Top Tens, 1st Edition

Top Ten Best Things About Living in . . . Missoula, MT

10.) Big Dipper Ice Cream The best ice cream in Missoula since 1995. They have a menu full of classics (vanilla, chocolate), some oddballs (green tea, black licorice), and also a rotating selection of specialties. This time of year they are sure to have pumpkin on the menu. My favorites ever: their rocky road and raspberry white chocolate. Aside from the yumminess of their product, the best thing about Big Dipper is location, location, location. They're ideally situated to buy a cone and walk along the riverfront path while eating. All the makings of a beautiful summer evening.

9.) Casual Beauty There is no place in this town where you can't wear jeans. Black tie means wear your black tie, but wear it with jeans if you want. Jeans are okay at the nicest of restaurants, and there are some nice ones. The Montana idea of beauty is clean-scrubbed and fresh. With glowing skin and hair pulled back in a ponytail you're good to go anywhere. For guys, scruffy is totally acceptable. If you dress up too much, or look too fussy, people will probably think you're trying too hard. Montana chic = beauty in all things natural.


8.) Western Montana Fair The "Great Minnesota Get-Together" it's not, but that's not a bad thing. The fairgrounds are right in the middle of town. The food booths are all run by local groups as a fundraiser (like Sons of Norway offering Vikings, Native American Youth offering frybread, or Missoula High School Bands offering nachos and snow cones, etc.) The food is great, but the buildings with all the photography, huge ass vegetables, 4-H projects, etc. are a blast, too. And here's the best part of all: there are always places to sit, often in the shade. You don't have to wait in line hours for food. The rodeo is pretty damn fun, too.


7.) The M Located on Mount Sentinel, the M is the Missoula landmark. You have not visited Missoula until you have hiked the zig-zag path up to the M. Many other towns in Montana feature a large M on the hillside (Butte, for example), but Missoula's is by far the nicest. Incidentally, on the mountain to the left (north) of Mount Sentinel is a giant letter L. Not as cool as the M. And no, the mountain to the right of the M does not have a giant N on it :)


6.) Bernice's Bakery The best hippie bakery in the whole entire world. It started out as a little hole in the wall. It has expanded a bit since then, but it's still delicious. Their most perfect pastries are their croissants. They are super hearty and filled with things like raspberries and cream cheese. These are some serious croissants. They have expanded into desserts, and their white wine cupcakes are divine. Soooo good.


5.) Beer Three local breweries of note: Big Sky Brewing, Bayern, Kettle House, and Glacier Brewing. Beers of note: Moose Drool, Trout Slayer, Bong Water, and Flathead Cherry Ale. Not to mention the wider regional beers available here: Fat Tire, Black Butte Porter. Beer-licious!



4.) The Wilderness You don't have to go far from Missoula to be totally by yourself with nature. For example, the Bob Marshall Wilderness Area, affectionately known as "the Bob" or Glacier National Park. That's right, glorious scenic beauty and not very many people. It's easy to go someplace where you won't see anyone all day long.


3.) Griz Football Games A stadium located at the foot of the mountains and the mouth of Hellgate Canyon. A pair of national championships. Just shy of 24,000 screaming fans (that's like a million people in Montana :). Nothing better on a Saturday in fall than a Griz football game. Make sure to sneak in your hot chocolate spiked with peppermint schnapps. Key moments in the game: any time two-time national mascot of the year Monte takes the field, when they play "cotton-Eyed Joe" and John Denver's "Thank God I'm a Country Boy." When they play the school song, "Up With Montana Boys," everyone sings along. Most notable line in the school song: "And the squeal of the pig will float on the air from the tummy of the grizzly bear." Damn right it will.


2.) The Perfect Day on the River Nothing is better than the perfect day on the River. And if you live in Missoula, there are several very appealing options available to you, most notably the Clark Fork, the Bitterroot, and the Blackfoot. The perfect day on the river is warm, but not too hot. There's just the hint of a gentle breeze (not enough to interfere with casting). And most likely, you catch some trout. If it's really a perfect day, maybe you catch a monster Brown Trout, but that's just icing on the cake. At the end of a day such as this, the best thing to do is to enjoy a hearty local brew and put your feet up, enjoying the sensation of still being on the water long after you're back on dry land.


1.) The Mountains Missoula is nestled into a nice little valley. For people who aren't from around there, I've heard it can feel a bit claustrophobic. For the rest of us, it just feels safe and protected. Visiting my family in South Dakota and Nebraska growing up always made me feel very vulnerable and exposed. Plus, the mountains are pretty to look at on a daily basis.

And now I will conclude with the finest quote about Missoula that has ever been penned. As a disclaimer, I will state ahead of time that I know this quote is not entirely true. I know many fine people in the Midwest. I still like the quote, though. It's brought to us courtesy of Norman Maclean's A River Runs Through It.

"There are a lot of bastards in the world, the number increasing rapidly the further one gets from Missoula, Montana."