Montana Wilderness Adventure 

Yes, we just went on a great vacation to Bear Lake, but when we got invited to join the Bergeron family at their cabin in Cooke City, Montana we could not pass up on the opportunity. Mike and Penny were great hosts and tour guides. I can see why they love going up there so much.

Cooke City is a small town tucked in the valleys of the Beartooth mountain range just outside of the northeast entrance of Yellowstone National Park. To say that it is a beautiful and rugged place is an understatement on both accounts.

We didn’t get to stay very long, but we managed to cram in a bunch of awesome activities while we were up there. It was a last-minute, squeeze-in-a-last-vacation-before-school-starts trip, but it was probably the highlight of our summer.

Fishing

Nearly everyone who tried caught something.

Katelyn and Claire came out with Mike and I on an early morning excursion to Kersey lake. Katelyn caught one on her first cast.

Most were fairly small, but Claire caught a beautiful brook trout that we cleaned and took home later to cook over the fire.

We fished in the Broadwater river, but most of our luck was at Lake Kersey. It was great. We went one last time on Saturday night and took Jake, and he caught three decent-sized brook trout in just over an hour.

ATV Riding

We spent several days up in the nearby mountains on long ATV trips.

Our first excursion was up to Lulu pass. Mike and Penny brought up their RAZR, and there were 3 other 4-wheelers for us to use at the cabin. We piled everyone in and Mike drove his truck and hauled some of our gear.

We stopped at the top of the pass and set up a home base.

I found a nice spot for a makeshift shooting range and helped people shoot a .22 and a borrowed Sig Sauer 9mm (thanks, Dad!). We Mighty Johnsons are not exactly expert marksmen, but we can hold our own.

The kids hiked around, watched Mike fly his drone, and rode around the trails on the 4-wheelers. Some of the girls went along with Penny to an old abandoned mine to look for gold. They found some of the “Fool’s” variety, and a couple other cool rocks, but nothing to revive the old gold rush days.

On Saturday we made the excursion to Sheep mountain. It was a long ride with some technical sections, but we all made it just fine. Manina got to drive the RAZR on this trip, and I think she’s forever ruined on “plain ol’ 4-wheelers”.

The views from the top were incredible. We could see the beautiful lakes and spectacular terrain. It was pretty windy at the top, but that didn’t dissuade Mike from taking out his drone and capturing some awesome shots and beautiful footage. The kids stayed bundled up and huddled together for cover from the wind, but everyone enjoyed it.

Horseback Riding

Penny’s relatives run the Skyline guest ranch in Cooke City and were able to take us out for a horseback ride. We paid for the hour-long ride and it was well worth the money. Manina has long had a fear of horses, but I somehow convinced her to go for a ride. Jake and Ellie also wanted to come along, but the other kids were a little timid, so they stayed home.

Our guides Wyatt and Kimesa (both hard-core cowgirls) paired us up with our horses. Jake ride Trigger, a super old horse. Ellie rode Pawnee and totally showed her who was boss. Manina was on Bert and Seth got Bo. We rode around a little loop with some beautiful scenery and had more fun than we had originally expected.

Rope Swing

Friday afternoon was pleasant and warm. Penny heard rumors of a rope swing into the nearby Broadwater river from a relative who was visiting during a previous week. So, we set off to find it. We all got on the 4-wheelers, drove for a couple minutes, then hiked for a half-mile hike to the rumored spot.

When we got to the rope swing, Mike volunteered to go first to test the depth. The depth was fine, but the water was cold.

Megan was the only person who declined, but everyone else felt the cool, refreshing waters of the Broadwater. Most of us took several swings because it was just plain fun. The backdrop was spectacular too.

Just Hanging Out

One of the nicest things about Cooke City was that it is off the grid. We had to drive into town to the chamber of commerce building to get free WiFi. No cell signal at all meant we didn’t have the usual interruptions.

We enjoyed shopping around in some of the old stores when we went into town.

The kids played a lot of card games too.

The kids also spent a lot of time playing around in the creek behind the cabins, trying to catch some small fish. Jake and Megan also often rode the 4-wheelers around the nearby trails.

Going to Church

We packed up Saturday night and hit the road Sunday morning. We stopped by the LDS Chapel in Cooke City (it’s really just an old donated barn) for our Sunday services. It was a neat experience.

We weren’t the only visitors, so the place was packed. They almost had to put some people in the overflow — some plastic chairs setup outside in the dirt and grass. But, the talks were great and it was a good way to end our trip.

Special thanks to the Bergerons for sharing Cooke City with us!