While many fall-foliage enthusiasts naturally gravitate to the fiery spectacle of hardwood forests in New England, if aesthetic horizons are broadened, portions of the Rocky Mountains offer a different impressive alternative. Accomplished landscape photographer James Kay has long adhered to this belief. Frequently focusing on...
When my teenage son, Braden, and I climbed out of our minivan, temperatures hovered in the mid-20s and an ethereal layer of mist covered Freezeout Lake. We weren’t the first to arrive; a handful of pickups, Subarus, and other mud-splattered vehicles huddled in the tiny...
After a morning hike around Shoshone Falls and the Evel Knievel jump site (where the legendary daredevil crashed due to a parachute malfunction and suffered nothing more than a broken nose) in Twin Falls, Idaho, my family and I were excited to soak in a...
Last winter, during a family trip to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, we started the day by sitting in front of the fireplace in our hotel lobby and sipping steamy beverages before heading out to explore Grand Teton National Park on our cross-country skis. After a cozy...
One of my favorite driving expeditions in Idaho is to follow the Salmon River from the Stanley Basin downstream to Challis. On this trip, the abundance of hot springs and mountain views are accompanied by an undeniable sense of nostalgia, a reminder of what the...
I’VE BEEN LUCKY ENOUGH TO STAY AT MORE than two dozen Forest Service cabins around Montana since I moved here nearly 30 years ago. And I’ve stayed in many of them more than once, some for several days at a time, and during every season...
Although we got a late start getting on the river on a sunny afternoon last August, after years of hoping and dreaming about fishing in this legendary spot, my wife and I had finally made it to the Fontenelle Dam on Wyoming’s Green River. As...
DIE-HARD MONTANA SKIERS KNOW THE DRILL: Every Monday, check the weather around the state to find out where it might snow the most. Read the snow reports and see which ski area has the best chance of a powder day. Start calling or texting friends:...
MY ABIDING LOVE OF THE MISSOURI BREAKS was earned through sustained hardship, a little like how stubborn streptococci earn resistance through repeated exposure to antibiotics. [caption id="attachment_14751" align="alignright" width="300"] A short-horned lizard warms itself in the sun.[/caption] I arrived in the Breaks later than some, sooner than...
Backcountry excursions in Yellowstone National Park From our perch on a hillside overlooking the upper Lamar River Valley, my friend Mariann and I watched the sun set behind Parker Peak. The sky burned in reds and oranges, made more beautiful by the wildfire smoke in the...