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. 

when the folks are in town

Dick and Mabel love going for a drive.  Which might help explain their spontaneous 2,000 mile road trips to visit me. 

The Bitterroot valley is a close beautiful drive we make every few years or so with them.  This time we stopped for a quick bite and gelato at Cafe Firenze in Stevensville.

They enjoy bird watching so we hoped to take a walk around the Lee Metcalf National Wildlife Refuge but the trail was flooded.

Flycatcher

We saw a couple of birds they don't see in the Midwest as we drove by, though.

Osprey

One night we had a fun dinner (and dessert) out at a newer restaurant, Sapore. 

Mom ordered the special dessert, a Root Beer Float, then tried pointing the finger at Dad.

 

She shared a couple of sips with us.

Dad stops at every historical marker if you give him a chance.  They were only here a few days, but we squeezed in a trip to Fort Missoula which they usually like, stopping into the Historical Museum just before it closed.  And then we wandered around the new Native Plant Garden.  

Marilyn Marler

We were greeted by Marilyn Marler, Vice President of the Montana Natural History Center's Board of Directors, who was trimming branches and prepping for upcoming events.    

Marilyn identified two shrubs for me that I didn't recognize.   The Blue Eldeberry, apparently a volunteer, was tall with fanning white flowers.  Dad is big lover of Eldeberries and has picked many in Indiana (Bloomington area) where they used to grow like weeds along fence lines. A native plant to the Rockies, now I want to plant one. The Twinberry had a good upright growth, with yellow trumpet flowers and drippy purple fruit.  

Strawberries

Mom saw this hollowed out log and said, "Doesn't that look fun?"  So Dad had her sit in it.

And I insisted on pictures of course.

Patience personified.

The center built a simple, stable and handsome arbor. I took photos to remember the design for future reference.

This water tank is a commanding part of the view from the Natural History Center.  Dad was admiring its pieced construction and speculating its age with me when Mom asked me what kind of flower is graffiti-painted on it.  "Oops, well, I think that would be a marijuana leaf, Mom."  Moving on...  

For more on the Natural History Center check out their website or  their blog.

*****

My parents are in great shape for being in their 80s, but they don't walk like they used to.  Still one night after dinner, we took a nice breezy sunset loop along the Clark-Fork River starting at Finn and Porter restaurant at the Hilton Doubletree Hotel.

Heading north to south, we crossed the Madison Street walk/bike bridge first to see how much the river has been rising. (It doesn't translate well in photos but trust me, it's been a lot.)

walked over this red skull-faced Panda on the bridge

reading about the Missoula valley along the river trail

Mom and Adam (nephew) behind Dad

Watching adventurers practicing on boards in Brennan's Wave from the Higgins Street bridge in the middle of downtown completed the sight-seeing. 

To finish the loop, we headed back to the hotel along the river trail on the north side of the river.  Mom was exhausted but appreciated the walk, especially after having had yet another dessert at dinner again.  (As usual when they visit or I visit them, we had dessert every single day and/or night.)

For a low-calorie visual dessert, here's a few inspiring minutes of women free-style kayaking on Brennan's Wave.  Video by competitive freestyle kayaker Polly Green at Flair Films.

The Swimmer

This summer, we took a lazy, meandering road trip for three weeks to the Midwest and back. Night after night we rolled into towns, perused our options and stayed in hotels.  Many times we searched out the ones with a pool so I could swim.  Shedding my anxieties of work and life, and reflecting on visits with friends and family, I swam the length of each different pool. Back and forth, the obvious metaphoric cleanse became a simple satisfying ritual.  I felt like I swam across the country in a way. 

Burt Lancaster came to my mind.  Starring in the 1968 movie, The Swimmer, Lancaster played Ned Merrill. His body is fit but his mind is troubled. (Um, mine is the reverse, in my biased estimation.) The film, written by John Cheever and Eleanor Perry and directed by Frank Perry, has a simple and unorthodox structure, slowly revealing relationships, conflicts and the character's flaws. I don't love every scene, especially in the last half, but I love the steady rhythm of the film, the masterful use of subtext to move the story forward - instead of plot - and without question, Lancaster delivers as Ned Merrill. It's a fleshy surreal expression of human corruption as authentic as I feel I've ever observed in life. Oh and p.s. watch for a great little bit part from Joan Rivers.

get the message?

Supporting the reduce, reuse, recycle agenda is one good thing. Making the point effectively is another. 


This new piece from GOOD magazine hits the message home the way I like it most - strong and straight from the hip.

living patio, part 5

thyme in our living patio

I want to give a plug (ha, get it?) for my source for plug trays, Mountain Valley Growers.  I have been xeriscape and organic gardening for years now. I buy almost all of our plants and trees from local nurseries and prefer plants that have been raised in my region rather than shipped.  I also favor native plants except in the case of this patio.

When I have order something in bulk that I cannot count on locally, Mountain Valley has become my go to place.  They are certified organic growers out of Squaw Valley, California and have a decent website for study or shopping. They were super conscientious about sending thyme plants (especially to Montana) properly and at a time when they wouldn't just melt away in a mail truck from the heat or freeze (since I got them in April).  

I was very impressed by the health of the plugs and am pleased with how they are maturing.  Yay!

Healing whatever ails you

with water and really good friends.

Break out my new suit at Flathead Lake.

Wear fabulous hats on our boat ride.

Until it starts to rain.

Lazy around the rest of the afternoon.

Then, head to Hot Springs.

Stay at Alameda's Motel with vintage stove and fridge. Soak at Leroy's tubs just up the hill. Dine at Symes with live music and dancing.

Don't miss the Huckleberry Festival!

Make friends with traveling craft vendors.