Running around Montana this week and next. My first trip to Montana was earlier this year, but it was winter time and I was paying much more attention to not dying in a fiery mutilating death on the slick roads than to the scenery around me. This time the weather is fantastic and the roads are nearly empty, so all the swerving across the center line while I scenery-gawk at 80 mph is only minimally dangerous and only to me.
This week I flew into Billings and spent time in Roundup, Winnet, Jordan, Miles City, and Custer. If you’re so inclined, you can take a look at the map and see that I cut a fairly large half-moon swath out of the center of this state. I loved the wide open spaces – they look like country meadows that go on for miles and miles and miles – and the occasional arroyos and cut-valleys thrown into the mix, but I have to admit to being mildly disappointed. Having been blown away by my trips to Wyoming the last couple years, I expected Montana to do an even better job of taking my breath away. Looking at the map, I’m thinking the western part of the state has that potential, but the area I was in this week was only mildly awe-inspiring.
Once you land here and start driving around, prepare yourself for a massacre. The bugs and birds (not to mention elk, pronghorns, and deer) are plentiful and not as fast as they think. I was tempted to snap a couple pics of my rental car before I turned it in, but decided it was just a little too gory for public consumption.
Speaking of consumption, I set out to try some off-the-beaten- path menu items while in the area, but could only find buffalo and elk in regular supply. They were ok, but nothing to bring me running back for more. The sushi was acceptable, but it took 45 minutes to get 3 rolls – next time I’m taking a book. I hit a couple of interesting restaurants this week and I’ll post some reviews on Yelp when I get the time to write them up. Nothing above 3 stars so far. Next week I think I’m going to try some of the casinos/lounges and roadside cafes scattered all over the place. There’s a greater risk of food-born illness, but the reward of finding a lip-smakin’, finger-lickin’ jewel of a meal are worth it.
This state is littered with casinos! I’m not a gambler (unless you include women and food in that category) so I haven’t been into one of these places yet, but Billings alone probably has 30-50 of’em and every town I passed through – no matter how small – has at least a couple. After spending a few days in Vegas recently these places all seem so quaint.
I’m wondering if gambling and meth go hand in hand – maybe my friend Rob can tell me since he seems to be addicted to both casinos and Breaking Bad. Every town I passed through, even if it only contained a handful of buildings, had at least one mural depicting the dangers of meth addiction. The larger towns have these murals and signs every other block it seems! I didn’t notice many people who looked like meth addicts, but to be honest I was feeling more anti-social than usual this week and kept my interactions with the locals to the bare minimum required for survival. (There WAS a cute little waitress named Olivia at Walker’s Grill in Billings I could stand to get to know better, but the food was not to my liking so I probably won’t go back.)
All in all an interesting week in a new place, but not enough to stand out in my memory banks for long. Next week I begin by flying into Billings and driving the 200-plus miles to Jordan where I’ll spend a couple days staying at the Fellman’s Motel. For those who don’t know, I’m a Marriott/Holiday Inn chain guy. I’m a whore for points any way I can get’em and they’ve paid my way to European vacations more than once. But when I heard that this motel (which has been owned by the same family from the get-go) started out as a hunting lodge in the early 1900’s, converted to indoor plumbing in the 60’s, and upgraded to air-conditioning a little over 10 years ago, I knew I needed to stay there at least a night or two. I’m happy to plunk down a few company dollars to keep a tradition going! Of course the recently installed high-speed internet and refrigerators didn’t hurt in swaying my decision. Sure will miss those points though….
That’s it for this post. See some of ya tonight and most of ya at Evan/Katrina’s birthday/fight party tomorrow!!
