Big Sky began as the development dream of NBC newscaster Chet Huntley in 1973. Initially known for winter skling. Big Sky has much more, offering year-round sports and attractions. It is Montana's largest destination resort. It may remind you of Jackson, Wyoming; the lifestyle is much the same. To get there, go 9 miles west from U.S. 191 at the Big Sky turnoff; the road Is paved, of course.

The Big Sky Ski and Summer Resort area is divided into Mountain Village and Meadow Village. Each is an adult playground. During the winter, there are regular shuttles between the villages and the ski area and, winter or summer, dally shuttles to Yellowstone National Park.

The highway runs through forests of lodgepole pine, fir and spruce, eventually crossing back into Yellowstone National Park (no gate, no fee required) and then back out, following the Gallatin River most of the way north toward Bozeman. Initially the highway is in a narrow valley, with the Madison Range, including the Spanish Peaks, on the west, and the impressive Gallatin Range on the east.

In 1805, the Gallatin River was named by Lewis and dark in honor of Albert Gallatin, Secretary of the Treasury. Then in 1865, Gallatin County became one of Montana's original counties created by the First Territorial Legislature of 1865. The original boundaries have been altered with land absorbed into Yellowstone National Park, but the county still retains the contour of the Gallatin River. The world's largest forest of fossilized trees is located along the divide between the Gallatin and Yellowstone Rivers. Rockhounds search out valuable specimens of petrified and opalized wood, agates, jasper and various crystals. A permit from the Gallatin National Forest Ranger Station in Bozeman is required