Montana escape, day 5

Well, howdy!

So let's wrap up Montana.  And, really, there isn't much to say.  We did get a bit of time in Bozeman after checking out and before heading to the airport to grab some lunch and get one or two last photos in town, but not much more.

No, really, the main reason to post something from the last (and travel) day is to post this little cutie.

I put that in my Facebook story, and when I told someone who responded that it was tasty, he was shocked to learn it was edible.  Oh yes.  A little chocolate and raspberry dessert.  I had seen them and other beautiful treats in the hotel cafe for days, and I was bound and determined on my last morning to get one to try!

If previous posts have shown anything, that hotel has an excellent culinary team.  The little chocolate bear was so very tasty.  I almost couldn't eat it, it was so darn cute!

That wraps up Montana, and what a superb escape.  I am so fortunate that Van has treated me to a few trips like this so far.

Montana escape, day 4

Last Wednesday we left the hotel grounds at rather a late time of the morning and drove into Bozeman first, and then on to Livingston.  More of Montana - hooray!!

Bozeman is an attractive town.  A college town.  A destination for lovers of the outdoors.  Apparently a mecca for Californians and others (Boze Angeles is a nickname, or something like that).  It has some terrific historic buildings downtown that have survived and been repurposed. 

We walked around a little, taking photos, then stopped at a Sweet Peaks for a scoop each of the River Float flavour. 

Mmmmm...  After that we poked in a few stores and bought a few souvenirs.  By then it was later in the afternoon, so we hit the road east to get to Livingston in time for an early dinner with Matt

and his family.

I've known Matt professionally for at least a handful of years, but it was only a few years ago that we got to chatting a bit and catching up at conferences over a drink or a bite.  He'd been encouraging me for some time to come visit Montana, and although he and his wife don't live in Bozeman or all that close, it wasn't so far that they didn't want to come through, pick up their son (who is at college in Bozeman), and come for dinner.

Van had found the restaurant

in Livingston in a write up in a magazine or newspaper.  I can't recall which, but maybe the New York Times?  It all sounded good, though - a hip Italian place in a small Montana town that was a thriving arts.  Campione

at 5:00 for five of us, giving us a small window of time to walk the main street before (and then after) dinner

and buy a few more souvenirs.  Matt and his family were a little delayed, but not badly.  Before too long we had an excellent bottle of wine and some appetizers:  meatballs,

ricotta whipped with bone barrow,

smoked cauliflower. 

My entree was the trout

- when in Montana, right?  And then all of us shared the olive oil cake for dessert. 

After a bit of a stroll around town, we split up and headed home.  Van and I got back just as things got dark, a bit of an unnerving drive for us because there is so much wildlife around out there.

Our last full day in Montana was a very good one, indeed.  Friends, souvenirs, good food, sunny skies.  A delight through and through.

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!