get OUT of town!

We have been hearing from locals that "this is winter in Walla Walla-- grey skies, no sun and under 30 degrees everyday." The right-out-of-town landscape is a barren yellow where the wheat or soybeans were harvested. Some faint hint of green sometimes lines the dirt, but we can't believe anything is going to grow before April when it's been 28 degrees every day as the high. Some folks report the need for SAD lights*** or a trip to Arizona to get them through.

We spontaneously decided to pop in the car for a road trip east (not ALL the way east.) I did download a phone app of the Washington and Idaho DOT so you can tell which mountain passes are clear or which require chains to get over. In my steel-studded tires, we hit Idaho in two hours and Montana in five. Judd had researched hot springs along the way and Lolo Pass (5233 feet) also had a lodge, cabins and a saloon. Yes! The terrain gets greener and forest-ier as we, once again, traversed along the Lewis and Clark trail. This route was their eastward way home and although they went in June to Oct, it still must have been incredibly cold and rough going. The pass has already seen 17 inches of snow this season.

We got to the lodge which was all decked out and then discovered that we had reserved a cabin, not a room in the lodge. The cabins were across the street, run by a different team. The Lewis Room was decorated cutely, but we could see our breath. Judd valiantly went to up the thermostat and turn on the heater but when I remarked that there were icicles dripping out of the sink faucet and he found the water in the toilet frozen, we decided it was a little TOO rustic. We went back to check in desk and they put us in the Clark Room, cursing the cleaning woman who must have turned the heat down too far. The next cabin was warm enough. Same art work over the bed-- a big mural-like drawing of white men coming upon Native Americans at a river--Didn't look violent yet. For purchase for $650. Hmmm--where would it look good? We unpacked so we could head over to the saloon for dinner and then the hot springs.
We were the only patrons in the saloon, but then we dine so elderly-early that perhaps the crowds were coming in later after skiing/snowmobiling. We had a great steak and potatoes dinner and met the local Santa, getting ready for a kid event the next day. The hot springs are in- and out-doors. We opted for the indoor pool attached to the changing room as it was 17 degrees outside. The water, at 105 degrees, was awesome. And if you think about the tingling sensation as the minerals doing healthy things for your, it takes away 'ew' factor of a public hot tub.

The cabin included breakfast which we were told would start at 8:00. We were up and about by 7:30 so read books until 8-- Judd reading The Stranger in the Woods (the Maine hermit) and me reading The Other Einstein (about Albert's first wife.) Then, come to find out, the posted winter hours are for breakfast to start at 9:00am. We decided to just get a move on and have breakfast in Missoula. The town has a cute downtown at the foot of some big Bitterroot Mountains. We had too much food for breakfast at The Shack and then did a little shopping downtown. We were on the road by 11:00 and back in Walla Walla via Spokane by 4:30. We took ourselves to a new wine tasting room: Eternal and learned that the Mexican restaurant next door, The Saint and the Sinner was having their last night. We spoke with the chef who was running a special on his chicken enchilada (grandmother's recipe.) He is moving on up to Bon Appetite. We hear a Greek restaurant will be moving into WW. We're okay with that too. Now, about those SAD lights......