I've been asked many times how I come across all the places I photograph. Most of the time I find them through google earth, or flickr contacts, history books on the area...the list goes on. But in the case of Molt Montana, my dad was the first to point it out to me. He read about it in Parade magazine (newspaper insert I assume) in a section called "our town". You can see that article here. Dad told me about the Prairie Winds Cafe in Molt Montana at least a year or two ago and I had wanted to attend their Saturday breakfast with live music ever since. In August Robert and I ventured through Molt without stopping at the cafe on our way to somewhere else, but finally yesterday, I got to go inside and enjoy breakfast and amazing music. The drive to Molt is quite beautiful--once you have gotten through Billings (the largest city in Montana), that is. Billings is right up against a big mesa--a rocky cliff with a sheer drop off. To get to Molt you drive up the mesa and immediately you find yourself on flat, high, rolling prairie looking at view of the Rocky Mountains on three sides--north, west and south. It really is a one of a kind sight. You feel so high up and everything feels so open and beautiful. I took the photos above and below in August of 2011. Robert and I never had time to stop at the cafe that day unfortunately. But it sure was worth coming back three months later---to the day, oddly enough! When we first pulled up at the cafe we knew--this was a local hang out. Maybe in the summer some tourists invade, but that day we got to experience the cafe with just the locals. (Above) the older gentlemen hanging around outside the building were discussing the weather at length. We walked inside and immediately felt at home! The music was in full swing, the old (original) shelves were lined with antiques for sale, they even had the original floor to ceiling ladder that rolls past the shelving. And aside from the waitresses, Robert and I were the youngest people in the place by many, many years. I can't tell you if we had to wait awhile for our food to come because the music just made the time slip by! Check out the clip below. I only regret that all I had with me was my phone so the videos and photos weren't better. The food was divine. Everything was made from scratch, right down to the home made bread they used to make toast. My pancakes were perfect, Robert's omelet had fresh cherry tomatoes inside, and the pecan roll was incredible! But even if the food hadn't been great the music and atmosphere would have completely made up for it! The band classifies themselves as 40s-50s country bluegrass. They had such personality! Even if they didn't know every song request made by their small audience, they would put their heart and soul into it! And what really made me smile was the fact that not a single member was under 65 (at least). The harmonica player had oxygen tubes up his nose! You won't find them anywhere on the internet, but Jim Southner and Southbound was a truly great band with a sound that in almost all other parts of the world is nearly extinct. Their music combined with the feeling in the old cafe transports you to another time--to me, it is what America is all about. Classic. And I loved that this place was so real--it's no tourist trap with a show to put on. The guests are local farmers and ranchers from the area, the band plays for fun and makes no ambitions to get a record deal or become famous (although maybe they should!) and the food is real, home made cooking--no fancy chef made it. Near the end of our time at the cafe, a dad and his young daughter came in for some breakfast but she got so into the music that instead of eating she got her dad to start dancing with her to each song! It was so cute. After nearly two hours of great music and food (and chatting with the band) we had to leave. We wished we could stay for lunch (as it looked incredible, and they offered at least 10 kinds of pies I have never had before) but we just had to get going. We very much enjoyed the scenery on the way back to Billings.... (Above and Below) this is what it looks like driving down from the high prairie. It's beautiful--you can't tell but that's Billings way out in the distance. One last random thing I have to mention--while shopping at the mall in Billings I was delighted to find that coats that look as if they were taken from the 1950s and 60s have come back into style! I didn't actually buy one but maybe someday!
All in all we had a fun day. And you can bet that someday soon we will be back again for more music and breakfast at the cafe! We had to get up at 5 am just to make it in time but it was well worth it.
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"Anything, everything, little or big, becomes an adventure when the right person shares it." --Kathleen Norris Archives
May 2017
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