Circling: following a lake’s perimeter and adhering closely to the shoreline while tracing the curve of bays and the tips of promontories. This way of kayaking a large body of water captivates me. Circling something truly marvelous and ending back where I started has answered...
Amy Lay is a full-time artist. Her work appears in galleries across the country, from Manchester, Vermont to Whitefish, Montana. But she’s also a full-time homesteader — the fourth generation to run her family’s ranch in Oregon. “This property and this lifestyle, they’re responsibilities that...
As a young boy, Samuel Singer spent a lot of time looking up at the night sky with his dad near their home in northern Nevada’s high desert. They had relocated from a more urban environment, and the young Singer was captivated by the night...
For a few fleeting months, the Northern Rockies are graced with brilliant summer sunshine. Clouds billow and sweep across an endless blue horizon that is, in many places, striated with the purples, blues, and greens of the mountains. It is during this season that many people...
Marty Bannon is perpetually in a hurry. He’s eager to get his words out, his work accomplished, and his point across. His nickname “Race” describes his personality as well as his background as a pilot, runner, and long-distance hiker. Now “retired,” Bannon has a new...
Thundering hooves, clouds of dust, whipping manes and tails, and breathtaking skill — Indian relay is one of the earliest extreme sports. Born from Great Plains tribal traditions, these relays test courage, athleticism, teamwork, and horsemanship. From the stands, Indigenous spectators speak a variety of...
The World-Famous Miles City Bucking Horse Sale is the social event of the year for the small town of Miles City, Montana. For over seven decades, this one-of-a-kind sale weekend has showcased horse races, professional saddle-bronc riding, calcuttas, mutton bustin’ for the kids, live music...
Hardcore cutthroat bums roaming Western backroads with their fly rods, waders, and extra gas tanks know the marquee water, like teenagers with nose rings and spiky hair eagerly touting their favorite punk bands. Vagabonds chasing westslope cutts often head for Montana’s upper Flathead, Clark Fork,...