survival. Keeps it real.

Today was Ginny’s turn.

I said my goodbyes to Ginny and headed away in tears.

“Kaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarl!”

It’s a Joke!

Just like the bears, the goats are treated royally.

I dropped  a few dollars in the jam jar by the cash register for goat food and went on my merry way.

Visit the Grizzly Encounter when you go to Montana, support the wildlife and have a chat with Amy.

I finished “Fear” on Audio book. Per rule of travel #6: Keep my opinions to myself (the toughest of rules), I’m keeping my gob shut.

I will just say, it’s very well read.

Continuing the boostore quest, the Country Bookstore had a staff that really knew their books and authors and helped me with Montana based scribes. The store has been on Main Street 61 years.

It was explained that the town is now jokingly referred to as  Bozangelis, there are so many blow ins. Catherine, the bookworm, was from outside Chicago and had lived years in Manhattan.

Still no one from Bozeman.

A well traveled friend advised that when I saw a hotel laundry to use it. There was a laundry by the hotel gym, I used the laundry and the gym (gym being a very generous description of a closet with a couple of bits and bobs).

Paleontology and Bearology in one day, a veritable Karl Cousteau.

Dinner at the Montana Ale House, a very large, wood beamed establishment in town and about the only place that served until 10 and it was fairly hopping. I have to say, they are a healthy looking bunch of people in Bozeman.  All that fresh air and snow games, I guess.

Dan Naillon, eating at the Ale House, had one of the more interesting life stories I’ve heard on the road. Dan, originally out of California, was just passing through Bozeman too and was sipping a Macallen at the bar. He’d gotten in after dark, a few minutes before.

Working previously as a certified Audi mechanic , Dan has been driving 18 wheelers cross country the past couple of years.

He contracts with the oil companies , hauling fracking sand to North Dakota oil fields, in all kinds of extreme weather. Including truck weight , each load weighs 80k pounds. A fill of diesel  costs between seven and eight hundred dollars and gets him a thousand miles.

Dan is a long time insomniac, which he feels suits his job. He works 100 plus hours a week, driving ten thousand miles monthly. For the most part, he loves the job.

Dan has a Nicaraguan girlfriend and had been getting to that country frequently, over the past 24 months , taking expensive, complicated and long flights. Things have gotten messy for Dan and the lady. With the political situation worsening in Nicaragua his girlfriend has moved between there, Spain and now Costa Rica. Dans trying to figure where to lay his hat.

Dan lives out of the back of his semi, for the most part. It’s the size of a studio apartment.

It was a fascinating conversation for me.

All I ever knew about long distance truckers before tonight , I learned from that terrible movie Convoy with Kris Kristofferson … you know the song “This here’s the Rubber Duck”. I knew nothing about fracking.

Dans driving back to North Dakota tomorrow. Another long haul.

I never did meet anyone from Bozeman .

The Tally:

Hotel : $105

Dinner: $14 – very good

Museums & Grizzlys: $20

I saw a lot of the great outdoors today.

I thought about going to the Buffalo Bill Museum, Cody’s big attraction . But it’s a beautiful day, too nice for indoors, and a friend commented the Museum is just ok. For Guns and Indians, I will rewatch Dances With Wolves.

So I’m going to drive the 222 miles to Bozeman, Montana, which will take me through Yellowstone.

Last nights Motel was a bed and a scrub, nothing to write home about.

They had a very nice Bible. Not something I mentioned before but, I’ve been taking the Bible, as a souvenir, from every place I stay in. I believe they are free. Every Bible tells the story of the lodging. It will be fun to decide which Bible from which town I give to which friend as a memento of my trip.

Disaster ! I left my Kiehls moisturizer with Butch in Buffalo. I had to pick up some common or garden facial cream at Walgreens. I hope I don’t break out in some strange Cowboy rash.

Back to Rawhide Coffee for a poppyseed muffin and cappuccino breakfast. It was on my way out of Cody.

Wyoming was not even on my original list of destinations and I’ve spent three great days there.

This driving leg took me through Buffalo Bill National Park , through Shadonic State Park and into Yellowstone, making this my new most spectacular drive ever.

