Ahh, Bozeman, Montana. You are a groovy town. I was looking forward to spending some time in Bozeman because it’s near Belgrade, where my dad grew up. He spent most of his childhood running around with his beagle named Taco and his fishing pole, fishing in the local streams. The community has changed (and grown) considerably since his childhood in the 60’s – but I think it still feels like a small town.
The first night we got into town early and after playing in the pool and making dinner, we decided to head into down Bozeman for a Music on the Main event. A free community event, Music on the Main is held on Main street and we had no idea what a big (or awesome) event it would be!
We got down there early, parked our big truck and walked a few blocks to the action. Food trucks, beverage vendors, storefronts – it was a lot of excitement. The band, played on the back of a flatbed truck in the middle of the closed off streets, with people dancing in the crowds.
After dancing we picked up some delicious frozen yogurt from a food truck. . .
And bounced in the free bouncy house! We left after a couple hours and fell into bed exhausted from the fun.
Our second day in town we headed to the super popular Museum of the Rockies! This museum is amazing and definitely a must-see spot if you’re in Bozeman (or worth the drive if you like dinosaurs). When we got there, we opted to get a Family Membership to the Museum of the Rockies for $80/year because they are part of the Association of Science and Technology Centers program – which gets us FREE admission into 600 science centers and museums nationwide!
This museum is home to one of the most comprehensive and important dinosaur collections in the entire world.
In fact, if like Tyrannosaurus Rex, they have 13 exhibits – more T-rex exhibits than any other museum in the world. We had a great time and we learned a lot.
After the museum we headed west to the smaller town of Belgrade. When my Grandpa passed away 12 years ago, our family planted a tree and installed a plaque at the local Belgrade library, honoring my grandpa’s love of the written word. To satisfy his veracious appetite for a good book, he spent a lot of time at the Belgrade library.
After he passed my grandma moved out of Belgrade, so I hadn’t been back to Belgrade since the plaque and tree has been installed. It meant a lot to see it in person and I’m grateful for the opportunity to visit it on the way through. Miss you, Grandpa.
I would have liked to stay in the Bozeman area for longer than we did. We had talked about staying here additional days and taking at least one day trip south into Yellowstone, but campgrounds were soooo expensive and they were so full of travelers that reservations were hard to make for more than a couple days at time. Next time we go through the area I’d like to extend our stay a bit longer. Although it was short, it was definitely sweet – especially being able to see my dad’s childhood home and pay homage to my grandpa.
From here we head to Billings. . . .stay tuned
Do you have favorite things to do in the Bozeman area? Leave a comment and let us know!
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