|
|
 |
 |
|
A Montana
Family Vacation Montana --- magnificent mountains, golden plains and exciting adventures guarantee an enjoyable journey that brings memories for a lifetime. Since we were driving, we made out first stop at Bill Gibson’s Ruby Crest Ranch in Elko, Nevada. This guest ranch and hunting lodge is a 6500-acre ranch nestled at the base of the Ruby Mountains. Gibson welcomed us with genuine warmth and country hospitality; he wined us, dined us, and sang to us. Gibson is great fun, a fabulous cook, and a wonderful host (and a bachelor!). There are miles of scenic river trails for horseback riding, fishing right from your back door, and home-raised pheasants, chucker, quail and turkeys to hunt. Accommodations range from a private room and bath at the ranch to rustic log cabins with hot tubs, to remote high mountain camps. Trips are all inclusive: meals, lodging, guides, transportation, horses, boats, equipment and instruction are all included. Did we mention the great food? Gibson offers a warm welcome and down-to-earth outdoor instruction to women, children, and special need’s individuals as well as traditional hunting and fishing trips. Gibson’s passion for horses, especially his herd of Missouri Fox Trotters, and his love for hunting, fishing, the outdoors and the people who enjoy the same, pour over into his business. Contact Bill Gibson, Ruby Crest Ranch or Elko Guide Service at 775-744-2277. HC30 Box 197 #13, Spring Creek, NV 89815 Our next leg of the adventure brought us to Grey Wolf Lodge, a welcome oasis after a long day of driving. The lodge is located across the street from the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center and close to the downtown area yet in a semi-private spot. You can walk to the gift shops, restaurants, ice cream and candy parlors. Onward we traveled to the Runamuk Ranch, an authentic, no-frills, working cattle and guest ranch. You get a chance to ride and eat with genuine, tobacco-spitting cowboys, adventure out on either horses, quads/4-wheelers or in a covered wagon. A cooler of sodas and food goodies rest inside the wagon and Jody’s kitchen will provide anything you need. Jody Dahl, the lady of the ranch, performs miracles in her kitchen. The food is excellent and plentiful, home cooking at its very best, and gives guests a chance to gather around the dining table. Toby Dahl handles the horses and the riding experience. The horses are the most outstanding riding horses we have experienced at a guest ranch. They are real ranch working horses, Quarter Horse type, for beginner to experienced riders. One caution though, bring your own safety approved riding helmets for yourself and/or your children. Children can have their own gentle, hand-led pony to ride, their very own frog to name, keep and visit, while fishing in the ranch’s pond. For the slightly older youngsters (at heart) the Quads/4 Wheelers are a popular experience. A truly magical experience at Runamuk is experiencing Yoga outside on dinner-table size flat rocks far above a serene valley and bright green forest with a view looking from the Crazy Mountains all the way towards Canada. Jennifer Pisle, YogaFit certified instructor, artist extraordinaire, shares a gentle Hatha Yoga in the late afternoon warm sun, with soft breezes and total isolation from civilization. Our physical needs were many after riding on a seven-hour trail ride and cattle drive the day before. Jennifer brought positive energy yet a spiritual calmness to us in our time spent with her. The ranch offers a chance to learn equine massage with Trudy Rioux, ESMT. She is an enthusiastic and knowledgeable certified equine massage therapist. We watched her bring noticeable relief to a horse who totally enjoyed Rioux’s ministrations. The ranch lodging offers a four-bedroom, two-bathroom guest home with full kitchen and laundry facilities. The Dahls offer pick-up at the Billings, Montana airport fifty-six miles from Runamuk Ranch. Runamuk Ranch, 733 Goulding Creek, Roundup, MT 59072. 406.323.3614. tjdahl@midrivers.com. The 18,000-acre cattle, hay and horse ranch offers a variety of exploration from prairie to pines, gold hay fields to huge rock outcroppings. It is truly a beautiful place to relax and live the ‘cowboy’ way. Runamuk Ranch and Roundup offers genuine cattle drive for five days and six nights in the middle of August. This is a real not-to-be-missed western experience. We found nestled at the foot of the Beartooth Mountains, Red Lodge, Montana, a charming historic town with welcoming, friendly people and a variety of family-oriented activities. We had to go to Bogart’s. This entertaining, friendly restaurant has had the same owners for 22 years and they have gotten everything perfect: food, furnishings, service and their secret recipe for world-class pizzas. Their Humphrey’s Hoagies, pastas and variety of international salads are prized by diners from around the world. And, Bogart’s has a complete menu of Mexican food and the “World’s Best Margarita.” So, who can resist? During our stay in this wonderful town, we stayed at the Alpine Lodge Motel. Have you ever slept on a bed where you are truly floating on a cloud? Alpine Lodge Motel has this comfy feature in rustic, wood cabins that are complete with all the modern comforts. Rhonda and Gigi, friendly, go-out-of-their way to help, desk clerks, treated us like royalty. We found freshly baked chocolate chip cookies in our room and had a wonderful free breakfast in their dining room. We didn’t want to leave, ever. We had