We smelled the fire as the plane descended into Bozeman Yellowstone International airport. Looking up from reading Norman Maclean’s “A River Runs Through it”, all I saw from the window was a swath of dense brown smoke. I felt rising alarm, but the other passengers seemed unbothered, so I composed myself and dove back into my book. We chose Montana for this trip because we were craving some peaceful time outdoors in wide-open spaces. This was not starting out well. Running screaming from a forest fire wasn’t my idea of being at one with nature.
Montana Big Sky
I couldn’t sleep that night, thinking about the fire – would there be places we’d wanted to go, but couldn’t? Would the beauty of Montana be ruined? I finally gave in to my restlessness and went outside to check out the fire. The cold air brushed my face as the automatic lobby doors opened. I stepped out into the Montana midnight.
No previous experience prepared me for what happened next. For a person who lives in an area bathed in light pollution, the sight of the starry sequined cape of black sky spread across the shoulders of the Bridger Mountains was breathtaking.
I ran up to our room to fetch my camera, and even as I clicked away, I knew I probably would not capture the magic of this moment.
Standing there amazed, gazing up at the night sky, I was shaking and shivering, my teeth chattering, but it didn’t matter. Suddenly realizing I might be dumb enough to stand outside until I got frostbite, I went back to the room. Cozy and warm under the blankets, I realized the night sky was so mesmerizing I had forgotten why I went out there. All of Bozeman could have been ablaze and I wouldn’t have noticed. I never looked down. Days later, an unseasonable snowstorm would extinguish the 7,000-acre Bridger Mountain fire.
Our Unscripted Trip
One day flowed into the next as we drove around unscheduled, taking in every space and stillness, free from distractions. It was hard to stay inside. Part of that was due to COVID-19 restrictions, but mostly, we just didn’t want to be indoors. For the whole trip, we just wanted to be “out there”, taking pictures.
I was particularly drawn to barns, abandoned as well as the well maintained. Husband became accustomed to pulling over every time I pointed and said, “Barn! Barn!”
And every old truck along the way.
Our friend Kristina had told me about this Harry Potter-themed Free Library in Bozeman, so we headed out to find it.
We located it in a vacant lot in an otherwise manicured neighborhood. Back home, we have a free library in our neighborhood, but it is nowhere near as well done as this one! Woodworker Husband was very impressed with its artistic craftsmanship.
Bozeman, Montana
On our last day, we explored Bozeman’s historic Main Street, typical of a cool, eclectic college town with mixed architecture styles, sprinkled with indie shops, restaurants and stores.
The Lark
The Lark. 122 W. Main St., Bozeman, MT https://www.larkbozeman.com/
We stayed at the Lark, an industrial style hipster hotel with a minimalist vibe right on Main Street. The rooms were well-appointed and comfortable, the location ideal for walking to shops and restaurants. My favorite feature of this hotel was ice cream served from an airstream trailer on the property, even though the Genuine Ice Cream Company now has its own storefront down the street.
Genuine Ice Cream Co. 411 W. Main St., Bozeman, MT http://www.genuineicecream.com/
Ted’s Montana Grill
Ted’s Montana Grill 105 W. Main St., Bozeman, MT
The sole Montana location of media mogul Ted Turner’s restaurant chain. This was Husband’s favorite restaurant in Bozeman. The menu is full of bison-centered fare – burgers, brisket and meatloaf along with salads and seafood dishes.
We settled into our seats on the patio, the waitress started us off with house-made pickles – OMG, the pickles!
Pickles at Ted’s Montana Grill
Over our second batch of pickles, Husband and I had a lengthy discussion about what was so different about them. Was it the lack of dill or vinegar taste? We weren’t sure. When we asked the waitress, she just laughed. She wasn’t going to give us any proprietary information.
Bison Nachos at Ted’s Montana Grill
Husband had the Bison Nachos, and I had a salad topped with more of the fabulous pickles. These pickles were so good, I would have eaten them on ice cream!
Leaving the restaurant, I was already planning a hard-target search to find a copycat recipe for those pickles.
And I found it!
Cactus Records & Gifts
Hands down my favorite store in Bozeman. This place is the perfect amount of funky with racks of vinyl and CDs, bringing back memories of all the hours I spent in records stores when I was younger.
I asked the rocker-haired guy behind the counter (who looked like he belonged in a band) if they carried music from local bands. They did!
While Husband wandered away to look at T-shirts, we had a great conversation about rock music, and he quizzed me on favorite bands and different music genres. I appreciated the attention he gave me before giving his recommendations. I danced out of the store with my two new treasures.
Axolotl by The Salamanders and The Weird Years by Modern Sons. Loving my new music!
BaconBit. Photo courtesy of Cactus Records & Gifts. 29 W. Main St., Bozeman, MT (406) 587-0245
If you are lucky, BaconBit, the store owner’s dog, will be in the house. (And yes, my next dog will be named BaconBit!)
Big Mike. Museum of the Rockies 600 W Kagy Blvd, Bozeman, MT https://museumoftherockies.org/
The Museum of the Rockies, is a small but well curated general history museum, with exhibits featuring the Northern Plains Native Americans, a Living History Farm and the Taylor Planetarium.
This museum is home to the largest collection of dinosaur remains in the United States. It’s a little intimidating to stand under T-Rex “Big Mike”, knowing if he were alive, he could consume me with just one chomp.
“Eventually all things merge into one, and a river runs through it”
We left Montana and traveled south toward Wyoming, the river coursing alongside us. A drive that should have taken 4 ½ hours, ended up consuming most of the day. We couldn’t go very far without stopping to take a picture.
Standing by the edge of the idyllic Gallatin river, watching the rushing current, I felt the present moment streaming into an undefined future. There may be obstacles in the way, like rocks down river, but the water always finds its way around them. The movement of water yielding, yet as inexorable as time.
I spied a lone fly fisherman and imagined him as old Norman Maclean, the main character in “A River Runs Through it”, the inspiration for our trip to Montana. We watched him as he performed his sweeping, delicate dance with rod, reel and river.
I felt drawn to Montana for reasons I did not fully understand until I reached home. The tranquility I found under the expanse of Montana’s Big Sky followed me home and lingered with me for many days.
If you’d like to read about the Wyoming portion of our visit, please click on the link below:
https://thetravelingdelanys.com/wyoming-snowed-on-and-sunburned/
Love it. We must go. I know my hubby would love this
Thank you! I think he would really love it!
What a wonderful peek into your vacation adventure! Thank you💕
Thank you – I really loved Montana!
Definitely on our bucket list. We’re hoping to start on that very soon. Beautiful article and photos, it drew us right in!
Thank you so much! I would love to go back and take fly-fishing lessons!
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