Montana 55 Summer 2020

Summer 2020

Quarterly Guide for Seasoned Montanans

Home on the road RVs offer a safe way to travel

Get out and hike Pandemic baking

Summer trips mt55mag.com

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the magazine for montanans in their prime

publisher jim strauss

editors keila szpaller

jessica abell gwen florio

Montana 55 is a special publication of Lee Enterprises and the Missoulian.

Copyright 2020.

For advertising information contact Toni LeBlanc 406-523-5242, or email Toni.LeBlanc@missoulian.com www.mt55mag.com

It’s always a good time to invest in your

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inside

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Summer 2020

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covid-19

14

pandemic baking

6

on the road

16

summer getaway

11

missoula strong

20

safe outdoors

12

climate change

22

ok to visit?

Montana AARP o ers advice

pandemic sparks RV revival

what’s the garden city’s true character

missoula considers alternatives

Summer 2020

cooking your way through

regional road trips

take a hike

questions to ask before trip to nursing home

AARP Montana launches webpage to help locate resources for those affected by COVID-19 AARP Montana

Photo by Ben Allan Smith/ MT 55

While you’re at home distancing yourself from others and staying safe, AARP wants you to know that you may be isolated, but you’re not alone.

Sometimes just hearing a friendly voice on the other end of the line can help in challenging times. We have trained volunteers standing by to provide a friendly call to say hello. Submit a request to have a volunteer call you Monday to Friday 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. MDT — or call us directly at 1-888-281-0145 and leave us your information and we will call you.

Chat with others about their experiences and engage in online activities together through “The Mighty” online community discussion — join the conversation about coronavirus.

Across the country, people are joining new online Community Connections groups to stay in touch, share ideas, and help others affected by the coronavirus.

Whether you want to start a group, find a group, or get assistance yourself, our directory can help you connect with folks right here in Big Sky Country.

For your protection, we’ve suspended community events, but they’ll return as soon as it is safe.

In the meantime, AARP is here to help keep you informed and stay connected.

Download our AARP Montana Tip Sheet on how to stay safe and stay connected Keep an eye on the AARP Montana’s coronavirus webpage (link below) for up-to-date, trusted information. Participate in one of our weekly tele-townhalls about the coronavirus; learn about ways to avoid scams and keep yourself safe.

Or stay connected through a Community Connections Group.

Also, know that we’re working with lawmakers in Washing-

Shoppers head to their cars after gathering supplies at Costco in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic. Costco is among the supermarkets maintaining special hours for seniors and others vulnerable to the virus.

ton, D.C., to ensure that you are protected during this unprecedented time.

Together we’ll make it through this stronger. AARP Montana looks forward to continuing to serve you.

All of the links to resources and information below concerning the coronavirus situation in Montana can be found at this web page: https://aarp-states.brightspotcdn.com/13/ba/f5f035bc497aacd20ee9ff2b5f10/aarp-montana-covid-tip-sheet.pdf

Montana health information

Gov. Steve Bullock has established a Coronavirus Task Force with a web page dedicated to updates and breaking news If you have coronavirus symptoms, contact your health care provider or the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services to figure out if you could

— and should — get tested. Signs of the virus are a dry cough, fever and shortness of breath. (Read more about coronavirus and how to stay safe.)

The Montana State Library offers a statewide map showing the number of COVID-19 cases on a county-by-county basis, plus a Montana situation update, current information and a Global Outbreak Dashboard.

Governor Bullock announced a set of directives and guidance to slow the spread of COVID-19 and protect vulnerable Montanans, including closing of public K-12 schools, social distancing measures, and limiting visitation at nursing home facilities.

Montana food assistance resources

If financial difficulty is a barrier to food, the Montana Food Bank Network can help you find your

closest food bank and other food assistance programs in your area.

The Montana Food Bank Network offers a program called Mail-A-Meal to reach food-insecure Montanans in rural, remote, low-population areas.

The Aging Services Division of the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Resources offers a comprehensive list of services for seniors, including Nutrition Services, like home delivered meals.

The State of Montana offers the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Area Agencies on Aging — You can reach your local AAA office by calling 1-800-551-3191. There are 10 offices across the state and they can connect you with home meal delivery and/or grocery shopping services available near your home.

Check out their webpage at www. m4a.support.

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Safe travels In the COVID-19 era RVs offer protection on the road

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Summer 2020

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RV boom: how a pandemic revitalized an industry

Photos by Sara Diggins/ MT 55

RV camper Jerry Hardesty, from Florida, next to his family’s RV in the Jellystone RV Park July 14, 2020. Hardesty has been on the road several months, using his RV to travel while remaining socially distanced.

ADDIE SLANGER Montana 55 The roar of Interstate 90 fades away behind grass berms and guardrails just to the south of Jellystone Park, 10 minutes outside of Missoula. Flanked perpendicularly by Highway 93, the RV park is surrounded by the buzz of traffic. Still though, it manages to cultivate a sense of seclusion.

