Missoula, Montana sits in a valley and borders the Bitterroot Mountains. Located in western Montana, Missoula is only about 45 miles from Idaho. Founded in 1860, it has become one of the larger cities in Montana and is home to the University of Montana. About 18,000 people live in the area. The Clark Fork River runs through the city.
Missoula, Montana
Lunch at Butterfly Herbs was delicious and inexpensive. A little bit bohemian and eclectic.
Nearby is A Carousal for Missoula. It is one of the first-hand carved carousals in the United States since the Great Depression. There are 39 horses created by hundreds of volunteers.
We stopped at Montgomery Distillery for bourbon tasting. We got a bottle of their “Mama Tried” Bourbon in honor of Merle Haggards song. It was very good.
The smokejumpers visitor center was partially closed and not doing tours of their entire facility, but their small museum was still open. It’s the largest smokejumper base in the country. The silver fire shelter can be setup quickly and a fire fighter is safe inside for 20 seconds in an intense overwhelming blaze. Over 220 people have survived flames using them.
Jim and Mary’s RV Park, Missoula
This is our third time staying here. They have 50-amp service, good water pressure, sewer and large sites. Their Internet was fast enough to stream most nights. The RV Park is partially wooded, so we had some shade when the temperatures were warm. The main downside is traffic and some train noise.
They plant lots of flowering plants around the grounds. It is nice to go for walks each day and see what’s blooming and watch the butterflies.
They take very proud of the all the flowering plants since they start them from seed each year in their greenhouse.
Not far from Jim and Mary’s is Buck Snort, a local restaurant and bar. We really enjoyed our evening there. The food was great including local trout and a rib eye. Jake loved the leftovers.
Missoula Art Museum
The Art Museum is located downtown and free to visit. There are a few floors to explore. Outside there were fun sculptures.
Brian McGuire is an Irish artist whose work is graphic and focuses on the violence humanity inflicts on one another. He was involved in the civil rights movement in Northern Ireland. His pieces on display are very large.
It’s a fun museum that only takes about an hour to tour. Nearby, there are plenty of cafe’s and other sites to visit afterwards.
Hamilton, Montana
South of Missoula is Hamilton. Much smaller in size, the downtown area is cute. A local street fair was small, but had a good variety of products. The produce looked amazing so we bought some carrots and garlic scapes. We have never eaten or heard of scapes before so we decided to try them. They have a mild garlic flavor when cooked with a little bit of butter and salt and pepper. Pretty good.
On the way home we had a good lunch and delicious beers at Lolo Peak Brewing.
