Montana escape, day 3

Our third day was an easy day in Montana.  How easy?  We didn't leave the hotel grounds once and barely went outside otherwise.

Oh, I did get out early in the morning.  I was awake far before Van, so I went down to get a decaf latte and muffin, and from there wandered around outside, taking photos of the hotel building and other facilities.  Friends, the Montage is a stunning property.  Just look at that outside. 

And the great room,

and the bar. 

And that cool old style tour bus. 

All of it was beautiful.  Would I go back.  Oh heck yes, would I.

Van did get going, and we enjoyed coffee together and writing postcards from the day before.  Lunch time rolled around, and we headed over to Backcast, behind the hotel, and sat at the bar.  I enjoyed a Rice Blossom cocktail,

and we shared salad, cold soba, and gyoza. 

A light meal before our afternoon spa session.

Sorry, no photos from the spa.  No one needs to see me in there!  But what a great amenity.  For one thing, the robes provided actually fit larger men like us.  WOW!  That never seems to happen.  For another, the changing room had its own hot tub and steam room.  Look, I'm not a prude, and I can happily use facilities that are mixed gender, but it's nice that we could just hang up the robes and soak and steam without a care.  And really, it was without a care - we saw one woman at the shared pool when we were given the tour, and that was the only time we saw anyone else other than spa staff.  A quiet period at the hotel in between seasons, it seems.

Van and I spent a few hours enjoying massage and soaking, and then finally had to bring the spa time to an end.  We had dinner reservations in the hotel's finer dining room, Cortina, and we needed to get ready.

Cortina?  Exceptional.  The menu reads Italian, and so I thought it would be fine, but the progression was delightful.

We each had a cocktail to start and then shared most of a bottle of an Oregon pinot noir recommended by the charming sommelier.  As for the food, well, we shared the first few things:

Burrata with tomatoes and arugula. 

Simple, fine, a compromise between me and Van on a starter.

Pappardelle with bolognese. 

Outstanding.  So tasty.

Venison. 

Simply venison and a reduction sauce.  Van had the trout (steelhead), and we shared some grilled broccolini.  But that venison?  Oh my word.  Tender like nothing I'd had before.  We each ate very slowly and were almost laughing at how ridiculously good it all was.

Oh, we had bread as well!

And then came a dessert to share.  We weren't too hungry, but it was hard to resist ordering one, so I opted for the pistachio boudino. 

Just look at this work of art that came out.

An indulgent night, and I have to admit, it was rough sleep and a very easy morning to follow.  But oh, so worth it.  When life hands you a hotel like that, it's always good to savour the staying in rather than the venturing out.

Montana escape, day 2

Last Monday Van and I were up early.  And if you know Van at least a little from this blog, you'll know that early is not something he relishes.  Nonetheless, there we were, getting up well in time to meet our guide.  It wasn't even fully light out when we woke up, though the valley and mountains around the resort still looked good.

It promised to be a cool, damp day for us to travel down into and about Yellowstone National Park, and it was true to its word.  We got our lunch from the hotel cafe to take along, and Nate met us out front.  Within an hour or so, we were inside the west gates of the park.  Actually, we had already passed through part of the park - some of the drive south took us through the western edge that bled into Montana.

Nate was an awesome guide.  Let me establish that right away.  He was so knowledgeable and very easy to talk with.  He asked what we wanted to see, and we told him we trusted him to show us the things he thought we should see.  And that was a good decision.  I mean, Van and I both agree that we would have stopped the very first time we saw bison and taken photos.  Nate bypassed that little traffic snarl and told us that we would have many more opportunities to see bison, and right along us on the road at that.  He was right.

What else was he right about?  Hmmm...  How about

• Taking us to see harlequin ducks, which, unlike most other ducks, are found on or near rapids.  Beautiful birds.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Finding wolves.  When we told people at the hotel and elsewhere that we had seen wolves thanks to Nate's keen eye and telescope, they were blown away.  A rare thing.
  
  
  
• Seeing Old Faithful, as is almost obligatory,
  
  
  
  
  
  but then taking us to Cliff Geyser and the surrounding pools and vents for something more interesting
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  (Old Faithful may be faithful, but it wasn't especially impressive).
• Stopping at the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone (yes, that's the actual name and how it is written), which was had an impressive waterfall and gorge.
  
  
  
• Driving out of the way a little to see if we could spot a bear.  No luck, but hey, look at that cute marmot. 
  
  
  
  
  
  And hey, look at that great vista of Yellowstone Lake. 
  
  
  And curse you, weather - just imagine how this would have looked if we could have better seen the mountains in the distance.
• Getting up early to go.  Old Faithful was busy, but everywhere else was not crowded, and we managed to see a lot without having to endure lines and throngs.

Other stops and highlights included seeing the Old Faithful Inn, a gorgeous old national parks lodge that, based on the tourist traffic inside (including us, eating lunch there in a common area and then buying souvenirs) we were heartily glad we didn't stay at. 

There were also the Gibbon Falls, another handsome park formation. 

He pointed out a forest that was killed by the flooding of chemically toxic water from the geothermal action. 

He drove us past yet more bison, this time with calves in tow.

We were back at the hotel around about 4:00 that day.  We unwound, and then headed to the hotel bar for a nice dinner, sitting in the window.  A very successful Monday of our escape, and we both slept well that night, indeed!

Montana escape, day 1

So then, here we go...

Montana!  The 35th state I have visited.  This past Sunday, I added it to my tally.  Van and I headed to LAX,

and - an upgrade, yay! -

and then a lovely flight up to a new state.  Over the Great Salt Lake,

and then the descent into a verdant Montana.

We landed in Bozeman and got a car to head to Big Sky right away.  We had a handful of days in Big Sky planned, and we wanted to get into it.  South along the Gallatin River, and then a turn west into the mountains.  And there, less than a mile from the turnoff:  bighorn sheep. 

Wow.  We stopped to get shots of the trio, what turned out to be our only time seeing them on this trip.  And then, not long after, our first elk of the visit.  Cool!

The hotel.  Ah, the hotel.  We were at the Montage, and wow. 

Apparently the largest building in the state, and I'd believe it based on the walk down the hall to get to our room.  That sounds bad.  It wasn't.  Our room was great:  a junior suite with a huge bathroom (plus powder room) and living room with balcony. 

We had views of the distant mountains plus the housing development nearby and ski lift.

Van and I got unpacked then headed to the bar to have dinner there.  A burger each,

something to drink, a huckleberry dessert (huckleberries were everywhere in Montana). 

A short stroll around inside and out,

and then up to the room to bed,  We had a big day to come on the Monday....