A Small Town Under a Big Sky

Red Lodge, Montana: Population 2,243, Elevation 5,555. It is a place where the cow to person ratio, as well as the dog to person ratio, is at least 2:1. It has been known as the Gateway to Yellowstone Park, and as a place where there is a history of snowfall on every day of the year, except for one day in August. The quaint charm of this town, nestled in a valley amongst lush, green rolling hills, which eventually stretch into towering mountains, has a way of melting even the frostiest of hearts. This laidback, friendly town among an incredible landscape is where I was fortunate enough to spend last week.

Our journey started off quite early last Tuesday morning at 4:30 am, when my dad called to tell me that I had 30 minutes to shower and finish packing before he would arrive to pick me up and drive us all to the airport. Thirty-five minutes later, I was clean, had thrown the rest of my belongings into my enormous suitcase, and was huffily being hustled into the backseat of my dad's car. Boy was I grumpy!

Approximately 12 hours later, after sleeping through most of both of my connecting flights, I was again in a backseat. This time, I was in a much better mood, gazing in awe at the scenery unfolding around me. I was greeted by velvety green hills, sharp plateaus, and the big, blue sky that gave Montana it's nickname.

Our first experience with the people of Montana occurred during the hour and fifteen minute drive from the Billings Airport to Red Lodge. As we were all starving after having not eaten much except airplane pretzels all day, we were on the lookout for a quick place to stop for a bite to eat on the way. It turned out that once we got outside of Billings, there was a whole lot of nothing in the way of fast food, or even food at all. We finally found a little cafe in the tiny town of Roberts.


The place was mostly deserted, except for a few cars out front, but we figured we would at least check it out. We were greeted by an older man, who started to explain to us that they had already closed about 30 minutes earlier. (It was about 2:30 in the afternoon.) Then a plain-looking, middle-aged woman approached from the dining room, saying she wished she hadn't already turned the grill off. When my dad pointed out that there were five hungry customers, willing to pay for a good lunch, she smiled and said, "Well come on in and pick out a table then!" The food was delicious and tasted home cooked, and our hostess/waitress/cook, was warm and friendly throughout our entire meal. I felt like we had been invited to lunch at an old friend's house. And as it turned out, everyone else we met during our trip was equally as warm and friendly as she was.

After lunch, it was not long before we were driving through downtown Red Lodge, which consisted of a 7 or 8 block stretch of restaurants, shops, bars, and a really old hotel. Originally a mining town, Red Lodge now seems to make most of its money on tourism. There is a ski mountain, just 6 miles away for winter entertainment. And in the summer months, many people take advantage of the multiple hiking, camping, biking, horseback riding, fishing, hunting, whitewater rafting, kayaking, and golfing opportunities. It's not surprising that I can't remember seeing one morbidly obese person while we were out there.

But the landscape surrounding the town is enough reason by itself for a visit. No matter what direction you looked in, there was always a beautiful mountain or a lush, green hill on the horizon, with an expanse of clear, blue sky above. (Granted, we were really lucky to have gorgeous, warm, clear weather while we were there. Apparently, it had just snowed about three weeks earlier.) Here are some pics of the downtown stretch and some of the cute little side streets:

The Main Drag

The dark gray building on the corner is the
Red Lodge Clay Center, the gallery my sister
is doing an artist residency with.

I loved the way these hills cozied right up
to the town. If you click on this picture to
enlarge it, you will notice an entrance to
the old mine that this town grew up around.

"The Snow Creek" is how the locals call this
saloon. Apparently it is known as the "rough"
bar in town, as it is not uncommon for fights to
break out there.

The one and only organic and health food
store in town. Inside is also a delicious cafe,
where we ate breakfast at least three times.

The warm hospitality of the locals, the cute local shops and restaurants (not a chain business for miles!), and the pureness of the surrounding nature made for an amazingly refreshing trip that I really needed. I have never inhaled air so pure and clean.