“In our family, there was no clear line between religion and fly fishing.”
- Norm Maclean, A River Runs Through It
More than a year ago My Best Favorite declared that he was planning a surprise trip for us. For weeks leading up to the trip he diligently checked the weather and helped me pack. I had some ideas about where he might be taking me, all of which were wrong. In a true serendipitous moment, however, after peeping his fly-fishing gear in the checked luggage, I grabbed the book A River Runs Through It and stuffed it into my bag last-minute thinking it might be a fun read-aloud. It wasn’t until he handed me my boarding pass at the airport that I learned we were headed to Montana for the week and had plans to fish the exact river that they fish in the book I had just packed.
We landed in Belgrade and, immediately after picking up the rental truck, Googled places to eat. We ended up at The Local American Saloon where we ate burgers and fish tacos and drank beer and Huckleberry White Russians.
After filling our bellies, we made the hour and a half drive to Anaconda (famous for its 585-foot free-standing brick smelting tower) where we dropped our luggage at our condo and went to buy groceries for the week. The condo, while definitely dated, was super cute and very conducive to our needs while we were there.
Below are photos of my Best Favorite in a smelting pot.
As we settled in on our first night, we excitedly attempted to see the Northern lights but did not have much luck.
Day 1:
We traveled back towards the airport on our first day after reading about a gem festival happening at the Gallatin County Fairgrounds. We perused gems and other treasures, ate lunch, and continued our adventure into downtown Bozeman. We came across the MeatEater retail store, and if you know my Best Favorite you’ll understand just how hard he fan-girled while we shopped the racks. Steve Rinella, founder of MeatEater, did a book signing last year that we attended so it was extra cool to visit his retail store after having met him.
We checked out several other places in downtown Bozeman including Country Bookshelf which is one of the cutest bookstores I have ever visited. Of course I found multiple books I had to buy.
On our way back from Bozeman we stopped in Butte. There’s a book/TV series (The Terminal List written by Jack Carr) that My Best Favorite has a slight obsession with and there's a particular bourbon (Never Sweat) mentioned in the series that's distilled at Headframe Spirits in Butte. So, there was no question as to whether or not we would make a stop there. We had the most delicious cocktails (more Huckleberry) and bought all the merch they had to offer. With more cocktails on the menu we wanted to try, we knew we would make a return trip, especially since Butte is only about 20 minutes from where we stayed in Anaconda.
Second Edition Books boasts that it is Montana’s best used bookstore, so from the distillery
we walked across the street and bought more books.
After not much success with the Northen Lights our first night, we did not have high hopes for the second night, but what an experience we had!
Day 2:
Day two started with a Mother’s Day breakfast in the backyard at our condo. It was a nice lazy morning and set the tone for the day. We stayed close to home and ventured around Anaconda which really means we drank beer at Smelter City Brewing and shopped antiques all day long (Brewery Antiques which was honestly more of a fur shop and Black Dog Antiques) with lunch at Donivan's in between.
The below photo is the necklace I bought at Black Dog Antiques!
Day 3:
We had planned for Glacier National Park this day but when the alarm sounded, we both rolled over and went back to sleep. Once finally up for the day we decided we wanted sweets, so we hopped in the rental truck and set off for Philipsburg. Before getting out of Anaconda though, we stopped at Rainbow Sporting Goods to get supplies for fly-fishing. The owner regaled us tales of her late husband and the 50th anniversary the shop had just celebrated. Due to her husband’s passing and her own health, the owner did her best trying to convince us to one day take over the shop. With all sorts of ideas in our heads, we then made the 40-minute drive to Philipsburg where it was recommended that we visit The Sweet Palace. Before we could even get to the candy shop, we had browsed the sales rack at Whimsy Boutique and gotten a recommendation to eat at Kiko's Mexican Restaurant. So, eat at Kiko's we did. The horchata was one of the best parts of the day!
After lunch we walked to Philipsburg Brewing Company where we shared a Mexican-style lager.
