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| Entering Idaho |
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| Beautiful Idaho |
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| Montana's Capital Building |
I basically woke up freaking out because I heard this intense sound of barking dogs—very nice choice in alarm rings Katherine, very nice. Breakfast was once again delicious, but also very carb heavy, with do-it-yourself waffles and an assortment of muffins. We had a little freak out when a random man approached Estrella while she was packing up the car. Luckily, I somehow managed to pull open our window at the exact moment he approached her and then pulled a creeper move and stared and yelled at them until the whole ordeal was over. Apparently, he was “just $20 short of a greyhound home to Chicago because he had been shot and mugged in Cancun.” Estrella quickly turned him down and was able to make it back to our room safely. Yay! Our first potentially dangerous situation was quickly resolved… we feel so much like adults haha.
The 7 hour drive felt easy and was absolutely beautiful. The empty, infinite highway allowed us to bond. We discussed our hopes for the future, our fears about college, and how freaking beautiful Idaho is. Seriously! WHY did no one tell us that it would be so majestic?! It was an easy day while we screamed our hearts out to our favorite music as we passed by the mountains and grassland. On another “we never knew” note, the massive amount of bugs that hit our car was unbelievable. Fifteen minutes on the road resulted in “a modern work of art—sort of like a Jackson Pollock.” It was unbelievably gross and a little bit sad.
We made a quick stop in Blackfoot, Idaho when we saw the sign for the potato museum. After all, isn’t that what Idaho is basically known for? Our first stop in Blackfoot was at the local Walgreens where Katherine and Estrella harassed the poor, local pharmacist with all of their medical issues. They went on to buy what they assumed to be a 2 for $3 chapstick. When they found out that the chapstick was not on sale, they wanted to return it and the manager was called. As it turned out, the manager had moved to Blackfoot from LA only about two weeks ago. He then promptly asked us “why on earth would you come here?!” Not a very friendly attitude towards Idaho if you ask me, but what do I know. We saw the potato museum, bought some postcards, and then grabbed authentic baked potatoes at a local diner. We continued on our journey toward Helena (with a few immature giggles about Butte County).
After missing our exit for Helena, then finally finding our hotel, we set out to explore the city. We wandered around, received quite a few stares while we spiced up the minimal diversity in the town square, and ate dinner at a pita restaurant where people were quite rude (not nearly as nice as Idaho) although that could be because it was a Tuesday night? Who knows- STEREOTYPING IS NEVER NICE. We took some photos at a gorgeous Cathedral and the Capital building. Helena is just very…empty. Although it has a very nice charm to it with people sitting on their front porches and cute ice cream shops, I think that we all agreed that we would never live in Helena. We returned to our hotel to write some postcards and go for a night swim. Tomorrow in Calgary should be fun - finally in Canada!
Best:
- Potato museum
- Cheap food
- Wallgreens pharmacist who became our hero for the day (Katherine is healed!)
- Beautiful scenery (from desert to lush, rolling mountains)
Worst:
- SO MANY DEAD BUGS
- random man in the parking lot
- Denied buffalo burgers in Helena because it is apparently the only city in MT that doesn't serve them