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Summer 2020

The eclectic mishmash in both infrastructure and location is host to a cluster of recreational vehicles (RVs) worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. Images of Yogi Bear sit plastered on the fence of the shallow kiddie pool and the log-cabin front of the park’s check-in building.

It’s this campsite, yellow paint peeling off the Jellystone sign and turf of the mini-golf course

frayed at the corners, Maria Opfar and her husband, Scott, picked as a stop on their Montana and southern Idaho road trip.

The Opfars were relatively new to RVing. They had owned their motorhome for a little over a year and had only taken one trip prior to the current one that landed them at Jellystone.

“We so needed to get out of town. It’s just important right

now,” Maria, 55, said. She continued, praising the benefits of her RV. “You have all the convenience of home.”

“This is the best way to camp, are you kidding?” added Maria’s camp neighbor Margie, whose impressive motorhome was parked next door. “It helps you keep your sanity.”

Maria’s family, based in Salt Lake City, Utah, have long been

fell off in March and April, but the 2008-2009 recession and had forums across the country. “But RVers. Her parents owned a mocame back stronger in May. evened out. Basically, it wasn’t now, it’s driven by finding a safe torhome for 15 years. She grew That’s just on the manufactursetting any records. up around the lifestyle, and when way to travel.” ing end. Unofficial data from In 2019, RV sales showed an Robinowitz pointed to the it was time for her parents to saleroom floors show demand in expected, yet tough-to-stomach, obvious as the catalyst of this trade in their RV for a retirement May and June skyrocketing. double-digit decline in shipunprecedented new wave of home, the Opfars jumped on the So while there may not be a ments. The arrival of a new RV demand: the cabin fever of opportunity to take the camper record-breaking year for manudecade made many hopeful quarantine. off Maria’s parent’s hands. It facturers, there is an indisputable, that the drop would be more “RVing and road trips are safe seemed to have come at a perfect time.

In the wake of coronavirus, RVing is becoming more and more popular.

It’s a way to travel comfortably during quarantine, a loophole in this new, socially-distant world. The demand is so great that many dealers are selling models right off the showroom floor. Manufacturing companies are months behind on orders.

It’s said that the RV industry acts as a type of harbinger for the economy.

Before an economic dip, people stop buying motorhomes and trailers. And before an uptick, when people find themselves with a bit more in the RVs and trailers in the lot of Rangitsch Brothers RV and Manufactured Home Center on July 10, “fun” category of 2020. The vehicles sit next to more empty spots than usual, because of their recent popularity and a their budget, sales sudden upswing in sales, says owner Jim Rangitsch. increase. So why, now, is there such a record-breaking demand for the manageable and point toward right now. And people need to high demand, at a time the U.S. product, Robinowitz said. another eventual boom. Never get out,” he said. is seeing an unemployment rate More than 80% of global did predictions take into account “A lot of RVs belong to older of well over 10% and the econoa pandemic, and if they did, Rob- RV manufacturing happens in people,” Robinowitz continued. my is suffering so completely at Elkhart, Indiana, a city of just inowitz doubted they’d foresee “But regardless of age, there’s the hands of the pandemic? over 50,000 residents. It’s called RV success. also a lot of first-time RVers. It’s “It’s historically revolved the “RV Capital of the World” for Sales in 2020 are not final, around disposable income. When a new form of vacation.” a reason. It’s also a hotspot for but data from the RV Industry Robinowitz said prior to the economy gets tough, people coronavirus, with Elkhart County coronavirus, the RV industry was Association shows that, until don’t buy the luxury,” said Andy March, the year’s shipments were claiming the third-most cases in pretty economically flat. It was Robinowitz, owner of RV Life, a outpacing 2019. Those shipments the state. down from its bounce-back after company that runs dozens of RV

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Photo by Sara Diggins/ MT 55

Manufacturers were forced to freeze production altogether from mid-March to the end of April.

This production freeze trickled down to the RV dealers, who, since the relaxing of shelter-athome restrictions, have seen a big increase in customers who are jumping at the bit to get out of the house, even if that means only camping 10 minutes away at Jellystone.

The demand is more than the supply can handle.

Jim Rangitsch, owner of Rangitsch Brothers RV in Missoula, expects his recent shipping orders to arrive in February of 2021 at the earliest. That’s how backed up manufacturers are.

At first, Rangitsch said, that wasn’t a problem. Customers slowed to a trickle and then eventually stopped in the weeks of shutdown this spring. But when restrictions loosened, his company could not catch a breath.

“People were lining up out the door,” Rangitsch said.

“They were buying models right off the showroom floor.”

Business is still just as busy, but now Rangitsch has to turn people away for a lack of inventory. Even his RV toilet paper stash goes fast.

