Day 346
Essex, Montana
It was with a heavy heart we left Sprague Creek campsite. The setting was so beautiful, besides Lake McDonald, the pitch just perfect, and one of our best campground hosts ever in Ed. Also we hadn’t managed to achieve what we came here for, to ride the whole of The Going-to-the-Sun-Road. Still we couldn’t wait here for a month for its proposed open date so off we had to go.
Tom had a bit of a secret smile on his face, he had a surprise in store, we were to stay in a quirky hotel as a pre-birthday treat! Yes I know I’m milking this birthday but it’s the big one, 60, and quite frankly it’s not one I’m looking forward too. 40 wasn’t so bad, hell I’d been in my twenties just over 10 years before and my body hadn’t discovered achy knees etc. 50, well again it was fine, I’d met Tom, life was fun again, but 60 is different. OK the aches and pains are not too bad and I am fit enough to ride round the world after all. No, it’s the realisation that I have had my 3 score and the next score or so if I am lucky will be all I get, and that’s kind of hard to accept. So, I am determined to enjoy every minute, and if it means a few extra treats, well so be it!
The roads were quieter than when we arrived at the park thank goodness and we soon discovered that Joe, our last WS host was spot on, the views were stunning. We were riding just 37 miles and although hills were threatened it wasn’t too bad, and even better, the sun had its hat on!
So, what about this quirky hotel eh? Well we stayed at the Izaak Walton Inn in Essex, previously also called Walton. Named for the author of ‘The Compleat Angler’, Izaak, a writer and fisherman, was born in Stafford England in 1583. A Royalist, at great personal risk, he had managed to save some of the British Crown Jewels from Cromwell’s men after the final battle of the Civil War. These he smuggled to London where they were then taken out of England and given to the exiled Charles II! Fishing became his passion and he spent the last 40 years of his life visiting fellow enthusiasts, one of whom was George Cotton, another famous angler, and in whose house, now a hotel, the Cotton Inn at Dove, was where Tom and I celebrated our Cotton (2nd) Anniversary!
So, to the Inn. Build in 1939 to accommodate up to 400 railway workers, who prior to it’s construction had to find accommodation as best they could, often living in abandoned railway carriages and even tents. Not much fun in a Montana winter. The building is built in the style of the Tudor era, and today is full of memorabilia of the railway and Glacier National Park. The staff still pop out twice a day to wave at the two passenger trains as they pass. Just a short distance up the track is the only request stop for Amtrak's Empire Building Route. You can stay in one of the hotels 33 rooms or rent one of the converted railway carriages. The food was some of the best we have eaten in the States and as we ate Alaskan haddock and chips I also have to say, some of the best fish and chips I have ever eaten. Coming from a town where fish and chips is basically our national dish that is saying a lot! We had a fun evening after catching up on the blog. I discovered that Huckleberry Lemonade tastes fantastic with a double vodka and it also improved my skills on the Shuffle Board. I believe I won, but my memory is somewhat hazy.
