Oh, the lengths we’ll go for a vintage treasure hunt! How about 3,200+ miles of roadtrippin’ antiques outposts between Missouri and Montana? Check! Just back and in recovery. Worth it? By recovery, I mean serious mountain country withdrawals. I mean, I’d do it again in a heartbeat (but with fewer stars in my eyes).
Finding quality antiques in Wyoming, South Dakota, and Montana was easy; finding them at defensible prices (those allowing for resale or affordable additions to personal stashes) not so much. After visiting 23 shops in 14 cities — we can legit call this an EPIC adventure, amiright?! — once again, I’m reminded that the good ol’ Midwest is the Mecca of vintage deals.
My bestie Sarah signed on as copilot for this two-week adventure. Of the many antique malls we perused along the way, some were planned visits, some not. I used AI to help sort our navigation and timing. Once we cleared the air on the fact that antique malls are not open 24/7, the itinerary came into better focus—ha. Still, we prided ourselves on being flexible. An impulsive turn off the main road proved worthy of a detour more than once.
Chasing Down a Vintage Dream
Leaving from St. Louis, our first stop was Columbia, Mo., at Artichoke Annie’s Antique Mall, which might win at least a co-prize for overall favorite location. (We also loved River Market Antiques in Kansas City, Montana Antique Mall in Missoula, Antique Barn in Bozeman, and Marketplace 3301 in Billings.) We spent a fun hour or so exploring all things vintage at Artichoke Annies. Many booths felt curated and most were well-stocked. I found some wonderful McCoy pottery as first purchases of the trip, but sadly, this is also where I tag my first regret … I walked away from three chippy, slightly curved, wooden planters for fear my car would be full before we started. Turns out, overthinking is a curse when one is antiquing. We saw plenty of truly big pieces we’d have considered buying, given a U-Haul or two. Meanwhile, we made do with an SUV for this trip.
(Another regret: talking myself out of a cool old floor lamp with a barkcloth shade —for the same stupid reason. One more: an amazing flannel robe, which, of course, would have easily fit in the car! Sarah knew I was making a big mistake. Life lessons. Listen to your bestie! We won’t mention the cute gnome she left in Columbia …)
We moved on through Kansas City and St. Joseph, Mo..; Rapid City, S.D.; and Billings, Butte, Anaconda, Deer Lodge, and finally, Missoula — all in Montana. During our extended visit to Missoula, a cozy college town, we dashed over to Stevensville, and on the way home we added Bozeman; Sheridan, Wyo.; and Chamberlain and Sioux Falls S.D., to our list of flybys.
Detours!
Between shopping stops, we also made time to explore a gorgeous bison range, drive through the stony Badlands, and visit the impressive Mt. Rushmore and Chief Crazy Horse monuments as well as the Dignity statue. Wow, wow, wow, we live in a beautiful country. Did I mention our road views there and back? Big Sky country is true to its hype and so much grander even. Jaw-dropping vistas. I got teary when the mountains were officially in the rearview mirror.
Vintage Chatterbites
Several topics of discussion kept recurring as we picked our way through myriad antique malls:
Geez! Lots more western-themed books and tchotchkes out this way!
Hey, is that the cottagey shade of green you always gravitate to?
Do you think I could fit one more quilt into my suitcase for the flight home? (For context, home is in Spain!)
Is this creepy or kinda cool? (I asked this often. Honestly, it wasn’t always an easy call.)
As we wandered up and down aisles, I made mental notes of what I wish I had started collecting in early days (head vases, for example). I also gravitated toward old tins, specifically those with cool names or funky type faces. Also, since Mother’s Day was around the corner, I fixated on “Mother” mottos, which I generally disdain, and other mother-themed things.
Photographically, at least, I explored my current obsession with orange in all its vintage glory.
Milestones: Are You Really Tapped Out?!
By the time we got back into Missouri, and once we dispensed with the requisite visit to the mammoth Brass Armadillo antique mall outside of Kansas City, my enthusiasm suddenly took a nose dive. For the FIRST TIME EVER, Sarah heard me say out loud that I was antiqued out. We knew for sure, then, that we not only spent, but we were spent. The bulk of our car was packed to the roof with treasures we couldn’t wait to unpack and be charmed by all over again, but we were officially off the clock, checked out, overwhelmed.
(That lasted maybe a day. Of course, we were back at it soon after we landed in St. Louis — and relieved to be reading price tags that made sense.)
Yes! I’d do it all again! Except there are complications: Sarah is now blissfully living in Spain, and meanwhile, remnants from this adventure are still cluttering — I mean, delightfully decorating — my dining room, waiting to be priced and taken to my booth and cases. (Yes! I rent spaces in an antique mall. Related posts yet to come. Stay tuned.)
Did I mention the unbridled joy of 80-mph speed limits on wildly empty highways? Gorgeous horizon views in every direction for days and days? The million tiresome Wall Drug billboards? Spending endless hours driving in a car yakking happily with a fab friend and singing along with more playlists than we could count? Taking little detours whenever the mood struck?
Alas, we finally reached the end of this amazing road trip … still basking in the Big Sky glow, though.
“Once you have traveled, the voyage never ends, but is played out over and over again in the quietest chambers.
The mind can never break off from the journey.”
~ Pat Conroy
Montana Roadtrip: Stops Along the Way
Columbia, MO
Artichoke Annies
Veranda Antiques
Kansas City, MO
River City Antiques
Brass Armadillo
St. Joseph MO
Jesse James Antique Mall
Rusted Chandelier Antique Mall
Billings, MT
Marketplace 3301
Yesteryears Antique Mall
Butte, MT
Under The Gallus Frame Antique Mall and Mercantile
The Abode
Anaconda, MT
Black Dog Antiques
Deer Lodge, MT
Territorial Antiques & Uniques
Missoula, MT
Montana Antique Mall
Stevensville, MT
Creamery Antiques Mall
An Eclectic Emporium Artisans & Antiques
Bozeman, MT
Antique Barn
Antique Market and More
Wild River Thrift
Twice Treasured Thrift
Sheridan, WY
Best out West
Sheridan Antiques
Chamberlain, SD
Old West Trading Post
Then & Again Antiques
Sioux Falls, SD
Pickers Antiques and Collectibles Mall
Rapid City, SD
St. Joe Antique Mall
