Creekside camping, baby goats, and Albert the bear

Good Morning from beautiful Bozeman! Such a wonderful little city nestled in the mountains. We’ve really enjoyed our time here so far. We were lucky enough to have some time off for the 4th of July weekend when we first arrived and we really made the most of it. We found a new hike every day, walked new neighborhoods, and explored nearby towns. Bozeman itself is a beautiful city, the mountain backdrop is like we’re in a painting, the streets are lined with trees, and the houses are an interesting mix of old and new. So many gorgeous craftsman homes with the streamlined modern style, beautiful in its own– that house costs a million dollars kind of way, sprinkled in. One of the first nights we arrived, the city welcomed us with a summer concert series and closed down part of its Main St so folks could walk around and enjoy the music, the bars, and a wide variety of food trucks. They continued to do this for us every Thursday of the month! I thought that was pretty neat.

Lava Lake

That next morning, we made our way up the 3-mile winding path to Lava Lake. It was a bit steep, but the scenery had you thinking more about how beautiful the wildflowers were and less about your aching muscles. Most of the trail followed a gentle stream through the forest and once you reached treeline, you switchbacked your way up to the lake. Lava Lake was definitely the largest lake I have seen at the top of a mountain. You could see hammocks and little dog heads poking out of the water all around the shoreline. It was an ideal spot to stop and relax on a hot afternoon. Unfortunately, it started to rain right when we got there, so we had a quick snack, took a few photos, and made our way back down to the big blue truck. We decided to head down the road about 15 more minutes to check out Big Sky, MT, a resort town centered around the ski mountain. We popped into Beehive Basin Brewery and then checked out Ousel Falls, waterfall 1 of 5 we would see over the weekend. We tried to rank them from best to worst, but realized there is no 'worst' waterfall, they were all five stars. We made our way back to Bozeman for some dinner and went to bed early after a full day.

Grotto Falls

Champagne Falls

Silken Skein Falls

Next came what I will refer to as our waterfall tour. The weather wasn’t the best in the mountains, so we decided staying at a lower elevation would probably be a good idea. Later in the day, we would realize we made the right call, as it is easy to see the weather in the mountains here. At dinner, ominous gray clouds, sheets of rain, and lightning hung in the mountains around us, but in town the sky was blue. The drive into our first set of waterfalls was lined with campgrounds nestled on creeks or lakeside. They looked so inviting it inspired us to find one of our own on a return trip. Hyalite Canyon is full of gorgeous hikes of all types and it is only 30 minutes from Bozeman. Today we took the trail to Champagne Falls that just so happened to pass Grotto Falls and Silken Skein Falls as well. Each waterfall was beautiful in its own way, but for me waterfalls are just plain magical. There’s something about their power and grace that pulls you out of your thoughts and into the present moment—a reminder to be grateful for the beauty that quietly surrounds you every day.


We had one more rainy waterfall walk to Passage Falls. Just a quick one mile jaunt through the forest where we stopped for a snack and were treated to a gorgeous view of the falls. We stopped through nearby Livingston and had treated ourselves to some bomb nachos and brews at Katabatic Brewing.

Storm Castle peak

Views from Storm Castle

Sunday morning we enjoyed a slow morning and then made our way towards Custer Gallatin National Forest with our fingers crossed that a first come first serve campsite would be waiting for us. We lucked out at Spire Rock Campground with a beautiful site right on the creek. We reserved our spot for the night and then biked our way over to the Storm Castle trailhead. This was a fairly grueling hike with steep switchbacks mainly in exposed sunny areas with some shady forest reprieve. The unique rock formations and views of the surrounding area at the top were worth the effort. We also met a couple from Wenham Massachusetts at the top, which is about 30 minutes from our home in Amesbury. After a jog to the bottom and a bike back to our site, I was very happy to pitch our camp chairs in the middle of the creek and pop a cold one. The sites were spread out so far from each other we didn’t see another soul the entire stay. It was like we had our own private creek. We enjoyed some snacks and beverages while soaking our tired feet. Finding this type of tranquility only a 30 minute drive away, we are quickly learning why people fall in love with Bozeman.

