He was the quintessential Montanan, I think. That is to say, the landscape shaped him, as it shapes all of us fortunate enough to be here in this eyeblink of time. Sometimes his music sounded like the first crack in an ice dam — that......
U.S. Forest Service fire lookouts have one of the loneliest occupations on earth. Perched atop remote peaks across the West, we spend summer days in monk-like observation, eyes roaming timbered landscapes, watching the horizon for impending storms and wisps of smoke. When I was 24,......
On a raw December day in western Montana, several dozen visitors enjoy a welcome dose of the tropics thanks to the grand opening of the state’s new educational attraction: the Missoula Butterfly House & Insectarium. Inside the main exhibit area, visitors of all ages eagerly......
Editor’s Note: Retrieving antlers on public land remains a balance between opportunity, access, safety, and conservation. Last year, the Wyoming Legislature created a resident-only season on select public lands during the first week of May, with nonresidents who purchase a conservation stamp allowed after May......
I hike in the dust of Morley, my one-eyed mule guide, with each step taking me deeper into the wilderness. He saunters up the trail, slightly swaying under the weight of my food. His deliberate and practical rhythm slows my anxiousness and excitement into contented......
Ask any author, historian, or cowboy with an eye for the great Old West, and they’ll credit Dick and Dora Randall as the heart and soul of the OTO, Montana’s first dude ranch. Situated along Cedar Creek in the Absaroka Mountains, 10 miles from the......
Still have that old canary-yellow Schwinn Varsity bicycle hanging from the rafters in your parents’ barn? You know the one: the steel-framed groaner whose tires haven’t been inflated since the Carter administration. Pull it down, grease its chain, tune its brakes, and see if those......
For Martha Scanlan Driving the backroads of Montana Gravel unspools to the horizon Fields of wheat and mountains surround me I’ve got all the good day long left to drive. My dog is asleep beside me There’s a creek up ahead that I know Where......
Dave Carty captures the spare poetry of Montana landscapes, specifically the Shields River Valley, in his poignant novel Red is the Fastest Color (Guernica World Editions, $18.95). He takes the reader through the seasonal changes that dominate life in this region, and those mirrored in......
Some 12 years before Theodore Roosevelt’s rapid rise to the U.S. presidency, he experienced a bear hunt that was more troublesome than most of his earlier expeditions. As related in Roosevelt’s book The Wilderness Hunter, he engaged a guide named Griffin, an old man skilled......
Most of us have at least a passing familiarity with the Texas longhorn. You could probably draw one right now if you had to. You or your kids may have had photos taken with one at a county fair or local rodeo. The unmistakable silhouette......
From an early age, Montana-based illustrator and painter John Potter has treated the world — the land, the animals — as family. “The trees feel like relatives, the mountains like grandfathers,” says Potter. “That’s how I look at the natural world.” Growing up, his mother......
In memory of Rick Nyhart (1949 – 2024) Sometimes we go back and see ourselves at a different time and place. We go back and look at where we started. Like the earth we inhabit, we evolve, age, live out our stories, fall into the......
Architecture Stillwater Architecture Construction Great Bear Builders Interior Design Design Associates There are two sights to behold in this particular home in northwest Montana, ones that stay in place and never fail to inspire the homeowners and their guests: views of Lake Blaine backdropped by......
As the blue light of dusk faded to an obsidian black, I gathered my gear. Upon opening the door of my camper van and stepping into the night, coyotes broke the silence and began to sing — or so it’s described by numerous Western authors.......
Drop into Hops Downtown Grill in Kalispell, Montana, and you’ll see a small, chef-owned restaurant that’s big on food, fun, and family. The atmosphere is cozy and welcoming, filled with people celebrating a range of life experiences — first dates, family dinners, birthday celebrations, and......
This summer, artist Ben Miller’s abstract works will be on display at the newly opened Oxbow Gallery in Bozeman, Montana. Curated by Gary Snyder Fine Art, Endangered Rivers features Miller’s paintings of important waterways in the U.S., including four rivers in Montana’s Jefferson Basin, Montana’s......
Wild Sugar: Seasonal Treats Inspired by the Mountain West By Lindsey Johnson with Chase Reynolds Ewald Wild Sugar: Seasonal Treats Inspired by the Mountain West is a welcome addition to the kitchen bookshelf. Artist, interior designer, baker, and photographer Lindsey Johnson of Freedom, Wyoming —......
