Event – Great Music & Food, First Friday at Montana Coffee Traders

Since it was the first Friday of the month, my youngest daughter and I decided to enjoy the music at Coffee Traders to wrap up last week. They were also serving a burrito dinner, but we were late arriving due to her indoor soccer game, so I didn’t get a chance to try one. They looked great. After a brutal soccer loss, she and I needed a pick-me-up, so I got a large latte and she grabbed a Mighty Mango juice (maybe you’re seeing a theme here about me and coffee if you’ve been following my other posts?).

We arrived just in time for the group, Shoreline, to finish up a quick break and start playing again. I’d listened to two of the members (fiddle player and guitarist) in another group last year or the year before, so I knew we were in for a treat. Sarah Etzler plays a mean fiddle and Todd Stokes never misses a beat on the guitar. They performed a couple instrumental only pieces.
Audio Clip of Instrumental
Audio Clip of Another Instrumental

The silky voiced, passionate female vocalist, Ashley Crevier joined them for a few popular numbers like “I hope you dance” by LeeAnn Womack and “Bubbly” by Colbie Calliat. Every song was terrific, even though they’ve only been playing together since the end of September. I did chat with them briefly and apparently Ashley writes some of her own music and plays the keyboard as well, though she didn’t have one along this particular night and I didn’t arrive early enough to hear any of her pieces.

The environment at First Fridays at Coffee Traders is comfortable, with people who attend chatting as they sup and listen to the music, which you may hear in some of the sound clips I uploaded, though things quieted down when Ashley’s family requested “Bubbly”.
Audio Clip of Ashley singing Bubbly

My daughter and I had a great time! I’ve mentioned this previously, but if you get a chance, this is a good way to wrap up a week. Just remember that it’s the first Friday of the month as they’re not standardly open for dinner.

Food - Perfect Breakfast and Lunch – Montana Coffee Traders, Columbia Falls, MT

The first thing you notice when you wander in to Montana Coffee Traders is the people. The staff is warm, friendly, and conversational. The managers focus on customer service skills when they hire. But that’s not all this place has to offer. The food is exquisite, both at breakfast and lunch. The menu is unique, reminiscent of the upscale bistros I remember from my time in Portland, OR or Washington, DC. The price and quantity, however, are significantly better; more like a good old-fashioned home cooked meal café.

The Columbia Falls store (map) also holds regular special events in the evening. Talented local area musicians, usually with a bluegrass/country feel, perform at dinner meals the first Friday of every month. Columbia Falls also holds dinners for a few of the major holidays, like Valentine’s Day.

To give that “place I’d like to hang out” feel, they provide free wireless internet and even a desktop hooked up to the internet for those that didn’t bring their own computer. The Columbia Falls store, which used to be the “Pines Café” before it was Coffee Traders, even has the original pine tree as a center post, adding to that Montana look and feel. They have an entire wall devoted to displaying the work of local area artists with a new artist featured every month.

The coffee is the best in the valley as the company roasts several varieties of their own beans daily at a facility here in Whitefish, MT. They brew the Guatemalan for their core drinks, which is a nice medium bean that provides a rich taste that suits most palettes. They also take training their baristas seriously, ensuring you get a consistently good drink.

Interestingly enough, the company is global, with stores in Moscow, Russia, Monteverde, Costa Rica, a sister store in Austin Texas, and the three main branches here in the Flathead Valley: Columbia Falls, Kalispell, and Whitefish. The Costa Rica location is not only a part of the bean supply, but a way to support the local economy there as Coffee Traders is a leader in the Fair Trade organization and participates in programs to help locals purchase their own land for coffee production. They are also very green in their bean purchases, supporting shade grown coffee, rather than the “clearcut to produce quantity” approach.

I highly recommend stopping in for at least a coffee, breakfast or lunch if time permits, and maybe some dinner and music if you’re around the first Friday of the month.

Destination - Powder & Sun, Blacktail Mountain Ski Area, Montana

Bright and early this morning, both my daughters and I hefted our snowboards into the back of the minivan and headed out in search of the perfect day.

(Yes, I wear a yeti hat over my helmet. My girls picked it up for me at the Expedition Everest ride when we were at Disney World during the trip I documented in an earlier post.)

We picked up my youngest daughter's friend and some of her family on our way south towards Blacktail Mountain Ski Area. Today's destination then, took us back around the west side of Flathead Lake to the hills high above the town of Lakeside, MT. I would argue that I've been to some of the best ski locations in the Northwestern US: Mt Bachelor Ski Resort, OR, Breckenridge and Keystone, CO, Park City Mountain Resort and Snowbird, UT, Big Mountain, MT (renamed to Whitefish Mountain Resort, but I grew up with it as Big Mtn, so it shall always be Big Mtn to me), but I love the feel of Blacktail.

So what is it about Blacktail that I like so well? I mentioned before that I "love the feel" of the place. That's probably the best way to describe it. The staff, the snow, the lack of wait times, the views; it all sums up to one incredible experience.

Let's start with the staff. I truly get the feeling that they are happy to be working there. Not the "I'm getting paid to have this plastic smile for the tourists" vibe, but more of the "I can't believe they pay me to do this, shall we have some fun" type of attitude. My daughters and I have taken lessons here and at some of the other places I listed above, and I have to tell you that I wouldn't recommend anywhere but Blacktail to someone needing a lesson. Their program is top notch, well run (wish I knew the gal's name to give her credit), and the instructors are all certified and really know their stuff.

The top of the mountain is at almost 7000 feet, so the snow is great too. The lodge and parking area are actually at the top of the hill and you ski down to the lifts. All of the beginner areas are well groomed, but they leave some powdery stuff for the more advanced folks to enjoy. They do have snow makers to help out when Mother Nature isn't fully cooperating, but I've rarely seen them need to use them. For the more adventurous snowboarders, they have a full terrain park. Overall, I would say there is enough variety on the mountain to keep most families satisfied. But here's a link to their trail map so you can judge for yourself.

The lines are never more than a few people long at the bottom of the lifts, so you spend more time skiing/boarding instead of standing around getting cold wondering whether you paid to wait for the lift as I have sometimes wondered at other facilities. (Note the lack of line behind my one daughter, while my other daughter was lounging a bit beside the lift line)

One of the things I love is the view down into Flathead Valley. I took several shots today to share with everyone.

All-in-all a great day in the sun, enjoying the snow with my girls!