When we first flew into Bozeman and started driving in our rented mini-van, a couple of things struck me: 1) it smelled vaguely like a campfire outside due to the wildfires on the west coast (sometimes the mountains seemed like they were in a fog), and 2) everything is sooooo wiiiiiide oooooopen on both sides of the road. There just aren't that many buildings and developments around. It really is Big Sky country.
We stayed at the Holiday Inn in Belgrade, and I was quite impressed by how clean it was and how friendly the staff were. This was a great spot for families, with nice service, nice amenities, and great wifi. Whether or not a place has strong wifi will be a consistent theme in my posts, as I consider this especially important when traveling with kids who are taking school virtually (and for my own work). These days, I do very little work on my home machine (laptop) and I need to log in to my work machine to actually get things done, so strong wifi is very important.
I enjoyed our dinner at Montana Ale Works, although it got a bit dark sitting outside. They have a nice-sized outdoor seating area, but the lighting left a bit to be desired. They had a great bar inside with an excellent beer selection. Unless I find a beer on the menu that I've had before and is in the 4.5 - 5 star range (in my view), I like to try something new. I tried the Scared of the Dark white stout from KettleHouse brewing company in Missoula, Montana, and found it to be quite unique with hints of vanilla and coffee. But I was very happy with all of the local choices. I didn't order a second because it was getting late for the kiddos.
The Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman (closely connected with Montana State University) was a cool visit that the kids enjoyed. I wasn't blown away, but they did have some cool dinosaur displays along with some other ancient Viking relics. I've included some pictures below.
We had lunch at the Old Chicago in Bozeman before our drive to West Yellowstone. Nothing special (and a chain); like many places right now, they were under-staffed, and it was a bit awkward to wait for a while when most of the tables in the restaurant were empty. But they did have one of my favorite beers that I had during this entire trip: Black Steer's Tookus from Meadowlark Brewing in Sidney, Montana. This was a really tasty oatmeal stout that was smooth, well-balanced, and very easy to drink.
Overall, Bozeman seemed like a pretty cool town that would merit some additional exploration.
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