This is the list of “notes” covering our Summer 2025 road trip in Montana and Wyoming exploring Glacier and Yellowstone National Parks and other nearby sights. The posts appear in reverse chronological order below.
Note 95 – Montana Adventure – Little Bighorn Battlefield and Wrap-up
This morning, we traveled back to Billings and ate a late breakfast at the Hog Wild Café. This was small local restaurant, and I think the majority of the customers were “regulars”. Friendly service, hot coffee, and another good breakfast had us ready for our final adventure of the trip – an hour’s drive southeast…
Note 94 – Montana Adventure – Historic Red Lodge
Only an hour from Billings, the historic town of Red Lodge is an easy trip for locals, especially skiers in the winter and those just wanting a relaxing day or two in this quaint town. For breakfast, we decided to walk two blocks to Café Regis located in the historic Regis Grocery building. Locally owned…
Note 93 – Montana Adventure – Lamar Valley and Beartooth Highway
Today we will drive from the West Entrance of Yellowstone and out the Northeast Entrance to spend 2 nights at Red Lodge, Montana. This will take us on the famously twisting Beartooth Highway after we leave the park. We will experience a new section of Yellowstone today from Canyon to Tower Junction, then through the…
Note 92 – Montana Adventure – Canyons, Waterfalls, Volcanoes and Lakes
Today is our last full day to explore Yellowstone, so we are heading to the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and West Thumb for today’s adventure. Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone The Yellowstone River has carved a 20-mile canyon up to 1000 feet deep and 4000 feet across at its widest from the Upper Falls…
Note 91 – Montana Adventure – Travertine Terraces
We are now on Day 9 of our adventure and today’s plan is to explore Yellowstone from Madison Junction northward to Mammoth to see the fifth hydrothermal feature of Yellowstone – travertine terraces. This section of road is what is also referred to as the Upper Loop of the Grand Loop, but we are just…
Note 90 – Montana Adventure – Grand Teton National Park
With 4 ½ days to see Yellowstone, last night we decided that today we’d do the loop drive through Idaho to Teton Pass over to Jackson, Wyoming, then up through Grand Teton National Park back to Yellowstone’s south entrance and back to the house. The 254-mile route looked something like this. And, Dave did all…
Note 89 – Montana Adventure – Geysers, Hot Springs, Mud Pots, and Fumaroles – Oh My!
Disclaimer: I’m sticking with my “Montana Adventure” theme even though 96% of Yellowstone National Park is in Wyoming! After breakfast in town (West Yellowstone) at the Running Bear Pancake House, we joined the 4-lane line to enter through the park’s west entrance. By the last day, we figured out the rightmost lane was fastest for…
Note 88 – Montana Adventure – Independence Day
Travel from Columbia Falls to West Yellowstone July 4th was a travel day. We had a final breakfast at our great VRBO house in Columbia Falls, did all the tasks on the check-out list, loaded up, and headed south to West Yellowstone. As you can see from the routing map – we (Dave) had another…
Note 86 – Montana Adventure – GNP – Going-to-the-Sun Road
Disclaimer: I think I got most of the geographic features and locations labeled correctly in all of today’s pictures. Today’s adventure is back into Glacier National Park on a half-day tour with Sun Tours on Going-to-the-Sun Road (GTTSR) which crosses the park. During peak season you must have a vehicle reservation or book a tour…
Note 85 – Montana Adventure – Whitefish
Today we decided to drive 10-15 minutes northwest to the town of Whitefish, Montana. With a population estimated to be approaching 10,000, it is almost twice the size of Columbia Falls. But, first, Chef Keith prepared our breakfast – scrambled eggs, toast, and bacon – cooked on this fabulous griddle outside, so it didn’t stink…
Note 84 – Montana Adventure – GNP – Lake McDonald
Glacier National Park (GNP) is known as “The Crown of the Continent”. Its northern boundary is the border between the United States and Canada, where it adjoins Canada’s Waterton Lakes National Park forming the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park. Created in 1910, GNP is over 1 million acres (1583 square miles) and contained a recorded 126…
Note 83 – Montana Adventure – Travel to Columbia Falls
Our travels to Columbia Falls were mostly uneventful. Both couples flew into Billings. Billings is the largest town in Montana with a population around 120,000 and just under 200,000 in the “metro” area. The entire state of Montana, the fourth largest by area, only has about 1.2 million residents. Montana’s capital, Helena, has a population…
Note 82 – Montana Adventure
In a few days we’ll be heading off to Montana and meeting our friends, Keith and Paula, to go explore Glacier National Park and Yellowstone National Park. Yes, I know that 96% of Yellowstone is in Wyoming and only 3% in Montana (the other 1% is in Idaho), but all of our lodging is in…
Notes By Nancy 