If you blow through Wilsall Montana on state highway 89 without stopping, you will miss a treat.

This last Monday I took a road trip around the Castle and Crazy Mountains and made a point to stop at the small towns along the way.  Wilsall, north of Livingston, is easy to overlook but has the neatest buildings.

Credit: Travis Lee, TSM
Credit: Travis Lee, TSM
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This was one of those moments I wished I had a designated driver.  Where everybody knows your name, the Bank Bar and Vault Restaurant must be the go-to places after a long day on the homestead.  When it was first built there were no other structures nearby.

Credit: Travis Lee, TSM
Credit: Travis Lee, TSM
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Who needs a Walmart when the general store is right there.

Credit: Travis Lee, TSM
Credit: Travis Lee, TSM
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Best...Idea...Ever!!  The Postal Service should look into this.  Between this and the Bank Bar, the street parties must be epic.

If these won't stop the car, the fourth gem is the town's museum, the smallest in the land.  This little one-room cabin acts like a visitor center, with one of the original gas pumps when it was a Conoco station.

Credit: Travis Lee, TSM
Credit: Travis Lee, TSM
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Inside are framed newspapers and pictures, tidbits of Wilsall's history and local color.  From a hundred years ago, there is a 1914 map of all the squared properties in northern Park County and who owned what section of land.

The Crazy Little Museum did serve another purpose, proudly displayed over the front door:

Credit: Travis Lee, TSM
Credit: Travis Lee, TSM
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These places make Wilsall a great place to get out of the car and stretch the legs for an hour or so, with the Crazy Mountains off to the east.

And if you want a place to eat lunch, just go a short way north of town and dine at the picnic table right by Thunder Jack.

Credit: Travis Lee, TSM
Credit: Travis Lee, TSM
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