Montana: Home of the Bad Bear, the Wild Rose and the Local Berry

12 minutes ago

2 min read

As I continue my third time laser tagging around all 50 states, I flew from Texas to Montana before renting a car to drive my way across the Midwest. My first stop was a visit to Wild Rose Action Center in Billings, MT, home of the Bad Bear Laser Tag.

I found a cute little Montana bison at the airport to be my mascot for this leg of the trip.

When I walked in to play I was greeted by Josh and Kat who gave me a tour of their new location. The owner, Richard, took over the laser tag from a former mobile-only operator about three years ago to build up the laser tag aspect of this business. They moved from another location in town to this new space with the laser tag, but they also have a second outdoor facility offering paintball and airsoft.

Using Elite laser tag equipment is always a treat.

Josh and I tagged around the barrels and barricades, set up to create a light arena in a shared space with party tables directly across from the game floor.

Respawns happened at elite game box.

These were located in opposite corners of the arena.

We were cheered on by this cool cast of characters, may of whom were featured on the souvenir tag swag I took back with me.

This was a lot of fun!

My thanks to Josh and Kat for making my visit to Montana memorable.

When we were done I had worked up an appetite, so the bison and I paid a visit to The Local Berry just a couple of doors down.

While the name did not refer to any actual local berries (as Montana is known for their huckleberries), I enjoyed an açaí bowl and a chance to take a break, appreciating where I was and what I was embarking on this trip. Some states are harder than others to travel to, so it was surreal to sit there annoying a gorgeous day under that big Montana sky and know that thanks to my visit to Wild Rose Action Center I was now one state closer to my goal. This was a great way to begin my midwestern leg of this adventure.