I used to consider motorcyclists the  rebels of the road, oozing danger and cool. Marlon Brando – The Wild One; Fonda, Hopper & Nicholson – Easy Rider; PeeWee – Big Adventure.

Now all Harley riders I meet or see are just south of octogenarian . I was stuck behind one on the way to Yellowstone , riding slowly enough I thought he’d topple.

Part of today’s Yellowstone drive took me through the burn and around the radiant Yellowstone Lake. The Burn, as the name might suggest, is a vast swathe of the forest that was taken out by fire in 1988. 36% of trees went up in flame.

The forests here like their burns, they keep the ecology healthy and typically take down older trees that take in Pine Beetles. Just not that big. Unless homes or structures are threatened, the policy is to let the fires burn. All this info from the lady in the bookstore.

Ron and Diane Varley, were taking photos, in a pond just off the Lake, of what looked like a beaver dam. Coming from just north of Dallas, they are very seasoned travelers and gave me some great guidance as I heading North towards Glacier National Park.Ron was in the air force, stationed in Germany and traveled over to England a lot.

I returned some guidance for their possible impending 10 trip to Ireland, after they visit Barcelona and Copenhagen as part of a European cruise.

Dam, no Beaver.

But a Buffalo just walked past my parked car.

I did quite a bit of moseying around Yellowstone.

I checked out the Dragons Mouth Spring, a violent cauldron of boiling water exploding from a cave. Then on to the broiling Mud Volcano. Nature at its most impressive. The mud volcano stinks more that anyones warning led me to expect.

Needed to wee so used the public bathrooms. The hot springs don’t smell so bad anymore.

Bumped into Ron & Diane again, taking photos across the fly fishing river. They highly recommended I see Many Glacier, they’d seen a lot of grizzly and brown bear up there, but warned that there are fires up at Glacier National Park. Found out they also lived 14 years in Hawaii. This delightful couple is living life. Uplifting stuff.

My intention was to drive through Yellowstone today but it’s impossible not to get caught up in the place : rivers, mountains, plains, Buffalo, geysers and I just scratched the surface . If you’ve not been, add to your bucket list.

When I got through the park I stopped in West Yellowstone, Montans and found Book Peddler, a combined coffee shop and bookstore. Stopped in and had a very good marmalade scone and a decent coffee. The bookstore primarily deals in western history, Yellowstone related travelogues and coffee table books and a spattering of fiction, mostly mysteries . Of course a Longmire display.

I bought a book called The Big Burn about the immense forest fire of 1910, in Yellowstone.

West Yellowstone is built for the tourists but has some interesting older buildings and vintage Motel signage.

Headed on to Bozeman, winding  along the river , through the Montana mountains, then through Big Sky. I started to see orange warning signs for an “Incident Ahead”.

I figured there was an accident, but no, a forest fire. I drove through smoke for a few minutes, with trees burning on my left. Seemed to be par for the course here, no one seemed particularly concerned or interested.

My first forest fire!

Bozeman is the home of the Montana State University, so it’s got a buzzy Main Street with good looking bars and restaurants.

Before heading to the hotel, I stopped for a burger at Backcountry Burger Bar on Main Street, Bozeman. Most places close at 9.

Started a conversation with Weston and Elliot, two young dudes at the counter. Elliot came here from Portland four years ago for the skiing and works as a carpenter . Weston is s college graduate currently working construction . There’s a lot of new building in town.

We talked RVs a bit. A lot of people out here live that lifestyle and have personalized jobs done on their vehicles. There are two customization outfitters in Bozeman, for RVs. The primo RV would seem to be the Mercedes Sprinter, starting at $80k barebones.

The guys recommended I stop at Missoula on the way north to Glacier National Park, they described it as pretty hippy. My researcher informs me it’s the home town of David Lynch. Sold!

They also recommend the hiking around here, there’s a lot.

Talked to Sam Crotchlow, the founding head of schools, for a new private school here in Bozeman. They started up two years ago. There are currently at 25 students but steadily growing. It’s a day school not boarding and they will be looking for new digs soon.

