boyski
girlski
i was blessed with two parents that believed in taking vacations to national parks rather than commercial destinations like disneyland. my very first vacation was to took was rocky mountain national park before i even turned 2 years old. then came yellowstone. and grand teton. the badlands. and glacier national park. and the list on up to 24 parks.
my favorite national park was glacier national park. it was the first place that i took a hike. first place that i spent the night in the backcountry. first place i saw a glacier, first place i saw bear. needless to say, glacier has a special place in my heart.
one of my favorite locations in glacier (or rather, just outside of glacier) was polebridge. polebridge is a small community at the end of a dirt road that consists only of a mercantile, a saloon, an outhouse, and a few cabins. there is no electricity in the tiny community. it’s far off the grid, far from civilization, but so close to the rugged beauty of northwest glacier national park. it’s amazing.
originally, it was my dad’s idea to visit polebridge. we were a little skeptic of his idea as we drove 40 miles down a mudpuddle laden dirt road, however once we visited the “merc” we recognized his genius. stepping into the merc, was a step back in time, but a step that was greeted with the glorious smell of fresh cinnamon rolls and other baked goods. the baked goods were sold to us by a hippie-esque employee that talked about homesteading and living without tv for 3 years. this store was so filled with charm that we would make the 40 mile trip down a gravel road every time we traveled to montana. polebridge became a place i regularly visited in my daydreams.
so, imagine my delight, when i stumbled across this article while surfing the web. that’s right — the iconic polebridge mercantile is for sale! it comes with all the inventory of the merc and even a cooking lesson for the world-famous cinnamon rolls! all for a small price tag of $950,000.
i think i may have found my dream job!
