This summer, my daughter discovered our horses. Not quite 2 yet, she toddles toward the pasture adjacent to our house, eagerly proclaiming, “Neigh!” the moment she catches sight of them. She asks to sit on their backs, and, once mounted, she energetically gestures directions as...
It’s hard to know which of your senses to focus on first when you walk into J.W. Heist Steakhouse. There’s the smell of meat cooking over fire, a whiff of garlic and butter. Between the crystal chandelier and the dark wood tones on the ceiling...
Artist Katie Cooney thought she might open a shop selling handcrafted local artwork one day, but she didn’t think it would be anytime soon. She was busy as a photographer, painter, and illustrator, applying her vibrant colors, spirit of adventure, and whimsical visual storytelling to...
To the west, above Sheep Mountain, silver-lined clouds disappear into the alpenglow of the setting sun. Bands of pink settle on the ridgetop across the valley as the summer light slowly fades through the lens of an old jackleg fence on the rise. I watch...
Founded in 2016 by Maggie Benedetti, who was working as a mental health counselor and social worker at the time, Wild Hearts Idaho provides outdoor adventure opportunities for girls ages 12 to 18. After years working with young women in crisis, Benedetti realized the need...
On a late summer morning in southern Idaho, our campground neighbors hang a “Happy Birthday” banner from the awning of their trailer. They are the kind of empty nesters I aspire to be; tanned and fit, they began the day kayaking in the lake and...
As I detour from Interstate 90 and drive down the rural road toward Fishtail, Montana, my daily concerns diminish to distant contours in the rearview mirror, and my focus turns to the colorful frame ahead. Like scenes in a motion picture, images from the road can...
The antique mall below Last Chance Gulch in Helena, Montana is full of temptations. Myriad treasures fill the rooms, many beyond price. An enormous glass bowl full of colorful matchbooks draws my eye. Atop them lies a tattered brown book. About the size of a...
Architecture Reid Smith Architects Construction Schlauch Bottcher Construction Interior Design Mimi Snowden Design On a 1,000-acre site east of Manhattan, Montana lies a quintessential Western ranch house. It’s a site that borders the trout waters of the Gallatin River. A creek, also good for fishing, wanders through the property, and an...
Lane Timothy rekindled his love of painting when, after years of mainstream commercial success, he realized he needed a change. What he needed was Montana. In this return home to find himself, he would leave slick magazine covers and photo shoots to dig into his...