This place has been in my top 5 , and has yet to d...

This place has been in my top 5 , and has yet to drop off my radar . Around 1998or,1999 ..Some how,some way ,(I was lured into it, *air-fare paid and boarding pass @Airport terminal 2 main bar..awaiting...). It was afterall her birthday wish to have me , bring in the San Diego warmth to a frigid Montana White Christmas..ready for a whirl wind tour? !! I'm the Birthday/Christmas present all in one... Holiday Bender commence !!!!!!! .
I landed Eve of Christmas and this town is Awesome !!!. Missoula is not huge . or even a big town ,but to pack over 365 bars into this place.(yes over) .. You can't help not to have a good time here. Most of the nitelife spots burned down . a couple a times too. Downtown along the river Salmon River ,I think..anyways ..
. Hell" some a dose' got dat' big plank pine floors seasoned well from spilled Whisky by the barrel , and Gunslinger Card shark bloodstaining cheaters.. Some places still there from the old west ...Easy whisky bottle visions of Doc Holiday ,Wyatt Earp , other ghosts about these places.. Still to this very day some of the best dam Thai food I ever, was in Missoula Montana.
Half court basketball , In the bar. Shoot a game of horse with the whole dam bar !!!! For pitchers and shots of course.. I Rode a bull , bucking bronco, One place had lumberjack trials/ games.Axe throwing bullseye. Chopping ,Log rollico, Pole climbing (That might had been at a tryouts for the state teams competition level)
.Casinos , gambling is everywhere.(keno machines) Gas stations , laundry mats ,corner saloon watering hole,. Not giant neon distraction Vegas Style . thank god. Fun enough to fund my airfare !!! Diversity is served up well ,by having University Montana , Cheech Marin's daughter was a regular in the Shop At Snowbowl .
Snowbowl Ski Area ...... Not for everyone... But ..
For those who have been there with good snow to be had .. The Best 2 Lifts in a 500 mile radius.. (Keep in mind Big Sky is not to far , Bridger Bowl close too. You can look right in on JackHole. Wyo from the Grand Couloir .. Then SBowl had a center pole double chair. Str8 up 2000 or 3 vertical feet. Picking lines through the rock wall chutes to the NE riding up that chair. A Brief Tree Glade run finish, burn turns towards the booze box . Just watch getting caught in the "Thick of it all"Valley gulch.. Possible to find yourself hiking out..
The Hiking and Back country SBowl has to tempt and treat you with is some of the best in the PacWest. Easily accessible from one of the two lifts . I can remember hiking up to the 'DeathStar', (Doppler weather ball station) perched up on top a peak above Main lodge and riding around and off the back of it , dropping into jenny bowl ?? I could be wrong naming. But Epic Bowl basin . Steep cliffs great snow , had too much fun in it , did jump out in time to catch the lower part of trail and had a hell of a traverse out . only to be greeted to a rope tow on a jeep back up to the lodge. Beats hitching a ride back up.
Hiking TV Mtn , Tree skiing at its best .. Those woods are what thousand year old growths. Drop in some cool whip freshies , and you'd be laughing .. Not enough daylight to get my fill in..
You got world class-- Terrain ,
Snow Savvy ness . (Momo natures got to bless that)
What Merits Cinco Estrella you ask ? ?
It is the people here that you meet, interaction experience you have , The Mountain population working on the hill. . All the other Riders . Skiers, Boarders, Tele guys, to the most revered and sought after guy at the end of the day ,the Bartender. For me and my time here his name was Garland ... Yes the very name makes you smile and thoughts of Xmas joy fill your head.. And I'm sure he'd heard enough of that in his day. So to change that happy jolly mindset This Man or God of the Garlic, had his very special own Bloody Mary mix ,affectionately adorned with his name followed by the words Sheer Hell !!and so onto every glass was garnished by huge elephant garlic clusters.