(Read the intro post for background on this trip)

Andrew (24) got an early start today since we had about seven hours of driving today plus stops. We left Spokane and drove through Coere d’Alene, Idaho; it’s really pretty here with the mountains and big lake. We didn’t have time to stop, but I think it would be nice to come back.

We had hoped to try the Nutburger at Matt’s Place in Butte, Montana; this was one of the historical burgers we had really wanted to try. They cooked this burger on their original 1930s cast iron cooktop and topped it with chopped peanuts and Miracle Whip, which sounds odd but apparently worked. They had even won a James Beard award. Unfortunately, they’ve closed permanently. It looks like they had been for sale for a while including through June 2020; my guess is that no one wanted to buy a restaurant during the pandemic. Sad.

So, we kept driving through to Bozeman, Montana. My dad did his masters degrees at Montana State University there; it was also born there although I have no recollection since we moved away when I was two. Still, it was pretty cool to visit campus and walk around a little. It was crowded with students returning to school, so we didn’t want to brave the lines to buy a t-shirt. I’ll have to get one online.

We finished up in Gardiner, Montana. This is at the north entrance to Yellowstone Park, where we will spend the day tomorrow. After walking around a bit and checking out the Roosevelt Arch marking the entrance to Yellowstone. (Interesting connection to Seattle – the arch was initially proposed by Hiram Chittenden who also was instrumental in the design of the locks in Ballard that are named for him.)

After that we had dinner at the Iron Horse Bar & Grille. In line with our burger theme, Andrew and I tried the elk burger and the bison burger. Meh. The patties were thin but well cooked, with a little char on the outside for flavor. Both were dry and mostly similar to beef burgers, although the elk burger had a little more distinctive and gamey flavor. They listed brioche buns on the menu, but the ones that came out were more like ciabatta. The fries were commercially produced battered fries (the same ones as in one of the restaurants Andrew worked in), but I like them since they’re crispy on the outside and soft inside. Overall, the meal was ok but nothing memorable. The staff was friendly, and the outdoor deck overlooking the Yellowstone River and hills was nice (even though the air quality index was ~150, which is pretty bad and noticeable, presumably due to wildfire smoke.

Andrew with half of an elk burger and half of a bison burger at Iron Horse Bar & Grille

We hope to hit Yellowstone early tomorrow to get ahead of the crowds, so it’s an early night for us!