ELKHORN HOT SPRINGS AND HOME FRIES

I am sitting in my jammies under a giant 6 x 6 elk head in the darkened lobby of Elkhorn Hot Springs and Lodge in Polaris, Montana under the light of the only lamp that is on tonight. It is only 9:00 pm. A few moments ago, I walked over from the Hot Springs building after my soak for the night. The stars are very, very bright tonight; a faint smudge of the Milky Way streaks across the sky. It is so cold that on the short trek back my body, even heated up from the hot springs pool, began to chill as we walked the short distance from the pools to the lodge. But now I am warm, sitting in my little pool of light, thinking about how vastly different are the lives of people that intentionally shuck the business of business in the city to live more simply in remote villages like this.

Besides my son Daniel and me, there were a handful of lively young people playing beach ball in the smaller of the two outdoor pools of the Springs. I spoke to one young man who is living the life here in remote Montana, working three days a week at the very local ski resort, Maverick Mountain, trying to make enough with that and occasional other work in the Polaris Valley to live in a place that bleeds serenity. I have met people like this – people who work in Yellowstone or Glacier or other remote Western villages. You can often find them at the day’s end at places like this hot springs or at the local watering hole.

I don’t like to use the word ‘rustic’ to describe these remote mountain places. To say that Elkhorn Resort is rustic is so subjective. Some people would consider the hotels and homes in Vail, Colorado ‘rustic’ for example, but that kind of very planned and very perfect rusticism is a far cry from the eclectic themes of places like this. Elkhorn’s main decorations in the lodge are hunting trophy heads and Audubon-like drawings of trophy heads. The 6x6 elk and another enormous trophy head of a moose have the prime corner over the sofas. I am guessing that in its long history, this place has been a popular hunting lodge. I would say Elkhorn lies somewhere between shabby and chic without really being either one of them. Their website calls their décor “spartan” but it is also clean and warm and homey which suits me just fine.
 

I’m sure when they are very busy, the barman bustles at the old bar in the main gathering room of the lodge. But it is a Sunday night in the middle of January. Only two of us are staying in the main lodge tonight with another two staying in one of the rustic cabins on the property. The lodge has the feel of a big family house where you are a guest, expected to get your own water from the tap behind the bar and to feel free to top off your coffee in the morning. Where you are welcome to bring your late night snacks down to the tables set for tomorrow morning’s breakfast and to pull a brew out of the bar frig late at night as long as you leave a note to add it to your bill.

Getting to Elkhorn from Missoula means driving through yet another of Montana’s astonishing valleys, the Bitterroot. Small towns break up the unending range land, mountains paralleling on either side. On this trip, snow starts at the edge of the road and runs all the way in an unending blanket to the top of the mountains on both sides.

Long past Hamilton, the 4-land divided road becomes narrower and snow blew across road the closer we got to the valley called Big Hole. We had not had cell service for miles. The road stays mostly clear until we get past Big Hole, the locus of one of the biggest mistakes in the Indian Wars – a massacre that killed many innocent Nez Pierce women and children and nearly wiped out the troops that did the killing. The Big Hole valley is wide and luscious – certainly a valley worth fiercely defending as the Nez Pierce did.

Leaving the Big Hole, we drove through Wisdom and Jackson, small towns with a few ranches and several summer cabins punctuate the snowy landscape. It is good to be reminded that it is still possible to find small, local places like this one. We finally arrive at Polaris and then Elkhorn Hot Springs, our destination for the next few days. Where we find the locals outnumber visitors in January but treat them as old friends. 

No one locks their door here. We were not given a key for our room upstairs. “You don’t need one.” the guy taking the money for the rooms and handing out the towels at the hot springs pool says. Neighbors are neighbors here. Implicit is that you will be a good neighbor too.

Tomorrow Daniel and I are on the hunt for good cross-country skiing. We have been assured that we will find that abounds in the forest roads closed for the winter. Just strap on those skinny skis and go. Between the skiing, the stars, the hot springs and the well-prepared full egg and home fries breakfast we were presented as part of our 'package', I think we will leave Elkhorn feeing well cared for indeed.

DASHBOARD DINING AND BAJA BEACHBUMMING

I hadn’t been to Baja for a very long time. About 27 years actually. One would think in almost a quarter of a century things have changed – and they have somewhat. But the beaches and bays are still beautiful, you still have to have pesos (not credit cards) in a whole lot of the Baja and you MUST still carry toilet paper. Just in case you would like to wander on down to that glorious peninsula called Baja California, I thought I’d share with you some things I learned or remembered for traveling down there.

Guadelupe Hot Springs Rd

Dashboard dining – really this tip is about not thinking of the mileage in Baja like you would in the States – unless you live in some of the vast Southwest where the ‘roads’ are named something like “The Devil’s Road” (but that’s another story). PLAN on taking your time over the rough and sometimes downright primitive roads you will encounter regularly if you veer off one of the three main paved highways down the Baja. You might want to pack a lunch and eat on the way. You’ll be going slowly enough to eat your lunch and digest it too!

