We made a quick stop in the morning at SLC so I could show Sean the Mormon Temple. I had the night before educated Sean about the Mormon religion by having him watch a South Park episode regarding the origins. I highly recommend this episode (Season 7, Episode 12 "All About Mormons") as a good starter for anyone. at this point. This being my fourth visit to the temple I started feeling like a Temple tour guide and began wondering why I always come here. Maybe it will be my last visit, but the oddness of the place is too much to pass up showing new people on my road trips.
After crossing int Idaho I decided to stop at the Visitors Centre again to search for an Idaho potato pin. I again was disappointed to find none, but something caught my eye.
The Potato Lady
This eye catching poster was part of a display put up by the Potato Museum of Idaho in Blackfoot, ID. A quick glance of the map showed it is on our path. Surely they would know about the pin I was seeking.
The first real services you can get off the I-15 North after the Idaho border is a little town named Malad City. Malad's proud motto is "Where Idaho Begins", and does it ever. I randomly picked a place to eat off my GPS called Dude Ranch Cafe. The cafe is on a main road in the centre of town, the type where cars park on an angle off the street, typical of many small American towns.
Dude Ranch Cafe - Salad Bar View
The cafe was full of good ol' boys dressed in full camo, perhaps coming back from a day of hunting or perhaps it is just the way the dress every day in Malad. We were informed that our food would take some time to get to us due to it being busy. The room we were in seemed empty but what we didn't see was the "dining" room next door full of people as it was "Homecoming Day". Usually I would not be happy about waiting almost 45 minutes to eat, but the food was amazing! I had a Reuben sandwich with fries. The sandwich was good, but the winner was the fries. Idaho potatoes are amazing, and I would have been happy eating a whole other plate of the fries but it was time to be on our way. I highly recommend the Dude Ranch Cafe in Malad City, ID, if you ever find yourself in the area.
After getting our taste of Idaho potatoes, we headed to Blackfoot in search of the pin. The lady at the museum, knew exactly what I was looking for and had them hidden under her desk. She told me the pins were sought after (though upon reflection I think she may have been joking). She made it a point to tell me that in order for her to give out ten or more pins she had to call the Idaho Potato Board for permission. With my mission complete we kept heading North.
As we crossed into Montana, it started to get smoky. The sun began to turn red and finally disappeared behind the smoke from forest fires that have been plaguing parts of Idaho and Montana. It was a real shame since you could tell the scenery was very pretty.
We finally made it to our destination of Helena, MT, and as we turned left on to the street that would take us to our friend's house we came upon a surprising sign.
I asked Chelsia if she or her partner Sharla had done this as a joke for us. It turns out this is a sign to welcome hunters and the like from Alberta. I still think the sign was for us! Speaking of signs, I asked Sharla, a native of Montana, if it was true that they had no speed limit at some point in history. They certainly did. The daytime speed limit was posted "Reasonable and Prudent". It was stopped after too many out of state folks kept showing up to take their car for a fast spin, and ended up dying. One thing you will see a lot of on the sides of the hi-ways in Montana is white crosses.
Montana speed sign from back in the day
We were treated to an evening of beer and delicious chicken at a place called Suds Hut. It hit the spot after a fairly long drive. It was nice to catch up with friends I have not seen in some time, and I was sad that I only had this evening to spend with them. Despite this, I also felt good to be almost home.
The morning brought two surprises, but that is for the next post!
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