We had a quiet morning in the KOA, doing laundry, walking, and blogging.

We found this interesting building nearby which has taken the concept of a “green roof” to a new level:

2017-09-21 Missoula 01 KOA

At about noon we drove back to downtown Missoula; it is quite a bit larger than downtown Bozeman.

Missoula is a great little city; population is about 72,000; it is home to University of Montana.  It was founded in 1860 as Hellgate Trading Post.  In 1866 the settlement moved east, and was renamed Missoula Mills, later shortened to Missoula.  The mills provided supplies to western settlers traveling along the Mullan Road. The establishment of Fort Missoula in 1877 to protect settlers further stabilized the economy.  The arrival of the Northern Pacific Railway in 1883 brought rapid growth and the maturation of the local lumber industry.  In 1893, the Montana Legislature chose the city as the site for the state’s first university.  Along with the U.S. Forest Service headquarters founded in 1908, lumber and the university remained staples of the local economy for the next hundred years.

We walked the streets and enjoyed the ambiance of an active city:

2017-09-21 Missoula 10

2017-09-21 Missoula 09

2017-09-21 Missoula 08

2017-09-21 Missoula 05

We found this great building.  We think it would be great fun to live in a “penthouse” apartment like this:

2017-09-21 Missoula 06

2017-09-21 Missoula 07

By about 1:30 we were ready for lunch.  While we reviewed our lunch options we stopped into James Bar for a pre-lunch cocktail:

2017-09-21 Missoula 02 James Bar

We decided to have lunch at the Iron Horse Brewery, not because we drink much beer, but because breweries usually have good food.  We were not disappointed:

2017-09-21 Missoula 03 Iron Horse Brewery

2017-09-21 Missoula 04 Iron Horse Brewery

We had a lovely lunch, walked around a bit more, then headed back to the Villa.  We relaxed and eventually Happy Hours ensued.  An enjoyable time was had by all…