Beehive Basin trail

The next morning we realized that someone had forgotten to pack the coffee (ahem). So we made our way to a local coffee shop in Big Sky on the way to our hike for the day. I ended up getting a coffee and a scone so everything worked out for the best. The drive to Beehive Basin had some epic views of Big Sky Resort. The mountain stands at 11,166 feet and towers above any in the surrounding area. The hike we did also had some backcountry skiing lines that had Matthew excited for winter. Maybe we’ll be back. I think Beehive Basin was my favorite hike we did all weekend. It meandered through some lovely alpine meadows covered in wildflowers –who doesn’t love an alpine meadow amiright? It passed by several small lakes with some hopeful fisherman trying their luck and it had some gorgeous mountains surrounding it all. We may have stopped off at Beehive Basin Brewery again (highly recommend) and when we mentioned we had just hiked Beehive Basin and OBVS had to stop in, they gave us the locals discount :) We made the drive back home and had some brews in the sun at MAP brewery in Bozeman with lake and mountain views. Not a bad day.

We decided to roll the dice for a first come first serve campground in the Hyalite Canyon area again the next weekend. This was the campground area that we had scouted out earlier in the month and knew we had to return. We lucked out again and reserved a spot at Langhor Campground right on the creek and made our way up to the Emerald Lake trailhead. This was a gradual hike through the forest, with a touch of gorgeous rock faces and a wildflower filled alpine meadow or two along the way. Emerald Lake itself was stunning. Tucked in between forest and snowcapped mountains, it was an idyllic spot for a snack and a place I would love to return for an overnight stay. We saw plenty of fisherman, quite a few mountain bikers (some serious kudos here- it was a little over four miles UP hill to get here), and one adorable chihuahua with goggles. After a leisurely walk back down to the truck, we stopped at the lake on the way back to our campground and soaked up the sun. It was full of paddleboarders, sailors, fisherman, screaming children, more adorable dogs, you name it, it was having a nice time at Hyalite Reservoir.

Majestic mountain goat

Hidden Lake- Glacier National Park

Hidden Lake Overlook- Glacier National Park

This past weekend, we had some friends come visit to see Trampled by Turtles perform and to take a long weekend trip to Glacier National Park. The band played at the Big Sky Country State Fair which was a super fun venue. They had all the classic fair rides; the swings, the zipper, the tilt-o-whirl. Which we did not go on, but the nostalgia was real. We were most interested in the cuisine. They had everything from fried oreos to steak on a stick. The band put on an awesome show and it was a pretty magical setting as the sun went down behind the mountains around the stage. 

We made our way to Glacier National Park the morning after the concert. It was about a five-hour drive through Montana fields and cattle. Not much going on, but the scenery was beautiful, the windows were down, and the speed limit was 75, so that was nice. When we arrived on Friday afternoon, we managed to find a first-come, first-served campsite again…We would learn why it was so easy to get a spot at this particular campsite later that evening. And we made our way along the Going to the Sun Road to Hidden Lake trailhead. What an incredible drive. Just thinking about the engineering and manual labor that went into making that road blows my mind. It tunnels through actual mountain and has steep drop-offs into the valley below. The views are absolutely stunning. Matthew and I had done Hidden Lake lookout on a previous trip to Glacier, but part of the trail was closed due to bear activity. Lucky for us we were able to take the full trail all the way down to the lake this trip (with no bear encounters). We did, however, encounter a whole family of goats. Baby goats are absolutely worth the hype. They were the cutest little kids I’d ever seen. They were just chomping away on some leaves and did not care about all of the people who were watching. When we returned to our campsite that evening the campground host jogged over to let us know we wouldn't be able to use any softsided sleeping arrangements. Luckily we were all sleeping in our hardsided vehciles, so we were all set. Apparently, Albert the black bear had just strolled through our site less than an hour ago and we had managed to pick his favorite site out of probably 30 different choices. Perhaps why it was so easy to roll up and find a first come first serve spot. Just a guess.

Moose!

Ashley on a giant tree!

