Marty Bannon is perpetually in a hurry. He’s eager to get his words out, his work accomplished, and his point across. His nickname “Race” describes his personality as well as his background as a pilot, runner, and long-distance hiker. Now “retired,” Bannon has a new......
Thundering hooves, clouds of dust, whipping manes and tails, and breathtaking skill — Indian relay is one of the earliest extreme sports. Born from Great Plains tribal traditions, these relays test courage, athleticism, teamwork, and horsemanship. From the stands, Indigenous spectators speak a variety of......
From 1920 to 1943, hundreds of children experienced the sights and backwoods of Yellowstone National Park from a saddle. The excursions were organized by Valley Ranch, a popular dude ranch east of the park in Wyoming. Intended to provide access to many attractions around Yellowstone,......
The World-Famous Miles City Bucking Horse Sale is the social event of the year for the small town of Miles City, Montana. For over seven decades, this one-of-a-kind sale weekend has showcased horse races, professional saddle-bronc riding, calcuttas, mutton bustin’ for the kids, live music......
Hardcore cutthroat bums roaming Western backroads with their fly rods, waders, and extra gas tanks know the marquee water, like teenagers with nose rings and spiky hair eagerly touting their favorite punk bands. Vagabonds chasing westslope cutts often head for Montana’s upper Flathead, Clark Fork,......
For more than four decades, the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation (RMEF) has actively worked to support hunting and conservation efforts throughout Montana and beyond. Protecting habitat and improving access for wide-ranging species — humans included — RMEF is a homeostatic ecosystem in its own right,......
This Place the Gods Touched Earth (Montana Arts Council and Montana Historical Society Press, $19.95) brings together a strong and vibrant sample of work by all 11 of Montana’s past and current poets laureate, since the honor was established in 2005 by the Montana State......
Phil Lalich doesn’t mind saying that he got into the restaurant business for the first time at 67 years old. “I had a weak moment,” he says of his 2017 decision to buy LaHood Park Steakhouse near Cardwell, Montana. But after 25 years of ranching......
My first trip to Anaconda in 1973 was to compete at the Copper Empire Horse Show. The name was apt: The Anaconda Copper Company was a declining but still dominant force in Montana. The town, founded by Marcus Daly in 1883, was home to “The......
Music fests June 20 – 22 Old Salt Festival Helmville, MT | oldsaltfestival.com Enjoy the Old Salt Co-op’s renowned wood-fired cooking; Americana musicians, including Nikki Lane, Jake Worthington, and Brennan Leigh; Montana rancher demonstrations and discussions in the Land Talk Lounge; and artisanal wares from......
The Winds, as Wyoming’s largest mountain range is affectionately known, straddle the Continental Divide for their entire length, extending approximately 110 miles from Togwotee Pass to South Pass. They also contain the loftiest assemblage of peaks in the American Rockies outside of Colorado. According to......
Mid lake, I rest the oars across the hull to watch a father in his yard pushing the son on a swing — each dependent on the others’ motion, a metronome of affection. I allow myself to drift in front of another yard — each......
For a few fleeting months, the Northern Rockies are graced with brilliant summer sunshine. Clouds billow and sweep across an endless blue horizon that is, in many places, striated with the purples, blues, and greens of the mountains. It is during this season that many......
As a young boy, Samuel Singer spent a lot of time looking up at the night sky with his dad near their home in northern Nevada’s high desert. They had relocated from a more urban environment, and the young Singer was captivated by the night......
Amy Lay is a full-time artist. Her work appears in galleries across the country, from Manchester, Vermont to Whitefish, Montana. But she’s also a full-time homesteader — the fourth generation to run her family’s ranch in Oregon. “This property and this lifestyle, they’re responsibilities that......
Circling: following a lake’s perimeter and adhering closely to the shoreline while tracing the curve of bays and the tips of promontories. This way of kayaking a large body of water captivates me. Circling something truly marvelous and ending back where I started has answered......
ARCHITECTURE | KIRK MICHELS ARCHITECTS CONSTRUCTION | BLUE RIBBON BUILDERS INTERIOR DESIGN | ELEVATION ARCHITECTURE & INTERIORS As an avid fly fisherman and skier, a homeowner found his home away from home in Big Sky, Montana. He spent a lot of his free time in......