The true mark of the RV craze can be seen in the emptiness of the Rangitsch Brothers’ lots, where RVs usually sit in geometrically-pleasing rows, claustrophobically close. Now, the space of the parking lot is expansive, with most trailers present having already been sold.

“Yeah, that one’s sold. And that one. And those two,” Rangitsch said on a recent tour of the lot, pointing at RVs. “That one isn’t, I don’t think.”

“Actually,” he continued, once inside the camper,

Jim Rangitsch, owner of Rangitsch Brothers RV and Manufactured Home, on the lot of the business. “this one is sold, too.”

Pamela Key is the director of communications for America’s largest member-owned RV travel club, the Family Motor Coach Association (FMCA).

The FMCA provides members with many benefits, including keeping them up-to-date on the latest industry trends.

“RVs are really hot right now,” Kay said. “This isn’t really a normal part of the cycle, but it’s not too surprising. With RVs, you can social distance as much as you want to.”

Kay wondered if much of the craze has to do with an attempt to regain control. In a world where few constants exist, least of all travel plans, it’s nice to know a home-on-wheels waits for you at any moment, she said.

“It puts you in control. It gives you some freedom,” she said. “This enables people to get out and spend time outdoors, which is being encouraged right now anyway. It lets you get away, and turns out you don’t have to go far.”

Back at Jellystone, campers packed up for the morning.

The Opfars exchanged emails and phone numbers with their neighbors for future excursions.

Down the road a bit, Jerry Hardesty sat in the shade of his motorhome, shaving. His grandkids’ bikes lay scattered around the camper. His family planned to spend one more day at Jellystone before heading up to Kalispell.

Jerry, from Daytona Beach, Florida, has RVed all his life.

He and his wife had been in

quarantine for four months in Florida before they decided it was time for a change of scenery. That change in scenery turned out to be a three-month cross-country roadtrip.

“Finally we decided: it’s time to travel,” Jerry said. “That seems to be the standing rule, that it’s safer to camp and social distance and that kind of stuff.”

The Hardestys were planning on hitting Glacier National Park after Kalispell, and then returning back to Florida through Yellowstone and Wyoming, a different way than they came.

Jerry loves RVing. He has a pitch for why more people should participate in the activity.

“It’s just so quiet and nice and peaceful. It’s very easy.

To me, it’s the best way to travel.” MT55

Photo by Tom Bauer/ MT 55

Tom Peterman, a Meals on Wheels volunteer driver, picks up his deliveries before heading out on his route.

ADDIE SLANGER Montana 55

I once heard that if you truly want to see the character of a person, don’t look at how they act when things are easy, but instead look at how they act when things Susan Kohler are hard. If CEO Missoula that sentiment Aging Services extends to communities, then I think we have a pretty clear picture of Missoula.

In a time of crisis, your actions have been filled with generosity and empathy. It’s not that we ever doubted the kindness of our donors, volunteers, sponsors and partners — rather that your outpouring of support has gone above and beyond anything we could imagine.

When homebound clients

worried that they wouldn’t be able to receive meals anymore, drivers ramped up their efforts — safely delivering more than 3,000 meals each week since the end of March.

Despite economic uncertainty many donors, businesses and foundations continue to step up to donate anyway to help their older neighbors.

As events have needed to be postponed, sponsors have elected to continue their support, often redirecting funds where they’re needed most.

When the pandemic first started, we received so many volunteer applications that staff had to create a new system to manage the overflow.

So what does a strong community look like? It looks like all of you — standing together, doing what you do best.

These may be unprecedented times, but we are figuring this out together, one day at a time.

MT55

Dedicated to care and service excellence Schedule a tour today!

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Photo by Adam Fondren/ MT 55

A hauler truck transports coal from the Rosebud mine to the Colstrip power plant in Colstrip.

Missoula readies for climate change, senior citizens vested in outcome KEILA SZPALLER Montana 55

This spring, the Missoula City Council and Board of County Commissioners adopted a plan to address the climate crisis — in the midst of the global COVID-19 crisis.

The challenges the crises bring are intertwined, but global warming has been a problem activists with Missoula Elders for a Livable Tomorrow, or

12 Summer 2020

MELT, have been watching for a while. MELT formed out of a University of Montana MOLLI course, of the the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute geared to senior citizens. Roughly seven years ago, students of a sustainability class decided they wanted to keep meeting on the topic, and the group established.

The plan, “Climate Ready Missoula: Building Resiliency in Missoula County,” outlines

actions based on guiding principles including the idea to value science, natural processes, and cultural traditions, and to focus on prevention and innovation.

Goals cover wildfire, smoke and health; building, land use and transportation; water; agriculture; business, recreation and tourism; energy; and other topics.

Harold Hoem, with MELT, said he and his wife, Jan, have been following climate issues

closely for 20 years, and back when they started, it was hard to find any information about climate change. Now, it’s a growing issue and regularly at the fore.

