FOOD FOR THE ROAD

Food was not a big concern when I hit the road in June. Especially since over the past few years this walker has limited his food intake more and more. These days, my diet is almost entirely fruit, milk and yogurt, tea and soda. Being a vegetarian most my life, the change to being a fruitarian has been incremental and not particularly difficult.

Along the way, I have had people tell me, “I would die without beef.” Well, I gave that up decades ago. And then many other victuals slowly over time. Walking down the road, my only real concerns were for water and dry places to nap and sleep. Only once did I resort to filling a plastic bottle or two with water from a pond on the side of the highway. 

As for food, I nibbled or sucked on almonds, berries, and the pods of gum plants along the way. Carrying “real” food would have just added to an already overweight backpack. I should throw in that I had one “meal” thanks to Pastor Matt when he took me to a weekly senior citizen’s luncheon in Winnett. I skipped the meat entree and settled for some mashed potatoes, a little bread and a few green beans. Apple spice cake topped off the meal. Then, some kind benefactor shared a box of fresh cherries to interested folks. I was interested and picked up a handful. Later, I wished to have taken more.

I must admit to indulging my predilection for sweets on a few occasions – and then I found tasty treats and some quite curious caterers on the road. This is the real reason for this blog. You see I ran across some out-of-the-ordinary food shops along the way.

The first was the Big Sky Grocery which seems to have gotten bigger and better since I had visited years ago. It was a short jaunt from the gazebo at Eddie’s Corner where I slept my first night on the road. It is owned and run by an Amish colony. Details about how they appeared in Montana are lacking, but this Amish effort includes a full grocery and a deli as well as a “selection of homemade quilts, clocks, and outdoor furniture and gazebos.”

It appears that the Amish are spreading their wings from Ohio and Indiana to the West in search of less expensive land and wide open spaces. Google says that the Amish numbers have grown from around 180,000 in 2000 to 410,000 in 2025. Montana’s Hutterite colonies number just above 50,000 members. They are growing, but nothing like the Amish.

I didn’t indulge much at the Big Sky Grocery. I just picked up a soda and a little berry pie that looked like a scone. The Amish must make them. The pie didn’t last long as I headed back to the east. I do recommend the Big Sky Grocery – they were quite friendly folks. And, I recently discovered that another Amish group has just opened a store on property in the nearby ghost town of Barber. Google hasn’t discovered the outlet yet. But, locals have been there.

Before long on the road, Lewistown appeared on the horizon and walked through quickly except for a stop at the Post Office and the Central Montana Variety Store. I got another soda and some treat – but its taste did not stick in memory. The weather got rugged and windy again on the way out of Lewistown, and I held up in a huge barn owned by the veterinarian Greg Carlson. I enjoyed visits with him and his brother Jason. I slept on top of a stack of hay bales in the building and didn’t head out until the clouds lifted the next day.

Back down the road a few days to the east, the miles turned into more miles as I eventually crossed the “Montinental Divide.” I thought maybe there would be something of a climb and I would have to gear up. But the hills and trees merely drifted away and the prairie took over the space. Google calls the DIVIDE “a playful, informal geographic concept used in Montana to describe the 520-mile-long drainage ridge that splits eastern Montana. This local divide separates the Yellowstone River and Missouri River watersheds.”

Down Highway 200 somewhere in the middle of nowhere, I espied a little shed in front of a large corral. There was no sign except for OPEN. How could I not stop and see who and what was inside?

It was just a tiny place with no one “at home,” just a sweetly arranged collection of baked goodies and some items of apparel for sale. Well, I had to buy a few of Gramma’s Cookies and an apple muffin or two, leaving my cash in a container placed by the door. 

But, where was Gramma? I tried to find out. Across the highway was a farmhouse, so I ventured over to find a young man named Kahle. He told me little except his long German-sounding last name, that he was a rancher and “Gramma” was his girlfriend. He pointed to a young woman out in the distant who seemed to be doing some gardening. But, I could not induce him to introduce me. Apparently, Gramma and her friend just wanted to make and sell goodies and remain incognito. I still would like to find out more about Grandma. She would make for a good story.

Then there was an even better story down the road in Winnett, MT. I slipped into the tiny town late one night and snuggled up in my sleeping bag next to an empty storefront, but not before noticing the nearby coffee shop. It took time to get my bearings in the morning, but I soon found my way to the Punchy Paint Coffee Shop. Quite a novel name for a place which serves “coffee with a wild western spirit – fueling faith, community, creativity & connection.”

Punchy Paint takes up the first floor of the Old 55 building which was moved a couple blocks in 2023 to open the space where the Petroleum County Community Center was constructed. “Paint” is a perfect name for the imaginatively decorated interior. It was a treat just to sit and take in all the colors as well as the many horses “painted” on the walls. Colors, colors and more colors.

Katie Lund, the proprietor, provided that and much more – most especially Kindness to this traveler and surely many others who cross her path. That first morning in Winnett, Katie served me mint tea and a cinnamon roll. She tracked me down a couple other times with tea as well as finding me a better resting spot one night. 

 

Besides being a look-alike for Julia Roberts and proprietor of Punchy Paint, Katie does extra duty working with Winnett ACES and handles bookkeeping chores for other businesses. She has five young children, a nearby ranch, obvious horse interests, and her rancher husband J.R. to round up her many duties, chores, and loves. Katie employs a number of local women to make baked goods and serve coffee. They also offer breakfast sandwiches and hot comfort foods as well as fruit pies and Wilcoxson’s ice cream to please customers.

Before closing, I must comment that there are many truck stops on the road which have little more than manufactured “foods” in cans and plastic bags. To be sure, there are others which provide respectable foods and service. These three places on the road are extraordinary. I recommend them highly and suggest you keep an eye out for them the next time you drive to the east in Montana on Highway 200.