Thursday, July 15, 2004
Zero Number Four: Anaconda, Montana
07/15/04
Hickory House B&B is great. I think a B&B is the way to go. Easy laundry, comfortable spaces, extra space and a claw foot bathtub. A bathtub-only room makes me slow down, which is good. It's impossible for me to take a fast bath.
It is kind of gross to soak in my own trail grime, but it's soon a memory.
What a long day. It feels like we were in Anaconda for at least two days. Got 1/2 hour in at the library, got a massage, ate a large anchovy, artichoke heart and onion pizza, and drank gallons of water. And I was finally able to connect to the Internet with my laptop. Mad Dog is a business that offers Internet access for the purpose of gaming. They had a LAN with large screen monitors, and a few boys playing loud shoot 'em up games with each other and strangers somewhere in the world. I just plugged into their LAN and uploaded and downloaded freely. It looks like Mad Dog's going out of business though. It's a great idea: get the noisy games out of the house and still know where the kids are.
I am having a hard time getting fresh vegetables in Montana. They just don't exist. I asked at the health food store, which had nothing fresh, and they could not help. The best I can do is onions, bell pepper and the occasional slice of tomato with a burger. Lettuce is all iceberg. I'm craving greens, but there's not a spinach salad in sight.
Anaconda is lovely and cheap. Mary Jane at the B&B said she just heard of a house closing for $15K, but most are higher.
We went out to a traditional Montana dinner house, where they served no vegetables. I had lots of lamb though. The interior fell short of camp, and really didn't offer much. We were the only customers in the windowless, dingy place. And since when does fine dining include a TV in the bar?
The evening walk home was very pleasant. I declined another soak in the hot tub.
