Distinctly Montana Magazine

drives westbound along I-90 and gazes out ment regulation and environmental Boasting the only walkable brewery to see the Beartooth and Crazy mountain issues and opposition, it is difficult to district in Montana, the Billings CVB ranges in the distance. It marks the end of say what the future holds and to what recently developed and released this the high plains and the beginning of the extent Billings will continue to benefit map: www.visitbillings.com/pdf/ Rocky Mountains. from the extraction industries. CVB_BreweryTourMap.pdf. The map From personal experience, this writer can This writer has lived in Billings for enables visitors to explore downtown confirm that special feeling of transition almost a year now and has gradually Billings, the breweries and craft that starts in Billings. Often he has made discovered the colorful nooks of interbeers offered, as well as the newest the journey westward from Chicago where est that a casual visitor might miss. He distillery, Trailhead Spirits. he has strong roots. After a thousand miles has run miles through the Rimrock fordrive through flat empty spaces, hitting mations that give the city its primary Billings always renews his sense of home. boundary; he's been able to view its Billings is the penultimate driving checkpoint for anyone shape from many angles. He has visited the state zoo that venturing northwest from the other side of the map for a shelters many of Montana's native species in captivity and visit to the national parks or reaching beyond to the Pacific the unique museums, theatres and historical features that coast. Once the highway traveler has passed "The Gateway," give the city its character. At night, he found an impreshe or she will rest assured that the long, monotonous drive sive community of microbrewers and a busy entertainwill end and the reward will be dramatic landscapes and the ment scene with improv comedy, local bands, rodeos, primordial vibration of the mountain wilderness. trade shows, and other national touring outfits. It's a fun town without trying too hard to impress, making the apSpecial Thanks to Kevin and the crew at The Western Heritage Center peal of it straight and simple to enjoy. in Billings. Schedule a walking tour this summer at www.ywhc.org/ Billings has been called Montana's Trailhead or The Gateway to the West and both names seem fitting as one 82 D I ST I NCT LY M ONTANA • SU M M E R 2013

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