re: Anyone ever been to Missoula, Montana?

I'm here right now. I've lived here part time for 10 years. Fall is a great time here. Missoula just gets better every year. From my house, it's a 3 mile bike ride (or drive if you're lazy) to the Rattlesnake Wilderness Area--unreal place for being this close to a decent-sized University town. We ran 8 this am, along Rattlesnake Creek. Great music venues. The Top Hat is now a top-notch one, and the new owner bought the historic Wilma Theatre and is revamping it for even better music and festivals (Big Sky Documentary Film Festival, for e.g., is great).

I'd do VRBO or AirBNB for lodging. The hotels kind of suck. The Doubletree is right on the Clark Fork, but it's meh for the price.

THere aren't any really bad parts of town, but I'd stay in the rattlesnake or somewhere a little off the beaten path and just ride into town. My house is in the lower rattlesnake. I can walk downtown easily.

It isn't a tourist town at all, which is nice. Great fishing and great wilderness all around.

And re: Bozeman, I prefer Missoula, but you can't go wrong with Bozeman. IMO Glacier is nicer than Yellowstone, and I like our local ski hills around here. But neither of those is a factor in the fall.

Eta: Greg Allman played Monday nt, The Stones played a couple years ago--i could hear it from my yard. I've seen Willie Nelson and many other acts.