We woke up to a rainy Saturday morning, so we decided to check out the Trail of Cedars. We also attempted to get into the northern entrance of the park, but it was closed to car traffic. Oopsies. We had to drive back to where we came from, but it's hard to be upset about anything when you are surrounded by mountain views and wildlife everywhere you look. I also had a hot coffee to sip and a huckleberry scone to munch on. They have huckleberry everything here in Montana and I'm not mad about it. The Trail of Cedars was a beautiful forest full of towering cedar, hemlock and cottonwood trees that led to a trail to Avalanche Lake. The trail meandered through the woods next to an unreal-turquoise stream bordered by smooth, striated rock walls that had been eroded over time from the water's swift path. The turquoise color of the water legitimately looked like it was flowing with arguably the best flavor of Gatorade--Glacier Freeze. We had a super fun walk through the woods up to Avalanche lake. I think one of my favorite parts of hiking is just talking to the people you are with. You are stuck with them for hours on end doing nothing but walking, so you end up talking about anything and everything. I like that. You really get to know people :) Avalanche Lake was a bit fogged in, but still gorgeous. We enjoyed a snack surrounded by the mountain backdrop and several very curious critters who wanted our trail mix. When we made it back to our car we made our way to Lake MacDonald to check out the village there. We spotted a mother moose and her little one along the way! That night we cooked up some tasty brats and prayed Albert didn't want any. It wasn't my best night of sleep, but it certainly makes a good story.

Grinnell Glacier trail

Grinnell Lake

Grinnell Glacier

On Sunday, we hiked what is now my favorite trail in Glacier National Park. The Grinnell Glacier trail was closed on our last visit to Glacier NP, so we were super excited to be able to do it this time around. It did not disappoint. It started off along a big beautiful lake and was super quiet and peaceful because of our early start. The water was glass still as we made our way to the other side of the lake. As we switchbacked our way up the trail, the views kept getting better and better. You could see a majestic waterfall in the distance spilling its contents into Grinnell Lake below. There were snow covered mountains and turquoise glacial lakes. It had it all. We actually got to walk through a few waterfalls along the trail. It was above tree line and open for the majority of the walk. I probably said 'how beautiful' 47 times. Oh! And the wildflowers!! There were so many different colors. There were red paintbrush, yellow and purple columbine, pinks and blues and so much green. Just gorgeous. Grinnell Glacier itself was spectacular as well. It was so odd to be hiking in the 80 degree heat and find icebergs floating in the lake at your destination. The rock wall surrounding the lake destination was substantial. Reminded you how small you really are in the grand scheme of things. We watched a few crazy people get into the iceberg laden water on purpose, had some tasty snacks, Matthew took a nap. It was a blissful summer afternoon. We made our way back down slowly, enjoying each flower along the way. Then treated ourselves to a beer and a snack at the lodge upon our return. 

Dave, Matthew, and Buffalo!

Sunset over Yellowstone River

Matthew and Sean on the trail

Matthew and Sean on the trail 2

Pine Creek Lake

This week, we had Julie and Dave visiting for Matthew's birthday! It was pretty special to get to share this amazing place with them :) We shared our favorite spots in town for vibes, brew, and views. We took them to Hyalite Canyon and had a nice little lakeside picnic. And then we joined them for the weekend in Yellowstone National Park! The wildlife viewing is hard to beat here. We saw buffalo rolling around in the dirt, pronghorns nibbling on some grass for lunch, plenty of elk, and a giant snake (which I am convinced was fake or planted or something). We saw some of the park's beautiful features from the North Entrance of the park; Tower Falls, Mammoth Hot Springs, and Calcite Springs. And then we relaxed in our riverside cabin. We enjoyed a delicious birthday dinner for Matthew on the deck, Dave and Matthew caught the sunset over Yellowstone River, and then we tucked into bed early. Matthew and I woke up early the next morning to meet Sean for a long hike up to Pine Creek Lake. We passed a few waterfalls and streams along the way, but it was mostly a relentless push up a steep path in the sunshine. Matthew and I both took a refreshing dip in the lake at the top and dried off in the afternoon sun. We treated ourselves to a beer and some dinner when we returned home. Okay, two beers and some dinner. Another fantastic week here in Bozeman. I am not ready to leave! 

Our next destination is the state of Washington for the month of August. I have always wanted to visit the Pacific Northwest in the summer, so I am super excited. We will be in Wenatchee, WA for a week, plan to visit Olympic and North Cascades National Park, and will end our time in Bellingham. Looking forward to some friends and family coming to visit us here as well. It should be another epic month spent doing the things we love, with people we love! Yay Summer!