Bluebird Days and Blackbird Nights in Montana

I was lucky enough to be invited to visit a dear friend who has moved to Ennis, Montana, and learned what “Big Sky Country” really is.  Bluebird days are what perfect blue skies in Montana are called.  Montana is worth a journey.

Ennis, Montana, is having several moments in the spotlight. Season one, episode two, of The Madison, on Paramount+, with Michelle Pfeiffer and Kurt Russell, features the town of Ennis. Several scenes are filmed around Ennis.  Ennis is in Madison County, Montana.

The movie, “Taking Chance,” starring Kevin Bacon, on HBO MAX that is supposedly taking place in Wyoming, is completely filmed in Ennis, including the scenery and the hotel, which is actually the outside of my friend’s church, so charming, all in Ennis.

On Facebook, Ennis, Montana, is featured as “The Cowboy Capital of Montana is one of the Most Charming Small Towns You’ll Ever Visit.”

My friend says Ennis is also the fly-fishing capital of the world. I skipped that lesson, seemingly advertised in every window of every adorable store on the main street of Ennis. The best gourmet coffee and homemade sandwiches are available in the Black Butte Coffee Co.

To me, Bozeman, Montana, was the unexpected gem. It is the home of Montana State University, a college town, and feels like you have walked into the 1950s. The biggest surprise were the excellent restaurants. “Farm to table” is now the rage.  Farm to table and fresh ingredients describes all the restaurants we enjoyed in Montana. The penne vodka that I had in the Blackbird Restaurant in Bozeman, my friend’s favorite restaurant, was the best that I’ve ever eaten.

One of the highlights of Bozeman for me was the dinosaur museum, “The Museum of the Rockies.”   I had no idea that it contains one of the most extensive and significant collections of dinosaur fossils in North America and that most of the dinosaur bones have been found in Montana. Bozeman and this museum are incredible.

We drove to Glacier National Park, which is a 5 1/2 hour drive, but the western section of Yellowstone National Park is only a 45 minute drive. National parks are worth a journey, and I had already seen Yellowstone, so it was worth the drive to see Glacier National Park.

Definitely, take the Red Bus Tour to see the entire park safely. The roads through Glacier National Park are thousands of miles up on the edge of the cliffs and say they are two lane but they are narrow like one lane. The Red Buses in Glacier are considered the oldest touring fleet of vehicles anywhere in the world, but have been totally redone in 1999, so you don’t have to worry about riding on them at the edge of the cliffs.  The drivers know the best stops and even do short hikes on the tour.  Our Driver, Gil, was not only entertaining, but taught us the history of the park and everything about all the natural wonders that we were seeing. Just a few glaciers remain, but Glacier National Park is also definitely worth the journey.

Definitely stay at the Belton Chalet in West Glacier, a historic 1910 National Historic Landmark hotel located steps from the western entrance of Glacier National Park.  All of the hotels in the park were sold out, and after seeing them, we were so happy we stayed in this quaint fourteen room hotel. The Belton Chalet restaurant is gourmet and we ate there the entire three nights. Reservations required.

Drive the 33 miles from West Glacier to another charming and quaint Montana town, Whitefish, Montana. After walking into delightful clothing, t-shirt, tourist shops, and Montana art galleries, go to Huck’s Place on Central Avenue in Whitefish for lunch and order the smoked trout bagel. Delivered overnight from New York, the bagel comes with local flathead lake smoked trout, tomato, pickled shallots, chervil, and whipped caper, scallion cream cheese. A perfect gourmet lunch in the middle of a perfect Montana town, Whitefish. I was introduced to Liquid Death, lime flavored sparkling mountain water, and ordered a dozen cans from Amazon on my return.

The only negative of my visit to Montana in August, 2026, was the smoke from the fires in Washington State and Oregon, which, for the first two days, made the beautiful mountains disappear from sight and required us to wear K95 masks. At Glacier National Park, days later, we got up at midnight on August 12, 2026, to look for the Persoid Meteor Showers, which was a primary reason for my going to Montana on this day of this month. See, post, “Give Yourself, Your Children, and Grandchildren Astronomical and Out of This World Experiences in 2026:  When and Where To see Meteor Showers, Solar and Lunar Eclipses, Northern Lights, and More.”  However, the smoke blocked out the sky, so we saw nothing. August seems to be wildfire time in the drought that Montana, like so many other western states, are experiencing.  So, the best time to visit seems to be shifting to early spring or early fall to visit Montana and the national parks there and in Wyoming.

Will I return to Montana? Definitely, and not only to visit my dear friend again. This time I want to go back to Yellowstone National Park.

A word of caution in our changing world:

My husband and I visited most of the major national parks, and I would highly recommend that you do so sooner rather than later. With changing policies of not limiting the number of tourists and the firing of a good deal of the Rangers and Park personnel, the national park experience is suffering. Lines are long and services cut. It is hotter and there are more dangers of wildfires in the summer months, as well as being crowded.

Go in spring or fall as soon as you can to our beautiful western national parks in our cherished country with

Joy,

Mema