June 27, 2013
I walked a mile the next morning with a cup of coffee from a Starbucks right next to the motel. It's unusual to find a Starbucks in such a small town, but I guess this being the Northwest and between Missoula / Spokane and Seattle, there was a population to be seduced off the interstate.
The rest of the day I drove through Washington, Idaho and Montana on I94, barely tolerating it, but making good time. I stopped and ate a sandwich on the pass between MT and ID and listened and looked hard for a pair of singing birds in the treetops but never did locate them. It was another gorgeous day of sun, mountains (some with patches of snow at higher elevations), blue skies, wildflowers (beargrass, Indian paintbrush, many yellow-flowered species), fast-moving rivers and streams, and tall evergreens.
I turned onto Montana Highway 200 east of Missoula and stopped again at the same fishing access site on the Blackfoot that I had stopped by on my way west and watched the river and river travelers go by (rafts and kayaks). The opposite bank had steep cliffs with various birds flying about. This is so pleasurable as (I know, I know, I perseverate about this, but....), no bugs. I finally got to The Three Bears Motel (again) in Lincoln. At one point, all we travelers had to follow a pilot car for 30 miles as the road surface was being resealed or whatever. Still, moving slowly through this beautiful country, following the Blackfoot River, was fine.
This time in Lincoln, I did go to The Montanan Steak House for dinner which I had heard about when I stayed here three weeks ago. The food was above average, although the decor was typical western with country music and predictable stuff on the walls. A middle-aged waitress named Elly was perfect for this place: efficient and cheerful. She had raised her kids in Eugene or 17 years and had worked as a flagger for road construction until she "got heat stroke" before moving to Lincoln.
I had a lobster chowder, au gratin potatoes, green beans, fried shrimp and cheesecake with lemon curd (which I took back to the motel and ate later, sitting outside my room). All the food was tasty, especially the green beans and au gratin potatoes which were prepared individually on a small plate and were piping hot.
A deer ambled across the Highway as I was sitting outside and seemed unconcerned about traffic, which slowed to allow safe passage. The whole town has ponderosas all over. The population is less than 2000 in the winter but it isn't far from Missoula. It wouldn't be the worse place to live.
There were two youngish guys staying in The Three Bears also. I talked with them briefly. There were working as hydrologists on a Super Fund site on the Blackfoot River. The pollution is due to mining and is extensive. Ultimately, a mind-boggling amount of earth will be removed to clean up the poisons.
The rest of the day I drove through Washington, Idaho and Montana on I94, barely tolerating it, but making good time. I stopped and ate a sandwich on the pass between MT and ID and listened and looked hard for a pair of singing birds in the treetops but never did locate them. It was another gorgeous day of sun, mountains (some with patches of snow at higher elevations), blue skies, wildflowers (beargrass, Indian paintbrush, many yellow-flowered species), fast-moving rivers and streams, and tall evergreens.
I turned onto Montana Highway 200 east of Missoula and stopped again at the same fishing access site on the Blackfoot that I had stopped by on my way west and watched the river and river travelers go by (rafts and kayaks). The opposite bank had steep cliffs with various birds flying about. This is so pleasurable as (I know, I know, I perseverate about this, but....), no bugs. I finally got to The Three Bears Motel (again) in Lincoln. At one point, all we travelers had to follow a pilot car for 30 miles as the road surface was being resealed or whatever. Still, moving slowly through this beautiful country, following the Blackfoot River, was fine.
This time in Lincoln, I did go to The Montanan Steak House for dinner which I had heard about when I stayed here three weeks ago. The food was above average, although the decor was typical western with country music and predictable stuff on the walls. A middle-aged waitress named Elly was perfect for this place: efficient and cheerful. She had raised her kids in Eugene or 17 years and had worked as a flagger for road construction until she "got heat stroke" before moving to Lincoln.
I had a lobster chowder, au gratin potatoes, green beans, fried shrimp and cheesecake with lemon curd (which I took back to the motel and ate later, sitting outside my room). All the food was tasty, especially the green beans and au gratin potatoes which were prepared individually on a small plate and were piping hot.
A deer ambled across the Highway as I was sitting outside and seemed unconcerned about traffic, which slowed to allow safe passage. The whole town has ponderosas all over. The population is less than 2000 in the winter but it isn't far from Missoula. It wouldn't be the worse place to live.
There were two youngish guys staying in The Three Bears also. I talked with them briefly. There were working as hydrologists on a Super Fund site on the Blackfoot River. The pollution is due to mining and is extensive. Ultimately, a mind-boggling amount of earth will be removed to clean up the poisons.
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