“Now, it’s hard to not pick up a paper and not see something about climate change,” Hoem said. “I think for the city to have kept up with that is a feather in their cap. Missoula took a leadership role in this, of course.”

Examples of goals in the plan

include the following: Improve indoor air quality in homes.

Increase health care system capacity to respond to wildfire smoke, wildfires, floods and other climate impacts.

Balance competing land use needs in the context of population growth by doing things like encouraging urban gardens and small-scale agriculture to preserve the ability to grow food in Missoula County.

Reduce development in the floodplain.

Conserve water and enhance water storage opportunities, and preserve water quality.

Prepare tourism and recreational industries for a changing climate by doing things like enhancing energy efficiency and weatherization workforce and business opportunities.

In the forward to the plan, Missoula County Commissioners Josh Slotnick, David Strohmaier, and Juanita Vero, along with Missoula Mayor John Engen, and Councilors Bryan von Lossberg and Heather Harp, note the hard realities the community is facing in addressing both the pressing impacts of the pandemic as well as the longer-term and long-brewing effects of climate change.

“The climate crisis is daunting, but if this planning process is any indication, our community has the commitment, expertise, and creativity to take it on,” wrote the elected leaders. “Climate Ready Missoula was developed to build our resiliency in the face of climate change, but the need for community resiliency has come into even sharper focus with the arrival of the public health crisis we are currently facing: COVID-19.”

As the community moves forward, Hoem said it’s time for

people to turn the plan into action and, for example, take stock of the moves they can make to fortify their own places. A home in the wildland urban interface isn’t just susceptible to a big fire, for

est entomology and pathology professor Diana Six, whose work is regarded internationally; and pulmonologist Paul Smith. Hoem pointed to elected officials as well.

darn fast, and 20 years goes by in a blink,” he said. “Maybe it moves faster the older you get.

“We (elders) have a different perspective because we’ve been watching this for a long time, and

Crews members of Solar Montana install a solar panel array on the roof of the new educational facility at the Archie Bray Foundation for the Ceramic Arts. instance, but to ember showers traveling for a mile.

Luckily, Hoem said Missoula has experts to guide it through the crisis, people such as climate scientist Steve Running, a retired University of Montana professor who shared in a Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 for his work on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change; UM for-

“It’s nice to have a proactive City Council and County Commissioners that are trying to do something about the issue. It’s so complicated,” Hoem said.

He also said elders in particular are invested in outcomes, and he hopes other generations will be dedicated to action too.

“Time seems to move slowly, but in reality, it moves pretty

yet young people today, I just hope they get really energized, because that’s what it’s going to take. It’s going to take a massive effort by all generations to mitigate the problems we’re going to have.

“I don’t see a vaccine for climate change. Hopefully there will be one for COVID.” MT55

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Pandemic focuses attention on the kitchen Gwen Florio Montana 55

Maybe, as the reality of the pandemic-imposed restrictions began to sink in this year, you found yourself becoming intimately acquainted with a room in your home.

No, not your home “office,” as some of us so grandly termed our sofas. Nor the bedroom, despite the impulse to just pull the covers over our heads and stay there until this is over.

We’re talking the kitchen.

Surely you haven’t escaped all the photos everyone you know seems to be posting on social media of their food-porn-perfect baguettes, their bubbling sourdough starter, their newly arranged spice racks. We, too, plead guilty (except for the perfect baguettes.

It’s going to take more than a pandemic to get us to go there).

We talked to Missoulian food writers Greg Patent and Mea Andrews about the phenom, and about their personal experiences with it, which were quite different.

For the first time in years, Andrews said, she focused on meal prep and planning, although when she went in search of a new freezer to help with those tasks, she found freezers scarce, as people sought to hoard food as well as toilet paper.

Patent, author of (among others) “A Baker’s Odyssey: Celebrating Time-Honored Recipes from America’s Rich Immigrant Heritage,” was equally troubled by the scarcity of flour and yeast, nearly panicking when he picked up his food orders at the Good Food Store “and there was never any

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Mia Andrews

Greg Patent

flour.”

“I tried Rosauers,” he said. “I tried King Arthur” — the Vermont company that ships its flour nationwide; or, at least it did until the pandemic nearly wiped out its stocks — “they were saying it was temporarily unavailable.”

Patent started searching the internet and finally scored the flour in the unlikeliest of places: Etsy, the crafts-focused e-commerce site.

“Etsy!” he marveled.

While Patent was actively hunting down baking supplies, Andrews found herself briefly paralyzed by her dilemma.

Andrews and her husband, Dave Guffey, are both retired now, but years in jobs with unpredictable hours — Andrews as a Missoulian reporter and Guffey as sports information director for the University of Montana — meant meals were catch-as-catch-can affairs, with a lot of dinners out.

Suddenly, though, restaurants were closed and Andrews had plenty of time — so very much time — to

contemplate meals.

