Our "workday" actually started yesterday with a visit to the laundry at the campground. Then, on the move this morning, I began the (unsuccessful) search for a "oldtime barbershop" - i.e. one that has a barber pole out front, does not have the word "salon" in its name, and charges a reasonable price to "style" my diminishing amount of hair. Turns out that these establishments are, by tradition, closed on Monday. Abandoning the barbershop search, we headed to a grocery store to restock the van's pantry in preparation for our crossing into wilderness Canada - happy to report we were successful so it's unlikely we will starve to death. Next up, the Post Office to pickup a General Delivery package - my new BugHat, to replace the orriginal that is probably still on its merry journey down the Buffalo River after our little canoe mishap. Success, I will now be safe from those giant Alaskan mosquitos and can hide my unruly hair - hey, forget the barbershop I've got my BugHat.
With this hectic workload I hope you understand the shortage of photos in today's post. Here is the best I could do.
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| A little we found on a short side trip |
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| Rexford Bench Campground |
Lastly a quick tale: After selecting our campsite for tonight, we drove a mile to the small town (pop 179) of Rexford to scope things out. This "town" has a Post Office, bar and a cafe (Koocanusa Cafe) - that's it, no stoplight, no stop signs, it's just a haven for Canadians (300 or so) that head south in the summer. THE TALE (finally) - as we are passing the cafe I spot a young lady out front, so I stop in the street (no traffic, surprise) and roll down the window - she looks at us and says "sorry, we're closed" - so we roll on. After cruising through town (took us two minutes) we are back in front of the cafe - this time she says jokingly "ok, I'll show you around town if you need a guide" - I respond, "think we've seen the important stuff, but do you know where the ice cream store is?" - she, "that's us, but we're closed". So, we have a little chat (I tell her about the trip, she tells us about Rexford) then she says "how about I fix you an ice cream" I say sure (had to persuade Don). I park the van and a few minutes later we are sipping two of the best milkshakes we've ever had. But wait, it gets better - we finish the shakes and ask "what do we owe you" and she says "nothing, have a nice trip and tell people about our little town and cafe". So, if you ever find yourself in the far North of Western Montana stop by Koocanusa Cafe in Rexford, and be reminded that stoping in these small towns will always offer a surprise or two. Happy trails.
