It would be a dirty shame to miss Yaak

© 2011 Lydia Hinshaw

Half of downtown Yaak

The Yaak River near downtown

 YAAK, MT -- Some places call out to me from road-maps.  They are tiny dots, alone on long, thin, squiggly lines that connect eventually with the broader stripe of a state or U.S. Highway.

 Yaak is out there.  Way out there.

 There are three businesses in downtown Yaak, but only if you count the bar that's attached to the mercantile as a separate operation.

 Across the road is the Dirty Shame Saloon, its porch graced this early Friday afternoon with an individual firmly attached to a beer (not his first.)  He was friendly enough, but appeared to be too drunk to stand up.

 On either side of Yaak are miles of wilderness, occasionally broken up by a trophy home, or a summer getaway cabin.  Bushwack a few miles to the north, and you can find yourself in Canada, illegally.

 Thirty miles south on a narrow road is Libby, and the nearest shopping.  We didn't come by Libby, but wandered in 29 miles from the main road to Idaho.  We found a Forest Service campground two miles from downtown and spent the night.

 Saturday morning, we left in a hurry, because it was 34 degrees when we woke up.  I didn't have to be asked twice to trade the experience of cold cereal for the heated seats in the Magic Bus.

 Had it been any other morning of the week, we could have had a hot breakfast at the Dirty Shame, which is a restaurant as well as a bar.  Alas, it never opens on Saturday morning.

 Instead, we drove 60 more miles of thin, squiggly road into Eureka, where there's a friendly 50s diner and the temperature was at least above 40.

 From there it's 50 miles to Whitefish and the coffee shop with wi-fi that has become our unofficial summer headquarters.

 I may never take the time to go back to Yaak.  But I'm glad I went there once.