Cozy, North Woods Stopover

We started the trip off right with a stay at the Red Lion in Missoula. It's between the airport and downtown on Broadway right across the street from the (Clark?) River. The room are comfortable and quiet and decorated like an upscale north woods cabin with check bedspreads and maple furniture. Double sinks are a nice touch when you make as many hot beverages as we do. The tub's a peach with an extra tall showerhead. Breakfast is included with lots of extras like make-your-own waffles and breakfast burritos. One downside was that the access to PBS is for the children's version only, so we missed an episode of Ken Burns's National Parks series.

Missoula is a pleasant surprise. A prosperous looking town nestled in a pretty valley, it's hugged by gentle rolling hills all around. The airport is easy to navigate, but there was a little wait for our luggage. We got a free cab ride to the hotel, only a 10 minute ride. No traffic, even though the cabbie tried to convince us the town's been on the upswing for the last 15 years.

We had dinner at Ciao Mambo, a family Italian restaurant near the University of Montana campus. The crowd ranged from locals to college kids to couples on a special night out. Oddly enough, a couple at the table next to us were celebrating their anniversary too -- their 4th to our 30th. Later, we saw them on the bridge when we walked back to our hotel. Talk about small town life! We happened by Max Baucus's office and checked out Missoula P.L. An excellent facility--it has a twitter account and also stocks Phil's books.

Now, on to more exploring downtown and a ride on the Mountain Line (like lion, get it?) bus. We pick up the car around noon and head on up to Glacier.