Exploring Missoula!

Last weekend my friend Dawna and I decided to head to Missoula, Montana to visit our other friend, Kelly!  It is a long drive so we decided to take advantage of the long weekend and make the long trek…11 hours to be exact.   Fun fact: it actually takes longer and is more expensive to fly from Regina to Missoula than it is to drive, strange right?!

My friends at Ford Canada hooked me up with this ah-ma-zing Ford Explorer for the weekend and let me tell you, it was a dream!!  And, if anyone tells you that after sitting in it for 22 hours you better believe what they’re saying.

First things first… the massaging seats!!! Yes, that’s right people it has seats that massage your booty and back as your drive!!   That was by far my favourite part about the vehicle but there were also other great features that Dawna and I enjoyed.  Serius XM radio came in handy.  Although we did talk most of the way it was nice to have some good tunes when we ran out of topics… 22 hours people, 22 hours!!!  For being a seven passenger SUV I was shocked at how great it was on fuel.  The total cost for gas was just under $200!  All in all, I say this ford Explorer was perfect for Exploring Montana!  Lots of room for our shopping bags, luggage, and our friends we met up with in Missoula!  Thanks Ford!!

Here are some pictures and captions to show how we enjoyed our time in Missoula!

We were greeted with the cutest Easter baskets and a sweet little throwback photo on our night stand! I’m going to guess, but I think that photo is circa 2007… 🙂

We started our Saturday off with a little (actually big) hike up to the M! According to our tour guides, Kelly and Cole, this is a must do in Missoula! I agree, the view was amazing!

I’m lagging a bit here… it was harder than it appears. The weather was absolutely perfect that day!

We made it!!! Thanks for the photo, Cole!

Here Cole is testing Kelly. “Bell, do you know where our house is?” She passed!

After the hike we toured around downtown Missoula and did some shopping.  Although I didn’t purchase anything (damn exchange rate!!) the boutiques were beautiful! From clothing stores, to home decor and stationary, downtown Missoula had a great selection of beautiful shops that kept us busy all afternoon. We then stopped for lunch at Market on Front! My apologies I didn’t take any photos of my food, it was honestly the most amazing sandwich I have ever had! I had the special, a steak and brie sandwich and it was to die for.  If you’re ever in Missoula, this is a must!! It’s quick and super delicious… probably the best sandwich I’ve ever had!

That evening we treated ourselves to pizza. We went to a place called Biga Pizza. I highly recommend this place!  The pizza was great; the atmosphere was relaxed and fun, nothing fancy, exactly what a pizza joint should be like!

After enjoying some pizza we headed to Plonk for some ah-ma-zing cocktails! Dawna and Kelly raved about the Cucumber Cilantro Gimlet… I went with the Cucumber Lemonade and it was fabulous! In this photo I am having an Indian Paintbrush cocktail but I did’t care for it, it was just too sweet for my liking! They were happy to mix me up a new one, gotta love great service!

The following day we hopped in the Explorer (literally), went for brunch, and then continued to explore Missoula!

Because it’s not Easter unless you’re wearing bunny ears, right?!

Just loving exploring in our Explorer!

After a day of exploring we retired our ears for a few hours and rotted in bed while watching a million episodes of Friends and 90’s music videos… seriously, is there anything better?!

Following our rot fest we cooked a beautiful Easter dinner! We made the scalloped potatoes from Chrissy Teigen’s Cravings cookbook and a spiral glazed ham! They both took forever to make but the end result was totally worth it.  I highly suggest you RUN to the store (nothing in the book is healthy) and buy Chrissy’s cookbook, everything is so friggin’ good!

Monday morning we were up and on the road at the crack of dawn!  The trip home went by quicker than expected… Stop by again soon, I will be sharing secrets to having a successful, fun, and budget friendly road trip!

Special thanks to Cole and Kelly for being amazing tour guides and hosts!  Miss you, including Zeddy, so much!  Also to Ford for letting me take the Explorer exploring, and to Dawna for being the best co-pilot!

How was YOUR Easter?!