Everyone has their own travel style. I like to mix mine up, but I tend to default to non-car transportation options, hostels, and cheap food.
While I didn’t get to ride any trains on this trip, a train is what metaphorically brought me to Montana. In 2014, I took Amtrak trains across the country. I had to choose 2 out of 3 possible routes to make a loop. The Glacier stop was the only thing pulling me north at the time, and ultimately the middle and southern routes ended up making more sense. I vowed to return to Glacier one day, and it only took 3 years!
In the mountains out west, if you don’t have a car you don’t go anywhere. Thomas’s little hatchback got us around the Montana roads nicely, and had just enough space for all our stuff. The roads were windy around the park and everyday was a long drive just to get to the park entrance. We drove the famous “Going to the Sun Road” in Glacier, a windy road which had awesome views throughout. The road hits a lot of the major hikes, and it also has a free shuttle for park visitors, which we used one day to avoid parking congestion. I was surprised Yellowstone and Grand Teton didn’t seem to have any kind of shuttle service, since these have been a staple at other national parks I’ve visited.
We had to stop in Missoula to fix something that a previous mechanic had messed up, but it didn’t really delay us. For my Butte car rental that same day, I selected a mid-size rental car, for the sole reason that it was the cheapest option. I was given a large SUV that I had trouble getting in and out of, and I had to get used to maneuvering it before I got comfortable. But it drove great, had lots of fancy controls, and best of all played music from my old iPod. In Grand Teton I had to drive through a very windy gravel road each day, so it was nice to have good clearance. I also got to experience the fun of 80mph speed limits in Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, and Utah.
Transportation also included flights. Though I’m currently writing this in-air, I’m happy to report I have nothing to report about this part of my travels. Smooth sailing! The Great Falls airport was particularly interesting with its 4 gates and taxidermy waiting area.
As I’ve written here before, I love hostels. They’re cheap, you get to meet people easily, you can cook if you want, and they have become much nicer than the reputation some think they have. We had a private room in East Glacier, which was nice because it was the only non-gender-segregated option. It was very far from the park entrances, but so were most non-park lodging options. My West Yellowstone hostel was so nice. It was also a nationally-designated historic landmark and was mostly a hotel/motel. It was right outside the park entrance, but the park is so huge that there was still a lot of driving. The first night I had the 3-bed room to myself. Unfortunately it didn’t have a full kitchen so this changed some plans. The Teton hostel was huge and located in Teton Village right outside the park (a half hour drive to the closest trail I did). The hostel was nice enough with great common spaces, though the kitchen was split into two areas. But the allure of this hostel was the town – when I told people this is where I was staying it elicited an “Oooo.” It was a cute little village with a town square, trams and gondolas that went up 4,000ft to mountaintop restaurants, and lots of hotels and restaurants. Mid-trip I also spent a night in Missoula, briefly getting to know Thomas’s friend John and his dog named Tara, and I also spent a night in a normal but luxurious-feeling Salt Lake City airport hotel.
I’m not a big foodie, so most of my meals were from grocery stores – self-made breakfasts and lunch, a few self-cooked dinners, 2 group dinners on the Glacier leg, and when I was on my own I did a few meals out. Food is always a good way for me to save money on trips. It was easier here because there isn’t much of a local delicacy in this region, except perhaps steak, which I do not eat. It was PB&J all the way, until I dropped my glass jar in the Teton hostel. Then it was granola bars all the way.
travels.of.tara 