Pacific Northwest: Part 1

If you follow me on Instagram (@lovelindsaywilcox), you've already seen all of these pictures. But hopefully you'll still find this post interesting as I explain the first part of our road trip!

We started off by visiting my family in southern Idaho and then making our way up to Montana, stopping briefly in Ennis before a quick visit to Virginia City and Nevada City. I've talked before about how much I love Virginia City and all the old buildings there — and you can see even more pictures of Virginia City from 2012 here.

From Virginia City and Nevada City, we drove to Butte, one of the most interesting places I've ever visited. Since we spent some time there last year during our road trip to Glacier National Park, we didn't stay there long this time — but we were there long enough for me to take pictures of the adorable historic homes I am obsessed with. I would love to spend a day in Butte just walking through them, some that were built in the 1860s!

Seriously. Are these homes not amazing? If Butte actually had job opportunities for Andrew and me, I would consider buying a home there. I go gaga for places that are teeming with history, and this old mining town fits the bill. You can see more pictures of Butte in this post.

From Butte, we drove another two hours to Missoula, where we spent the night at a KOA. This is ridiculous, but one of the main reasons I wanted to stay in Missoula was to get fish tacos from Taco Del Sol, since we discovered them last year. While I admit that they weren't quite as good as I remember, they were still delicious — and I had to replicate the picture from last year's trip (minus the braces, YAY!).

We polished off the night with a soak in the KOA hot tub and huckleberry ice cream cones. I eat huckleberry everything when I'm in Montana and Idaho, because you can't find it in Utah. It is my favorite!

Part two of our trip is coming soon! I'm already missing Montana and Idaho.

Butte and Missoula

This was my first time visiting Butte, Montana, and I was pleasantly surprised. I had no idea it was an old mining town (which I LOVE) and that it was like a mini San Francisco with steep hills, awesome Victorian and Gothic architecture and a rich history. I wouldn't make Butte your destination -- we stayed there as a halfway point between Idaho and Glacier National Park -- because there's not a lot to do once you've driven up and down the streets, visited the toxic copper pit and checked out Our Lady of the Rockies (a really bizarre giant statue of the Virgin Mary that overlooks Butte). And there is basically NOWHERE to eat (that we could find, anyway) -- although my co-worker, Trish, recommended her sister's coffee shop, Wetona's, there and I had the best peach Italian soda of my life. Seriously. It was so good.

From Butte, we went on to Missoula, which is one of my favorite places in Montana. When my parents were attending the University of Idaho in northern Idaho when I was little, they stopped in Missoula frequently on their way home to visit family -- and it's still a really cool town and just as pretty as I remember it. Think college town + outdoorsy culture + mountain village. I don't know if that makes sense, but it's a bigger city that still feels really small. Also, they have the most incredible fish tacos, about three times the size of the (now) puny ones I get at Del Taco. I'm already craving them -- which is why there are two photos of deliciousness below. YUM.

That's all for Butte and Missoula! Photos of Big Fork and then Glacier National Park are up next.