Our trip to Big Ski Montana started on November 11, 2018 and ended on November 18, 2018. We were invited by our good friends Jim and Athena who own a timeshare here in Big Ski, Montana. We all hoped for snow and we got all we wanted and more. It was an amazing trip that we will never forget. The flight was long but it was worth it. We flew on United Airlines and had a short layover in Denver for an hour then off again to land in Bozeman, Montana. We rented a car from Avis, which I need to say that they were so nice and quick with the rental. We chose to rent a large SUV since we expected snow! We were not disappointed. We drove from the airport about hour or so and ended up in the most beautiful mountain area we had ever seen. The pictures do not do it justice. The resort was literally at the top of the most beautiful mountain, “Big Ski”.
We couldn’t look anywhere that wasn’t so beautiful it brought tears to my eyes at times. The weather was perfect and it snowed all the way up the mountain and until the next morning. The condo our friends rented was very nice and cozy with a fireplace and big picture windows in every room so as you sat on the couch, or at the dining room table to eat, you looked out at the snow piled up and the beautiful mountain with the fabulous evergreen trees that are my favorite. I never saw so many evergreen trees covered with snow in my life and it was just like a winter wonderland straight out of the movies I love to watch this time of year.
Everyday we planned out perfectly so we would not miss anything. Our first full day we decided to drive down the mountain to investigate the town of Bozeman and do some shopping. The town is very quaint and cute with nice shops and good restaurants. We ate lunch at a really cute restaurant called Ted’s Montana Grill and the food is fabulous. When you visit Bozeman make sure to stop in and have their potato soup!
Our day ended with great dinner Eric cooked for us and playing Yahtzee until we couldn’t keep our eyes open. This was a game we had never played, but Athena and Jim are pros and taught us well. Before we knew it, we were hooked! The next morning we awoke to the smells of a fabulous breakfast made by our morning chef Jim! Every morning we had a wonderful display of pancakes, eggs, bacon, and french toast! Eric was the chef at night, cooking us wonderful dinners! We shared grocery bill, shared the rental car cost, which was $489.00 for a week from Avis for the seven days, for a large SUV which we loved. Eating out at Ted’s was only $60.00 bill for two of us and drinks and it was great food, great service, and nice cozy atmosphere.
We found this awesome game of Yahtzee in Yellowstone National Park! Loved all our game nights.
We decided to go exploring in the opposite direction from our resort the next morning and found ourselves in the west entrance of Yellowstone National Park! It was closed they said but you drove for miles through the countryside and it was amazing. We were so excited to see the Bison on the side of the road and hoped to see more animals, but we were not able to on this day. It was a beautiful drive, great pictures were taken, and memories we hope will never leave our minds. The weather was cold and snow everywhere. It was wonderful. Just a few extra pictures of me and my bestie!!
It costs nothing to drive into this West Entrance area but we never made it all the way to the actual entrance because we knew it wasn’t open to the public. It was a really long drive but the scenery was amazing. We knew the North entrance was the only open entrance and we planned to do that another day!
The next day we hoped it would snow for our snowmobiling trip and we were not disappointed! Boy did it snow. The entire day, from the time we got close to the mountain until the evening after we got home it snowed. This day was the most fun we have probably ever had besides white water rafting. This day was a winter wonderland straight out of the movies I’ve always dreamed about. Riding on the trails in the mountains, snow falling on us the entire time, playing in snow up to our waste, snow ball fights, and the trees I love covered in snow. The pictures don’t do it justice but we took video as well so we will never forget this experience. Snowmobiling is so fun and we were very safe and respectful of our equipment we rented from Summit, here in Bozeman, Montana. The people are wonderful, caring, and have beautiful equipment. We made us feel like family. Please check them out if you visit
Bozeman. They are conveniently located and eager to make you time memorable! Mike and Ashley were awesome!!
