Sunday Snippet: Day 5.5 Montana: Exploring Big Sky

Carol here, once again taking over Nan’s blog. We stayed local yesterday and started with Nan’s favorite vacation tradition–a shampoo and blow dry at the Hair Ninja. Leah was not only a terrific hair stylist (she calls herself a “hairapist”) but an excellent source of information about the area. Like many resort towns, Big Sky sees frequent turnover in local business staff and shortages in some critical fields, like medicine.  The year-round population of 3000 quadruples in the winter months. However, housing prices are high, so skiers and snow boarders find it difficult to settle in the area for long. Some restaurant menus change year-to-year as chefs don’t return. There is a price for living in paradise.

Leah told us about the Crail Ranch Homestead, which we visited after obtaining our beauty upgrades. It’s no longer a ranch but the remnants of what used to be a huge spread before it was sold in part to former NBC newscaster Chet Huntley to create the Big Sky Resort. Located in a suburban neighborhood, the current property is a mere sliver of the original 960 acres. The homestead and outbuildings, still furnished in the style of the turn of the Twentieth Century, are available for self-guided tours. Gardens maintained by local residents feature native flowers, vegetables, and herbs. The vista is stunning. We enjoyed our peaceful stroll in this historic local park.

Ready for lunch, we tried to find a restaurant on a road that took us into the mountains. GPS wasn’t helpful (maybe the curves and altitude confused it!). Nan was sure we were heading to a ski resort, and we at last reached a manned gate for–yes–a private ski resort. The guard had never heard of our destination, so we turned around and gave GPS another try. We found ourselves at another ski lodge not much farther down the mountain. There were no signs for the restaurant, and we decided to go back to town instead of wandering in the resort trying to find it. We found a Mexican restaurant, which had excellent food and service. Our burritos would feed a family of four, so we took our leftovers back to the condo for dinner.

Today we’re heading back to the town of West Yellowstone for some shopping. I’m sure we’ll do some eating as well.

Hope you’re enjoying your summer.

All the best,

Carol