I'll have a couple of Weber BBQ's at the house, so you're welcome to use those. My mom's house has a kitchen, but with 40 people it's going to be hard to eat there if everyone wants to do that.

I would expect we'll probably eat inside Yellowstone National Park most days, or stop by along the road. Chico Hot Springs also has a good dining room and Livingston has several nice restaurants.

What do you want to do for food?

I think we should plan outings first - after doing that we can determine our timelines, and our proximity to food. I do think hamburgers, hotdogs, sausage, etc on the grill is timeless (and cheap) and builds a sense of community. I don't think we should define our timeline around food though...

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Megan - after plotting my route and seeing what's close (not much) I think we'll have to plan on eating out, or going to a local supermarket and bringing raw food in, and cooking grilling it. I don't think you need to pack raw meat - they actually grow that stuff in Montana! I don't think we'll be spending to much daylight time at the house, so I imagine finding a restaraunt will be fairly easy. Late night snack? Might be a different issue! That's what beef jerky is for :)

(from Megan Cunningham): This may be a very revealing "who's-the-annoying-new yorker" comment, but is there some type of fresh direct style service I could help fund? I can't imagine packing my suitcase with hamburger buns, and the alternative vision of carpooling with 40 people to Chico Hot Springs sounds dubious for 4 days straight. Sorry if I'm missing something. We share a beach house at montauk (east coasters will appreciate it's nickname "the end") and fresh direct just started delivering there, so I know your (gorgeous) house is remote, but I figured I'd ask--

UdoSchroeter: I'm assuming we'll find something to eat locally, anyway I'm not bringing meat and stuff on the plane ;-) Since we'll probably be in Yellowstone and at Robert's house most of the time, we're sure to find something edible along the way! Also, Chico Hot Springs is not too far, is it? (I'm kinda hoping)

(From Jan McLaughlin): One of my favorite things to do in these situations is to forage locally for food and deal with sustenance logistics. This typically involves one day trip into the local community, asking questions like, "Who's got buffalo in the freezer around here?" Once we're all there, I'm sure everything will become more clear. Assuming there's a grocery store within 30 miles, I'll gladly organize snacks, liquids, etc., with an eye toward at least one community meal. Cooking for 40 is somehow easier than cooking for one in my book :) Anyone else enjoy doing that? Let's do it together then! Hey, Robert, is there a place for a campfire?