My dad taught me to look under stones. He counseled me on the different bugs that cling to the rock’s surface, as well as those that dart from beneath the disrupted rock and drift in the stream’s cloudy current. He informed my observation, pointing out...
Heavy wet snowflakes drop from the sky, making their wayward descent to the ground. Some catch on the needles of the ocher larch and evergreen spruce and pines. They accumulate where they land, fluffy blankets cloaking all that lies beneath — all season long if...
For me, the shifting leaves of fall are a regular reminder of change. In the latest days of summer, I scour tree branches for signs that Jack Frost is on his way, a vestige of youthful anticipation for the coming snow. Nature’s canvas, the forest...
Artist Kathryn Mapes Turner was born and raised on a ranch inside Grand Teton National Park. Surrounded by endless views and wildlife that was free to roam, those childhood memories serve as the inspiration behind her paintings to this day. “From early on, the landscape...
A collective calm descends each spring in the Northern Rockies. The ski resorts have closed, tourists have retreated, trails are muddy, and warm sunny days are sprinkled in between rainy or snowy ones. It’s a simmering of sorts, an in-between that allows us just enough...
When Tracy and Mike Schlauch finally decided to bring the lake home they’d been dreaming about for more than a decade to fruition, it was designed to be a retreat where meaningful memories with friends and family would be made while appreciating Montana’s beauty. “Mike...
I recently had the opportunity to chat with legendary fly-fishing pioneer Joan Wulff, known as The First Lady of Fly Fishing. At 95 years old, she was spirited as she talked about the evolution she’s witnessed in the sport, and because of the tremendous impact...
“Snow isn’t just pretty. It also cleanses our world and our senses…” — john burnside There’s nothing like waking up to a landscape covered in fresh snow. Even for those who loathe winter and the precipitation that comes with it, there’s no denying that a pristine...
We all know the old song “Home on the Range.” It was originally written by Dr. Brewster M. Higley as a poem in 1872 to describe his idyllic Kansas homestead, a place where, apparently, the buffalo roamed and the deer and antelope played. After his...
One thing I’ve always loved about the Northern Rockies is the “cowboy casualty” if you will. There are few venues that require anything fancier than jeans — as illustrated by the general manager of Missoula’s 1889 restaurant in our “Dining Out” column. “When people call...