When I Went: July 2011
Was That the Best Time of Year to Go? The weather was incredible. Warm sunny days, cool nights. I consider it the best time of year to visit, though many of the locals love the wintertime activities.
Why I Went There: Visit family, plus hiking, sightseeing, white-water rafting, eating, and drinking.
Who Went With Me? Wife, stepdaughter, two nieces.
We Stayed Here: With family.
[mapimage url=”http%3A%2F%2Fmaps.google.com%2Fmaps%2Fapi%2Fstaticmap%3Fsize%3D200x200%26sensor%3Dfalse%26markers%3DBozeman%2CMT%26zoom%3D5″]You Won’t Want to Miss: You have to go to Yellowstone National Park, of course. We really enjoyed rafting with Montana Whitewater Raft Company, which turned out to be a little wilder than I thought. Full wetsuit, helmet, etc., but incredibly fun. Also went on several day hikes, including the jaw-dropping hike to the summit of Sacagawea Peak, north of town. The Montana State University campus is very nice, and downtown has lots of cool shopping and restaurants. In the summertime, they block off the downtown streets and have live music, food vendors, and open alcohol containers. Good times. Oh, one more thing: Lewis and Clark Caverns is impressive, but only go if you’re in reasonably good shape. It’s a pretty good hike, and there are some contortions involved in getting through the caverns.
Eat Here: The Pickle Barrel sandwich shop in Bozeman. Get the mushroom steak, but only get a half, unless you have help. Wild West Pizzeria and Saloon in West Yellowstone.
If I Went Again: I would spend more time in Yellowstone, and would have bought bear spray earlier for hiking (though thankfully didn’t need it). And would have eaten at Pickle Barrel at least one more time.
How Did You Get There From Dallas? We drove. Big adventure. Took three days to get there, driving through Santa Fe, Durango, Ouray, up through Jackson Hole and Grand Teton and Yellowstone national parks. Got home in two days, all on divided highways.
Other Tips For Fellow Travelers: Can’t wait to go back.