Livingston, Montana

This is the Montana we had pictured in our minds, the images drawn from fiction and non-fiction books and magazine articles, movies, television, and stories of friends. The tremendous Yellowstone River that courses through the broad and beautiful Paradise Valley (another rich agri area),surrounded on all sides by forested mountains and snow-capped peaks. And the non-pretentious and feels-right town that is tucked inside makes this another one of our all-time favorites. We are camped at a KOA campground on the banks of the Yellowstone River just outside of town - which is a step-up from the camping we have been doing - hot showers, wi-fi, grassy campsite, and no bears. We had visited the Forest Service campground above us in the mountains with red posters everywhere that warned that bears were frequenting the area - so we made a decision to return to the valley. When the locals are wary of increased bear activity and choosing, in some instances, to fore go camping trips, then we can take a hint. Apparently the pine-beetle infestation that is killing thousands of acres of pine trees in the west is eliminating a prime pre-hibernation food source (pine nuts) of the bears. So they are aggressively seeking alternatives, and we are being careful to not be included on the menu. Another bit of trivia; although the actual story takes place on the Blackfoot River and the Missoula area, the filming of A River Runs Through It was actually filmed in Livingston and in this valley.