Billings Blues & Brews Tour

Rider/Reviewers: Rich and Janine Westrick

IT’S IN BILLINGS.  Well, we were going to find out. My wife and I left for Billings to attend the Magic City Blues Festival and Montana Fair.

We arrived in Billings at the Crowne Plaza Hotel on Friday. Before we left I had called to ask if there was secure parking for our Harleys. They said no, but assured us there had never been any trouble in their lot or in the parking garage.  This turned out to be true, but we would have felt better if there was secure parking for our rides closer to the hotel.

The staff was very friendly and helpful taking care of our needs and questions (even the dumb ones), quickly and with a smile. Bikers don’t always get treated this well, so for us we felt welcome from the get-go and knew the stay was going to be special!  The hotel has been through a recent major remodel, purchased by the Crowne Plaza in 2007, and reflects big city class in the warm culture of genuine western hospitality. 

Off to dinner at The Rex, just a couple of blocks from the hotel.  For history buffs, The Rex is a real piece of the old west.  Originally built in 1919 by Alfred Heimer who was Buffalo Bill Cody's chef for his Wild West Show, it was a 2-story hotel, restaurant, and home of the Buffalo Bill Bar—the place to meet in Billings!  Will James, Calamity Jane, and Buffalo Bill were regulars; and during Prohibition, word has it that the Billings' constabulary were some of its best customers.  Today, we had great food and were again treated so well by the staff. Yes, we looked like scooter trash, but that didn’t make a difference at this fine dining establishment. I recommend the Jambalaya Pasta and my wife would have the Rex Kabob again for breakfast.  WOW!!! The Rex is located in the center of all the action of the Magic City Blues Festival, so from dinner to the festival was a walk out the front door.

Blues music was being played at two different locations a couple of blocks apart. Venders lined the street selling t-shirts, food, fine jewelry made especially for a festival like this (beads & bobbles) and yes, COLD beer, wine, liquor and even the hard to find jello shots! Yes—you could walk around the streets enjoying your beverage. Where to sit? No problem, the seating was plentiful, be it a chair, a retaining wall, or even the curb, which is not new to a biker! There were tables which were free, and just across the street they had tables that went for $500. Waitress staff roamed the crowd taking drink orders, handy huh?! The author of this article (I’ve always wanted to say that!) had good intentions of memorizing this event with a camera but managed to get only one picture. We were just so wrapped up in it all! Nice way to put it, isn’t it? The headliner for the evening was Dilbert McClinton. His performance was the last of the evening. Talk about a show! I don’t know how they got him, but the organizers are to be more than congratulated, they should all get a jello shot or two!! The whole outdoor event was nothing less than fabulous!! Just a great outdoor setting for a Blues Festival, old town Billings, next to a railroad track with an occasional train going by with its horn blowing, you just have to be there!

Saturday morning we enjoyed a tasty buffet breakfast on the 20th floor of the Crowne Plaza and had a table looking west over the city.  Looking east into the sun that morning would have been slightly painful, I call it biker’s eyes; some call it too much fun the night before! Anyway, the food was very tasty, not very warm, but the fruit was nice and cold! All hit the spot—how do they do it?

We then saddled up and went to the Moss Mansion for a guided tour of the home of P.B. Moss, who had the mansion built for his family in the early 1900s. It’s quite a place—fancy for its time and remarkably well preserved for all to enjoy today. We suggest, if the weather is hot, doing the tour first thing in the morning as it gets extremely warm in the house; the tour guide said a few people have actually passed out after going upstairs and being so hot! After taking this tour, you really appreciate our modern air conditioning.  P.B. Moss came to Billings in 1892, and had a profound impact on the city.  He was prominent in banking, organized the first dial telephone company in the area, founded a newspaper, and started a central heating plant. He developed the Billings Light and Water Power Company and the Northern Hotel, and he was involved in development of local irrigation, the sugar factory, and the Billings Polytechnic Institute (now Rocky Mountain College). He also ran 80,000 head of sheep and several thousand head of cattle—a very busy guy.

The next stop for us was the Yellowstone Art Museum. Avoiding long words that describe exhibits at the museum, I have to say we just did not get some of the art on display, especially the deer hooked up to a propane tank! Cooking demonstration?! Now, the Will James and the C.M. Russell works were awesome! The young artist’s exhibit was really good but made you wonder what’s going through our young people’s minds, I’m hoping good thoughts!

It’s lunch time at Tiny’s Tavern. This is a working man’s bar and grill. We chose to sit outside in the patio dining area. It was great out there, a nice breeze, just flat relaxing (remember, my mind is still trying to digest the conflicts between the natural and the constructed at the art museum)! Our waitress was outgoing and friendly, and was so sorry our order was taking so long—no problem, we were still working on the deer/propane thing. The food was so-so, but we will go back to this place, great atmosphere and a place where you can really unwind.

