The Road Kill Cafe Located an hour and a half away from Absarokee in McLeod, the Road Kill Café is, by all accounts, worth the drive. One of the best known roadside attractions in Montana, the cafe is tucked around a bend of the Boulder River. You can take a seat with one of the locals, listen to cool tunes on the jukebox, and wash your buffalo wings down with a selection of Montana brewery ales and beers. Custer National Forest To the south of Absarokee is the Custer National Forest, a place rich in the history of the Old West, complete with Indian hieroglyphics and ruins. Made up of small pockets of timbered buttes and grasslands scattered across three states-- Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota-- it received its name after the fateful battle of General Custer in 1876. Visitors can spy big game species like bear, elk, moose, big horn sheep, mule and whitetail deer. Among the feathered inhabitants are a variety of songbirds, hawks, eagles and owls. The Park encompasses three Ranger Districts, enveloping 1.2 million acres of pristine wilderness, prime game habitat, and some of the richest heritage sites in the nation. Beartooth Mountains The Beartooth Mountains arch up over Custer National Forest and form the gateway to Yellowstone Park. The area is home to all kinds of wildlife such as moose, elk, deer, cougar, mountain sheep, bison and bear. The lucky visitor may even spot the newest Park resident, the wolf. The Beartooth Mountains are the crowning glory of the massive body of forest stretching the length of the Custer National Forest. With some of the best stream fishing and hiking in the area, the range also provides habitat for mountain goats, moose, elk, whitetail deer, mule deer, grizzly bear and cougar. The Beartooth Mountains also play host to the state's tallest mountaintop, Granite Peak, at 12,799 feet. Quake Lake Nearby Quake Lake offers the visitor a peaceful getaway from the hustle and bustle of ordinary life. Formed in 1959 when an earthquake measuring 7.5 on the Richter scale rocked the area, Quake Lake is an impressive natural phenomenon. The earthquake was one of the largest in Montana's history. The violent upheaval forced a 100 mph landslide that created a natural dam in the Madison River, and formed the 190-foot deep, six-mile long Quake Lake. The earthquake caused a 19-foot drop of the north-shore of Hebgen Lake, located upstream from the current Quake Lake, cracking the dam wall in four places and creating massive waves that spilled over the dam and raced downstream in a huge landslide. The power of the upheaval also caused tornado force winds to fan out in front of the rushing mud and debris, destroying everything in its way. Multiple sections of Highway 287, thousands of trees and numerous cabins and homes slid into the newly formed lake. Brand new geysers appeared in the northwest section of Yellowstone National Park and gaping steaming cracks splintered across the ground. Today, Quake Lake provides excellent trout fishing and a quiet getaway from the sounds of boating and water-skiing. Nevada City, Montana Four hours to the northwest of Absarokee is Nevada City, a completely restored ghost town that gives visitors the opportunity to experience the gold rush days. The western town, created from a collection of buildings from other ghost town, and nearby Virginia City, let you shop, dine and sleep without ever leaving the atmosphere of the late 1800s. There are fascinating tales and nuggets of history to uncover in the region, including two mining camps on the Alder Gulch Short Line Railroad that offer insight into the conditions and lifestyle of old-time miners.