Idaho or Paul da ho?

Location: the most beautiful ‘middle of nowhere’ in the world (Priest River, Idaho)
Mileage: 4829
Sets of heads seen with dreadlocks since last post: too many to count

Dear friends,

We have not traveled particularly far, geographically, since our last post, but we certainly have traveled extensively in terms of locale and people. We parted Bozeman Tuesday afternoon after picking up Speed Blazer (it sounds and feels like new; thanks to all of you for your concerned phone calls and post responses) and sharing one more lunch with Pam. We were sad to leave her after our many days of getting to know her; she gave us lots to think about in topics ranging from the education process to spirituality, from philosophy to alternative medicine. I know that the car ride departing Bozeman was silent and – for once – it was not out of a lack of conversation but more because we were thinking about and reflecting on many of the issues and topics Pam introduced to us.

We pulled into Missoula, Montana – “the last best place in the world” – late Tuesday afternoon. Missoula is home of the University of Montana and a really fun, young, and hip town with an amazingly accessible recreation lifestyle. It seems that everyone there bikes, hikes, climbs, or kayaks, if not all of the above. This little gem would likely have gone unnoticed had it not been for the fact that one of my best friends went to college there. In planning the trip, though, I called Josh to ask him if he knew anyone still in town that we could stay with, since he was presently living and working in Oregon. He referred us to Oriana, a very fun and sweet girl, who lives in a great big ski house-esque (Bavarian style?) place with a few other students. We called Oriana on our way into town and found a place in the downtown area to meet up with her. She quickly sketched out paths and parks around town that she recommended checking out before she had to run off to work. Paul and I walked for some time along a river, hoping to see some kayak surfing, before checking out the campus. It was strange to be surrounded by young students again, but we enjoyed overhearing conversations excusing bad behavior.

“Yeah, I mean that could be bad, but you’re still in college, so it’s okay.”

Whatever they were excusing, we’re sure that they’re right. Drank too much last night? It’s okay, you’re in college. Slept in till 3 PM? It’s okay, you’re still in college. Locked your roommate out for the night? It’s okay, you’re just a jerk. (Thanks Jen and Gaby, for never being jerks.)

The campus is surrounded by mountains endorsed with college letters, which boast good hikes with beautiful views. We had big plans to check it out, but never ended up getting around to it. We discovered the “voted #1 theatre!” on our walk around the downtown area, which rang true to us as Tuesdays are its discounted days and it was playing “Little Miss Sunshine,” a movie that both Paul and I have really wanted to see. We grabbed a quick dinner and headed back to the theatre to catch the early show. Well, we ended up spending the money we saved on the discounted tickets on concessions, but honestly, can you blame us for being surprised and pleased to see a movie theatre that sells (good) beer? We both tried the Summer Ale, a spiced and honey infused beer brewed in Missoula; it was good, but it just made me eager to make mead at some point. Honey deserves more accolades than that beer could provide. Anyhow, the movie was very good. It literally made me both laugh and cry. Although that’s one of those phrases that movie critics often attribute to movies, it might be the first time that I truly did both. Good soundtrack, phenomenal acting, interesting (and intense!) characters, and just a good dose of black humor. We both recommend it, if you haven’t yet seen it.

The end of the movie sent us off to find Oriana as she ended her work shift. We made a stop-over at the house she lived in last year to meet and chat with several of her friends who now live there. In one regard, we felt sort of bad telling them about our trip as they expressed envy over our traveling and regret over their reading assignments of Kierkegaard; but, envy like that goes both ways and Paul and I felt the need to get some good reading in that night before hitting the sack.

The next morning we headed into town to get breakfast at the Shack, a relatively inexpensive restaurant with probably the best buttermilk pancakes I’ve ever had. We ate too much... My old and dear friend, Josh, actually ended up getting back to Missoula from Oregon that evening prior, so he met up with us at the close of our breakfast and quickly became our official Missoula guide. Our first day with him, we toured more downtown and campus activity (seeing the tallest building in Montana, which is all of 11 stories) and then made some plans for our time in town. For that day, we headed up to Black Foot River to find a swimming hole and potentially some cliff jumping. Well, we did find a beautiful stretch of river with an extremely deep swimming hole (none of us could hit the bottom, despite many efforts) but boy was it cold. Lots of dedication and slow moving was the only thing that got me in the water but it was worth it – the snow-melted water was lovely and invigorating. Unfortunately the river level was low enough that the bottom of the river was not deep enough in front of the cliff ledges to dive into, but we had fun nonetheless. The drying off and warming up part was pretty great as well. :)

We spent some time back at Oriana’s house, getting to know her roommates, before heading off for a delicious Indian dinner and heading to the house where Josh is staying while he’s in town. We enjoyed getting to know Josh’s housemates and to spend some time just relaxing and getting to try more Missoula-brewed beer. Especially for me – a non-beer drinker – you have to imagine that they do a decent job if I’m willing to try a beer two days in a row!

What's cooler than being cool? ICE COLD!!! Our (invigoratingly icy) swimmin' hole.

The next morning took us back to the same restaurant – this time determined to split the pancakes in order to reduce the bill and our stomachaches – and then off to hike with Josh. He drove us out to Swan Front Mountains, near Sealy Lake, to get our legs moving. There was some drizzling and mist obscuring the view and diminishing the pleasure of the hike towards the beginning, but, as we hiked, it became clearer and drier. We enjoyed the sights of several waterfalls, beautiful foliage, and great education from Josh about forestry and the area. We grabbed a quick dinner and then drove Josh home so we could split ways (he had some mountain biking to do while we wanted to catch up on emails.) We were sure to take advantage of the Coke factory on the way home from his place, though, and appreciated $.25 cans of soda. From there, we headed into the downtown area to find a café with wi-fi. Liquid Planet had both free wi-fi and really great tea (Red Lavender.) We sent emails off to our hosts in Vancouver and Seattle and got some good reading done before meeting back up with Josh. His roommates and he had a get-together that evening, so we enjoyed more relaxation with young people of the area.

