IF YOU HAPPEN TO BE AMBLING in the vicinity of Wyoming Blue Eyes, the painting by representational artist Carrie Ballantyne, prepare for a double take. The oil depicts a young woman whose wavy blond hair spills from a loose braid below a flat-topped, wide-brimmed hat....
BUTTE, MONTANA, HAS A CERTAIN ALLURE for photographer Janie Osborne. First drawn there for a personal project, to research and photograph the Berkeley Pit — the Superfund conundrum that dwells in its backyard — she became captivated by the charm of a community that, in...
I CAN'T SAY FOR SURE EXACTLY WHERE THE IDEA CAME FROM, but I can tell you the approximate location of the when, which was sometime in my 50s; and me, a child of the 1950s. I’m a hunter-gatherer by blood and disposition, hardwired to take...
A SUMMER EVENING IN THE FOOTHILLS of Montana’s Little Belt Mountains, I sit outside to watch the sun sink. A breeze rustles the grass. Birds zip through the air, enjoying a few final flights before bedtime. One, a swallow with striking blue feathers, catches my...
ON DAY ONE OF A 45-MILE CANOE TRIP through the Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument in Central Montana, our group of 10 moms and daughters found ourselves standing before archaeologist Kevin O’Briant. We were gazing at an ancient rendering of a horse — perfectly...
BUTTE, AMERICA. A city built by immigrants, by Irish and Poles, Germans and Italians and Czechs, by second sons and daughters, pioneers who landed in Butte to dig down and build a life. During its heyday, there were as many as 225 mines operating in...
THERE ARE SO MANY ASTONISHING FACTS ABOUT HONEY BEES, that if you list them all together, it’s hard to believe that one little creature could be so accomplished and compelling. For instance, it takes about 700 honey bees — flying 55,000 miles and collecting nectar...
WHEN PRESIDENT WARREN G. HARDING FED A BEAR named Max in Yellowstone National Park in 1923, he made sure to do it the right way. He didn’t tease Max or offer food directly from his hand. Instead he held out a bowl of molasses that...
LET'S SAY YOU'RE THE OWNER of a fantastic lot in Wilson, Wyoming, in a subdivision at the bottom of Teton Pass, near Jackson Hole. It’s a superb location, with sweeping views of the mountains beyond, but the only drawback is that you’re attached to it....
HE IS OF NORWEGIAN DESCENT and has a passion for ships. She is a painter with a feel for color and the wonders wrought by natural light. Together, this East Coast-based couple realized their longtime dream of building a Montana home that would embody both...