Head for the mountains of...

err....Montana. Did you think I was going to say Busch? =)

Okay, I'm long overdue to post the highlights of my Montana trip...

My co-worker (who I will refer to as "B" from here on out to preserve her privacy) and I flew into Bozeman on Sunday afternoon last week. My first observation was, "Wow, I forgot what it is like in a regional airport." I think the last time I was in one was when I flew to be in a friend's wedding in Louisiana. I think it was the Lafayette airport?? It only had one gate and looked like a garage. Bozeman, however, was a bustling airport with FIVE gates! WHOA! and woe was me when I had to drag my luggage down a flight of stairs. Yep, that's right! No escalator in this metropolitan airport. Other than that the airport was quite nice. Very rustic and appropriately decked out in wood and animal sculptures.

As we were standing in line to get our rental car, the people in front of us asked the rental clerk, "Where is the closest liquor store?" Aghast at their audacity, I muttered under my breath to B, "Don't drink and drive." Apparently I must whisper like a freight train as they started chuckling and turned around saying, "Yea, we know it is weird to ask a rental car clerk where the nearest liquor store is but, really we don't drink and drive." Did I really say that out loud??? Make note to self: whisper quieter.

The drive from Bozeman to Big Sky (where we stayed) was GORGEOUS! We had to drive through a canyon to get to Big Sky and every bit of the drive was pure, untouched natural beauty. The view was like living inside a 12 month nature calendar...perfect and pristine. I had a great view of the mountains from the window in my room. Montana is just another piece of evidence that God's handiwork is certainly unparalleled. (Did I mention that there were also some cowboys in the locale that fit into that category?) Texans always say they're in God's country...sorry, I've been all over Texas and Montana has ya'll beat by a long shot.

Now before I go any further, let me explain the cute, pink pigs in my pictures. My employer has various items to promote our services. One of them is a cute, pink piggy bank that is a stress ball. B and I decided to make the pig our department mascot. We asked our co-workers to each take a pig on their various meetings across the U.S. AND take a picture with the pig to document the pig's travels. Later, when we have all returned from our journeys we plan to make a photo collage titled, "This little piggy went to..." Somehow, I think that B and I have enjoyed traveling with our pigs more than our colleagues but, the verdict is still out. Anyway, be on the look out for Miss Piggy in my upcoming travel pics. Who said pigs couldn't fly?

Finding food in Big Sky made me relate somewhat to the pioneers...most restaurants didn't open until 5 p.m. and some were closed because it was still off season. (Big Sky is skiing country.) We ended up finding a restaurant in one of the villages (Allgood's...which happened to have a sign that read "It's All Good" in their restaurant) to eat our lunch. I had a smothered green chili burger...not bad...interesting how they added sour cream on top. Later, we ate at the Thai restaurant in the same village (can't recall the restaurant's name) and I ordered their Pad Thai. You know...it was okay. I mean what do you expect in the boonies of Montana AND it was the off season? But, wow...it made me miss my Simply Thai in St. Louis. Did I mention it was the off season??? The owner of the Thai restaurant felt the need to explain numerous times to us in our brief carry-out interaction that business was slow because of the off season.

Monday we headed back into Bozeman (which was about a 45 minute drive) and checked out the town. It's a cute and quaint western town. We checked out the thrift shop named "Sacks of Bozeman" and some other shops. We were moseying around town because we were SUPPOSED to go paragliding on Monday. Long story short, we attempted to go just about every day we were there but, didn't get to go due to rain one day and severe crosswinds the other days. Was so totally bummed...I was psyched about getting to paraglide. So, we headed back to the lodge to eat dinner at the restaurant onsite due to the weather, windy roads, and slim pickings on eateries. I was adament on having wild game while I was in Montana and ordered wild boar. YUM...tasted like a good, tender steak! The lodge restaurant has won various awards for their food however, B and I had a nice chuckle since I ordered boar and she ordered the bison plate yet, the plate presentation was almost identical. The food was great...it just didn't seem like much creativity had gone into making the plates appear distinctively different. We mused whether or not the chefs back in the kitchen used their experience at the lodge restaurant to build up their resume before applying for the big ski resort restaurants.

Tuesday we headed to Billings (a 3 hour drive one way) for some work research which took most of the day between the drive and the visit. We headed back into Bozeman in hopes of paragliding but, again the weather was uncooperative. We ate dinner at Montana Ale Works before we headed back to Big Sky. The food was good...I ordered Bison Meatloaf.

Wednesday we went to Yellowstone National Park! The west entrance visitors center is in the small town of West Yellowstone, MT. There were painted bulls (see slide show below) everywhere that reminded me of Jerusalem. In Jerusalem (and other parts of Israel for that matter since I recall seeing one in Tel Aviv) you will find elaborate statues of lions (symbolic for the Lion of Judah).

Not too long after you pass through the west entrance of Yellowstone you actually enter Wyoming. Yellowstone was great...we sighted buffalo, elk, and deer. I've always wanted to see Old Faithful so, that was definitely a highlight. Old Faithful was not so faithful though as it was 10 minutes late. The Morning Glory pool was an incredible sight with its rainbow of colors. We walked one of the designated trails (about 3 miles) around various geysers and pools. Thankfully, we had great weather until we headed out of the gift shop to our car and it started snowing and raining...perfect timing!

Wednesday night we headed back to the lodge for dinner due to the weather again. I went for the wild pheasant which was delicious. Yup, tasted like chicken! =)

Thursday and Friday were filled with work activities so, not much exciting to note there. Friday morning, I failed to look out the window before I left my room so, I was shocked as I opened the door to see a winter wonderland! Fortunately, I had packed adequately for the weather. We went from 30 degrees and snow Friday morning back to 90 degrees that evening in St. Louis! Before we left though, we had all the meeting attendees pose with us and our pigs (see slide show). Then we made sure to capture Louie and Miss Piggy playing in the snow together.

Louie (B's pig) is heading off to the beaches of FL next week without Miss Piggy. Miss Piggy and I head off next to the great state of Washington. We are happy for Louie and B...the mountain air has a way of affecting one's speech. We hope that B's onset of symptoms dissipate in a warmer climate. =) We will certainly miss the whiplash and sudden photo op stops alongside the road every 5 seconds. I am glad I was able to tag along with B...I mean after all...who would warn her to get back in the car and drive as traffic quickly approached from behind during her photo ops?? =) I frequently reminded her of the crosses alongside the highway and my desire to see my 30th birthday.

Oh yea, if you read my San Francisco post, you might remember me bragging on T-Mobile? Well, apparently I spoke to soon...service is available in the Pacific Ocean but, not so much in the mountains of Montana folks. B and I discovered a pattern though. She has a different carrier and whenever one cell service was roaming the other was not and vice versa...go figure.

All in all...I don't consider myself an outdoorsy girl and never thought I would care one way or the other but, I definitely want to go back to visit (NOT live in) Montana.