Summit Motorsports ATR
25 Homestake Dr
Bozeman, MT 59718
(406) 581-5086 ashley@summitatr.com
We took a lot of video as well and I will be posting that on my youtube channel as soon as I figure out how to make one, lol. This was such a great day, it was something we will never forget. Here are a few more winter wonderland pictures! Hope you enjoy!
Our next day’s adventure led us to see the Grizzly Encounter so we could finally see a grizzly bear up and close, but safely, and all the money they make is used to rescue these wonderful bears and many more. This turned out to be another great day, cold of course, just like we like it! We drove about an hour or so from Big Sky to see this grizzly encounter and we met the wonderful Bella!
She was rescued as a cub and raised here along with a few other grizzly bears whom we were not able to see that day because they all take turns coming out of their dens during the day. She was so beautiful and frisky walking around looking at us. It was an amazing experience to see her up so close. They also rescue other animals as well, I loved these little goats!
Montana Grizzly Encounter
80 Bozeman Hill Rd.
Bozeman, Montana 59715
1.406.586.8893
We ended this day in Bozeman doing some more shopping, which we love to do, and found a great restaurant to eat some great pizza and then back home to our condo in Big Sky!
After a great dinner and full stomachs we looked forward to our nightly game of Yahtzee and seeing our favorite visitor, the fox! He is so cute and would come by nightly to see us and hope to get a snack, but you cannot feed him, or they will destroy him they say, because he can’t get used to us and start coming closer and maybe bite someone. But he sure was cute and I wanted to hug and kiss him!
The next morning adventure was great and we awoke to more snow! We planned a romantic sleigh ride with hot cocoa and a fire with a Christmas Story. We arrived to a beautiful ranch setting with horses everywhere and a big antique sleigh to take us through the fields and along side the river where we stopped halfway for our cocoa and stories, as well as, photos together and with the horses! It was so nice by the fire and riverside. Our guide was so nice and told us that he was also a guide into Yellowstone in the warmer months and takes groups by horseback and camps in Yellowstone. That sounded wonderful, not cheap, but a great family vacation that I’m sure would be unforgettable. Here are a few of our favorite pictures of this sleigh ride. Check them out if you visit Montana, they are all year round business and have beautiful horses.
http://www.sunrisepackstation.com
We finally got to our day to visit Yellowstone National Park at the North entrance, which was luckily open this time of year. We paid at the gift shop, where we found our cool Yahtzee souvenir, and we entered the park! So beautiful and lots of wonderful animals we had never seen at all, much less up close and personal. We took so many great pictures and some video as well. Keep checking for my youtube channel I am trying to start so you can see video of this wonderful place. Here are just a few of our great pictures. I was not expensive to enter the park and you just drive at your own pace and stop where you can on little pull offs to take breathtaking pictures. We will never be the same after coming here. We will never forget this vacation with our wonderful friends!
I do not have video capability yet on this blog so I’ve chosen to put a lot of slideshow pictures in so you can see more. I can’t say enough about this experience. From the beautiful Bison to the huge Elk who walked right in front of my car, to the black wolves running across the field and across the road right in front of us, this was a wonderful day. The snowmobiling was still my favorite, but this was certainly next favorite day of our entire vacation. This Montana trip is a must for everyone, of any age. We seek out the snow, we live in Florida, so we love the winter months elsewhere where we can wear our winter gear and feel that cold, fresh air! This was a long day and a long ride, but worth every minute of it. Hope you will go see all of these wonderful places with your own family and make some great memories for yourself.
Montana, we will never forget you and the wonderful memories we made with our friends! Thank you again Jim and Athena for inviting us along on this great adventure. Look forward to so many more adventures together! The airport in Bozeman is so cute, look at a few pictures we took as we were waiting to board our plane home. The views from the window are amazing and as we climbed up in the sky we took one more long look at the majestic mountains of Bozeman, Montana!! Hope you enjoyed all our photos. Check back regularly for more vacation ideas. We will be going to Europe this summer and we plan to visit as many countries as we can and look forward to sharing with you all. Happy Travels!
Weekend Getaway Travel Company 