Missoula, MT

Missoula, which did not originally appear on my itinerary, became the halfway point where Ari and I would meet to join forces. A last minute work commitment caused her to be unable to hop on the road-trip wagon in Seattle, but she wasn't going to give up that easily. I arrived in Missoula about mid day and settled into the local hostel where I met many interesting travelers. One gentleman, Tim, had moved West to Missoula from Sioux Falls, SD to find work as a firefighter. Another, Andrea, an Italian man who embodied the true definition of wanderlust had travel plans that easily put mine to shame. He was driving around the entire globe by motorcycle and had already passed through Europe, Africa, over to South America by boat and up to the US. You can check out his sleek and professional blog at www.stelvio2stelvio.it 

salmon burger!

Unfortunately, Ari never made it to Missoula that night because a nasty pothole gave her a flat tire, halting her progress in the middle of a powerful thunderstorm. She chose to spend the night safely in her car and get to a garage the next morning. Meanwhile in Missoula, I befriended Tim, the wayward firefighter, and we explored the Thursday Missoula nightlife together. The night was rather uneventful except for a few nuggets which I will share with you. In a bar that was hosting a trivia night, a young woman asked me for antonyms of the word humble. I offered proud and boastful to which she replied, "Oh really? I had come up with meek... aren't those the opposite of humble?" I guess they can't all be winners. In addition to certain people's low IQs, trivia night also taught me that Charlie Sheen's real name is Carlos Esteves. Weird.

Salad!

The next day I reunited with Ari, and we partook in a delicious sendoff brunch before we traveled to Yellowstone. I ordered a delectable combination of salmon burger, creamy tomato soup and garden salad. My description does it not justice so I'll post the pictures.