Where we’ve been…All 48 lower…Where we are…Extensively traveling…Working and having a blast!

Where we’ve been…All 48 lower…Where we are…Extensively traveling…Working and having a blast!
LIFE IS GRAND!

Tuesday, July 16, 2024

2024 - Hotel Stays

StoneCreek Lodge

5145 Airway Blvd

Missoula, MT 59808

(406) 541-3600

$218.11

7/15/24

 

The room was dated but it was clean. The bed was soft and comfortable. The furniture was outdated and uncomfortable. The pool and spa were great, the hot tub was not too hot, and the pool was refreshingly cool.








Customer service was lacking enthusiasm, if you don’t like people, maybe you should find a different career. Otherwise, it was a good stay.


Spokane Tribe Resort & Casino

14300 US-2

Airway Heights, WA 99001

(877) 786-9467

$151.53

7/8/24

 

New hotel, and our room was fantabulous! The bed was so comfortable, seating was not the best, but the shower was amazing! We each had our sides of the shower and if we had a third person, they too would have fit in the middle with another showerhead, there were 3 showerheads, one wand, a seat and hot water…it was outrageously perfect! The television was huge, perfect for us to watch the NASCAR race.






We did not like the valet only parking at the hotel door. We do not like anybody else driving our truck, but the alternative of having to park amongst the casino guests on the opposite side of the building was not welcoming for us.

 

The casino was just ok, smoking was allowed, and the nonsmoking area didn’t have the machines we like. We picked up food from the deli and it was good and not too expensive.



Meadow Lake Resort & Condos

100 St Andrews Drive

Columbia Falls, MT 59912

(406) 892-8700

$125.75

6/10/24


Customer service was good, but we were supposed to have VIP Access to early arrival, upgraded room and a few other extra benefits that we did not receive. We had to wait 1 ½ hours before our room was ready, where they could have given us another room (upgraded). An upgrade would have been nice since this room was a standard King and was very small and extremely uncomfortable chairs. The bed was lumpy and just rolling over made a creaking noise all night long.






The adult outdoor hot tub was just that…NO BUBBLES (JETS) working. Unfortunately, it was grass cutting day, weed whacking, and cutting down dry bushes with high winds. All the dirt, grass and other debris came right into the hot tub area and into the pool all over us. There were a few other guests in the hot tub that all exited quickly too.



Fairfield Inn & Suites

5252 Airway Blvd

Missoula, MT 59808

(406) 541-8000

$198.44

6/3/24


We paid way too much to have the few inconveniences that we had to endure during our stay.

 

We used Hotels.com to reserve our room and then Marriott.com contacted us via our app with them and they offered an early arrival opportunity, which was exactly what we wanted. We set it up for noon arrival and upon arriving at 12:30pm were hastily told she had nothing ready for us. After waiting about an hour, we were given our room key.

 

The room was spacious and was clean, the air temperature was good, but unfortunately the shower was awful. First, it took forever for hot water to get warm, but then almost immediately it went ice cold, then a tad warm again, but then frigid. Our showers were quick and very uncomfortable.





We got some hot tub time, the hot tub was definitely HOT, and the splash pool was ice cold.





Grouse Mountain Lodge

2 Fairway Drive

Whitefish, MT 59937

(406) 862-3000

$129.56

5/20/24

 

At checkin, we requested a room near the elevator because I had ruptured my Achilles tendon, and it was hard for me to walk extensively. We were told this was the only available room at that time. We were almost to the end of the second hallway…it was a long walk. The room chairs were very uncomfortable, and the bathroom was cramped. The bed was comfortable and the shower, hot tub & pool were amazing!







Glacier International Lodge

4150 US-2

Kalispell, MT 59901

(406) 751-9000

$130.46

5/6/24

 

Checkin was great, customer service was excellent. Our room was nice, bed was very comfortable, chair was very uncomfortable, the walk-in shower was magnificent. The hot tub was hot, the jets were strong, and the pool was cooling. Breakfast was okay, even though we were told it was served until 9:30am, it was just before 9am and there wasn’t much left. We would highly recommend this hotel.


Our happy place!
No, Jerry did not do the slide this time!

Fantabulous walk-in shower!
Great lobby decor!
Loved their wooden key cards


The Forge Hotel, BW Signature Collection

100 Union Avenue

Anaconda, MT 59711

(406) 797-4100

$171.72

4/25/24

 

Checkin was the quickest we have ever experienced that even included a great smile. We asked if the pool and hot tub was available and were told they were, so we got our suits on and went to enjoy. When we walked into the area, there was a maintenance closed sign on the hot tub, but the wonderful maintenance man said he would get it completed in just a moment…and he did just that. We had the place to ourselves for well over an hour and we had a fantabulous time. The King bed was so comfortable, and it was so cool in our room, we were very happy.







