A Montana Road Trip. We went from Minnesota to Montana in just one day!
A road trip to Montana has been on my bucket list for a very long time. Flying in a plane is great when you’re in a hurry, but there’s something special about driving and experiencing first hand how the landscape changes as you travel across the country. I love the freedom a road trip offers too. My family loosely plans our schedule, so we can choose to stop when we see something interesting.
Who knew a Montana road trip would be so easy from Minnesota? I thought it would take us two days to get into Montana, and we made it all the way to Miles City in one day. We went on to the Dillon area and picked a few really cool places to explore.
One afternoon we decided to do a day trip to the historic ghost town of Bannack. It’s a beautiful old town with a lot of buildings you can wander around in. It was founded at the site of a large gold discovery in 1862 and ultimately abandoned when the great Wild West became no so wild anymore. Photography opportunities in Bannack include detail shots in the buildings of wallpapers, crumbling interiors, and old furniture.
Hiking Brownes Lake in Montanna
The next day we wanted to do some hiking in the mountains, so we went out to Brownes Lake just north of Dillon. (Fun fact: There’s also a Browns Lake in Montanna, this is a completely different lake!) Hiking is easy on the well marked trails. It’s a place I wanted to spend all day in, so silent and serene. I spent more time with my family than taking pictures here. This view of the lake nestled in between the mountain peaks is all I needed, and will be forever in my dreams.
After we left Montana we made our way out to Hebgen Lake and Yellowstone. These places are both awesome and deserve a blog all their own. If you’re interested in seeing pictures of that area make sure to follow my blog for an update on when my next travel post is published.
I’m a wedding photographer in Minneapolis St. Paul who loves to road-trip out West. You can send me an email via my contact form here.