“I really had gotten lazy about cooking at home,” she said. But with the shutdown, “for the first time in a long time, I actually had to plan meals, think about meals. … I hadn’t paid attention to my freezer in years. I threw out stuff that was probably six years old.”

She also delved deep into her cabinets, unearthing little-used spices and some Mustard Seed sauces she’d bought last Christmas. “I became much more creative,” she said, also searching her cookbook collection and planning meals farther in advance “instead of just at 5:30 Googling what can I do?”

Patent, meanwhile, was buying up flour wherever he could find it — a company called New York Bakers came through, as well as another company in Kentucky — and as as result now has 80 pounds of flour in his home.

“Then,” he said, “yeast was a problem. I just activated sourdough starter that’s been in my fridge for years.” (For yeast-free

baking, see accompanying recipe for Irish soda bread.)

Eventually he found yeast, too, and now, “I’ve just been baking everything.”

Define “everything,” please.

“A high-gluten flour bagel, French baguettes, boules, wholewheat sandwich loaves. … and a long time ago Dorothy (his wife, author Dorothy Patent) created a Graham carrot bread with whole wheat flour, bread flour and carrot juice that makes an amazing sandwich loaf.”

Patent, of course, has always been a baker. Of the pandemic-inspired baking newbies, he said, “I hope they keep it up, now that they have experienced what homemade bread is.”

His advice: “Just get in there and do it. … If you want comfort, you want to feel that all’s right with the world, I think baking does that.”

As for Andrews, her newfound sense of organization means fewer trips out to buy food, therefore less risk in a time of pandemic. She thinks that she, like a lot of people, will stick with her new habits once our new normal, whatever that may be, becomes apparent.

“At the beginning (of the shutdown) I thought, ‘Oh, this is kind of a challenge, something exciting, something different.’ Now, months later, it’s, ‘Oh, this is a new life.”

With that in mind, and realizing how much more she was relying on her freezer, she went in search of a new one, a task nearly as daunting as Patent’s search for flour.

She succeeded.

“It’s a vote for the future,” she said. MT55

Traditional Irish soda bread Greg Patent Montana 55

I am indebted to Irish food expert and cookbook author, Noreen Kinney, for sharing her family’s Irish Soda Bread recipe. This bread is meant to be eaten with meals, plain, with cheese, spread with butter and/ or jam, or to sop up gravy.

Noreen says the following about this famous bread. “Strictly speaking, there is no white ‘Irish soda bread’ with raisins. Traditional Irish Soda Bread is brown, with a coarse texture and no fruit added. That is the reason I was shocked to see the white item passed off as Irish Soda Bread when I arrived in the States. However, in Ireland there is a famous old bread that was very popular with the poorer people in times past, and was considered quite a treat for a special occasion or on Sundays. It is still popular today. Depending on which part of the country one is in, it is known as ‘Spotted Dick’ or ‘Spotted Dog’.

Basically it is derived from Irish Soda bread, but uses white flour in place of the traditional ingredients that go into the true Irish soda bread. To enrich the recipe for Spotted Dick (or Spotted Dog), people added raisins when they became available, and could add a full egg beaten into the milk, plus some white sugar. It is the old Irish Spotted Dick, that folk here (United States) call Irish Soda Bread.

Probably again, because when they arrived in the States, they could not find the appropriate ingredients to make up the traditional Soda Bread which is always brown with no added fruits.”

Everyone who makes Irish Soda Bread follows a basic recipe but adds her own personal touches to the bread, giving it a highly individualistic character. To a mixture of whole wheat flour and white flour, Noreen, on any given day, might add wheat bran, oat bran, wheat germ, oats, sunflower seeds, flax seeds, and/or poppy seeds.

She varies proportions and grains depending on how she wants the

bread to turn out. The following proportions are guides. Feel free to vary the grain additions according to your tastes, adding from 4 to 5 ounces total by weight for each loaf.

The amounts given below fall into this range.

The bread’s crust is coarse and firm, while the inside is rather dense, but moist. A cross, indented (not cut) on top of the bread, al-

2 teaspoons baking soda 1¾ teaspoons table salt 2 tablespoons sugar ¼ cup wheat bran ¼ cup oat bran ¼ cup untoasted wheat germ 2 tablespoons flax seed ⅓ cup untoasted raw sunflower seeds 1 large egg About 1¾ cups buttermilk

Irish Soda Bread: Nutty, crusty and entirely delicious. lows the bread to be easily separated into quarters. The sunflower seeds change color during baking, flecking the bread with an emerald green. Why? Please read on. When wrapped in plastic, the bread loses its hard crust, which you can easily bring back after a few minutes in a hot oven. This bread freezes beautifully.

To measure flour for this recipe, dip the dry cup into the flour, fill to overflowing and sweep off the excess. One cup of flour measured this way weighs 5 ounces.

