Montana

Douglas Chadwick said it best when he described Montana as, ” The Last Best Place,” in America. Montana is home to over 100 mountain ranges, and its’ name is derived from the Spanish word, “montaña” meaning mountain. There is a reason they call it the Big Sky Country, because the endless skies gave us a sense of exploration and freedom that we hadn’t experienced up to this point. With Montana being the 4th largest state in the US, we were excited to explore the adventurous “Treasure State.”

Eager to explore this land, our first stop was in a little town called, “The Sleeping Buffalo.” This town is named after two large boulders that seem to almost be cuddling together, resembling two buffaloes.

Thus the name of this cute, simple town, was born. The people of this little village have even built a little shelter for these “sleeping buffaloes.” Now they can sleep in peace out of the rain, snow , and anything that the Big Sky dishes out.

The highlight of this town is BY FAR the Sleeping Buffalo Hot Springs. For only $5 per person, you can enjoy the multiple pools, sauna, shower, and hot tubs. They sell beer, wine, iced tea, and various other drinks, so you can sip a drink of your liking, while relaxing in the hot springs. They even have a small pool filled with natural spring water that runs at the natural mountain temperature. The water is about 50 or so degrees, but its rich in natural minerals. The main idea of the hot springs is to soak in the hot water for about 5-10 minutes, and give your pores a chance to fully open up. From there, it is encouraged to jump into the natural springs pool and try to remain there for about 45 seconds. This gives your body the chance to absorb as much of the natural minerals as possible. It is encouraged to do this as many times as you can for maximum benefits. The hot springs process does wonders for sore muscles, releases positive endorphins, energizing the body, enriches skin nutrients, and increases joint flexibility. Daniel and I did the pool jumping about 8 times, and we could feel the car soreness just melt away.

Unfortunately, I left my phone in the locker room, so I didn’t snap any pictures. The best I can do is show you the unique Montana IPA we were lucky to find. This IPA is actually named after the trail we planned on hiking later in the state, so we had to stock up for our hiking adventures. With our bodies relaxed and our car loaded with local brews, we continued our way through the Montana Mountain Ranges.

It was getting late as we approached Glacier National Park, so we decided to call it a night, in order to get an early start in the morning. Glacier National Park was one of my most anticipated National Parks. So we woke up early, bright eyed and bushy tailed to hit the trails. With it being mid November, some of the park roads were closed, but many trails were still available. THANKFULLY.

Half of the Going to the Sun road was closed, so we decided to drive to the point where the closure began and hike any of the trails along the way. We started with the John’s Lake trail.

It was an easy mile hike that was mostly wooded, until it opens out to a small lake called: John’s Lake. The mountains in the background make even the small lakes very impressive. It is such a beautiful park to hike through.

Being from Virginia, I really wanted to hike to the Virginia Falls, but it was essentially inaccessible with the road closures. We decided to settle with hiking up to the McDonald Falls instead.

Although it was more of a combination of multiple rapids verses a waterfall, it was still beautiful. We hiked down to the rocks that bordered the river and it was so peaceful down there. Listening to all the rushing water, and admiring the frozen sections, it was a very tranquil location. All the evergreens and snow caps, just added to the natural beauty of this rushing water.

We sat there for a while, just watching the rushing water and falling in love with Montana. From there, we decided to hike down the river known as the Sacred Dancing Cascade. There were many tunnels and changes in the path, which kept the hike exciting.

Eventually, the river lead to the McDonald Lake, which is a HUGE mirror lake. The stillness of the water is really incredible. You could sit at this lake for hours, and just stare at the beautiful reflection from all of the nature wonders that surrounds you.

Eventually, enough time passed that we needed to start our drive back, in order to get out of the park before it closed. On the drive back to the park’s entrance, we discovered why they call it “Going to the Sun” road. It was bright, incredibly bright, like the heavens were opened and God was reaching out his right hand bright. The roads were pretty icy, so the reflection from the road made it even more intense. There are parts of the road that had steep drop offs, so Daniel drove very carefully as a blind man. Unfortunately, we passes an accident where someone had driven right off the edge. Thankfully everyone was ok, but it will take a really LONG time to ever recover that vehicle. It was at the bottom of the cliff, so I can not imagine trying to fish that SUV out.

After what seemed like an eternity, we finally exited the park. To our tired eyes benefit, we were greeted by the Old Whiskey Barn. Of course we had to stop!

As soon as we entered the distillery, we were promptly met by this little sweetheart. Since we were the only guests there at the time, we got the pups full attention. Our dog people heart were full! We decided to do some flights, so we could try multiple different Montana Whiskies.

The tables were made from whiskey barrels, the Glacier Distillery brand was on almost all the wooden decor, and the rustic vibe really added to the whole experience. We enjoyed sipping, munching on pretzels, and petting the good boy doggo. We were impressed with the various whiskies, the bold flavors, and variety this Montana Distillery provided. Overall, Glacier Distillery seemed to be the perfect ending to such a beautiful state.

From there, we drove into the Big Sky sunset and continued west: Washington bound. Thanks for reading my post this week.

God Bless and Cheers,

McKayla