Our Missoula-area guide Josh and the with some of the falls that where we hiked.

Friday morning was even rainier and colder than the previous day and pretty much killed all plans of hiking. It even snowed in parts of town with higher elevations; it was wild to see snow decorating the mountains in our view. We had wanted to take one of the hikes that we read about that purported to give a great view of the town that, but after breakfast at the Raven, even a little walk around town chilled us to the bone. We went for more lavender tea and the cozy couch to read for some time before heading back to Oriana’s. She and her roommates were planning on hosting a big dinner that evening, so Paul quickly went to work helping prepare the huge batches of papusas while I wrapped myself up in my fleece sleeping bag and dozed off with my iPod and the sound of rain. The preparation for the dinner went on all afternoon and much of the evening as friends poured into the house, bringing musical instruments, scrabble boards, side dishes, and good conversation. Paul and I had been really impressed by how friendly and open the people of Missoula appeared and that evening did nothing to diminish that idea. We had a lot of fun talking, cooking, eating, and getting to know the young people of Missoula. It was also nice for me to have a long stretch of time catching up with one of my favorite people.

We lazily packed everything up the next morning, while breakfasting and conversing with the remnants of the previous evening’s guests. We gave our biggest and sincerest thanks to Oriana and her housemates as they trickled out to work and chores and the such, and got acquainted with Jessica, who works at a farm 30 miles north of Missoula. She often hitchhikes home, but as it was cold and rainy, we were happy to offer her a ride back to her farm on our way out of town, so long as she didn’t mind sticking with us while we ran some errands. (Josh was kind enough to get us into Costco with his card, so we are now pretty set with granola bars and fruit leathers.) We then gave our sad goodbyes to Josh and set off for Jessica’s farm, where we met her roommate/co-worker, a sweet wolf-dog, some sheep, and lots of fresh veggies. Jessica generously assembled a box of fruits and veggies that they grow on their farm to thank us for her ride home. And so on we went, Idaho as our goal. Originally we planned to go up to Glacier National Park for two days and a night, but the rain and coldness prohibited ideas of camping and it was simply too far away to drive for a day trip. I, for one, am content to have it as an excuse to come back to Montana again some time.

View of the snow covered mountains from the farm where we drove Jessica and drove away from with lots of goodies. On the right is the tipi where she lived for a year!

We arrived late Saturday in Priest River, Idaho, home of Jim and Margie, two of my parents’ oldest friends. Our drive from Jessica’s farm to Idaho was the most beautiful drive to date, as we passed through Lolo National Park and through many sets of mountains, but we were tired by the time we got out of the car (and we had taken several wrong turns on the way.) Jim and Margie immediately set us at ease with glasses of champagne to celebrate our arrival and a cheese and cracker plate to please our stomachs. We discussed our plans for the next few days and soon hit the pillow.

Sunday morning, we awoke to good coffee (and a great little lesson on the process of roasting one’s own beans and different ways of brewing) and a very hearty breakfast of strawberry pancakes and tarragon scrambled eggs. It was from that moment on that I realized just how well-fed Paul and I were going to be at Jim and Margie’s. (Not that I should be surprised, as the basis of my parents’ and Jim and Margie’s friendship was their mutual love of food and drink.) It was a slow start that morning, as we sat around and discussed our trip, future plans, how Jim and Margie ended up out in Idaho, and so on, but we eventually made our way out of the cabin. First, Jim drove us up to their actual house, which is still under construction. They live on 396 acres of breathtaking land (they have 20 miles hikes that are entirely on their property!!) and are presently living in their cabin as the house (complete with great porches, a beautiful kitchen, an indoor sauna, and an exquisite wine cellar) is being finished. They’re hoping to move in within a month. I hope so, too! Their house is amazing but it really is only a result of all of the hard work and meticulous planning they have put into it. I’m sure their first night in the sitting room, in front of a fireplace with a >180 degree view of mountains, will make it all worthwhile.

Can you believe this is the view that Jim and Margie will have from their living room in their new house?! Idaho living looks better and better.

From there, we swung back down to the cabin where we are all staying, picked up Margie, and set out to see the surrounding areas. We drove to several lakes and up a mountain (where, in the colder months, there is much skiing) to some amazing views. We enjoyed a glass of wine with Jim and Margie atop the mountain before heading home to catch the Redskins v. Dallas game. The nice thing about the Pacific Time zone is that Sunday night football games become Sunday early evening football games. Well, I say this as if it makes a difference to me, but, in truth, the reason this post is getting written at all is mostly because the other three are watching the game. I, for one, am happier to write than to watch football (read: get angry at the TV.) Presently Dallas is winning, so I think I’m the only one still smiling in the room! Dinner preparations are being made though – the corn is shucked, the coals are on the grill for the salmon, and the squash is sliced up – the wine is flowing, and the fire is roaring, so I’m sure we’re in for another great evening. Tomorrow, we take a good, long hike around the property. And I tell you what, after just 24 hours here, I truly believe that I could happily live in North Idaho (if only I could find a job here…) We’ll be in touch!

Love,
Alina