Montana artist Mike Barlow is enamored with his subject matter. Like many artists, Barlow can be shy when talking about aesthetics. Serious artists, after all, are in the business of making art and are happy to leave judgment regarding its merits to philosophers. But when...
For Brooke Wetzel, experiences in the great outdoors inform her creativity. “We spent a lot of time outside and on the rivers,” she says of her childhood. “It’s where my love of nature came from. I’m a mountain girl. I’ve spent my life in the...
In a scene pulsing with tense energy, two bison bulls, each weighing as much as a ton, battle for primacy. Amid the clouds of dust they’re kicking up, one of them launches himself from the ground, hindquarters powerfully pushing, forelegs airborne, head and horns lowered....
Deep in the oral history archive of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT), a 1977 recording captured the words of Pend d’Oreille elder Mitch Smallsalmon. He recalled the abundance of the landscape that now encompasses western Montana, and the good fortune of the Salish...
It took some time to learn this lesson, but as a writer-photographer team, Audrey Hall and I have embraced the idea that it’s important to leave space — in your mind, in your schedule — because that’s when the magic happens. This particular magic took shape...
Editor's Note: We all have our secret spots — those undiscovered special places that offer a full and intimate experience. And as more and more recreationists venture into the outdoors, some places inevitably feel the pressure. While crowds risk changing the character of a place,...
Tucked into the cozy down sleeping bag in my vintage 1977 Toyota Chinook micro-camper, I yawned, rolled over, and pondered morning coffee. My awakening consciousness was startled by loud clawing outside the camper. I looked out the open window. A grizzly bear’s moist snout was...
Architecture and Interior Design | SHM Architects Construction | Big Sky Build Specialty Wood Products | Montana Reclaimed Lumber Co. “I was blown away by the view,” says SHM Architects’ Mark Hoesterey of his first impression of the lot his clients had purchased in Montana’s Spanish Peaks Mountain...
A day shy of the summer solstice, Travis Taylor launches our skiff into the spring-fed pond on Jemas Ranch. It is already 7:30 p.m. But this time of year, the days are so long you can fish a hatch up until 9:30 p.m. and...
During a time of hardship, perhaps the lowest point in 20th century Montana history, here was a chance for celebration. It was 1926. Drought had shriveled the state’s agriculture. Banks had failed. Homesteaders had fled. Bankruptcy rates were the highest in the nation. Most roads...