Glacier National Park Road Trip - Day 15

“Where are you hiking today?” asked a pleasant young man in the breakfast room this morning. It is Sunday and the old buzzards have been here a week now so were able to tell him about a four-mile hike he could take to Iceberg Lake, where there are actually icebergs floating in the lake. And John was sure to tell him about Johnson's Cafe in St. Mary which is a great place to stop on the way to the trail head. He had a charming French accent. When Linda asked where he was from he said “California". John asked, "Where in California?" He replied, "the Bay Area". And, of course, John asked, "Where in the Bay Area?" To which he said, "Palo Alto to be specific”. The old buzzards told him they live just south of him, in the Bay Area. Linda then answered his opening question: “I'm hiking to the laundry. Our 28-day trip is half over and we are out of clean clothes. Have fun on your hike and be careful.” (Someone died just off one of the trails Friday).

Fannie Mae and John stayed “home” and processed photos.

Cleaning your clothes at a laundromat tends to make you especially thankful to have a washer and dryer when at home. However, it was a nice, clean place with plenty of machines available so that all the loads could go in at once. There were nice rolling baskets and they probably had 100 magazines to choose from. Linda saw one cover that promised an article on 101 Ways To Be Happy. She is a sucker for this type of pap and picked it up, then wondered what magazine it was. In cleverly disguised letters at the top it said “Seventeen”. That's a magazine Linda read religiously from the ages of 13 to 18. She thought it would be interesting to take a look at “Seventeen” over 50 years later and see what's supposed to make teenage girls happy nowadays. But she got distracted by a stack of old “New Yorkers” and has not delved into teen-age happiness yet. Stay tuned . . .

It was past lunchtime when Linda returned from Laundry Land. John was ready for a short break from his photo fun so the old buzzards paused for nutrients. John had fruit and a cheese stick. Linda had her leftover salmon tacos from the Buffalo Grill.

The SONG O' THE DAY is “Seems Like Old Times” by John Jacob Loeb and Carmen Lombardo (1946) on page 204 of The Daily Ukelele. Linda has now made it to songs that begin with the letter “S”. It seems like old times to be preparing to pack up and leave tomorrow. It has been nice being here in Whitefish for seven nights. Linda even unpacked her bag into some drawers instead of her usual factual cliché' of living out of a suitcase.

The restaurant we chose for out last night in Whitefish has gone to the dogs – The Bulldog Saloon & Grill. The building was constructed in 1903. A railroad doctor and surgeon had offices on the second floor. It was also used for boxing matches, a pool hall, card games (poker, pinochle, pan) and a meeting place for Masons and other fraternal organizations. During prohibition, as the Pastime Pool Hall, it  survived by selling everything from guns, fishing tackle, batteries and work gloves, to tobacco and cigars. There was even a soda fountain for teenagers following World War II. The building was known as The Pastime until the late 1970s and then was the Yeti's Den for a few years. The present owners purchased it in 1983 and renamed it the Bulldog Saloon in honor of the Whitefish Highschool mascot. Linda is sure the business would also be a hit in her hometown of Plainview, Texas where the bulldog is the mascot of their one and only high school. If she had only known, she could have packed her Geritol Bulldogs shirt. She is also a University of Georgia Bulldog from time served there in the 1970s. Back to the food. John had the Turkey Teaser (turkey, bacon, BBQ sauce and cheddar cheese) with fries. Linda had Huckleberry Byrd Salad (leaf lettuce, cabbage, chinese noodles, sliced almonds and chicken tenders tossed in huckleberry hot sauce). The Two Old Buzzards would give it a five arf rating. See more about this place at www.fart-slobber.com. (No kidding, that's their URL)

Great place. Good food. Loads of atmosphere! Visit their website.

After dinner, we made due note that Wilma was parked in front of the Red Caboose, a local frozen yogurt and coffee place. We often frequent FroYo in Morgan Hill.  Linda said, "I'm too full right now". John said, "OK, I'll have some yogurt and wait for you". Then, Linda noticed they had huckleberry yogurt. That did it. Game on. So, in we went. Linda got huckleberry, chocolate and mango. John limited himself to huckleberry and chocolate. In an earlier post, you might recall that one establishment refers to the mixture of huckleberry and chocolate as "bear poop". So, bear poop it was! To paraphrase Utah Phillips, "My God, that tastes like bear poop!  But, it's good"! Actually, the Utah Phillips story has to do with moose turd pie.

Scavenger hunt update: Team “The Old Buzzards” now has 19 of the 20 items for their entry in the San Jose Mercury News Road Trip Photo Scavenger Hunt Contest. They hope to have an agreeable (and hungry) policeman (in uniform) in their crosshairs within the next few days. Maybe the constable in Trout Creek?

There are 16 images in today's photo gallery. Most around the Cheap Sleep Motel and, of course, dinner at the Bulldog Saloon. You can view them by clicking here.

Happy trails!