the last weekend of the season at Holland Lake Lodge

We are always coming and going and living a busy life, but this year especially has been full of busy travels.  We are fortunate to travel, but the trips aren't always true vacations and it's become clear that we need to make room for breaks.  

Living in Missoula, luckily we don't have far to go for a retreat in the woods.  Even so, we compete with the tourists and everyone else living here for reservations.  We have friends who are Masters of tracking availability of the best Forest Service cabins, getting in the rotation for reservations a year in advance and watching for cancelations.  We, however, are not such dedicated retreat planners.  We schedule trips for work or family visits, and vacations for ourselves are sandwiched into the calendar.  And for a trip to the woods, I've grown more and more into a Princess about amenities.  It doesn't have to be deluxe, but simply put: I prefer having hot showers and a bed.  Plus, if we venture into bear territory, (Hello! We live in Montana and bears live here, too), I won't sleep a wink if I'm laying in a tent.  The older I get, the further my camping days are behind me if I get to choose.  

So what's the easiest getaway solution for people like me?  

1) Cabins & 2) OFF SEASON.       

Holland Lake  © Toni Matlock. 2012

In the middle of October, we slipped away to Holland Lake Lodge for a low-key weekend of rest and relaxation.  Even with rain and fog, perhaps even more so because of the weather, it was a beautiful and romantic, getaway weekend.

We stayed in the cozy Griz Den cabin.  (Cabins are limited and coveted, so it's best to reserve them far in advance.  We got lucky calling only a week in advance for the last weekend of the season.)

Bruce at the Grizz Den cabin, Holland Lake Lodge, 2012

Our misty view  from our cabin.

If we had wanted a camp fire, there's a fire pit in front of the cabin on the Lake's edge.

I do enjoy cooking and even welcome the sparsity and challenges of camp-cooking, but I also appreciate after a hike and a shower to simply stroll up to a Lodge with a good restaurant for drinks and dinner. At Holland Lake Lodge I can expect to enjoy a simple menu of well-prepared food and a decent glass of wine.  The Lodge is an intimate structure originally built in 1924 with additions and remodeling from the 30s.  It's not overdone like the  casino- or resort-style 'western' lodges scattered around the Rockies. For this Goldilocks, it's 'just right' comfort in the woods. You get the luxury of a well prepared meal while nestled into a gorgeous setting with a fire crackling nearby.   (You can also get a room in the Lodge.) 

Holland Lake Lodge on a rainy day, October 2012

If you go, be sure to say hello to our new friend, Gary, a toad we met on our first night along the path by the Lodge gift shop. 

Gary, the Toad, Holland Lake, 2012

Walking around the Lake, look for birds of prey waiting around in the top of a snag, like this eagle.

 
You can hike an easy couple of miles up to the Falls, which looks something like this.  

Holland Lake Falls, Toni Maltock © 2012

See Bruce?  He's the tiny figure wearing a blue jacket in the lower left portion of the frame.  He went ALL the way up to within a few feet of the falls.

You can sit on big rocks and look at the falls or turn around and have a view of the Lake.

Nothing to sneeze at, eh?  As the clouds shift the sunlight in and out, we took a few snaps to commemorate the rejuvenating weekend.

Then we scrambled back down this path to the Lodge for drinks and a delicious dinner.

Studio Note: Holland Lake is one of the primary locations for the art video that I made titled 'you don't hear me'.  A sample of that video is on my art website, ToniMatlock.com, (click) here.

Full disclosure: We are friends with the owner of Holland Lake Lodge, Christian, so we we can't help but have a behind-the-scenes appreciation of the Lodge's history and its operations.

For more photos of the Lodge, go to their Facebook fanpage, or follow their blog. Visit the HollandLakeLodge.com website for reservation information for next Spring or Summer. 

places to stay in Paris

Places to Stay: Paris.

Starting now, I'm creating a new category, Places to Stay, for keeping track of hotels, resorts, B&Bs, by-owner-rentals, and all. The category will be more like a list than proper reviews.  The goal is simple:  track places I have stayed and want to revisit, or places that someone recommended.  By posting them publicly I hope to get reports from others on these places, lists of other good places, plus be able to easily share it all with friends.

What better city to begin than Paris?

First off, we booked our trip last minute.  And booked our rooms even later last minute.  By simply Googling for recommendations, I found reviews of 'budget' hotels that looked perfect for college kids - how about a big dull room with four beds in it and a bathroom down the hall?  Or reviews for 'boutique' hotels, which were way out of my price range - 350 clams a night. Or their website was so fancy I was almost too intimidated to even ask the price of a room. My criteria was 1) good location, central for walking the city but a little south of the bulk of the tourist hotels if possible, probably the 5th arrondissment and maybe near Rue Mouffetard, 2) not break the bank, 3) have some charm and hopefully be a little independent place (rather than a big commercial hotel).

stairway at Hotel des Nations Saint Germain

In desperation, I went onto Twitter and did a shout out.  @LightbulbDesign from London instantly saved our bacon with a great list of places to try. (She saved our crumpets in the past, too!) To my regret, I have since lost that list and cannot even find the posts on Twitter, so I only have information on one place - the hotel where we stayed.  Losing her list is just more reason for me to collect such notes into a blog post!

Because it was so late in the game, we booked a hotel that had availability and would let us book online.  A couple of hotels required email exchanges for a reservation and I was too freaked out that we would be sleeping in the train station to wait for replies.