Irish Soda Bread

Ingredients: 1 cup whole wheat flour or Graham flour (5 ounces), plus more for shaping the loaf 1¾ cups (8¾ ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour 3 tablespoons cold butter, cut into pieces

Directions: 1. Adjust an oven rack to the center position and preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Coat a heavy baking sheet with vegetable cooking spray or line it with aluminum foil or silicone baking pan liner or cooking parchment.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the whole wheat flour and all-purpose flour. Add the butter and work it into the dry ingredients with your fingertips until the fat particles are very fine.

3. Stir in the baking soda, salt, sugar, wheat bran, oat bran, wheat germ, flax seed, and sunflower seeds. Beat the egg with a fork in a 2-cup glass measure with pouring spout to thoroughly combine the white with the yolk. Add buttermilk to the 2-cup line and stir with the fork to combine well. Add the liquid to the dry ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until the dough gathers into a thick, wet-looking mass.

4. Sprinkle the prepared baking sheet with whole wheat flour and scrape the dough onto it. Dust the dough with a bit more whole wheat flour, and pat the dough into a circular shape about 7 inches across and 2 inches high. Don’t be concerned about evenness. The loaf should look rustic. Make a cross-shaped indentation on top of the loaf going right to the edges. I use a plastic bench scraper and press it into the dough very gently. Don’t actually cut the dough. During baking the indentation expands, giving the top of the loaf an attractive pattern.

5. Bake the bread for about 40 minutes, until it is well-browned and sounds hollow when rapped on the bottom. An instant-read thermometer inserted to the center of the loaf should register between 195 and 200 degrees. Cool the loaf on a wire cooling rack. Eat while warm or at room temperature. To serve, cut into quarters and slice each quarter with a sharp serrated knife.

You’ll see that the sunflowers have turned green. Why? My friend, food scientist Shirley Corriher, provided the answer.

“Sunflower seeds are chock full of good-for-you things”, Shirley said, and by that she meant they’re loaded with antioxidants. Flavonoids, when they come into contact with an alkali (baking soda in the recipe), turn yellow. Other antioxidants in sunflower seeds, anthocyanins, react by turning blue. Put blue and yellow together and you get green. Nifty.

6. Storing. The loaf keeps well at room temperature, wrapped in plastic, for 2 to 3 days. The entire loaf or quarters of it may be frozen.

When completely cool, wrap in plastic and enclose in heavy-duty resealable plastic bags. Freeze for up to 2 weeks. Thaw completely before unwrapping and serving.

If desired, refresh the thawed and unwrapped bread in a preheated 300 degree oven for 10 minutes.

Makes 1 loaf, about 2¼ pounds. MT55

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Crafting a summer getaway?

16 Summer 2020

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Priest Lake Idaho

These five adventure destinations, featuring fresh air and stunning scenery, may fit the bill Lynn O’Rourke Hayes FamilyTravel.com (TNS) 1. Coeur d’Alene, Idaho Visit this Idaho resort town where active pursuits beckon from every direction. With the 25-mile-long lake as the centerpiece, your family can choose to spend the day on the beach, enjoy a range of water sports, take a scenic boat ride, go fish-

18 Summer 2020

ing or hike on an assortment of nearby trails. Stay at the Coeur d’Alene Resort for easy access to amenities that include boat and jet ski rentals, spa time, outdoor dining, and a lakeside infinity pool. Play a round on the resort’s course that is home to the world’s only floating green. Families traveling with young children will appreciate

easy access to multiple play areas and parks within walking distance.

Contact: www.VisitIdaho.org; www.cdaresort.com 2. Jackson Hole, Wyo. As a gateway to two of our most stunning national parks — Grand Teton and Yellowstone — this Wyoming para-

dise has long been a favorite stop for active travelers. Lace up your hiking shoes and explore amid the jagged peaks of the magnificent Teton Range, following scenic trails that hug the shores of String, Leigh and Trapper lakes. Spend a sunny afternoon picnicking, wading, floating, fishing or kayaking on the Snake River.

Clark Fork Riverside Spend the night in one of 25 small but luxuriously appointed and cleverly designed (by Wheelhaus) rustic cottages where you can opt for contact free check-in, cook dinner on your own grill, and savor s’mores around a campfire while planning your next day’s adventure.

Contact: www.wyomingtourism.org; https://www.firesidejacksonhole.com 3. Vail, Colo.

Your family will declare the 11-mile journey up the bumpy road “worth it!” when you arrive at this breathtaking, high-altitude location. With the pristine Piney Lake as foreground, the craggy Gore Range serves as your backdrop for an out-and-back hike to a waterfall. You’ll journey along a smooth path through low shrubs before reaching a set of switchbacks that wind through an evergreen forest and over bubbling creeks. Most families turn around at the cascades where water rushes through narrowing canyon walls.

Spend the night or just the day at Piney River Ranch where you can rent canoes, enjoy an ice cream cone or go horseback riding.

