Okay, it was the first day of spring….birds were chirping and sunshine bathed the landscape. So what did we Rocky Mountain Kids decide to do? Go the annual snow rodeo of course! We knew there wouldn’t be any fast food joints or grocery stores for a lot of miles. So, we loaded up some brown paper bags with snacks and water, put on our snow boots, and headed for Essex. There was still plenty of snow up there near the continental divide to remind us that Spring has only sprung and it’ll be awhile before we’ll have full access to mountain trails. The town of Essex really isn’t a town at all, but a railyard, some residences, and of course the Isaac Walton Inn. Before checking out the rodeo, we took a peek around the historic lodge.
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| This is the rear view of the historic Isaac Walton Inn – Essex, Montana |
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| See those snow shoes? Before I moved to MT, I thought I’d be using something like that to trudge around in the snow. Now I know that modern ones are made out of aluminum and some are annodized in different shades of the rainbow to make them pretty. By the way, you can rent snowshoes and skis at the lodge…..take lessons too! |
It was delightfully charming and rustic with typical western decor and fireplace. It was very family friendly, if you don’t mind spending about 150.00 a night during peak season. Try to go before June 16 and save a few bucks. I really loved the ambiance. The basement boasted a bar, pool table, and juke box.
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| E fakes playing pool pretty good. |
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| Leave your mark with a greenback and tack it to the ceiling. |
Another room especially for kids had a ping pong table, and a good assortment of kid vids. I just imagined being there in the dead of winter watching the snow fly in the warm surroundings.
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| We weren’t as good as Forrest Gump. Speaking of Forrest, you do know that he runs on the Sun Rd. in Glacier, right? |
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| Aren’t these bottles pretty? I just love the way the sun light shines through? |
Okay this is starting to sound like an advertisement, but unfortunately I’m not getting paid for these glowing remarks. After concluding it might be nice to spend some R and R there one day, we headed up the hill to watch the rodeo.
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