Mountain biking promises freedom and escape, but most rides are confined to a dirt strip just wide enough for two tires. While I love the feeling of cruising fast remote singletrack, what really obsesses me is freeriding: descending an open face where the trail is......
ARCHITECTURE | Farmer Payne Architects CONSTRUCTION | New West Building Company DEVELOPMENT & INTERIOR DESIGN | The Jackson Home Company When the future owners of a home on Trader Road in Jackson, Wyoming step outside their door, they’ll see the natural beauty the land offers......
ARCHITECTURE | Locati Architects CONSTRUCTION | Schlauch Bottcher Construction INTERIOR DESIGN | DeLeo & Fletcher Design When asked about the inspiration for this elegant alpine retreat, architect Steve Locati doesn’t hesitate, summing it up in a single word: “Family.” The Montana property was designed by......
ARCHITECTURE | Ward | Blake Architects CONSTRUCTION | Ormond Builders Rammed-earth construction has taken on various iterations, long serving to shelter humans across the globe. Despite its popularity through the ages, it is seldom seen in the Northwest. But architect Tom Ward of the Jackson,......
ARCHITECTURE | Reid Smith Architects CONSTRUCTION | Teton Heritage Builders INTERIOR DESIGN | Decorators Unlimited Where the Gallatin Range of southwest Montana anchors an open-ended sky, a house built into the side of a mountain is the meeting of the structural and sublime. Roaming Bear,......
ARCHITECTURE & INTERIOR DESIGN | O’Neill Rose Architects CONSTRUCTION | OSM Construction At first glance, the almost 9,000-square-foot home on the Moonlight Basin side of Montana’s Big Sky Resort appears uncompromisingly futuristic for a rugged location seemingly more accustomed to rustic cabins or contemporary barnwood-clad......
ARCHITECTURE | Miller | Roodell Architects CONSTRUCTION | North Fork Builders INTERIOR DESIGN | Design Associates Bringing a historic building back to life takes insight, inspiration, and imagination. Luckily for the Lovelace building on Main Street in Bozeman, Montana, the team that completed its recent......
DESIGN | Hub City Productions CONSTRUCTION | Malmquist Construction INTERIOR DESIGN | Cooke Interiors Studio STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING | Eclipse Engineering LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE | Northwest Design Studio When Travis and Stephanie Hollman set out to build their home in Whitefish, Montana, their primary goal was simple: “We......
ARCHITECTURE | Robbins Architecture CONSTRUCTION | Wilkinson-Montesano Builders INTERIOR DESIGN | Herringbone Design LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE | Design Workshop When Laura and Bruce Linger went looking for the ideal place to build a second home in the Mountain West, the many advantages offered by Tributary, a......
ARCHITECTURE | Faure Halvorsen Architects CONSTRUCTION | Highline Partners INTERIOR DESIGN | Peace Design Halfway through constructing what was intended to be a two-bedroom guest house, Bozeman, Montana-based builder Rob McRae of Highline Partners had a feeling that something was missing. “Everything was going well......
ARCHITECTURE | CLB Architects CONSTRUCTION | KWC Construction INTERIOR DESIGN | HSH Interiors For a group of creatives working together for the first time on a project in Jackson, Wyoming, the pivotal moment in the design process came during a discussion of rooflines. The plan......
ARCHITECTURE | Studio Architects CONSTRUCTION | Schlauch Bottcher Construction INTERIOR DESIGN | Abby Hetherington Interiors Michael and Tippy Brickman have a deep appreciation for art and design, and for them, creating a home was more than just constructing walls — it was about curating a......
ARCHITECTURE | Faure Halvorsen Architects CONSTRUCTION | Yellowstone Traditions Sometimes, the best designs are fueled by the most disparate sources: late-night napkin sketches over martinis, old-lady potters, past lives, vintage Ralph Lauren clothing, fire towers, and fire stations. Mix it all up, nestle it snugly......
Ona Magaro has always been an artist. Born in Enola, Pennsylvania in 1976 as the only child of parents deeply ensconced in fine food, a small-scale farm, and hospitality, Magaro spent her formative years surrounded by nature and extended family on the namesake Magaro Road.......
Jaxon Ching, owner and operator of Willow Creek Woodworks, didn’t set out to own a full-service woodworks mill. In fact, his journey into woodworking was quite accidental. After graduating from high school in New Jersey, he joined the U.S. Navy. At one point, he was......