Finally, we arrived at The Sweet Palace. It was ginormous, old-school, and the aroma was heavenly. I was so overwhelmed by all the choices that all I bought was a few pieces of Huckleberry taffy and my Best Favorite bought a small chunk of Huckleberry fudge. This place was amazing, and we were thankful for the recommendation. Had we had more time I could have gone wild and come home with bags and bags of sweet treats.
While still in Philipsburg, we checked out the public library (so cute, quaint, and cozy), Stuff and Such Antiques (the owner attempted to convince us to buy the business), and Gem Mountain (beautiful jewelry and other treasures).
I fell in love with Philipsburg and believe I could have stayed there the rest of the week, but we had so many adventures still awaiting us so away we went to Arlee where we visited The Garden of 1,000 Buddha's. The garden is a spiritual site, public park, botanical garden, and Buddhist center featuring a gravel walking path with mountain views, stupas, a small lake, and inspirational quotes sprinkled throughout the path.
Day 4:
Finally, with enough sleep, we woke up early and ready for a day at Glacier National Park. It was a 4-hour drive (8-hour round-trip) with a route through Kalispell where my Best Favorite knew he wanted to stop at Black Rifle Coffee Company and buy a new Montana Knife Comapny knife. Here he fan-girled more as he ogled all the knives while sipping some cold brew, and he didn't leave empty handed.
While a bit drizzly when we first arrived, the weather was perfect. We ended up hiking just over 5 miles along the Avalanche Trail and picnicked at Lake McDonald. I was amazed and obsessed with the colorful pebbles/rock/boulders, especially the purple ones. I absolutely by no means consider myself a hiker and that much exertion is a challenge for me, but by God, the sights were amazing and well-worth the effort.
Day 5:
We had hoped to fish the Blackfoot River (the river in the book A River Runs Through It) on our way back from Glacier National Park. Due to all of our delays though we didn't have enough daylight, so we went the next day. I was not excited about driving back to Missoula just to fish this river, but I am so glad that we did. It was one of the best parts of the trip and incredibly relaxing. I made a pup friend and could have stayed the entire day in this exact spot, but like our time in Philipsburg, we knew more adventures awaited, so away we went, but not without first eating lunch at River City Grill.
Returning to Headframe Spirits seemed like destiny on this particular day. They were hosting a Drink It Like You Mean It event which promoted a local artist raising money for the missing and murdered indigenous women of Montana. Her artwork was incredible, and we were happy to drink (Huckelberry Manhattan, orange cream cocktail, and pistachio cream cocktail) and donate to the cause. We even had a chance to take a *somewhat* educational tour of the distillery and my Best Favorite got to pour and label his own bottle of the Never Sweat bourbon. How fun?!
While still in Butte we drove around the town checking out the views and neighborhoods.
Before the day was done, we also found ourselves on a driving tour (thanks to the Smelter City head brewmaster we randomly met along the side of the road) around Anaconda's backwoods which was equal parts (for me) beautiful and terrifying. That statement is no way a dig at my Best Favorite's driving abilities; I'm just fearful of falling from great heights and the drive offered many chances for such an occurance.
Day 6:
Our last day we stayed close to home to rest, relax, clean, and pack. There was a resort next to our condo calling itself a hot spring so we decided that would be a good way to relax. While this was simply a heated pool and a hot tub and not actual hot springs, it was no less relaxing. After some time in the heated water, we made our way back into Anaconda for garlic knots from Gallicano's Pizzeria. We also did more antiquing/thrifting before taking an extra order of garlic knots back to the condo to munch on while packing.
I am so proud of my Best Favorite for pulling off such a successful surprise and I am beyond thankful for the week we had together adventuring and dreaming. We came home with a Montana flag that now hangs in our house as motivation to work towards the dreams of our future and as a reminder of such a successful surprise.
Here’s to the next adventure, be it surprise or not, and may there be no clear lines between religion and fly-fishing.