Contact: www.Vail.com; www.PineyRiverRanch.com; www.Colorado.com 4. Ely, Minn.

This small Northwoods town is the launch point for fishing, paddling and other outdoor pursuits. Those who want to pair a hiking adventure with their lake outings might consider the Kekekabic

Trail, or the Kek as it is known to local hikers. The full length of the trek winds almost 40 miles from Snowbank Road, east of Ely, through the heart of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, to the famed Gunflint Trail, west of Grand Marais. Take on a family-sized slice of this wild trail to experience rocky outcroppings, pristine lakes, scenic bluffs and eagles soaring overhead.

Listen for the rich yodeling of resident loons in the distance.

Contact: www.Kek.org; www.ExploreMinnesota.com 5. Priest Lake, Idaho Explore the nooks and crannies of this stunning 25-mile long lake tucked within the Selkirk Mountain Range, from the comfort of an historic resort. Check in to one of Elkins Resort’s 30 cedar log cabins, tucked within the tree-lined shores of the pristine lake, and choose from the sports of the season or claim your Adirondacks on the grassy lawn.

Hike through old-growth forests, discover local waterfalls, paddle a canoe, go kayaking or test your balance on a paddleboard. Check out the Priest Lake golf course, scout the mountain biking trails or play beach volleyball.

Contact: www.ElkinsResort. com MT55 Lynn O’Rourke Hayes (www.

LOHayes.com) is an author, family travel expert and enthusiastic explorer. Gather more travel intel on Twitter @lohayes, Facebook, or via FamilyTravel.com

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This project was supported in part by grant numbers 90MP0163 and 90MP0015 from the U.S. Administration on Aging, Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, D.C. 20201. Grantees undertaking projects under government sponsorship are encouraged to express freely their finds and conclusions. Points of view or opinions do not, therefore, necessarily represent official Administration on Aging policy.

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Photo by Rob Chaney/ MT 55

A panoramic image of the Rattlesnake Wilderness shows Murphy Peak and the Grant Creek Basin to the right, with the Jocko Valley visible in the upper left.

Stay outdoors, stay distanced, stay safe: Take a hike

Missoulian Staff Montana 55 Daily, it seems, we’re bombarded with advice on how

to avoid contracting the coronavirus.

Mostly, it’s of the “wear masks, wash your hands” variety — necessary, but not much fun. Better is when the experts tell us we’re safer outside, and 6 feet away from the next person.

Fortunately, the wealth of hiking trails surrounding Missoula offers plenty of opportunities to do just that. Here’s a reminder of a very few.

For many, many more, with detailed information on routes, regulations and elevation gain, see the Missoulian’s Explore: Hike, Bike, Run publication, either online or drop by the lobby for a copy. Or visit the Missoula Parks and Recreation website for information on its maps, which detail city Open Space and other local recreation areas, including hiking and biking

20 Summer 2020

trails on Mount Jumbo, Mount Sentinel and the North Hills.

The maps are available for $4 at Currents Aquatics Center, or various retailers around town.

even if only for a day.

Montana Snowbowl Wait, what? It’s summer. But as the Missoulian’s Rob Chaney points out, nobody has to fight

Erin Boggs and Joe Dixie hike with their dog Kenai up the Barmeyer Loop Trail on Mount Dean Stone.

We’ve also included a couple of hikes that are farther afield because, if you’re like us, you’re hankering to get out of town,

for a parking space to enter the Rattlesnake Wilderness’ backdoor.

While the main trailhead off

of Missoula’s Rattlesnake Drive can swarm with cars, the entry behind Point Six above Montana Snowbowl Ski Area barely warrants a skinny signpost. And that’s even though a chairlift ride eases the first 2,000 vertical feet of elevation gain, after a car ride has absorbed 2,000 more from the Missoula Valley floor. Once off the Summit Lift, you’ve still got the equivalent of Mount Jumbo to climb before reaching the wilderness boundary.

From there you can see Jumbo and neighboring Mount Sentinel looking like knobs above the University of Montana campus.

Directly below, a few bright green patches indicate the small ponds that form the headwaters of Grant Creek, dependent on a huge but barren basin on the Rattlesnake Wilderness’ western edge.

A small sign denotes the start of a ridge-walk to Murphy Peak, elevation 8,167 feet. The trail drops off a switchback just

before the top of the Point Six access road, but it disintegrates into talus slope after a few hundred yards, leaving the traveler to scramble across the spine of the wilderness boundary ridge.

“It’s a lot of space allowing a person to explore and feel they’re really remote,” said backcountry photographer Brian Christianson, who’s frequently used this backdoor route into the Rattlesnake’s inner lake swarm. “It’s got peaks, a ton of lakes, small creeks, jumbled ridges — there’s a lot of space allowing a person to explore and feel they are remote. People can connect with something beyond their lives in the city. And the fact that it’s in our backyard is icing on the cake.”