Shoshone-Bannock Casino Hotel

777 Bannock Avenue

Fort Hall, ID 83203

(208) 238-4800

$103.68

4/24/24

 

Even though customer service was awesome, we will not be returning. Our first room was hot, so we turned down the thermostat as we were instructed to do and give it some time. We went and played a little at the casino and brought some food back to our room and the temperature had not changed. It was still over 75 with the A/C running, even though it was frigid outside. Maintenance came and reset it and told us to give it about 30+ minutes, which we did, and it actually went up a degree. They changed our room and the same thing happened, by now we have wasted over 4 hours waiting and moving. Then they gave us a suite with a jacuzzi at no additional charge, as if that was going to make up for it since it was almost 11pm by this time. Not our best relaxing evening as we had planned, but we were at least able to get some cooler sleep in the suite.






Monday, June 17, 2024

Mid June Already!

Time truly flies when you’re having fun, and we are having a blast. The job is going great, we are trained, all workers are here and it’s getting busier.

As for my healing, I’m still hurting but they are allowing me to sit behind the desk and we were on 4-day work weeks until now. It wouldn’t break our hearts if we stayed on the 4-day work week for the entire season.

Some of our working adventures included a “Longest Trailer” episode that included a truck unable to stop it. This park is hilly to say the least, sites are on tiers, but if you are pulling in after hours you should be able to self park yourself. Unfortunately, this woman with big cojones who is traveling with her her dog drove up the hill and had no brakes coming down. Luckily, she didn’t hit or hurt anything or anyone, even though we seen damage to the sides of her trailer that she apparently had done at another time. Our prayers go with her on her journey for a safe and enjoyable ride.

We did drive north to the Grouse Mountain Lodge in Whitefish, Montana to soak in their hot tub and enjoy the charming atmosphere the Lodge had to offer, what a quant little town. We found our happy place in the hot tub, the bathroom area was not laid out well which made it a bit cramped, but the shower was exhilarating, and the bed was comfortable. Unfortunately, we requested a room near the elevator because it’s still hard for me to walk extensively and we were told the only room available at that time was almost to the end of the second hallway. It was a long walk.





We tried a local burger joint, Burgerville. Burgers were good, fries and onion rings were okay, but the Huckleberry Shakes were AWESOME!



Lesson learned…NEVER ORDER CLOTHES FROM AMAZON AGAIN! Clothes seem to be running smaller than ever, so I always order a 5X to assure it fits. This order were pants for work and the 5X was smaller than ever, seriously would not even fit one leg into the pants, possibly a very young child could wear them.


We drove south to Missoula, MT for a change of scenery and stayed at Fairfield Inn & Suites. We paid way too much to have the few inconveniences that we had to endure during our stay. We set up an early arrival at noon, but on our arrival at 12:30pm were hastily told she had nothing ready for us. After waiting about an hour, we were given our room key.

The room was spacious and was clean, the air temperature was good, but unfortunately the shower was awful. First, it took forever for hot water to get warm, but then almost immediately it went ice cold, then a tad warm again, but then frigid. Our showers were quick and very uncomfortable.





We got some hot tub time, the hot tub was definitely HOT, and the splash pool was ice cold.





We finally made it to the Glaciers…





Most of the roads are still closed in the Glaciers due to avalanches, so we chose to take the Lake McDonalds Boat Tour. The cost was a little over $50 for the two of us, plus entry into the park. It was a perfect choice of time and date that finally became available for us to get. It was the first boat out with the water smooth as glass for the first part of our journey, and then the wind picked up and it got choppy on our way back, luckily, we had a tail wind, so it wasn’t too bad. It was a great way to see the Glaciers without danger of avalanches.





























We stayed in Columbia Falls at Meadow Lake Resort & Condos where customer service was good, but we were supposed to have VIP Access to early arrival, upgraded room and a few other extra benefits that we did not receive. We had to wait 1 ½ hours before our room was ready, where they could have given us another room (upgraded). An upgrade would have been nice since this room was a standard King and was very small and extremely uncomfortable chairs. The bed was lumpy and just rolling over made a creaking noise all night long.





The adult outdoor hot tub was just that…NO BUBBLES (JETS) working. Unfortunately, it was grass cutting day, weed whacking, and cutting down dry bushes with high winds. All the dirt, grass and other debris came right into the hot tub area and into the pool all over us. There were a few other guests in the hot tub that all exited quickly too.



Chain Hotels are not great around here, and the local ones are just a tiny bit better, but we have so much more to see while we are here, so we will keep doing what we can to make them work for us.


The wind has been awful, the rain almost daily, and it’s still freezing, so we have been hanging out mostly at the campground, not really wanting to check out things in the rain. Today is a perfect example, it’s mid June already and it’s a dreary, wet, frigid day. Just hanging out inside making beef stew and a few indoor honey do’s. We do understand that our weather is a whole lot better than most out there, but really? It’s time for the rainy, frigid temperatures to stop!