Montana Vacation March 2004
My wife and I had made plans to visit Great Falls, MT to tour the AFB and see if it would go on our list of bases we wanted to serve our time at.  We also wanted to visit friends in Bozeman and get a good feel for Montana being as how neither of us had ever been there. 

On Sat. March 13th we left Denver at 5am in hopes to make it into Bozeman that same day.  We stopped at Johnson's Corner to sample the world famous cinnamon rolls, and were unimpressed.  However, we were still excited to see Montana so this didn't dampen our spirits.  The wind blew against us all the way up through Wyoming and this tank of fuel was the worst mileage we had gotten in our explorer.  We stopped at Casper to fuel up and we were again on the road.  We stopped for lunch in Sheridan and the KFC, which had very friendly help.  We proceeded up I-25 and made our way to I-90 Westbound.  We rested an hour while touring the Battle or Little Bighorn State park.  What a great display of history!  We stopped in Billings and fueled up again. At this time the real Montana started to show.  Beautiful mountains, like the Crazy Mountains, started emerging from the skyline.  By about 4:30pm we pulled into Bozeman and began to setup camp at our friends house.  They took us around town, to the school, up Bridger Canyon and then to Sante Fe Red's for dinner.  On Sunday we drove down the Galltin River, up to Big Sky, and then onto West Yellowstone.  We were able to see three Moose.  Two cows and one Calf.  One cow was no more than 15ft from the highway!  At West Yellowstone we toured a Grizzly and Wolf rescue, and although it was neat, they were asking too much at $8.50/person.  We then proceeded back home enjoying all the sight along the Gallitin.  On Monday we rose early to make our way to Great Falls.  We drove along I-90 and exited Three Forks.  Just North of the exit was a bakery called Wheat Montana and there we were able to get some REAL cinnamon rolls.  Everything was made fresh and it was a real treat.  There is also a branch in Bozeman and I would make an effort to stop there if you are in town.  Upon arriving at Great Falls we found a hotel and then ate lunch at Jakers and had some great Burgers.  It was on to tour Malmstrom AFB.  The Base seemed nice enough, however, it is small enough that they don't offer any dental specialist positions. 
Crazy Mountains on I-90
Downtown Bozeman, MT looking West
Looking North on Hwy 287 from Wheat, MT
Giant Springs Falls, Great Falls, MT
Rainbow Falls, Great Falls, MT View from Hwy 89 just South of Great Falls
North side of King's Hill Pass looking down onto Belt Creek (or Crik)
One of the natives, awesome!
Looking South from Thermopolis, WY into the Wind River Canyon
Looking into Red Lodge, MT
This Base won't work for us, unfortunately.  After the base, we drove along the Missouri River and saw both Falls as pictured above.  They must have been spectacular in the Lewis and Clark Days.  We toured more of the town and while it was a nice town, it needed some cleaning up.  And maybe when it is green later in the year, I am sure it is nice.  That night we ate downtown at Bert & Ernies and that was a treat.    The next day we slowly made our way out of town and down Hwy 89.  What a pleasurable drive this was.  Everything from mountains to plains, and a rare treat to see three Bald Eagles in a ten mile stretch.  We traveled south over Kings' Hill Pass and down into White Sulpur Springs for Lunch.  This is a neat little town nestled in a very beautiful valley.  As we continued South on hwy 89 we spotted our turnoff to Bozeman and followed that back into town.  For the remainder of the afternoon we stopped at some antique stores as well as a 4x4 shop.  The following day we helped our friends, who just bought property, get soil & water samples and then prepare some level ground for a well drilling rig.  I learned a lot on this day!  Thursday, being our last day in town, we went to the Museum and planatarium. 
The beautiful Wind River running through Wind River Canyon
We visited even more antique shops and found many treasures.  On Friday morning we prepared to leave, but still had time to visit a branch of Wheat, MT bakery.  We even picked up a little extra goodies for a continental breakfast the following day.  We headed out of town and made our way to Red Lodge, MT via I-90.  We spent a couple hours there touring little shops and part of the town then headed to Belfry.  Via hwy 120 we headed South down to Thermopolis, WY for a nights stay.  We called ahead to make reservations and everything was booked up because of a concert.  We would have liked to have spent a little more time in Cody, WY but we decided to be on our way just in case there really were no rooms available.  Upon arriving in Thermopolis, we did find that all the rooms were booked.  We decided to spend just a little more time looking and we were lead to the Elk Antler Inn.  We enjoyed a nice nights stay here and the price was right!  Sat. morning we ate our pastries and began to travel further South into Wyoming.  Our first surprise was the Wind River Canyon.  We expected a flat uneventful drive from here, but were treated to a winding road along the Wind river through this awesome canyon.  Once we arrived at Shoshoni we headed East to Casper and then on down to Colorado and back home.  We really enjoyed the trip and I hope to go back someday, possibly to make a permanent residence.  Montana has a lot to offer for those who are outdoors centered.  It is obvious that God's hand has shaped this state and allowed us to see the beauty He has created.  There is every hobby I persue there and it's great to have smaller cities and towns where one would be able to escape easily.  All this made it very tough to come back to the normal grind even after a week of being away.  We hope to return during a summer season and try our hand at fly fishing in Montana.
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