ON THE ROAD AGAIN II: IDAHO AND MONTANA

After finally getting fully vaccinated, we went on a six-week liberating road trip. In the previous post, I wrote about our week and a half in Colorado, On the next week and a half, we visited a son and his family in Boise, Idaho, then dear friends in Essex, Montana. As usual, we have fresh discoveries in each state. I am so excited to share them here with you in Part 2.

Idaho

Freak Alley Gallery

At Eureka Bistro in downtown Boise, Idaho, a mural that peeked at us while we were having lunch seemed to invite my husband and me to take a closer look. It then led us to a unique gallery located between 8th and 9th street. Started in 2002 with a first drawing on the back alley doorway of Moon's Café, the Freak Alley Gallery blossomed over the years into a large space filled with murals and graffiti-inspired artwork.

Artists add new works every year, creating an ever-growing and changing experience for all. Each summer a large painting event is held which allows community members to be a part of it. With fundraising and donations, the Gallery has become the largest outdoor gallery in the Northwest as it has extended all the way to the gravel parking lot. Because of this activity, Boise has ranked second in a survey of ten mid-sized American cities with thriving artistic communities.

Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve

Along US 20 on our way out of Idaho into Montana on our northward trek to Calgary, we stumbled upon a national monument consisting of lava flows and scattered islands of cinder cones and sagebrush. At an average elevation of 5,900 feet, the park's 7-mile loop road provides easy access to most of its trails, caves, and scenic overlooks. Established in 1924, it was greatly expanded in 2000 and renamed Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve in 2002.

All its three lava fields lie along the Great Rift of Idaho, a line of weakness in the Earth's crust. It offers some of the best examples of open rift cracks in the world, including the deepest at 800 feet. There are examples of almost every variety of basaltic lava, as well as tree molds (cavities left by lava-incinerated trees), lava tubes (a type of cave), and other volcanic features. The national monument is the largest volcanic field of its kind in the contiguous US, home to 25 volcanic cones and outstanding examples of spatter cones. The 60 distinct solidified lava flows in the field range in age from 15,000 to just 2,000 years from all the eruptions along the 53-mile south-east to the northwest-trending volcanic zone.

A Bonus: The Town of Arco

Just after this national monument you will be surprised to find a hill dotted with white-painted numbers. Arco, Idaho has inspired a tradition among its townsfolk (who made it) of painting the year of his/her graduation on the hill.

Montana

Dillon

We stayed here overnight on the way to our friends’ mountain cabin in Essex, Montana. Would you believe, even with such a short stay, we found the time to visit two places here? The first is Bannack State Park, the best ghost town that we have ever seen. It is complete with a restaurant/saloon, a hotel, a church, a school, the governor’s house, and so many fine examples of cabins of the time. It definitely gave us a feel for life there when it was bustling.

The Clark's Lookout State Park is atop a hill from where the views of the surrounding areas are excellent. A short loop trail leads to the exact rocks where William Clark of the Lewis and Clark fame stood on August 13, 1805 and took compass readings of three distant landmarks. In fact, there is an engraved compass face to mark the spot. The park is largely undeveloped, though.

Essex

The first-ever people we met at Viewpoint have become our dearest friends, especially because we both decided to make Mesa, Arizona our permanent home base. They return every summer to their mountain cabin in Essex, Montana, an unincorporated neighborhood of about a hundred families between East and West Glacier, the entrances to the famous Glacier National Park. We usually stay just one night on our way to Calgary but last July we decided to explore the area.

The morning after our arrival, we picked huckleberries, those relatives of blueberries that are not farmed because they only grow wild (the reason they cost a fortune). We came at the right time. The bushes were thick with the prized fruit. I got to ride with the lady of the house at the back of her ATV. Up the hills, we found a patch that had not been picked and we brought home ziplock bags full of fruit that were incorporated into our huckleberry pancakes that morning.

With the ATV, we were also able to spot lovely rustic A-frame cabins (headline photo) like that of our friends, their neighborhood “library” on a tree, the vistas of the Middle Fork River near them, and the welcome makeshift shelter for visiting hunters. Other friends from Viewpoint who camped during summer nearby joined us for dinner one night. But our best time was spent on their deck looking out to the forest, listening to the birds, the bees, the breeze, and the banter.

Hungry Horse 

The nearest town and where our friends usually do their groceries is a place called Hungry Horse, Montana. The name comes from the dam and recreational area the town hosts that serve the area’s water needs. I was fascinated by the town’s junk shop, our friends’ favorite mountain art store, and the Jesus is the Lord boot camp. You can’t be any quainter than this tiny town.

Whitefish

And, of course, we wanted to see the famed mountain ski resort town of Whitefish, Montana. Because it was July, Instead of going to the resorts, we visited the attractions in downtown Whitefish instead. The Great Northern Railway Depot and Museum was historic and lovely especially with the bold Bruck (bus+truck) that was used to ply travelers to local spurs. There is a lovely town Clocktower where the local restaurants were grouped. And we had a lot of fun at the town’s beloved Whitefish City Beach especially the pair of fawns that greeted us.

Kalispell

There seemed to be so many who traveling like us after being locked down for so long. Would you believe we could not find any seats in the recommended local restaurants in downtown Whitefish? So we went to the city of Kalispell, Montana 15 miles away. In this city of almost 25,000, we finally had late lunch at Famous Dave’s, a national restaurant chain. But, on another day when we completed our Covid testing requirement for entry into Canada, we were treated to the town’s great breakfast tradition at Nickel Charle’s Restaurant and Casino. Whitefish and Kalispell is a great pair of towns.

As you can see, we saw a lot in this week and a half. Wait until we take you to Calgary, Alberta Canada for Part 3.

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