Country Coffee Cabin – Midvale, Idaho

The Country Coffee Cabin was a welcome sight as we searched for a breakfast spot on our day long drive from McCall, Idaho to Portland, Oregon.

We left the Brundage Inn in McCall long before the sun came up.

And our moonlit drive through the mountains was a peaceful, beautiful journey.

But that long and winding road meant there were very few places on the map where we could stop for breakfast. And then we saw the Country Coffee Cabin in Midvale, Idaho…Population 160.

The smell of  freshly brewed coffee greeted us as soon as we opened the door, and we felt certain that our breakfast would taste as good as that coffee smelled!

The cute little log cabin cafe was filled with souvenirs, and I wandered around the shopping area before we seated ourselves at a sunny table near a window.

Jesika was our friendly server, and she was quick to arrive with a menu…and a smile. (That combination just can’t be beat, no matter where we are!)

The menu at the Country Coffee Cabin was filled with many delicious-sounding choices, and I asked Jesika if I could have a taste of their homemade sausage gravy before I placed my breakfast order.

She was quick to oblige. And after that sample bite I was happy to order a warm biscuit smothered in that sausage goodness. And the rest of my breakfast tasted pretty darn good as well!

On the morning we visited, Jesika was sharing “front of house” duties with another friendly server named Kristen….

and the two young ladies were happy to answer our questions about living in such a remote and rural area in Idaho. It was so interesting to hear stories about their high school experiences since the school districts in that isolated area of Idaho are so small. Kristen told me she had nine students in her graduating class in high school. And Jesika had twenty-two in her class. (I told the girls I could relate to that, since I attended a one room school in rural Iowa as a child…and there were FOUR students in my class…and I was the only girl!)

Jesika was quite tall, and I asked her if she had played a sport in high school. She said she had played volleyball, and she continued the sport in junior college in Ontario, Oregon.

Since we were passing through Midvale just as another school year was beginning, I asked about their high school football teams, and how far they had to travel to games. 

They told me the longest high school “away game” for their eight-man football team was a three hour drive through the mountains to Horseshoe Bend! I can’t imagine riding a school bus at night on those narrow roads and through those snowy mountain passes during a snowstorm…but they seemed to take it all in stride.

Both young woman told me they love where they live, and the isolation is part of the reason they love it so much. In fact both girls were wearing shirts bearing the slogan “Born To Be A Farmer”.

So after our delicious breakfast and a wonderful (and educational) visit with those two young women, we headed back out on that remote highway…heading for that huge metropolis of Portland, Oregon.

But we left the Country Coffee Cabin with a new appreciation for the small town and the wide open spaces those friendly servers call home.