Montana - July 2021

Hike in Big Sky with Ginger and Michael

We wrapped up our four week PacNW trip with a long weekend stop in Montana to visit Ginger and Michael.  Last time we visited them, we stayed at their house north of Helena.  So this time, we decided to explore a different part of Montana and rented a cabin together in Big Sky.

Cabin Rental in Big Sky

Keith and Shawna flew into Bozeman on Thursday evening, arriving around 7:15 pm.  Ginger and Michael picked us up at the airport and before we headed out to Big Sky, we stopped at MacKenzie River Pizza Company to eat a pizza and have a beer.  They were short on staff so there was quite a bit of a wait for a table - we got clever and went to the takeout counter, got a beer, ordered our pizza and then ate it at the table by the take out counter!  After dinner, we drove to Big Sky (about an hour) and checked into our two bedroom cabin that we rented on VRBO and is part of the Big Sky ski resort.  The cabin was really nice with a large deck that overlooked the valley and included a hot tub which we used a couple of times.

Ousel Falls

On Friday, we had a leisurely morning in the cabin and then drove to Lake Levinsky which is located in the ski village to rent some standup paddle boards and a canoe.  The lake was pretty small so we only stayed out about half an hour.  We then walked around Ousel Falls which was quite beautiful.  We decided to explore the town of Big Sky in the afternoon which included getting sandwiches at the Hungry Moose Deli for lunch, shopping which drove Keith crazy, tasting some beer at the Beehive Basin Brewery (which was quite good) and having dinner at the Riverhouse where we had some yummy (and very filling) BBQ.  The restaurant was located on the river so after dinner we hung out on the river for a bit, enjoying the scenery.

Dinner at Riverhouse

Tasting beer at Beehive Basin Brewery

On Saturday, we got an earlier start and hiked for 7 miles on the Beehive Basin Trail.  The trail had come highly recommended and we quickly came to see why - the scenery was just stunning the whole way.  The trail led to a small alpine lake that was surrounded with beautiful mountains.  After the hike, we went back to our cabin, had cheese and crackers for lunch (along with too much wine), sat in the hot tub for a while and then napped (for way too long - maybe had something to do with the 'too much wine').  We slept right passed our alarm and almost missed our dinner plans for the evening!!  We went back into Big Sky and had a few drinks at the Rocks Tasting Room and then dinner at Blue Buddha Sushi Lounge where we shared several sushi dishes and celebrated Michael's 51st birthday!

Beehive Basin Hike

On Sunday, we packed up and then drove back to Bozeman where Ginger and Michael dropped us off at the airport to fly back to Chicago.  It was such a great weekend and a great way to end our trip!