Two Dot, Montana, according to a sign outside of town, is Easy to Find, Hard to Leave.
Situated on U.S. Highway 12 near Harlowton, it mainly consists of a “real” Montana bar and
grill, with a cowboy-hatted boar’s head and other bric-a-brac. Above a large orange sign
proclaiming 15th Annual Testicle Festival are two others that say: Reject Animal Activists,
and Cows May Come and Cows May Go, But the Bull in Here Goes on Forever!
Two Dot bar’s
customers range from burly bikers to cowboys, kids and a septuagenarian named Helen, whose
craggy face shows a world of living. She explains that John Steinbeck (“a big, rawboned,
nice man”) had once come through here while researching Travels With Charlie. “I was a
waitress then,” she recalls. “I waited on him.” Today, Two Dot’s claim to fame may be the
cheeseburger served by a pretty barmaid. I had been warned that the burger was so good, I
might not want to leave the withered burg with its scattering of gray buildings. It is one
heck of a cheeseburger, and if it should get better known, McDonald’s could be in trouble.
In 1934, Two Dot had a population of 150. It probably has just as many now, including the
motorhomers, cowboys and bikers who stop for a cold beer and a fabulous burger in this tiny
part of yesterday’s America.
