23 Nov Sledding Old-School
One fall day when I was 9 years old, my father came home with a brand new snowmobile: a 1979 Yamaha Enticer 340. It was bright red with white stripes and gold lettering on the cowl, and to me, the engine sounded just like a...
02 Jun History: Forest Service Philosopher
In the summer of 1910, Idaho and Western Montana suffered one of the most devastating fires in the nation’s history. It was a conflagration that historians refer to as the “Big Burn,” which killed 87 people and turned 3 million acres of trees — an...
02 Jun Ghosts of the Forest
ONE AUTUMN DAY, I WAS SITTING ON A RIDGE in the foothills of the Alaska Range glassing for caribou when I spotted a strange, dark form scampering across the tundra a hundred yards away. Despite my familiarity with wildlife in Alaska, I’d never seen anything...
12 Aug Forever Glacier: Montana Painter Nancy Cawdrey Creates an Art Project as Big and Bold as the National Park that Inspires It
A GRIZZLY STRIDES ACROSS A STREAM WHILE THE SUN SPARKLES on the tawny highlights in its chocolate-brown fur. Against a background of craggy peaks, a pack of gray wolves stands on alert, ears perked. Hindquarters stretched in full spring, front paws bent, eyes scanning the ground...
14 Jul Outside: Steelhead in the Magic Forestgreen on the Sol Duc
The Northwest's Queen Charlotte Islands are as wild as it gets
01 Jun From the Editor: A Song of Hope
In the secluded Montana valley where I live, summer has erupted in a crescendo. It began with the echoes of geese and twitters of mountain bluebirds, which were followed closely by the thunderous calls of sandhill cranes and murmurs of croaking frogs. These days, the...
29 May Homage to a Bygone Time
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,...
03 Apr WESTERN FOCUS: THE TIMELESS GETAWAY
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...