Most remote place you've ever stayed

Un otro para Nuevo Mexico:

Had to stay in Clayton after a doe committed suicide on my Ford Escort a few miles out of town about 2 a.m. I was just starting my vacation, heading up to Denver, and had to spend the entire next day buying another car.

And while it may not be as uncivilized, vacationing in Key West was a bit out of the way.

 

Coincidentally I was telling my wife this story over dinner tonight. I was 29 and moving from one job to another and I was driving across Texas. I wanted to stay in a large city, but I didn't think I could make it, so I got off in Flatonia midway between Houston and San Antonio and checked into Grumpy's Motor Inn:

http://www.grumpysmotorinn.com/

I decided I needed to get drunk. I drove into the little town and found what appeared to be a bar. I mean, people were in there drinking. However, when I tried to order a drink, I was told it was a "setup bar" -- you could not buy alcohol, you could only buy things to mix with alcohol, a cup of ice, soda, juice. Other than that, it seemed exactly like a bar. But a bar with no booze for sale.

Fortunately, there was a large bottle of Jack Daniels in the trunk of my car. It had been a going-away gift from the boyfriend of one of my ex-girlfriends, who had run into me one night in a bar and proceeded to buy me drink after drink while trying to elicit the magic advice about how to get along with this woman. I told him if I knew that, she wouldn't be an ex-girlfriend, would she? But apparently he valued the few insights I provided and a few months later when he heard I was moving, he gave me the bottle, which was buried under all kinds of shit in the trunk of my car in Flatonia, Texas.

Well, I unpacked my trunk on the main street of Flatonia, Texas, unearthed the large bottle of Jack Daniels, repacked my car on the main street of Flatonia, Texas, and went back to the bar (or whatever you call it) and got rip-roarin' drunk with some Flatonians. At one point a middle-age fat lady introduced me to a local newspaperman who referred to himself as "the Dave Barry of Flatonia." They were friendly folks in Flatonia, but the whole thing was a little weird.

 

Great story, Frank, and I'm not sure what strikes me funnier: That there's a place in Texas called Flatonia or that someone actually calls himself "the Dave Barry of Flatonia."

 

Grand Marais, MI- tiny town on the Lake Superior shoreline, not too terribly far from where the Edmund Fitzgerald went down. Small roominghouse/hotel run by a nice 1000-year old lady. Wasn't the Ritz by any means (one shared bathroom for around eight or nine rooms) but it was ok.

Shelby, MT- cousin and I were heading to the Calgary Olympics. No tickets, no reservations. It was a Sunday night/Monday morning, and we weren't allowed across the border into Coutts, Alberta without seeing a supervisor. Had to come back the next morning so the nearest town with a hotel (Shelby) was 15 miles back from whence we came. Just a Super 8 or something like that. Got about three hours sleep and got back on the road. Ended up staying one night in Banff (basically a closet for a hundred bucks), four in Lethbridge (cheap enough but a 2.5 hour drive each way from Calgary) and one in Red Deer before heading home and stopping in Medicine Hat (had to see a WHL game between the Tigers and Seattle T-Birds- Trevor Linden was THE man in the Hat).

Timmins, Ontario- wasn't a hotel, but stayed with good friends up there. Early June, and it was the hottest city in Canada the weekend we were there (35-38 degrees C each day). But the booze and fellowship made up for the sweaty heat.

Waubaushene, Ontario- small town in the middle of nowhere north of Barrie. Buddy and I were heading to Sudbury in early November way back when, an ice storm comes out of nowhere (after record heat the two days before) and, with him driving, we hit ice and ended up rolling his car. Stranded with only a small fleabag hotel and the gas station/convenience store around. Had to wait for the insurance adjuster the next day before getting a ride back to civilization.

Camping doesn't count, but family did set up tent about 50 feet from the Lake Superior shoreline at McLain State Park outside Calumet on the Keewenaw Peninsula. Fabulous spot!

 

Sirs, Madames,

Five nights in Moose Factory.

End of thread.

YHS, etc

 

Marrakesh, Morocco.

Was taken to dinner one night, sent down an alleyway where I was convinced they were gonna harvest a kidney, only to go to a wonderful restaurant.

And as for the airport: one gate and a gravel parking lot.

 

Mr Fly,

You have to take an hour flight from Timmins in a bush plane to Moosonee and then a snowmobile across the river to Moose Factory.

Been to Tucamari. Been to Shelby (on the road to Medicine Hat, Gomer). Been to Hondo, N.M., on way to Roswell. Rimouski. Moose Jaw. North shore of Superior hitch-hiking. I had a t-shirt that said Dogpatch, Tenn. from grade school days but I think it was just a souvenir, not a place.

But look up Moose Factory.

The Significant Other spent years in the Yukon and was on assignment for two weeks last spring in Barrow, Alaska, which is officially the end of the civilized earth.

YHS, etc

 

Marathon, NY. Driving to Buffalo one night when we hit snow squalls. Decided to pull over and ended up at a rickety looking place that actually ended up being very nice and comfortable...with an excellent breakfast to boot.

 

fortunately the most remote places I've had to stay overnight for work to cover something are Hershey, Pa. and Shippensburg, Pa. (depending on which one you consider more remote)
And with this comment, I reach 1900 posts

 

So I take it you didn't stay at the Single Tree Inn, two hours southwest in Ulysses, Kan.

Ulysses -- home of the Tigers -- is 30 miles east of the Colorado border, but it is a Class 4A town, so it does have a Subway and a McDonald's.

 

I know Moose Factory- just don't have any need or desire to head there! Heard enough about it from the 56-goal scorer who came from there, and those who worked within his development curve. Hard to fathom going to a place that's so far past where the roads and train tracks end. Bet it would be a fun place to visit. Just not in February.

I'd would love to make my first trek to Whitehorse for this year's Canada Winter Games. But if I have to dip into my empty pockets, ain't no way it be happenin'!

 

It is a toss-up between:

Newton, Iowa - driving cross-country, the Holiday Inn off I-80 was the first hotel I came across as I started to notice the effects of sleep deprivation. There is a KFC/Taco Bell there. That's about it.

Calais, Maine - Border town. The International Motel on U.S. 1 has "river views." Meaning the muddy banks of the St. Croix. However, there's a Marden's in town and the gas stations sell booze.

Brunswick, Georgia - a stopover on the way to Key West. The point in the trip where my father insisted we pull over and stay the night. My mom and I went across the street from the hotel we were at to buy wine at the gas station and the first bottle we saw was grape Mad Dog.

Victoria, Texas - This was just because. Outside of a car dealership on U.S. 59 was this massive inflatable gorilla and it begged for a picture to be taken. Plus, I had a great steak at The Corral.