Nestled in Jackson Hole Valley, 3 Creek Ranch is a member-owned golf and fly-fishing community set amid an outdoor sanctuary, just five minutes from Jackson’s bustling Town Square. Providing a tranquil respite across 710 acres, and accessible just beyond the niceties and necessities of Jackson,......
Eliza Chair by Century Furniture from Kibler & Kirch Each Eliza Chair is made to order by craftsmen at Century Furniture, a family-owned company in Hickory, North Carolina. First created by iconic American designer Thomas O’Brien for the lobby of the 60 Thompson Hotel in......
Designing and building a home, on its surface, is a fundamental procedure. One must compose a structure that provides for primary needs — shelter and warmth — while offering spaces to store necessities, prepare food, and sleep. Yet, in meeting these universal needs, homeowners, designers,......
The quintessential Montana cabin symbolizes relaxation, respite, and a life lived close to the wilderness and its inhabitants. Perhaps a trout stream tumbles through the property, past a porch that demands quiet morning rituals and a warming whiskey when clear nights descend. Cabins offer a......
Concrete is probably not the first thing that comes to mind when people conjure up a dream home. But for Jerrad Inlow, founder of Bozeman-based Elements Concrete, working with concrete, wood, and metal is art. And the architects, builders, and designers in the wide triangle......
“I’m a wood junkie,” says John Medlinger, founder and owner of Superior Hardwoods in Missoula, Montana. While he says it with a laugh, the statement is definitely not a joke. In fact, you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who knows or cares more about wood......
Modern West Written by Chase Reynolds Ewald Photographed by Audrey Hall In their latest collaboration, Modern West, writer Chase Reynolds Ewald and photographer Audrey Hall explore the art of contemporary mountain living through 15 homes set within Rocky Mountain landscapes. From dramatic alpine peaks and......
May 9 – 11 & September 5 – 7 Cheyenne Home Show Cheyenne Ice & Events Center | Cheyenne, WY cheyennehomeshow.com Featuring the latest in home improvement trends, this show includes displays and live demonstrations highlighting new home technologies, interior and exterior designs, remodeling tips,......
One&Only, a global luxury hotel chain, is making its United States debut in Big Sky, Montana. As the brand’s first mountain resort, One&Only Moonlight Basin is set to fully open to guests later in 2025. The Landing restaurant inside the Sky Lodge and the gondola......
Since 1938, Cushing Terrell has sought to bring people together through impactful design. With 17 offices in eight states and projects spanning the globe, it’s become a respected firm for all aspects of commercial and residential design. However, a focus on people — their relationships......
ARCHITECTURE | Centre Sky Architecture CONSTRUCTION | Bridger Builders INTERIOR DESIGN | Shelter Interiors LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE | Big Country Landscapes Lora and Bill VanSickle have always loved mountain architecture. When they lived in Washington and Big Sky, Montana, they built homes with lodge vibes and......
The July sun is high overhead, casting harsh shadows on the ground. Mid-afternoon summertime dust hangs heavy in the air as we pull the old Ford off the road near the hike-in access point. The farmer across the dirt road was out cutting hay late......
Before you sit down in a plush leather chair in front of a cozy fire and pour your favorite cocktail at the end of the day, contemplate this one question: Could the Last Best Place really be the first best place to define a whole......
Fishing streamer flies is a departure for me, as I suspect it is for most trout anglers. Though it’s a fascinating business, since the huge trout it may unleash echo in every cast and swing of the big, full fly, the genteel delights of dry-fly......
I wound across western Wyoming’s isolated Bighorn Basin in my indefatigable 1977 Chinook micro-camper, 260,000 happy miles under the Toyota’s hood. Summer heat waves shimmered and danced like Sahara mirages over the arid landscape. Miles away, a truck pulling a horse trailer into the backcountry......
The old man couldn’t name his favorite place in the world, but the upper canyon of Moose Creek would be close to the top of the list. It is sort of a canyon within a canyon, and hardly anybody ever goes there. The sheer to......
June 10, 1805, was another busy day for the Lewis and Clark expedition. Camped near the mouth of the Marias River, they finished caching a large supply of gunpowder, lead, and other essential goods in anticipation of returning from the Pacific by the same route.......
Callan Wink takes another step in establishing himself as a major writer of the American West with his new work, Beartooth: A Novel (Spiegel & Grau, $28). Wink, the author of two previous books, Dog Run Moon (a short story collection) and August (a novel),......