Ty in Montana

It's not very often that I get visitors here in Montana. While my home is ALWAYS open to anyone I know, and anyone they know, it's seldom one finds themselves actually in the randomness that is Missoula. 

So when my friend Ty said he had bought place tickets for the first weekend in August, to say I was ecstatic would be an understatement. Born and raised in the Bronx, NY, I was bound and determined to show him what Montana was all about. Ty was warned to catch up on his sleep before arriving, and to be prepared for lots, and lots of driving.

As soon as his plane touched down in Missoula Friday evening, we were in the car and on with our adventure. First stop? Big Sky Brewery to taste all they had to offer, then after a quick bite we were on the road towards Jerry Johnson hot springs.

After the late night spent beneath the stars in Idaho, soaking in the warm sulfur pools, we slept in Saturday morning before meandering through the Saturday morning markets. Once we had sufficiently stuffed our faces with samples, we then sampled the brews at Tamarack Brewery.

And then Flathead Brewery. 

Only after I was convinced Ty was at least semi enjoying himself, we headed to Arlee to walk the in the Garden of 1,000 Buddhas.

That was only a pit stop tho, as Ty was convinced he was going to overthrow patriarch male and become Dar the Bison King. The weather was completely NOT cooperating tho, and the iconic picture in front of the National Bison Range sign w/ the Mission Mountains in the background was reduced to just the sign.

We spotted plenty of wildlife though, before returning to Missoula to sample some more of the local brews.

After an early start Sunday morning, we made the 3 hour trek to Glacier for a day of sightseeing, hiking, photo taking, snowman making, and making fun of stupid tourists.

Like this guy...

Monday morning we toured the U of M campus, then KettleHouse and Bayern Breweries. 

All in all, we sampled over 40 different beers, saw a wide array of animals (including a grizzly), traveled to Idaho and the Pacific Time Zone, and generally crammed in a much stuff into a 72 hour trip as one possibly can. Thanks so much for the visit Ty! I can't wait for the next go round!