Bozeman and Beyond

Montana was one of our favorite states so far. It’s one of the largest states, yet it’s one of the least populated. We were chatting with a Montanan a couple of days ago, and he said, “The winters are what keep people away.” I believe that’s true, because I have no desire to experience -30 temps; if I had the cash, though, I’d definitely buy a summer home there!

Talk about natural beauty! All the phrases used to describe this part of the country are true, including “God’s Country” and “Big Sky Country.” Mountains, streams, wide open spaces. It’s an outdoors lover’s paradise. On top of that: No traffic, no sales tax, only 12 Wal-Marts in the whole, huge state! These are things I can get behind! Again, be very clear that I’m loving me some Montana this time of year – summertime Montana. I wouldn’t be cut out for a winter there, unless I could just hunker down in a cabin somewhere for a few months. But, my fear is that would turn into “The Shining,” so I’ll pass on visiting during the colder times.

We spent most of our time in Montana in Bozeman, home to Montana State University, though it does not seem like a college town at all to me. There’s a great, little downtown with tons of restaurants and bars. We had the opportunity to check out a couple of the local spots, and they were pretty good. Ray and I had a night out and did a little Montana whiskey tasting, but I’m still more of a fan of the Tennessee variety. Sorry, Montana – Jack is where it’s at!

Some of the highlights of our visit to Montana were the Museum of the Rockies, the Gallatin History Museum, some fun hiking to waterfalls, and a day in historical Virginia and Nevada Cities. The absolute best part of our Montana time was my parents flying in for a week’s stay. The girls got to spend a few nights having sleepovers with Ya Ya and Papa. Great memories were made!

The Museum of the Rockies is an excellent deal. We paid $44 for a family of four for a two-day pass, and this included a Crocodile exhibit, planetarium shows, access to a living farm, and a pretty fantastic dinosaur exhibit (apparently, lots of dinosaurs roamed Montana back in the day, and this museum is one of the best in the country when it comes to dinosaur fossils/bones). The museum also has a terrific kids’ discovery area, which was the girls’ favorite part. We took advantage of having the two-day pass and went two consecutive days.

One of the most fun parts of the museum visit was the living farm, which included a blacksmith shop. The blacksmith, who stayed in character, made rings for the girls out of nails. He filed the pointy ends down and hammered the metal into something that would fit around their small ring fingers. They were impressed!

The Gallatin History Museum was free for kids and only $5 for adults, so it was another good deal for us! This building, in downtown Bozeman, served as the jailhouse from 1911 until 1982. The sheriff’s quarters were in the building, along with cells for men, cells for women (in a separate area, of course), solitary confinement cells, an infirmary, hanging gallows, and a visitation booth. Only one person was hanged for his crimes at this jail. We had a good time taking pictures behind bars!

As for the great outdoors, we did a couple of short hikes to Palisades Falls and Grotto Falls. Both were really beautiful, and I’m glad my parents got to see those with us. I love how the air gets so much cooler right before you reach the falls. It’s a nice, little reward, when you’re sweating like a fiend after going uphill for a bit. Of course, it’s always nice to get to sit down and take in the beauty for a while before heading back down.

While I’ve always appreciated natural beauty, I am most interested in history when I visit new places. Ray is the one who most enjoys seeing the wildlife, the mountains, the formations, the water, the God-made magnificence of a place; and while I love those things, too, it’s the people who lived in those places long before that interest me the most.  So, our trip to Virginia City and sister-town, Nevada City, was a real thrill for me. My dad, being a geography major/history minor, is also very interested in the history of places, and maybe that’s where my love of that comes from.

My dad had gotten a recommendation from a hotel employee, who said Virginia City was one of her favorite places in the state. We took the word of a local, and headed that way.

Virginia City was a pioneer mining camp that drew people in for the gold mining. Quite a bustling place during the Gold Rush, it is not a true ghost town, in the sense that the buildings have been restored and turned into shops and restaurants for tourists; it’s pretty cool to see such a place preserved so well, though. Known as a “very much alive ghost town,” it is a great example of a true Old West Victorian mining town. I loved that each building, regardless of what it is being used for today, held a plaque on its façade telling what it was originally. Some of the buildings display items from the period to show visitors what it would have looked like then.

We walked the streets, had lunch, had some homemade ice cream, did an Old West photo shoot (how could we not?), and enjoyed stepping back in time for an afternoon. We also drove up to Boot Hill, where five road agents (bandits who robbed people traveling through the area), are buried. The men were hanged in Virginia City for their bad deeds. I do have to say that these outlaws have a pretty scenic resting place! RIP, Bad Boys!

Nevada City, which is about 1.5 miles down the road from Virginia City, is no longer in its original state. Instead, it is now an outdoor museum, that houses lots of buildings that date back to between 1863 to the early 1900s. The buildings are from various places in Montana and have all been moved to Nevada City to recreate this ghost town. A $6 ticket gets a visitor a pass to walk the grounds and see these old gems. Visiting Virginia and Nevada Cities was a great way to spend our last day in Montana.

Ya Ya and Papa got on a plane yesterday morning to head back south, and we spent the day driving to Wyoming, where we are now. We loved our time in Montana!