Meandering in Montana

As most of you know I recently moved to the Canadian Rockies in British Columbia. That's a long way from my beloved Toronto (and my equally beloved Paris where I studied on two occasions)!

Because this area is very new to us, when we have time off together the boy and I like to head out and explore. Sometimes we explore up and down the Canadian Rockies. Sometimes we head to Spokane. Sometimes we head to Idaho (Coeur D'Alene and Sandpoint are fan favourites). And sometimes we head to Montana.

That's what we did this weekend - we meandered in Montana. :o) On Saturday morning we woke up early, got ready and ran for the border. Because we were heading to the U.S. I was limited in what we could pack to nibble on. We try to cross the border without any food so I relied on my usual mix of dates, dried cranberries, and almonds. I ate those in the car on the way down. (I had already eaten most of my mix by the time I remembered to take a picture)


When we arrived at our destination we decided to do some shopping. Funny thing is for the most part we emerged empty handed from stores. I guess we have pretty much everything that we need or want at the moment. Sure there are things for the house I'd like to buy but we've made a decision to hold off on purchases like that until we buy a home (first comes engagement [soon], then comes marriage, then comes home).

There were some things I was definitely on the look-out for however. What you say? Well all the goodies you bloggies have been tempting me with on your blogs!!! Chobani? Yes please! Barney Butter? Hook me up! A multitude of Kashi cereals? Holla' at your girl! I don't know if the majority of bloggers realize this but in Canada we don't get a lot of the health products that you get South of the border.

I wasn't entirely successful but I did manage to score a few goodies. Want to see?


We have Craisins in Canada but I live in a small city that doesn't have a Costco. As such my Craisins cost me a bundle!!!! I eat them quite often and use them for home-made Larabars so I was thrilled to pick up a bundle for something like $8USD at Costco. I also scored some Honey Sunshine and Popchips. I'll do reviews on those in another post but as a heads up . . . YUMMERS!! I didn't take a picture but I also bought a new Oster blender at Costco for a steal of a price! I'll use that to make green monsters.

I also hit up Target (I kind of love it there) and scored a Rodney Yee Power Yoga DVD (Yaaay for not having to pay for shipping) and two 10lb kettlebells.


I'll try both of these today. I'm excited because neither of these are available locally. Besides they help me make some head-way on my $1000 fitness dilemma (for the record I spent about $212 on a three month gym membership, and about $300 on six-months of personal training and fitness assessments, thus far).

After our Target stop we headed South. Why? Because! We had a day off! :o) We passed some incredibly stunning scenery. Particularly beautiful was the area surrounding Flathead Lake. Apparently it's the largest lake in the Western U.S (if you don't count the Great Salt Lake because technically that's an inland sea). The lake skirts the Western edge of Glacier National Park. The mountains reflecting on the water make for gorgeous views. I imagine it's even more lovely in the summer. We plan on visiting that area again.


Eventually we ended up in Missoula. At that point (about 4 1/2 hours South of the border) we decided we should turn around. But before we did we had lunch. Now this is not usually where I would eat but the boy has a love of Taco Bell. You see he's from Vancouver Island (where there is no Taco Bell) and where we live now there isn't one either. So when in Rome . . .


Behold the zesty chicken bowl! lol It's basically a bit of grilled chicken on a bed of mostly lettuce with a small amount of Mexican rice at the bottom and a teeny amount of beans too. That's topped off with a small sprinkling of cheese and about a tablespoon of pico de gallo. Not bad. I paired it with a small cup of unsweetened iced tea.

Once we arrived back in the Whitefish/Kallispell area we headed to a sushi restaurant. Sushi!!! This was what I had been looking forward to - ethnic food. :o) I'm seriously deprived of ethnic goodies in my Rocky Mountain town. There is however a wealth of meat and potatoes. We specialize in Wiener Schnitzel.

This restaurant (called Midori, right by Target off of the highway) was super cute. You could tell the owners really took pride in the place and that made eating there all the more enjoyable. We started off with a lovely green tea. It was made from loose leaves, with nary a taste of bitterness.


This was followed by miso soup and a salad. The salad was kind of meh.


But the miso soup was seriously some of the best I have ever had in my life. If I had to guess I would say that they started off with a light chicken broth base and then added the miso.


We finished it all off with two sushi rolls, one for each of us. The boy had a tempura shrimp, salmon, and cream cheese roll. And I had a variation on a spicy tuna roll. Mmmmm . . .tuna . . .


When all was said and done we headed home happy to have spent the day together, thrilled to have seen some beautiful scenery, and with some loot to boot! All in all I'd say it was a good Saturday! :o)

Until next time Montana . . .