Take the drive. Always take the drive and go explore. That is exactly what I did a couple weeks ago with my brother Brian and our friend Wendy.

Driving along Highway 89 thru Bynum, I approached the blinking light. Bynum is a small town, a really small town. Population of 28 in the 2020 census. The blinking light in town is a reminder of the ol' saying, "Blink and you'll miss it."

I didn't blink, at first. I passed the intersection and noticed an old white bearded man sitting on the front porch of the building across from JD's. This old white bearded man was playing the banjo and surrounded by some bottles of hootch. Well, I couldn't resist, so I turned around to find out what was going on with this banjo playing, hootch drinking, porch sitting old man.

Andy Watson is the owner of Big Sky Pottery and Art Gallery in Fairfield and has just opened this Pottery store in Bynum. I guess we were lucky he was there because it is the off Season and would be closed.

Andy and his wife have some amazing pottery pieces. The "bottles of hootch" on the front porch were not actually bottles of hootch but they were pieces of their pottery collection. Andy also has watercolor paintings for sale, along with some great little pieces of copper jewelry. I did pick me up a copper bracelet that he made from a piece of 97-year-old copper that was once part of this building.

Andy took us on a quick tour of the property and even gave us some old books from one of his sheds on the property. Andy also gave me one of his paintings he did of Largent Bend on the Sun River. Which is one of my favorite places to take the dogs to cool off in the summer.

When in Bynum, hit up the Montana Dinosaur Center. This is a great little museum that highlights a lot of local Montana dinosaur finds. This is a perfect stop with the kiddos, but this time of year the museum is only open by appointment. You can book an appointment here or by calling 406-469-2211.

For the rock collectors Trex Agate Shop is a must. This shop is not just for rockhounds but for anyone who likes beautiful one-of-a-kind jewelry pieces, collectors of fossils, shark teeth, native history, crystals the size of small children, pieces of petrified wood, and so much more.

Be sure to stop into JD's Wildlife Sanctuary. JD's has a history reaching back into the 1930's when it was the Bynum State Bank. You can still see the original bank vault inside. JD's Wildlife Sanctuary is known as the "community hall" of Bynum aka, the place to be.

You never know who you'll meet or what kind of treasures you'll find while "taking a drive" in Montana.

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