And speaking of the Rattlesnake …

Rattlesnake Wilderness Area: Spring Gulch/Stuart Peak Trail Sure, some days it seems like half of Missoula is in the Rattlesnake. But don’t be discouraged by the packed trailhead parking lot (and the cars along the road leading to it). There’s such a wealth of trails throughout its 60,000 acres that it’s easy to feel as though you’ve got the whole place to yourself, whether you’re looking for an hour’s walk, or an overnight backpack into the higher country. Plus, in the summer months, it’s wonderfully shady, with enough of an elevation gain to provide a noticeable and welcome drop in temperature.

Barmeyer Trail The lower, wide portion of the trail was created with an eye toward hikers walking abreast of one another, and sharing the space with bikers, according to Missoula Conservation Lands

Manager Morgan Valliant. The trail narrows as it gains elevation and use is more dispersed.

The trail grade also reflects use, with the pedestrian and biker portion around 10% to 12% on average, with gentle, wide switchback turns. The leg of the trail that is pedestrian-only has steeper grades of 18% to 20% on average, with tighter switchbacks to make it unrideable for most bikers.

Be warned: The trailhead parking lot is tiny, and illegally parked cars will be towed.

The M Trail and the L Trail See ‘em, bag ‘em, and pat yourself on the back for some

decent cardio.

Jewel Basin Hiking Area Got creaky knees? Billings Gazette Outdoors writer Brett French recommends this hike in the Swan Mountains about 15 miles northeast of Bigfork. He took his daughter there when she was just 3, on a hike tailor-made for tiny legs — just over a mile long and minimal elevation gain.

“The beauty of this 15,000acre hiking-only area, which includes several other lakes to hike in to,” he wrote, “ is that you gain most of the elevation driving up to the trailhead. Go as far or as little as you want, the views are great no matter

what.”

Lost Creek State Park Also for the creaky-knee set, French recommends this 502-acre park about 11 miles northwest of Anaconda. It’s only a half-mile walk from the parking area to the overlook for the 50-foot high Lost Creek Falls. “If that route doesn’t sate your hiking bug, follow the creek upstream for as far as you want as it wanders through the trees and across meadows below thousand-foot cliffs that rise to the north,” he writes. “The cliffs are home to mountain goats, bighorn sheep and large raptors like golden eagles. Camping is available in the park if you want to hang out for a couple of days.”

The Sawmill Gulch trail in Missoula’s Rattlesnake Valley is one of the most used local trails and caters to a variety of non-motorized use. mt55mag.com

21

5 questions to ask about visiting nursing homes

Photo by Meagan Thompson/ MT 55

Noralee Driscoll, a resident of The Springs at Butte, and her son Brian Driscoll, the plant operations director, demonstrate the use of the looking glass — a Plexiglas partition used for family meetings with residents of the Butte nursing home.

AARP Montana Nursing homes are starting to resume in-person visits for families in many states as COVID-19 restrictions ease. These visits will be different than before the pandemic, at least for some time.

There may be limits on when, where and for how long you can see loved ones, and distancing rules will likely be in place.

AARP has developed some key questions to ask nursing homes, assisted living, and other long-term care facilities — and yourself — about when and how visitation might resume.

1. What is the nursing home doing to help make it safe for visitors to come back?

Has the facility met the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recommendations for allowing visitors? For example:

22 Summer 2020

Has it gone at least 28 days without a new COVID-19 case?

Are cases declining in the surrounding community?

Have all residents and staff been tested for COVID-19?

Does it have enough staff?

Are there adequate supplies of personal protective equipment (PPE) and cleaning and disinfecting products?

Are there plans to permit outdoor visits as a transitional step, like some states have allowed?

2. What kinds of health checks will be required for visitors?

Is the facility following federal guidelines for visitor screening, including: Checking visitors’ temperatures?

Asking about COVID-19 symptoms and potential expo-

sure?

Observing visitors for any symptoms or signs of infection?

3. Are visits restricted by time and place?

Do I need to make an appointment with the nursing home to visit a loved one?

Will visiting hours be restricted, or individual visits timelimited?

Can I request a schedule for when I can visit my loved one on a regular basis?

Can I go to my loved one’s room, or are visits limited to designated areas inside (or outside) the facility?

Can more than one person visit a resident at a time?

Who can I contact if I am denied a visit with my loved one?

4. What protective and social-distancing measures are

in place, in accordance with federal guidelines?

Do I have to wear a mask?

Will the nursing home provide one for me?

Is hand sanitizer available on-site, or do I need to bring my own?

Do I have to stay 6 feet from my loved one?

Can I bring food or gifts for my loved one?

5. Are you doing everything possible to minimize risks to residents?

Don’t visit if you feel ill, even if the symptoms are mild.

Don’t visit if you’ve had close contact with someone with COVID-19 in the previous two weeks.

Keep visits short — and stay outdoors, if possible.

Consider a virtual visit instead. MT55

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