After our lunch we were off to MetraPark and the Montana Fair—no problems there parking our motorcycles! Boy was it HOT out! We walked through the carnival area first. A mom and her kids were looking at the price of ride tickets; she shook her head and moved her brood along. My wife and I had a sheet of ride tickets and both got the same idea at the same time. We’ve never seen so much jumping up and down, kids so happy to get ride tickets; they must have said Thank You a hundred times!! It felt so good to be able to share those tickets. I don’t know who got the most enjoyment out of them, but I think we did. Then we headed for the shade and comfort if the vender booths, crafts and livestock exhibits. The County Sheriff had a booth, and I couldn’t resist asking for a mug shot of them.  They obliged in good nature.

The smell of fair food saturates the air, and I have to say it was one of the toughest things we’ve done to beat the temptation.  But, we had reservations that evening for dinner at Walker’s Grill.

Now, let me tell you about Walker’s Grill. They were ready for us and they knew us. They said, “You must be the Westrick’s, the Harley riders!” It might have been the way we were dressed, or it could have been the tattoos and piercings, I don’t know! None of it made any difference.  It was obvious we were in for a treat and we certainly got it—great atmosphere, cool and relaxing with soothing background music. The dinner started with roasted red pepper soup for me and salad for my wife. The first spoon of soup was a complete surprise—it wasn’t hot, it wasn’t warm, it wasn’t cold—it was chilled!! Oh, I get it!  This is one of those cold soup deals—it was delicious! The shrimp and the tenderloin were prepared by someone who knew what he (she?) was doing—both perfect and delicious.  We were offered dessert, but declined, we were honestly too full. Walker’s is a total dining experience and a darn good one!

You ever heard of Bill Engvall? One of the Blue Collar Comedians? We have, and we had tickets to his show back at MetraPark after dinner. His humor connects with just about anybody who has a pulse and he’s very family-friendly. It was about a 2-hour show that seemed to go by in minutes. He was soooo good, we will never forget it. If you ever get the chance to see him, do so! You get a real cool feeling hearing thousands laughing at the same time at the same thing.  And, an important side note:  parking the bikes at MetraPark for this event was a surprise. There was actually an area roped off, under a light close to the event center. That was a good thing for a biker. It sets your mind at ease and lets you enjoy things more.

The next day was Sunday, a busy day for us.  We had a motorcycle club meeting in the afternoon and we had a lot to do. We did not start out with breakfast, opting to go straight to Pompeys Pillar National Monument (I think we got there right after the Ranger did). The visitor center and gift shop was really nice, very informative, and on level ground. We recommend warming up, doing some stretches, getting limber before climbing 105 stairs to see Clark’s dated signature. Bikers are not known for being in great physical shape, but 105 steps up and 105 steps down put us a little closer to physical fitness. This is a cool slice of history (the only known physical evidence of Clark’s journey) with a great facility and a classic Montana setting—being there in the morning, we saw deer, rabbits and a variety of birds in the cottonwood meadow at the site. The Pillar is actually one of the official sites on Custer Country’s Southeastern Montana Birding Trail.  The Lewis & Clark expedition sure picked the right place to rest.

We fired up and headed back toward Billings to go to the Pictograph Cave State Park. The road to the park was a terrific motorcycle road, winding and twisting through the hills which were dotted with the most unusual rock formations. If you don’t have Montana license plates on your vehicle be prepared to pay $5 to visit the park. The 1-hour guided tour through the park wasn’t scheduled for another ½ hour. Our schedule just did not allow for the time, so we agreed that we needed to add this to our plans for a return trip.  In addition to the pictographs, the park is rich in geology, archeology, plants and wildlife.  We headed back to Billings.

Now we’re really hungry for breakfast and the McCormick Café on historic Montana Avenue is where we went—again this is just a couple blocks from the Crowne Plaza.  The type of service was unusual but it gets the job done. You stand in line to order, tell them where you will sit and get a number to put on the table. Our food was there quick, it was great, a real unique café, with young staff—it was comfortable and casual!!

Time to head home.  We stopped at the Staggering Ox to pick up a sandwich to have later that afternoon. The service was terrific; they made us sandwiches that were most unusual—made up in bread in the shape of a drinking glass and hollowed out in the middle then stuffed with sandwich ingredients. They even packed the sandwiches in a brown paper bag and we were down the road. The sandwiches were good and hit the spot later that day.

After this weekend we understand better what the IT’S means in the “IT’S IN BILLINGS” phrase. If it isn’t there we’re sure it will be soon. We just can’t get what two deer hooked up to a propane tank has to do with art.  Maybe that is the point and IT’S IN BILLINGS!!

Date of Ride:  August 8 – 10, 2008
Type of Ride:   Rich: Harley Davidson Ultra Classic Electra Glide
Janine:  Harley Davidson Fatboy

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