Museums & University

What can I say? I’m a New Englander. So what did we do today in the vast West? We visited museums and a university .

We got up early and headed to breakfast – decided to try a new place, but we were clearly unwelcome (Brad said it looked like a Maga convention), so we skipped the fisheye and headed back to Jams again where all are welcome. The difference in the vibe was palpable. We were greeted with “you look familiar” and ate a delicious breakfast.

Fortified, we went for a dip in the rooftop pool and contemplated the mountains, then headed to the Gallatin County Museum and encountered the delightful Marquetta who thoughtfully showed us around.

Can’t begin to tell you how great and informative this museum was – the old 1911 jail houses the museum (it was a county jail till 1982!), and it was exquisitely laid out with so many interesting exhibits. We chatted and researched and pondered and asked more questions. Such a wonderful resource, and all privately funded.

From medical practices to robbers and murderers to high school photos and ways of life, this place was a repository of the county’s history set up in an enchanting way. The best tidbit was the story of our little known history hero, Albert Gallatin, who I will be researching tonight.

After an architectural tour of the town, spurred on by a conversation with Marquetta, we fell in love with Fred Willson, another unsung hero. Here are a couple of of his varied designs.

Then off to the Museum of the Rockies, which was heavily dinosaur focused. Really amazing digs in the area and interactively displayed with the scientists explaining how they date and assemble the fossils.

An old water wagon, a bison, an old farm reassembled — just a great museum.

Oh, and let’s not forget the trappers! Look what we found in the furrier section

Then off to Montana State University because Brad and I cannot ever pass up a college tour. All those smart kids give us hope for the future.

The college is mostly a very modern campus, but it was an original land grant college and the early buildings are still in tact. We chatted with the Voter registration volunteers, the art students who had an exhibit about their year in Siracusa, Sicily, and the lovely admissions officer who loaded us up with swag. Mountains and Minds is their logo.

We drove east to see a cute little town called Livingston – probably what Bozeman was like 20 years ago. We wandered into a community restaurant, chatted with locals and just soaked it all in.

A little quiet time and a shower were needed, then we headed downstairs for the lobby cocktail hour. Tonight we met a Roman interior designer and his art curator wife and her parents who were touring the area because of friends that owned a local business. We had just met the friends the day before, so we got into conversations about the Hudson Valley (where they live), Italian cinema (I need to see Una Giornata Particolare), the merits of the Dolomites and reclaimed wood in construction (Bozeman is the Epicenter).

We each headed to our respective restaurants. Tonight was Fresco. We sat at the bar and chatted with Michelle who has travelled all over the world as a chef, did a stint in hell for some wealthy families in Big Sky, and gave us a good look at the social network and politics of Gallatin county. A good dinner, but better conversation.

Another full day under our belts. We meet our group tomorrow. I can only hope they are as interesting as the chance encounters we’ve had.