Big Sky Country

Growing up in the West I didn't appreciate it nearly enough. And now that I've been to Montana I heart the West even more.

First things first. My dear friend Amy from college is getting married in July. As the maid of honor I figured it would be a good idea to visit her and actually meet the lucky man before the big day. So that explains why I went to Missoula. It was great to see her and hang out, and as relationships like this usually go, it was just like old times and you wouldn't really guess we hadn't seen each other in almost two years.

I won't give you the play by play of my six days, just the highlights and some pictures.

I drank lots of delicious local beer. The Big Sky Brewing Company is in Missoula, so not only did we drink their beer in local restaurants, but we visited the brewery where they have free tasting. I also bought a Moose Drool pint glass.

We walked through three markets on Saturday morning, full of vegetables and crafts and flowers.

I looked around a lot just to enjoy the big sky and the surrounding mountains. One section of mountains reminded me of home.














Look at those mountains! Amazing.

Saturday night there was a surprise bridal shower, so I spent the day listening to Amy talk about what she wanted to do later that night- rent a movie? drink more beer? listen to music? She had no idea the "barbecue" we were scheduled to attend was really a party in her honor with chocolate fondue and a make-a-wedding-gown-out-of-toilet-paper activity.














There is a giant "M" on the side of the mountain next to the University of Montana, so we climbed up to that Sunday. We rewarded ourselves with ice cream when we got back down. (See the M?)


At the top!











Monday was my favorite. First we bought some buffalo jerky on the side of the road. Then we visited the National Bison Range and Wildlife Refuge, just like I had planned.













We drove slowly up a mountain and along a ridge and through a valley, constantly peering our eyes for exciting wildlife. We saw birds, and deer, and antelope, and squirrels, and even turtles. The best part, of course, was the bison. The herd was hanging out toward the end of the long loop, and they were super close and big and exciting.

















After the drive we stopped by a pond with loud birds and ate sandwiches at a picnic table. It had rained or drizzled the entire weekend I was there, but Monday we didn't get a drop of rain and it was relatively warm and I was so happy to be out in the sun in the mountains. Looking at real live buffalo.