On Tuesday afternoon we flew from Atlanta to Missoula, Montana where we spent the night before going to retrieve Vanna the next morning. To give you an idea of the geography of the area around Missoula, when Meriwether Lewis visited in 1805 he called it the “hub of five valleys.” These valleys are located at the convergence of five mountain ranges—the Bitterroot Mountains, Sapphire Range, Garnet Range, Rattlesnake Mountains, and the Reservation Divide.
The picture above is of Missoula in a clear day, which was not the case yesterday. Over the summer there have been numerous wildfires in the areas surrounding Missoula, so when we arrived there was a heavy smoke and ash cover over the entire valley area. Vanna has spent the last two months in Jellystone RV & Boat Storage in Missoula, and although she was under roof, the sides of the storage were open and she was covered with with a nasty looking orangey ash. Very unsightly. Doug couldn’t wait to clean her up, but car washes big enough for RV’s are hit and miss. Thus we spent most of the morning looking for a car wash. Fun times. The picture below is what the area looks like now, but maybe not so dramatic.
Last night we stayed at Waters Edge Campground and Pizzeria in Fork, Idaho. Well, we stayed in the campground, not at the pizza place. When we pulled up around 4 PM, the pizzeria looked forlorn and deserted. By 5:30, the lights were on and the parking lot was full. What the heck? We always like to try local eateries, so we decided to go over and give it a go. It was one of those old school places with Western Red Cedar tongue-in-groove on the walls, worn wood floor, and simple wood tables and chairs. The decor was largely taxidermy in the form of several mule deer mounts, along with numerous small framed pictures of hunters and their conquests.
Not only was the decor old school, the people who were there eating looked like movie extras in an old western. Almost every man in there had a long gray beard and was wearing a well-washed plaid flannel shirt and faded Lee jeans. The women did not have on prairie dresses, so it wasn’t quite perfect, but it was still uncanny. And surprisingly, the food was really good. Apparently, it was run by a family, and all of them were pressed into service. The son was the cook, Mom was the pastry chef and hostess, Dad was the bartender and general go-for, and the granddaughter was the bus girl and dishwasher. Since I was raised in a small family business I always feel nostalgic to see that some things have not changed.
On our way to Water’s Edge, we drove through Darby, Montana where “Yellowstone” was filmed. I have only seen “Yellowstone” once or twice, but I did recognize the little clothing store in the downtown area where the owner treated Kayce Dutton’s wife like crap because she was a full-blooded American Indian. (That scene confused me. Is that kind of prejudice still a thing in the American West?). Anyway, we drove right by the Chief Joseph Ranch (the Sutton Ranch in the series), which is a working cattle ranch and historic landmark in Montana’s Bitterroot Valley. The ranch’s main house is a 6,000-square-foot mansion built in 1914 that’s used as the Dutton family home in the show. (If you don’t watch the show, disregard this last paragraph.)
A. Roam of My Own: Travels With Annie 
Leave a comment