You guys, I just had one of the most fun weeks ever. Why? Because I was able to spend it exploring Western Montana with five of my favorite humans.

Meet my lovely friends: Spencer, Caanan, Kent, Kristin and Jade.
Meet my lovely friends: Spencer, Caanan, Kent, Kristin and Jade.

For some background, this is a trip that the six of us had been planning for the past 18 months. You see, Spencer, Jade, Kristin, Kent and Caanan are some of the busiest people I know. But even with everyone’s vastly different schedules and obligations, the stars aligned perfectly for all of us to come together and meet in Montana. We had seven days to explore the region and let me tell you, explore it we did. We packed countless adventures into our time together and it was a week that left me feeling happy, full of joy and completely re-energized.

The first stop on our trip: Missoula. Missoula, for those of you who may not be familiar with it, is perhaps Montana’s coolest city. It’s this beautiful combination of a strong urban core (full of darling shops, locally owned restaurants and a lively music scene), stunning scenery and outdoor adventure.

We only had about a day a half to play in the Garden City before heading north, so I put together a slate of some of my favorite activities for all of us to do together in Missoula. Our “must do” items included…

Going on a pedal-powered tour of downtown Missoula with Thirst Gear. If you are visiting Missoula, I totally recommend checking out the city on this bike. It was an absolute kick in the pants. Plus, all of their drivers are awesome (and cute). Our reward for pedaling through the city? Big Dipper Ice Cream.
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Fueling up at a few of my favorite local restaurants. Topping the list: Scotty’s Table, The Catalyst and Lolo Creek Steak House.
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Shopping the cute boutiques in downtown Missoula. My favorites include The Green Light and Cloth & Crown (which is where I scored the cute gray jacket below).
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Perusing the local farmers markets. On Saturdays during the summer, Missoula has three markets: the farmers market on North Higgins, the People’s Market on Pine and Higgins and the Clark Fork Market under the Higgins Street Bridge.
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Exploring Missoula’s craft breweries. After perusing the local markets, we headed out for an afternoon brewery tour with Tap Room Tours. If you are a craft brew lover, this is the tour for you. Tap Room Tours offers behind-the-scenes looks into Missoula’s local breweries and distillery. Plus, the owners Phil and Cate are two of the nicest people you’ll ever meet.

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To my Montana loving friends, thanks for letting me share some of my favorite Missoula moments with you. And Missoula, thank you for being so awesome.

Your turn: Where would be on the top of your list when visiting Missoula?

xo,
TT

PS: I have way too many stories from our adventures to fit into one blog post. Stay tuned for more posts about our time playing in Montana’s Glacier Country.

June 18, 2014

Related: Summer Fun

Comments

Eileen Watson
When visiting Missoula in End of April had a blast. Besides Big Dipper other places to eat mo club Stockmans Bar. Oxford, liqud Planet , and best breakfast The Shack. Nice ppl all around.. Epically at Fran's 2nd hand store , next door Jim the butcher and parking enforcement Cindy and Don.. Gave best directions beside the guy in the shop on main who is with the tourist board ,,,, loved going to Polsen and flatehead lake and all the little towns n between epically bison cafe off of Ninepipes lodge
Kathy Hubbell
Hi, Tia! Great post! I'd take visitors to Out to Lunch in Caras Park, any given production by the Missoula Children's Theater, and a walk along the Kim Williams Trail.
tiatroy
Ooh, good suggestions Kathy! Any event at Caras Park is fine by me. The food trucks, music and strawberry lemonade = summer perfection!
tiatroy
Sounds like you had a wonderful visit, Eileen!

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