The Trip Out

We're at another lull in the action here in Rochester, so I've had some time to go through my pictures and see what was of interest to share about the drive out from Idaho. As I mentioned in the last post, Sandpoint has been getting way too much rain this spring, and the day I packed up and headed east threatened more. Yes, it was a dark and gloomy morning send off leaving me with a sense of relief to be getting out from under the incessant cloud cover.

I picked up my relief driver in Coeur d'Alene, her husband having brought her up from Walla Walla, WA where they live. What a good friend Suzanne is to take 5 days out of her life to make my journey back to help my other friend easier and safer. We made our first stop in Wallace, ID for lunch at the 1313 Club.

If nothing else, the 1313 Club has an interesting decor, but the food is good too. We were already out from under the clouds and it was heating up outside. Nice and cool in the 1313 Club. I grew up in Wallace, by the way, and back in my day, the 1313 Club really was just a club, one of 13 bars in this tiny town. I recall a pool table in the back that the under-age boys would try to sneak into. None of that now in this family oriented "saloon."

Then it was over the pass and into Montana. I don't think I've been this way since I moved out from Wisconsin almost 6 years ago, but it is a route familiar from my childhood - my dad loved to fish in Western Montana so we spent many summer weekends exploring the creeks and rivers and forest service campgrounds. On this day, we followed an interesting cloud once we came down out of the pass.

These were benign, but we soon drove into a downpour that pelted us loudly with hail. Suzanne was driving and I was freaking out hoping a window didn't break or the car get dented so early in the adventure.

I think we were in the Livingston area when we pulled over at a rest stop with a view of these granite outcroppings.

By 8:00 we reached our destination of Bozeman, MT and the Rainbow Motel. A bit spartan but priced right, clean, and with everything we needed for our brief stay.

Wait, did I say 8:00 p.m.? It was actually 9:00 as we had crossed time zones so we high-tailed it down the street to find a restaurant before everything closed for the night. Ferraros was still serving, although not many customers remained. A bit pricier than what we hoped for the first night out, but nicely appointed with lots of art on the walls.

I meant to document cuisine as we went along for my foodie followers, but as my niece often reports of her own efforts, we little piggies scarfed down our meal before remembering to snap a pic of the beautiful plate. This was exceptionally good Chilean sea bass in a wonderful sauce, with side of pasta. I passed up a glass of wine, not wanting the waitress to find me face down in my empty plate. Yes, it was a long and tiring day, and after a short walk up and down the main drag by the motel, it was back to the room and bed.