Stuck in the sand – Optimally, you will benefit from a 4WD but I drive a 10-year-old Tacoma 2WD Offroad and Yeehaw seems to take most of what the Baja offers just fine. Including the supremely rocky and rutted road up to Guadelupe Hot Springs which is not to be missed just because there are boulders you will need to squeeze by going up the mountain as well as fording a stream that you think is high enough to leave you with wet feet in your high clearance truck. Actually, these road hazards Yeehaw handles just fine but she HATES sand. Poor girl gets stuck if the sand is only surface stuff. Like on Gonzaga Bay at Punta Final where I drove off the firmer ‘road’ on to the sandy beach. Faster than you can say "UY!", Yeehaw’s wheels dug right down into the sand. I had purchased the Maxsa Sand Planks just in case and we had our first opportunity to use them to dig out one of the four vehicles we were traveling with. But I felt okay about that when we had to use them on two of the three 4WDs traveling with me. I’m telling you, the more you want to overland it, the more you ought to consider buying sand planks. There are several makes but after researching them I bought the Maxsa which is a middle-priced, bright orange plank that comes in pairs for about $150 dollars. This is a link to a little video of the first time we used them: Sand Trap

Our very own hot spring at our campsite

Money conversion – I swear if I had to do it again, I would download one of those conversion aps that DOES NOT REQUIRE WIFI to give you an answer. I just could not wrap my head around the fact that 1000 pesos is only like $55 bucks. So when you are at the Border, stop in at an exchange and get LOTS of pesos for food, grocery stores and even gas stations (more on that below). But never fear, fortunately cerveza is only 25 Pesos (about $1.50). Of course, it’s ‘all Bud Light’ you will be told if you are thinking you are going to find a Kiltlifter on tap. It’s not REALLY all Bud Light but it IS all Bud Light wannabes – Pacifico and Corona being the most common. Mexicans like their food spicy and fresh and their beer…..light.

Gas and Gas Stations – So most all of the gas stations on Baja will be Pemex, Mexico’s nationally-owned gas company. Generally, the gas didn’t seem as dear as I thought it would be. Higher than Arizona for sure and maybe even California although probably not as much nearer the Border. In the interior? You might want to research that before you travel on down the Baja. And be aware that the further south you get and away from Baja’s bigger cities (Border towns especially), even though most Pemex’s are supposed to have credit card machines, this won’t do you any good at all if the Pemex is in a town that has just lost its wifi to high winds off the Sea of Cortez or the technology of the village is just not up to the task. Make sure you have plenty of pesos for gas stations that are still on the cash only system – or might as well be.

Toilet at Dagget's Campgound

One more thing about gas stations – their toilets are generally slightly more reliable in terms of cleanliness than most other places at your option. Although the one Pemex in Gonzaga Bay didn’t have water so its toilets wouldn’t flush so it was really just a toilet in name only. You might come across one that has an attendant and you might want to pay the attendant for ‘cleaning’ up after you – and giving you a bit of toilet paper if you happened to not remember that most necessary travel item. Generally, count on having to supply your own toilet paper at all times. It’s just easier and more sanitary for everyone. And remember, if there is a large trash bin next to the toilet – that means the waste disposal system is a bit wonky so just toss your used TP in the bin – even if it offends you sensibilities. You are doing the next traveler desperate for a working toilet a favor.

Moonrise over Punta Final

Sleeping on the beach – that’s what most of us come down to the Baja to do – or at least NEAR the beach. One thing I learned this trip – if you are going to sleep in a tent, make sure the tent is low-profile. I had along my Coleman 4-person which practically taco’d in the wind coming off the sea. A good choice would be one that was designed aerodynamically to resist the wind. Sand stakes or, as most of us had, sand bags are also very useful in stabilizing your tent. Most beaches will have ‘palapas’, small grass shacks which are perfect for extra wind and sand protection. Just pitch your tent and set up your kitchen in the palapa. Also, back to toilet habits, it is acceptable to pee on the beach as long as you walk all the way down to the tide line. If you pee anywhere else, it will begin to smell like the inside of a primitive state park latrine.

Have no fear – OK, things are different in the Baja. Restrooms are not up to our cleanliness standards; you can’t drink the water (seriously don’t); spending your pesos makes you feel really poor really fast until you remember the exchange rate. Sand gets in your crotch and your shoes. Obviously Mexico has not had the pleasure of having a Lady Bird Johnson clean up the sides of the highways (more prevalent closer to the urban areas) and the soda isn’t cold and the vendor’s shop has a whole bunch of knickers (everything from whitie-tighties to thongs) hanging from his ceiling (DO stop at Coco’s Corner on the way from Gonzaga Bay to Bahia de Los Angeles).

Coco's Corner on the 'road' from Gonzaga Bay to Bahia de Los Angeles

BUT you can find a mechanic in a small village by just continuing to ask around until you are given directions on how to get to his house where your host is certain you will find help for your ailing truck. You can find Aqua Purificata vendors for purified water and the much needed ice for your coolers in all but the smallest villages. The proprietors of the restaurants serve you delicious, fresh food and make sure you know they are glad you are there. The gas station attendants are courteous and don’t laugh at your horrible Spanish. Sometimes you can get away with breaking a traffic law you didn’t even know you broke by being polite and nodding to the nice policeman a lot (yeah, that happened to me).

Remember, too, that Mexico is a developing country, our neighbor to the south – light years further along in their development of a strong middle class than even ten years ago. These are the people that are going to continue to come across our southern borders to buy our manufactured goods, assuming that our expectations of perfection means their purchases will last longer, look better and work more efficiently than ones made in Mexico. Step out of your fear zone and you will find warm and hard-working people happy to see you, happy that you have chosen their country, their Baja, their village to visit. And you will be happy that you have.

Sunrise at any beach on the east coast of the Baja