My carry gun will be a .45-70 caliber Shiloh Sharps Model 1874 rifle!

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Originally posted by Michael Robinson:
My carry gun will be a .45-70 caliber Shiloh Sharps Model 1874 rifle!

Interesting choice for a every day carry gun.

Montana and Wyoming are open carry states

Mike,

You've rec'd some great suggestions. Having lived in Cody, WY I will also suggest the Buffalo Bill Museum 110%.

Yellowstone I would steer clear of in the summer. It is crowded to the point of being disgusting and visitors almost to a person are outdoor idiots.

Mark

Consider a ride to Stanley ID, then south on Rte 75 and 93 through the canyons. Or maybe just a ride from Missoula to Idaho Falls.

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I turn off my phone and ride around in peace. Thank you Jesus...

Another great suggestion.

Mike, I’m with Mark in you must visit the the Buffalo Bill Historical center in Cody. It’s not that far and a wonderful place to spend a day. To get there from Bozeman, I’d go through the park from Gardner to Silver Gate, which will take you through Lamar Valley where the best game viewing is.

I took my daughter on a trip a couple summers ago that started in Grand Teton, then through Yellowstone to Cody, then up to Silver Gate, (Sunlight Basin is a beautiful drive) through Lamar Valley and out at Gardner, then up to Glacier Nat’l Park via Bozeman. It was pretty grand and not nearly as much driving as some of the other suggestions you’ve gotten, especially if you don’t include Glacier NP. In one evening and next morning in Lamar Valley, we saw 2 grizzlies, a black bear, 2 wolf packs, pronghorns, moose, elk, a badger, and Bison. Lots of Bison. Everywhere.

The Custer Battlefield is well worth seeing, but it’s a long drive to get there. Devils Tower is a lot farther. Great ideas but I wonder if some of these guys have actually done those drives. I’ve driven across Montana several times and it’s a LONG drive. Like ALL day long. One way.

You’re going to enjoy hunting the Flying D, it’s a very neat ranch. I shot a Bison there a few weeks after 9/11 happened and enjoyed it. The meat processor and taxidermist they use are both good. You’ll get to see some interesting parts of the ranch, and will find that Ted Turner and his sons have enjoyed some of the best elk hunting in the entire USA. They were pretty avid elk hunters back when I was there. While driving on the ranch I was told “Ted doesn’t like to open gates”. You’ll enjoy the solution he came up with.

Consider booking a day or two for fishing some of the best rainbow and brown trout waters in the country. You’re within easy driving distance of the Madison, Jefferson, Beaverhead, Big Hole, Gallatin, Yellowstone, Missouri and other blue ribbon streams. Book early as summer is high season for guided fly fishing.

You have had a lot of interesting suggestions. A lot of them would involve pretty long distances, Montana is a big state. In the summer there will be significant crowds.
DLS mentioned fishing--that may be your best shot. Like he said book soon if you want to fish.

If you visit the Custer Battlefield, it’s less than an hour’s drive to Pompeys Pillar NP. It’s the only National Park named after a Toddler, Sacajawea’s son, who accompanied the Lewis & Clark expedition. William Clark engraved his name on the huge rock outcropping on the banks of the Yellowstone River. His name is still legible over 200 years later.

Mark beat me to it. We love going to Yellowstone, there is so much to see there you could enjoy several days there and Teton NP is gorgeous. You may want to spend a night in Jackson, it is a neat tourist destination at the south end of the Teton highway.
Ive never been to Cody, but two things I really want to do is 1) see the 4th of July rodeo there. And 2) visit the Buffalo Bill Museum.
Between a Bison hunt and all the above you could easily enjoy a two week itinerary. During my last couple trips to Yellowstone we stayed in west Yellowstone and spent one day on the Northern loop and one on the southern loop. But that was too hurried up, we were constantly moving. Plan your lodging well ahead. Mark is right about summer tourism up there. The "Cow petters" who think Bison are cuddly critters are everywhere.

I usually find a team roping and try to borrow a horse!

You guys have convinced me that I should have added another week to this trip! I only wish we could do that.

Thanks again for all of the great suggestions.

Unfortunately, many of them will have to wait until next time, if we are blessed with one.

You might take a look at my reply to a post by Perry in this same forum re suggestions for things to do in Jackson/Grand Teton NP.

The crowds that time of year in the national parks can be horrible -- we did Grand Teton, Yellowstone and Glacier last mid-September and things were still way too crowded for my tastes. But we did do some great hikes in National Forest lands just outside of park boundaries and found that we had those pretty much entirely to ourselves.

One other suggestion for a driving tour is the Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, located not too far south of Bozeman. Likely to see pronghorn and other species, and it is not a major tourist draw so no issues with crowding.

Have fun!