Missoula is one of the bigger cities in Montana. It lies about 3 hours south of Glacier and happens to be where our friend’s parents live. Stu and Laura are Kelly’s good friend Georgia parents and Kelly spent a lot of time at their house when she was in high school listening to many of Stu’s rock records, eating the elaborate ethnic meals Stu and Laura liked to cook, and looking at photos and art from all the places they had traveled. Stu and Laura lived out west most of their lives and moved to the Midwest for jobs (which is why Kelly Metcalf Georgia) and their stories of hiking and camping is likely what inspired Kelly to gravitate to the mountains in the west side of the U.S. and partially why she has a passion for camping. Kelly is happy they have been able to migrate back to Missoula in their retirement as this was the place they have always wants to be and it totally suits them. We were happy to re connect with them and have them show us around their favorite place. Plus, they had a house which meant they had a shower and laundry- both things we needed after spending many nights camping.
We went out to eat at a nice restaurant, drank nice wine (a gauruntee when sharing time and space with Laura as she is an avid wine collector), enjoyed downtown Missoula and got caught up on everyone’s life happenings since the pandemic started. Kelly was delighted to meet Jackson’s (Georgia’s younger brother who also now lives and works in Missoula) girlfriend, Cicily, as she has heard a lot about her the past couple years. She lived up to the hype! We went to the Missoula art museum, drank coffee from some local coffee places (including Butterfly and Herb- a Missoula coffee tea and spice wholesaler that is a must go to spot if youre in town), and took a short walk along the river. Our second night in Missoula we went to Kettle House Amphitheater for an outdoor concert of Los Lobos and Tedeschi Trucks! The venue was dope and the music and company were even better. Stu and Kelly used to go to a lot of shows together in Chicago before he moved to Montana and it was great to have this experience again in a new city. Our visit was short and sweet but it was so nice. We both agreed Missoula is a great little city to settle down in. Maybe it will be our home in a future time.

