MontanaWithKids.com

If you’re a good 100-miles off the beaten path in Montana, you may find yourself in a place like Virginia City, the near-sibling to Nevada City, both of which are historic and interesting. More than that, the drive out there from Bozeman (which is much shorter than you might think) is really beautiful. If you do find yourself in Virginia City, and you’re looking for an ounce of fun, you should check out the Virginia City Players.
(more…)

I don’t know if it’s just me, but I feel like I keep getting the worst assignments on the trip. Fine, fair enough, I’m the junior editor so I’ll write it up. Virginia City, Montana, is nothing but a tourist trap, and one that felt a pretty hard hit from the high gas costs this summer, what with being basically in the middle of nowhere. So this nowhere tour of nothing got hit hardest, and the real victim wasn’t the operator, who owns everything outright, but us poor tourists.
(more…)

Right in the heart of Virginia City, you might be surprised to find a museum that allows all to enter for free. That’s right, at no cost at all. What might surprise you less is that it’s actually just a junk shop full of thousands of touristy trinkets for sale, along with a couple arguably interesting historical relics. Kind of depends what you’re into, but I love touristy stuff, so without admission charge, it works for me.
(more…)

I’m not sure what sort of impression we’re trying to leave you guys with about Nevada City, but in my mind it was a lot of fun, even if a bit out of the way. Though there were some real tourist leeches in town, it’s a city hit hard by the exploding (combusting?) gas prices over the summer, and it really is a town well worth your visit… that is, if you can handle the haunted piano hall.
(more…)

Historically, the train never made it all the way out to Virginia City, and it cost the settlers untold monies, whether they wanted to get goods or even just their mail (more than $1 over 100 years ago, if you can believe everything they tell you on your local tour), but that hasn’t stopped the local chamber of commerce from getting motive with their own chugga-chugga-short-line-choo-choo, and as a kid right in their demographic wheelhouse, I must admit it makes for great fun to ride.
(more…)

If ever you make your way to the historic segments of Virginia/Nevada Cities of Montana, there are a few things you have to do. You have to make like a cowboy, you have to buy some candy, and you simply must get your picture taken in finest old-timey fashion in the oldest, best novelty photo shop in the west (or anywhere else).
(more…)

There was an episode of South Park making fun of guys like this, the steadfast historical re-enactors that refuse to break character, but if you’ve never met with their kind, they really are every bit as annoying as that clever bit of off-color satire I’ve suggested. They really can’t take a joke.
(more…)