Sam was a fountain of information and recommendations. A man after my own heart, he pointed me to Atlas Obscura and a couple of local obscure sites. Both his father and sister are involved in film.

Bozeman is a money town. The Yellowstone Club ,Big Sky is close by with the likes of Tom Brady as members. They have a private airstrip.

Bozeman is the fastest growing small city in the country. A lot of tech people are here out of Silicon Valley, functioning remotely. It’s also become a hub for some optics firms .

Sam was heading off to a Poker game at one of his locals , The Cats Claw. Gambling  licenses are relatively easy to get here, unlike the east coast, and a lot of bars run games.  There is an $800 legal limit per pot.  On a good night, Sam said, you could walk away with a couple of Grand .

So the crew at the burger joint gave me a cart load of things to do tomorrow. Very pleased with my dining spot.

To do : Norris Hot Springs; Bear Tooth Highway ….

Checked in to the Ramada . Huge room but it’s in a Ramada.

Today’s Bills:

Gas : $47

Dinner : $9

Hotel: $110

Some of my movie recommendations based in ,just departed, Wyoming:

Lots of excellent movies: Wind River; Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (please tell me you’ve seen it) ; Brokeback Mountain (robbed of best picture Oscar by the lousy Crash that no one remembers); Unforgiven; Shane; Cat Ballou; Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

Tarantino’s last film “The Hateful Eight” was recently set here but it’s his one dud,

Books: I can’t think of a Wyoming based book I’ve read!

Butch’s bed was extremely comfortable.

A little known fact about Butch. He had no shower in his room, just a bathtub. Butch Cassidy had a special plastic Bud Light cup he used when washing. He called it Mr. Rinsey

Monday morning late breakfast at The Busy Bee and it’s busy. Locals, tourists and Longmire fans converge. Bubbly Hayley from thd bar is working the floor here too. It’s a bit of madhouse.

Craig Johnston, the Longmire author is from outside town. The Busy Bee, I’m told,  is the breakfast spot of choice with character Longmire ,run by a fictional sassy manageress.  A manageress must always be sassy in fiction. It’s a hotspot for the fans. Its right next door to The Occidental.

Johnston’s wife owns Longmires Campaign Quarters , a store in town. I’m told you’ve more chance of seeing God than finding it open.

Hayley told me that a bedraggled Bill Lee was the first customer at The Busy Bee doors this morning, waiting outside before they opened.

He sang to her and her co-worker. That’s Life at seven o clock in the morning. He needed to find somewhere that sold phone chargers and toothbrushes. Bill Lee loves his breakfast.

Breakfast and coffee was very good as was the service. Potatoes O’Brien (I feel stereotyped), biscuit, eggs and bacon. My Primus t-Shirt started a conversation with a couple of fans.

I had two complaints on the blog that I’m smiling too much, too much teeth. I’m starting to look like an Aardman claymation character. I’ll endeavor to break that up with some homey postures and assorted expressions. Selfies are not a strength.

The Longmire store was open. I bought the first book in the series – The Cold Dish. Guessing it’s not going to be dark enough for me, I’m thinking Murder She Wrote type readers, but when in Buffalo.

The town has a Longmire festival every year and the show stars usually turn up , as does author Johnston and the missus. The fans go wild, knickers thrown, the lot.

176 miles on RT 16 to Cody. The route took me through Bighorn National Park along its serpentine mountainous roads and through it’s majestic peaks, glistening blue lakes and evergreens.  There were a lot of perfectly positioned pull over spots on the road to take in the scenery.

Then back through another big barren butte, all looking reminiscent of where Charlton Heston crashed his rocket in Planet of The Apes. If you haven’t seen the original, do.

As I drive the vast, open highways, counting the carcasses of dead beasts, I did my own mental count.

On another side note, you have to wash your windscreen a lot in this part of the country .

I saw my first road runner, running across a road today. Who, as a child, did not want Wiley Coyote to ACME bomb that irritating avian to Looney Tune Heaven?  Beep Beep asshole.

Cody is out there, way out there. 4 hours on the road and I’m there.

