We left Chicago on a steamy June 30 and arrived in an even steamier St. Louis, Missouri mid-morning. The first place (last time I looked) St. Louis Cardinals new home stands in the foreground of the St. Louis Arch, gateway to the west though St. Joseph, Missouri town fathers are still steaming because they believe the Oregon Trail started there but who the hell would go to St. Joseph, Missouri? Come to think of it, not that many people go to St. Louis.
During our stay we visited world famous - no exaggeration - Ted Drewes Frozen Custard on Hampton though there is one on South Grand as well. This man could have franchised a thousand times over but has stayed in two sites and is ten-deep at every window all day long. This stuff is amazing and the concrete is a shake that will not fall out of the cup unless you buy it on a typical 98 degree St. Louis day.
We left St. Louis July 1 and traveled to Hays, Kansas where we spent the night then awoke early to drive to Steamboat Springs, Colorado and the Rabbit Ears Motel. The sign in the picture was built in 1952, my birth year, and is a town landmark even if it is incredibly kitchy. While in Steamboat Springs, we visited our favorite ranch in the west, Vista Verde. I guess you'd call it a dude ranch but more like a guest ranch that an occasional dude wanders into. We spend Christmas there every other year and fortunately 2011 is that other year. I discovered a lot of features I'd never seen under fifty feet of snow.
We left Steamboat Springs at 4 a.m. July 5 driving through Wyoming and on into Jackson and through the gates of the renown National Elk Preserve. We went from asphalt to gravel to a really uneven and rutted and rock strewn and frightening forest service dirt road that led to a little piece of heaven called Flat Creek Ranch. Only five cabins and only 12 guests but with the food service of a five-star Paris restaurant and a wine list that would make Robert Parker feel at home. And a setting that leaves your mouth ajar or agape or just plain wide open.
After four lovely days at Flat Creek, we left Jackson and crossed over the Teton Pass into Idaho, and I immediately had a hankerin' for a big, fluffy, butter and bacon filled potato. After a long hard day of driving through Idaho and Montana we arrived at 1161 Whispering Rock in Bigfork.
A couple of days later we drove up Going to the Sun Road in Glacier National Park. Due to heavy winter and spring snows, it only opened July 13, the latest opening since the 1950s. During our drive we encountered Heaven's Peak.
Bryan Sanzotti submitted a close, but incorrect answer so he will get a steak knife not knives. Thanks for playing Bryan. Get a life.
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