On an autumn day in 1968, near the town of Wilsall in Montana’s Shields River Valley, two construction workers were using a backhoe when they dug up what appeared to be a grave. It was later identified as an ancient burial site that contained the...
Bows and arrows represent one of mankind’s earliest inventions. Archery artifacts from southern Africa date back as far as 60,000 years, and 10,000 years ago, Neolithic cultures were hunting and waging war with bows in every corner of the world except Australia, a remarkable example...
Nestled between the Teton and Big Hole mountain ranges in Teton Valley, Idaho, Alexandra Paliwoda’s Backcountry Blacksmith shop is aptly named, with a nod to both her chosen profession and the natural themes that her metalwork embodies. Elements of the journeys she’s experienced in the...
There are many reasons why fly anglers are drawn to the sport, some more obsessively than others. Maybe it’s time spent outdoors, the peaceful spell of rushing waters, the game of trying to emulate nature and fool a fish. There’s a beautiful simplicity about angling,...
When visitors arrive at the airport in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, they might get their first glimpse of the town’s mayor, Pete Muldoon. In addition to serving on the local government, Muldoon also holds a part-time job at Jackson Hole Airport where he works guiding planes...
Making a living on the open range Gabrielle Thoreson grabs a lunch, fills a water bottle, and pockets her phone for the day. Rail thin, with a cascade of flaxen hair, she picks the right clothes for the weather and the right horse for the day’s...
It’s totally cliché and yet completely appropriate: Master weavers Marilyn and William Stevens have interwoven making a living and making a life together. The baskets and other works they produce as Montana Blue Heron out of their Trego, Montana, home reflect their unique collaboration, from...
Growing up in Bristol, Connecticut, Sam Bourret loved to fish. He angled for bass and striped bass, and even dabbled in fly fishing. “I was always an avid fisherman,” Bourret says, “and I always wanted to fish out West.” [caption id="attachment_13371" align="alignright" width="172"] Bourret works on...
After summiting hundreds of mountains, this extreme athlete is far from reaching her peak There’s no doubt that 2018 has been a good year for Jackson Hole, Wyoming-based athlete Janelle Smiley. The ski-mountaineering racer shattered one world record and created another — achievements that fit right in...
A March wind blows over the Beaverhead Valley and piles dark clouds on the horizon, harbingers of the coming snow. Tucked into a fold of land outside of Dillon, Montana, a low-slung barn reverberates with noise: Sheep bleat, dogs bark, people holler, and above all...