to see the pig races at Bearcreek Downs, a local dinner house, lounge and racetrack. Locals and tourists from miles around gather to have fun, delight in scrumptious dinners and drinks at the award winning steakhouse and saloon. Next we went to the annual two-day bluegrass festival at the rodeo grounds above Red Lodge. Many talented musical groups blended traditional blue grass with some gospel and some highly original music at this fundraiser for the Red Lodge Fire Department and Emergency Medical Team. We fit right in with the fun-loving western fans. We said, “Goodbye,” to Red Lodge and went on to our next adventure, The Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman. The museum is set up so that viewers have a flowing route through the dinosaur rooms, the modern technology exhibits, a science area, the pioneer era and the outstanding Native American exhibit. The Taylor Planetarium inside the museum offers 16 outstanding programs throughout the year. Greeting visitors outside the museum, is “Big Mike,” the world’s first life-size bronze T. Rex. There are also authentic Mandan Indian exhibits, Blackfoot style teepees and Homestead Gardens at the Living History Farm. We learned that Montana is one of the premier locations for studying the existence of prehistoric beasts. Visitors to Montana can plan their own journey of the Montana Dinosaur Trail, a trip linking 13 facilities through central and eastern Montana. We were wonderfully surprised by the AmericInn hotel in Bozeman. Outside are new, ultra modern exteriors with restaurants, pubs, shops and business but inside the AmericInn is decorated for comfort and spaciousness in a western inviting, down-home approach. In the morning the well-attended delicious breakfast is an opportunity to visit with fellow travelers and compare places to visit. A delightful highlight of a Montana trip is the Historical Trolley Tour in Butte. Our guide was Beverly, a lady who offers a humorous, informative, practical tour of Butte, the world center for mining and gems. We learned much about Butte and the famous and wealthy people who had lived there. “Butte has the richest hill on earth in both dollars and history,” said Beverly. “Also, Butte is the second largest National Historic District in the West, with more historical buildings than anywhere else except San Francisco. And now we are passing the Dumas Brothel...” A side-trip in Butte should include Our Lady of the Rockies. This is a 90 foot white statue overlooking Butte from a top the Continental Divide at 8.015 feet. For trip planning and helpful advice call the Butte Chamber of Commerce Visitor Center at 406-723-3177. We then visited Missoula nestled in the heart of the northern Rockies of western Montana. This city is an interesting blend of history and modern, is clean and inviting, and has the Clark Fork River flowing through it. We stayed at the Mountain View Inn, centrally located to downtown Missoula with easy access to the Interstate Highway. This full-service hotel keeps freshly baked cookies and fresh brewed coffee in the lobby for its guests, and we didn’t keep going back for seconds, thirds and more cookies, did we? The Mountain View Inn offers a complimentary breakfast at Knuckleheads BBQ, an excellent restaurant next door. A not-to-be-missed highlight of Missoula is ‘A Carousel for Missoula & Dragon Park.’ This carousel is the first fully hand-carved carousel made in the United States since the Great Depression and the first merry-go-round to be made entirely by volunteers. Inside the jewel-box building the horses speed by while their riders try to grab the brass ring and win a free ride. A unique gift store offers shopping you can’t find anywhere else and a snack shop with delicious food. Next door to the carousel is Dragon Hollow Playground where a grassy field became a magical play land with the help of the Missoula community and friends from around the world. www.carrousel.com, 406-549-8382. Missoula Convention & Visitors Bureau 800-526-3465. www.missoulacvb.org. After riding the carousel, we tried a different type of ride. Montana River Guides furnishes river bumps and leaps mixed with contemplative drifting. Our River Guide, Jess Tuchscherer, cook, birder, storyteller and expert paddler, shared his solid knowledge of the area’s history and geology. Tuchscherer fixed a delightful picnic buffet while the rafters rested midway through the raft trip. Tuchscherer had paddled and guided the whole way, he fixed lunch and we rested, hmmmm? What a way to live. Montana River Guides offer complete outfitting, the use of wet suits when needed, splash jackets, life jackets and other gear, all included in the trip’s price. Montana River Guides – 1-800-381-RAFT. Regretfully we had to head home from Montana, leaving the friendliest state we had experienced. So, what do we do to cheer up? We search for ice cream. Luckily, Montana came through again. We found the very best ice cream in Darby, Montana. Robbins Café (and espresso shop) serves their giant scoop of Moose Tracks ice cream in whatever container you chose. And, almost right next door, is another flavorful experience, the Old West Candy Store. This candy store has an unequalled variety of candy with easy-to-afford prices. Now you know our spirit-lifting secret; ice cream, candy and espresso. The fabulous ice cream
almost cured us but we were still miserable about leaving Montana,
home of the big skies and the big hearts of its residents. We will
be back!
Submitted by: Carmel L.
Mooney
|
|||||||||
