Montana 2025

After pulling up stakes at the Shooting Star Saloon in Huntsville, Utah, we headed north towards our next destination, Virginia City, Montana. Since it was a five and a half hour drive to Virginia City and we’d be losing daylight in a couple hours, we opted to spend the night in Idaho Falls, Idaho. After a long travel day we didn’t do any bar hopping in Idaho Falls, but we went for a nice walk in the morning along the picturesque Snake River and had a great breakfast at Franklin’s Famous Cheesesteak Company. The owner, Scott, runs an awesome diner and you can’t go wrong eating there if you find yourself in Idaho Falls.

After filling our bellies at Franklin’s we continued on to Virginia City through some of the prettiest countryside you’ll ever see. Western Idaho and eastern Montana are beautiful and it made the ride go by quickly. Just before getting to Virginia City we stopped in Ennis. Just at the edge of town we had the opportunity to spot a moose in the wild! That was a sure sign to stop and have a couple of cold brews. We grabbed a couple of seats in Burnt Tree Brewing and were delighted to discover that our bar neighbors, Sandy and Geoff, were from Baltimore! We had a fun time with them yakking about all the spots in and around Baltimore that we have all been to.

After leaving the Burnt Tree and Ennis we made the short ride over to Virginia City. We checked into the Fairweather Inn, an awesome historic inn in the center of town. The entire place is meticulously restored and the rooms are all uniquely appointed. Besides the wonderful lodging, the Fairweather had a couple of wonderful desk managers, Ronie in the evening and Patti in the morning. They were welcoming, full of information, and helpful in every way. We found out from Ronie that the Bale of Hay Saloon, the oldest bar in Montana and just down the street, had just lost its liquor license a couple days before our arrival. It would be a while before reopening under new management, but undaunted we went there to take some Polaroids to document our visit. From the pictures you can see it is a great looking saloon and ready to reopen. Hmmm…maybe we’ll look into giving it new life.

Since the Bale of Hay was temporarily closed, we went a few strides down the street to the Pioneer Bar. The Pioneer Bar had all the rustic charm of the Bale of Hay, but filled with a cast of delightful locals. We had a super time swapping stories with two of them, Natasha and John. We’ve met a LOT of folks in our travels, but we think those two just may have been the most interesting and engaging pair, yet! The evening flew by and it was time to head back to the Fairweather for a good night’s sleep. Ronie was still working the desk so we just had to spend a few minutes sharing our Virginia City experiences with her, while getting a little more local history and color from her. What a great end to a super day! As always we are thankful to God for traveling mercies!