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TRAVEL BLOG ENTRY
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“Wheat Silos and Ice Cold Beer” |
Regent was our first official town stop in what would become a ten day road trip of small towns. Driving into Regent was the quintessential small town. We passed the Co-op grocery store, the last standing one, the Sinclair gas station (Remember the Dinosaur) and convenience store, a few small store fronts and a bar advertising “Cold Beer”. Yes!
We rounded the corner and located the Crocus Inn only 1 block from the Main Street. I must tell you that there may be only 5 streets in the whole town. The Inn is charming and quaint and beautifully landscaped from the outside. It becomes even better once you step foot in the welcoming door. After a long day of traveling the call of a power nap was calling, but not calling louder than the “Cold Beer” sign from the town bar called the Cannonball Saloon. When we walked into the brick front building I would not have expected to find such a cute, welcoming, hometown bar. The bartender, named Jim, and the one sole customer sitting down the bar from us came to be our tour guides and historians of the town. We learned about the huge pheasant population and hunting draw that Regent provides. It turns out people from around the world come to Regent to Pheasant hunt for their 3-a-day maximum hunt, during the fall and early winter. Only 3 pheasants a day would seem to barely make a dent in the billion birds that inhabit the surrounding areas. They run through the streets from the fields that encompass the town and driving down the quiet highway is like steering through an obstacle course with birds either running across or flying out of the fields right in front of your car. Traveling with your windows down you can hear the familiar cackle of the birds from both sides of the road.
After our cold beer and great visit with the Krauter (Yes, can you believe that close variation of the name?) couple, the Regent high school sweethearts who left ND and came back to open this business, we headed to the Crocus Inn. The Crocus Inn, owned by Bonnie and Don Gion was moved to its location after Bonnie, found out the house was going to be torn down in the nearby town of Mott. She couldn’t let the house go, so they bought it, moved it to town, renovated it, and have turned it into the inn where they serve lunches to large groups, run and B&B, as well as a gift store and coffee house. They do not live at the Inn; they live on their farm where Donnie is a hobby farmer. We thought this was interesting to know that a hobby farmer is someone who farms less than 1,000 acres. Yeah, that sounds like a hobby. The Inn was beautiful and restored to its original Victorian look. After our visit and a long nap, we headed to Mott for dinner. Bonnie had recommended the restaurant called the Last Go Round for a great meal. Our trip out to Mott, which was about 10 miles out of Regent, was another pass through a small town is about the same size as Regent’s 100 resident population. The Final Go Round Supper Club doesn’t look like much from the front and the inside, while clean and cute, was simple. Simplicity ended at the atmosphere because our meal was complex and delicious. I had the Salmon and baked potato. The dill butter made both the fish and the potato a favorite for me during the whole trip. Joe’s prime rib was also excellent and we both very much enjoyed our dinner. After our meal the Chef Jay, came out. We had already met Jay’s wife, Rachel. She was a server at the restaurant and the two of them were both hospitable and welcoming. It turns out that they, like the Krauters from the Cannonball Saloon, had also left the area and returned to open the business after Jay “got sick of eating bad food and overcooked steak.” On the way home from the Final Go Round we enjoyed the beautiful sunset. The sun in ND sets around 9:45pm and stays light until almost 11 in the summer. The day never seems to end and allowed us to get around town and around curvy unlit highways until late at night. The road surrounded by fields of wheat and the vastness that would be our company during this journey. We didn’t pass one car nor did one pass us on our drive from Regent to Mott. On our return from dinner Joe would tell me to pull over during our drive to take pictures of the dynamic sunset, bounty of pheasants. You could believe the tremendous quiet! After a while we realized we didn’t need to pull over, we just had to stop. Silent in the middle of forever highways, we stopped and watched our first ND sunset slip behind the grain elevator silhouette in the distance. Standing in the middle of this highway with all of this vastness around us, we felt very small in this brand new world we wee exploring.
After sitting in the garden, back at the Crocus Inn that night, we enjoyed the air, cool and crisp, completely the opposite from the intense warm, dry heat from the day. Sleep beckoned after this great first day and we were quite happy to listen.
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