Since I’m always falsely quoting my Granny, I had to stop in Granny’s, when I saw the sign, for a coffee and the always reliable grilled cheese . Shiane, on the desk, couldn’t understand why I’d drive all the way here. Ominous start. She moved here from Salt Lake City two years ago and kinda prefers it here because Salt Lake City is so gigantic.

Brook and Howard at Granny’s helped me out . Brook had “You are my sunshine tattooed on her forearm, in her Grannys handwriting. Not sure if Granny is above or below ground but was afraid to ask.

The Primus tee strikes again. Howard , the short order cook’s first concert was Primus opening for Rush. We bonded over  Wynonas Big Brown Beaver and Howard shared some local recommendations. Primus seems real popular in WY.

Cody was busier than I expected but I found a nice clean place, The Carter Mountain Motel, blocks from the main drag.

The owner/receptionist was slightly irritated that I booked through Hotels.com, because of her  fee. She had her cockatoo attack me at the motel front desk in retaliation.

I took a walk down the main drag in Cody to try and catch the Internationally Renowned Western show.

Cody is much more of a bootstore, than a bookstore kind of town. But I found Legends Bookstore which was decent, housed in one of the attractive brick buildings on Sheradin.

Sheridan, the Main Street, is a very attractive, red brick lined, historic thoroughfare . I found the 6pm Western show, outside The Irma, the hotel Buffalo Bill Built for his Beloved Bride (excellent illiteration I thought).

Gun play was in one minute. My breath was extra bated.

Well , I have the cheesiest event of trip , so far, in my holster now. The Wild Bill Wild West Show, with Wild Bill trash talking and shooting villains and vagabonds, in Cody. The only part I found amusing was the large “ATM Inside” scratched on the 1880 Bank replica used in the show.

These actors should not give up their day jobs, unless their day job is acting.

Rawhides coffee shop claimed to have the worst coffee, based on an online review. I went in and the cappuccino was decent.

Mark Dodds, out of Kent, Ohio stopped me to chat as I arrived back to the Motel. He was sitting, watching the sunset over the mountains, having a Coord outside his room. The father of two sons,and grandfather of 5, he is partnered in business with his two sons and he had always worked with his hands. With a knee and shoulder issue he has had to retire a bit earlier than he’d like and will be getting his bits replaced this year. The family business specializes in laser calibration of large equipment.

His first trip to WY coal country, 40 years ago , was to figure out issue with eight pieces of earth moving equipment for mines, then valued at $150k a piece . He fixed all the machines and got a promotion.

He’s an avid gun collector with 50 pieces, each of which he uses. A very active member of a gun club, he shoots twice a week. Mark is in town to visit the gun museum. He’s wandering, with a very loose plan, as I am, and will go back to Ohio somewhere between now and the end of October. Given his druthers he’d live in the West , but the grandkids and wife are back in Kent.

The mosquitos started to bother Mark so we said goodnight.

Because it was one of the few places serving until 10, I went to Wyoming’s Rib and Steakhouse, a casual joint , to eat at the bar.

I thought I’d driven a lot, until I started chatting with Brad Morrill. He’d put 460 miles on the clock today. Brad’s a traveling salesman for high end windows and doors. His sales region is Montana , Wyoming and Utah. All States have a lot of new construction going on so his business is good.

Brad and his wife of 33 years live about 80 miles out side Salt Lake City, Utah. They are both ex-Mormons. Brad did two years as a Mormon missionary around the United Kingdom when he was 18 or 19, back around the time of the Falklands war. He was going door to door six days a week, trying to entice Brits to the Mormin life. Now if that’s not the basis for a TV series I don’t know what is.

Brad and his wife went their own way from the church some years back. He seemed to feel the expectations were very high, back in Utah, after his exhalted missionary stint.

We talked for an hour.

I had the Chicken Fried Chicken 10oz, a smaller item on the menu and very good.

I offered Brad a lift back to his hotel a couple of miles away. He is recovering from a torn ACL. He started laughing when he saw my loaded Escalade. He misinterpreted my trip a bit.

“I thought you were some rich New York asshole flying around the country”, he said.

I was elevated in Brads esteem – a driver.

Today’s Spending:

Gas: $62

Hotel: $105

Dinner: $17