1. I spent much of the morning getting ready for the two night trip I'm going on with Meagan and Patrick to Hungry Horse, MT. Zoe is staying at the house while I'm gone and I spent some of the morning doing my best to detail for her some written instructions regarding the care of Luna and Copper. I'm hoping that having Zoe in the house with them while I'm gone will reduce their stress level, especially Copper's. I also tried to leave the house as spiffy as possible for Zoe and changed the bedding so she can sleep under fresh sheets. I was very grateful when Christy took care of Luna and Copper while I was in New York and I'm equally grateful that Zoe agreed to stay at the house while I'm gone. It's a great comfort to me. More important, I hope it's a comfort to Luna and Copper.
2. Meagan, Patrick, and I sat around the kitchen table just before noon and enjoyed bagel sandwiches from The Bean. We loaded my luggage in the car and we were off on a gorgeous three and a half hour drive into western Montana. I am a very fortunate person. While in New York and New England earlier in June and late in May, I got to enjoy the peaceful canopies of seemingly unending deciduous trees, gently rolling hills, and the breadth and width of the Hudson River, among other splendors of nature. Today, the scenery was all in contrast to that. Coniferous trees dominate the landscape. The mountains are imposing. The Clark Fork River meanders around Montana beautifully and is not the behemoth that the Hudson River is.
I cannot set American landscapes in comparison to one another. It's all arresting.
We are staying near Hungry Horse, MT at Lazy Bear Lodging. We rented the Bear Den Townhouse. The townhouse strikes me as newly remodeled in a rustic style with wood floors and emphasis on rustic looking furnishings. It's sparkling clean, loaded with amenities, and tucked a short way off the highway among evergreens. It's quiet. It's very comfortable. We are very happy here.
3. Once we got settled in, Meagan did some quick research regarding breweries near Hungry Horse and we piled into the Nissan Sentra and headed to the Backslope Brewery in Columbia Falls. The brewery has a taproom and a kitchen and, upon our arrival, the place was packed with numerous people waiting for a table. Thank goodness, Patrick and Meagan are patient (and so am I). The host invited us to order a beer at the bar and drink it in the waiting area and we did just that.
I love a lot about beer, but two pleasures stand out: I love encountering a beer I've never seen, tasted, or imagined before and I love beers aged in booze barrels. As I scanned the beer list, I nearly came out of my shoes when I read that Backslope brewed a beer called The Notorious BDG. It's an amber ale brewed with honey and molasses aged in rum barrels. I'd never heard of such a delicious sounding beer and I ordered a glass. It was superb. As I waited for the server to pour my beer, I prepared myself for a beer with next to no bitterness and wondered how forward the molasses would be (it was perfect) and how sweet the honey would be (just right). I loved the rummy character of this beer and savored each sip.
Once we were seated, I knew I was going to order a flank steak Bulgogi bowl and I anticipated that Backslope's Pilgrim Blonde Ale would be the perfect accompaniment.
I was right! The Pilgrim Blonde Ale is a mild beer, easy to drink, and does not have the explosion of hops common in an IPA. Therefore, the marinated flank steak, fried egg, rice, sriracha, and cilantro in my bowl did not have to compete with a variety of flavors found in my beer. I'd hit the food/beer sweet spot.
We also ordered fried pickles. The Backslope fries the pickles as spears, not as coin shaped slices, and I liked this style a lot. The fried pickles were a tasty and satisfying appetizer.
We also ordered a growler of Backslope's Crooked Creek IPA to go.
It sits unopened in the refrigerator and I am eager to bust into it on Tuesday!
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