Cute Flower shop across the street from Hotel des Nations Saint Germain

We stayed at Hotel des Nations Saint Germain and liked it, especially the location.  Their website described the location well, "located on the left bank of Paris, near the Panthéon, Notre Dame Cathedral and the Luxembourg Garden.  The nearest metro station Place Monge (line 7) gives easy reach to the Louvre Museum and the Opera District. Also near the station Cardinal Lemoine (line 10) and several bus lines."  The room we stayed in was small and just fine by my standards, but I would warn people to not expect American scaled rooms (but I'd warn the same to people traveling anywhere outside the U.S.) and specifically, it's good to know in advance that the shower is smaller than a phone booth. Personally, I was totally fine with it.  

Phone Booth Shower

Our friends stayed at Hotel Saint-Jaques, also in the Latin Quarter.  Their location wasn't far from ours and I think they would recommend it.  They had a room on an upper floor which sounded worth a little extra for its added romantic feel and of course, a tad bit more sky in their view.  They also had a tub with a handheld shower feature rather than a shower, which they sounded fine (and even amused) to use. 

Since returning, a friend highly recommended a place that coincidentally I had tried to email for reservations for us, before I panicked and booked the other place. Hotel Grandes Ecoles looks good for its excellent location, also in the Latin Quarter very close to where we stayed, plus a wonderful courtyard to enjoy during warmer seasons. I'd like to try them next I think.

View from our hotel window. I can stare into details of shutters, railings and drainpipes for hours.

I'm not sure who to credit, but I bookmarked websites for Jardin de Villiers, the colorful Le Maison Montparnasse and Port-Royal-Hotel. A friend put a further southeast place on my radar, Cardinal Rive Gauche, which led me to these related hotels that I might try one day, too.  When (if) I come into a major windfall, I might try a place that has French designer flare.  

Can you tell I'm preparing for a return trip?

I would also consider a flat (or apartment) rental by owner, but I understand there are some laws that restrict those in Paris, so I'll do more research before booking one. A NY Times travel review by Marc Gross mentioned Studios Paris for short-term rentals, so maybe I'll start there.  (Studios Paris, 4, rue Androuet, 18th; (33-977) 219-888, paris-apartment-rent.com.)

places to stay in Missoula

It is slim pickin's for great hotels in Missoula.  Some fancy resorts and lodges nearby, sure, and a few good B&B's probably (my favorite, Foxglove Cottage, closed), but not truly great hotels that I would highly recommend.  Personally, Bruce and I love to stay in historic old hotels right downtown in the cities we visit.  While rumors persist of someone reviving the hotel aspect of the Florence Building and other buildings here, Missoula doesn't have anything like that, yet.  So there is my disclaimer to start off.

The historic Wilma building downtown is right on the river, has an independent theater that hosts films, live concerts and local theatrical events.  It's been being restored with fabulous condos and some are available for rent by the night.  I've been in them and they are wonderful AND they are on par in cost with the most 'nice' hotels in town. (At the time of posting this, about $125-$150/night)  I don't know about the services or other details but for quality of spaces and location, I easily recommend Stay at the Wilma.

A couple of nice hotels - where my folks stay - are  right downtown and near the river.  The Holiday Inn Parkside (not to be confused with Holiday Inn Express which is also here) is closest to the Farmer's Market and just a block off of Higgins Street for a lot of shopping and dining options. The Doubletree (a Hilton) is a few blocks further, also close to everything, and has the only restaurant and deck right on the river (Finn & Porter) in this town which is nice for breakfast, drinks, etc.  Both have easy access to the trails along the river, too. 

Less spendy are the motels mostly along Broadway and Brooks Streets.  Friends who just came through on a cross-country Harley trip requested affordable and downtown, so I sent them to Mountain Valley Inn.  Mostly plain and a little vintage looking, the rooms are well kept.  We stayed there once while remodeling a house while living in it and were without a bathroom for a few days.  Plus, when I ran the Big Sky Documentary Film Fest a few years back, the manager at Mountain Valley generously sponsored a bunch of rooms to host filmmakers and were super accommodating, so I gladly throw them some biz in return for their support.  

That's all I have to offer for first-hand experience on the motel scene. I've stayed in many motels and Thunderbirds across the U.S. and enjoyed them, but not here yet.  Based on drive-by appearances alone, I suggest seeing motels in this town before you book your room if you can.  Certain motels rent rooms by the month and have a reputation for stumbling drunks and regular 911 calls.  And if that's your scene, knock yourself out, man.

Several chain hotels are here near exits, too, if that's what you want.  You don't need my help finding those of course.  It's a university town, so everything is packed for Griz games, Freshman orientation and so on, so keep that in mind as well.

Finally, more and more people here are renting out little bungalows, apartments over garages and their houses for the summer, a weekend or by the night.  Check out sites like VRBO (Vacation Rental By Owner) to find some great places. If you are looking to fish and stay close to Missoula, I suggest looking at listings out Rock Creek.  I hope one day to build a guesthouse for friends and family, but I'm a long way from such a decadent arrangement. 

This post is just on Missoula but there are many great places near here in other towns.  I'll build that list, too, so let me know if you have requests and I'll do them sooner rather than later.

****** 

I am growing the 'guide to visiting Missoula' section of this blog to help answer more inquiries for visitors.  I have lived in Missoula fifteen years now and have gotten many emails or phone calls with simple questions like where to stay.  I've concluded that this blog is a good place to make it available to anyone. Point your friends and loved ones here if they are heading to Missoula.  I'll do my best to make suggestions on whatever their interests or find someone appropriate who can.  And if you have particular topics of interest about visiting Missoula, just let me know.  

Links for Places to Stay in Missoula:

Stay at the Wilma Rentals

Mountain Valley Inn

The Doubletree Hilton