I’d been to Montana two times before, but my visit this past summer was just magical. I was so exhausted from having driven over 8,000 miles at that point that all I could think of was getting some rest. I found it in Big Sky Country.

Driving into Billings, MT from Rapid City, SD I enjoyed the gentle hills rising and falling and becoming higher as I drove further into Montana. We saw some sights in Billings, specifically the Rimrocks, the Moss Mansion, the historic downtown and the Yellowstone river. I spent a few days in the city, soaking up the quiet in wide, open spaces.

As my journey continued West, I stopped in Bozeman. It’s a quaint mountain town, where the temperatures were markedly cooler. It was 49F when I passed through at lunch time, even though it had been in the mid 70s when I left Billings. I drove down the main street and stopped at Famous Dave’s for barbecue. I didn’t have much time to look around the city, but it struck me as pretty. It’s one of those I definitely want to go back and visit sometime.

Further West, the terrain began to change: lots of mountains, a couple of mountain passes and as I got towards the Idaho border, wonderfully green forests. I just wanted to park my car and camp beneath the trees–and I’m not a camping enthusiast. The rivers were wide and fast from  the snowmelt and the clouds painted wonderful pictures as they scudded by in the big sky. Peace covered me like a blanket. I reveled in the wide expanses of nature that surrounded me and wished that the drive would never end.