a former gymnast with a neverending case of wanderlust
The final stop on our six-day Montana road trip was quite possibly the most bizarre place I’ve ever been in my life: Ringing Rocks. Which is – as the name suggests – a collection of rocks that ring… when hit with a hammer, that is. It’s not entirely clear why this happens. Geologists think it has something to do with the composition of the boulders and the way they are all piled up together. If you remove a rock from the pile, it will no longer ring.
In Montana, the license plate on your car reveals which of the state’s 56 counties you live in. It’s not a system that most states use, but in a low population state such as Montana it works pretty well. The county numbers were assigned numerically based on population; back in the day, Butte was by… Continue reading Montana road trip, part V: the richest hill on earth
Next up on our Montana history tour: Deer Lodge, a small town with a surprising amount of history! We arrived mid-morning and our first stop was Grant-Kohrs National Historic Site. This is an old cattle ranch that’s still semi-active. They have horses and cattle on site and park workers give tours, talks, and demonstrations of… Continue reading Montana road trip, part IV: cowboys, old cars, & the prison museum
Five of the six days of our Montana road trip were beautiful – warm, sunny, no rain to speak of. Perfect weather for exploring. And we did take advantage of this, although we spent some of our time inside on those days as well. So naturally, the one cold rainy day of our entire trip… Continue reading Montana road trip, part III: First Peoples Buffalo Jump State Park & Gates of the Mountains
If you know me – or you’ve been following this blog for a while – you know I’m a planner. Some might say I’m an overplanner. I usually have a lengthy and well-researched list of things to do at each destination. Such was not the case for these first couple days of my mom’s and… Continue reading Montana road trip, part II: Fort Benton & the Missouri River Breaks
For someone who spent 18 years of her life in Montana, I’ve seen a remarkably small amount of the state. In my defense, it’s a huge state. I’ve done a reasonably thorough job exploring the area around my hometown. But most of my trips to other parts of the state were for gymnastics or track… Continue reading Montana road trip, part I: waterfalls, birds, & the Lewis and Clark expedition
Memorial weekend 2019 in Colorado was a snowy mess, so it was fortunate that I’d already made plans to fly home to Montana and visit Bighorn Canyon with my mom. Despite the fact that it’s only 4 hours from my hometown, I’d never been there before and was eager to explore a new place. We… Continue reading Wild Mustangs and Montana Skies – Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area
Way back in 2007, my mom and I hiked to Hyalite Lake… a hike which I’ve previously written all about. It’s 11 miles (17.5 km) roundtrip, closer to 13 miles (21 km) when you add in all the detours to the many waterfalls along the way, and our feet were pretty exhausted by the time… Continue reading Wildflowers and a Montana Summit – Hyalite Peak
Whenever I’m away from home too long, I get a serious case of Yellowstone withdrawal. Because I grew up so close, I visited the park at least twice a year from the time I was too young to remember. Since I’ve been away, Yellowstone is always one of the main places I ended up missing.… Continue reading A Snowy Day at Snow Pass – Yellowstone National Park
I know, I know. Another one of those pesky end-of-the-year lists. You’ve probably already read 1000 of them. But as a lover of lists and perpetual list-maker, I can’t pass up the opportunity to hop on the bandwagon once again this year. While my 2017 list was a summary of a somewhat low key travel… Continue reading Diana’s Best of 2018