For the past 20 years, Hopa Mountain has cultivated social, economic, and educational resilience in rural and tribal communities throughout the Northern Rockies. The Bozeman, Montana-based organization invests in “citizen leaders” — adults and youth active in developing their respective communities — to support historically......
For more than a decade, Julian MacKay, now 26 years old, has been Big Sky Country’s de facto cultural envoy to the world, hustling his way into the most storied spaces of dance. His vocation has taken him across Europe and Asia, as well as......
A true artist will never be or do just one thing. In the spirit of Bernini, Michaelangelo, and Frank Gehry, Meghan Hanson possesses the irresistible urge to create. It’s how she gets to know a place and how she shares what she loves. It’s how......
After countless vacations skiing in Big Sky, Montana, John and Vanessa McGuire made a leap-of-faith decision for their sports-minded family. In 2019, they permanently moved with their three children — two daughters and a son — from New York City to 6 acres that roll......
Founded in 2014 by principal designer Sophia Cok, Bozeman, Montana-based Sanctuary Interior Design is a full-service firm focused on turnkey interior design for commercial and residential projects. Employing over 20 years of experience, Cok and her team deliver a unique design experience curated to each......
Down to Earth: Rammed Earth Architecture Written by Sergio Asensio Renowned Spanish editor and designer Sergio Asensio’s Down to Earth: Rammed Earth Architecture features 22 national and international architects who have incorporated rammed earth in their designs and construction, including Ward | Blake Architects’ work......
PHASES BATH AND KITCHEN ACCESSORIES BY ROCKY MOUNTAIN HARDWARE Rocky Mountain Hardware collaborated with Jennifer Hoey of Suede Studio to create Phases, a versatile new kitchen and bath accessories collection that is as beautiful as it is functional. Curves and contemporary angles pair with the......
Architecture Centre Sky Architecture Construction Dovetail Construction Interior Design Laura Fedro Interiors On a sloping hillside above the banks of Ennis Lake in Montana, a jewel-box home, intentional in its design and craftsmanship, provides the perfect vantage point for Lisa and Scott Carver to take......
Architecture Thinktank Design Group Construction North Fork Builders Interior Design Envi Interior Design Studio At the nexus of building and design, neighborhood and belonging, sunlight and shelter, is a house becoming a home. A four-bedroom, three-and-a-half-bath, 4,500-square-foot home in northeast Bozeman, Montana blends old ideas......
Architecture Ward | Blake Architects Construction Big-D Signature Interior Design Ingrao Inc. In 1925, residents of Jackson, Wyoming petitioned the U.S. government to establish a slice of the town’s surrounding landscape as Grand Teton National Park. “We have tried ranching, stock raising, and, from our......
Architecture Paradigm 3 Architecture Construction E.J. Butts Construction Interior Design Kibler & Kirch Montana’s Bitterroot Valley is an edenic Western landscape, with towering snow-capped mountains on all sides and a big clear river running through its middle. For a Texas couple passionate about fishing and......
Architecture NC Design Studio Construction Gooden Construction Interior Design James Thomas Fleetingly glimpsed from a distance across a sweeping mountain meadow and surrounded by groves of pine, fir, and tamarack trees, the overall profile of a home on 22 acres west of Missoula, Montana might......
Architecture Locati Architects Construction Schlauch Bottcher Construction Interior Design Suede Studio Landscape Architecture Design 5 Landscape Architecture Landscaping Valley of the Flowers Landscaping Pond and Stream Consulting It’s not often that a luxury custom home features a rec room — complete with shuffleboard, pool table,......
Since the late 1800s, travelers have poured into and passed through Pocatello, Idaho via the Oregon Trail, helping establish the modest-sized city as a gateway to the West. For Pocatello-born and -raised artist Ashley Delonas, life in the area has been a gateway to personal......
There is an art to collecting rocks. Everywhere Gary Rieschel, his wife, Yucca, and their children have traveled, they’ve brought back souvenirs of those places. They’ve gathered small rocks and stones from beaches and riverbeds, in barren deserts, and on precipitous mountain outcroppings during their......
Craftsman Tim Lozier is totally willing to try his hand at doing something new. Play in a country rock band? No problem. He taught himself how to play the drums, and 40 years later, he plays as a band’s lead drummer. Chase his passion as......
Travelers flying into Jackson Hole Airport are welcomed by stunning views of the Tetons. The airport is within Grand Teton National Park and is the only U.S. commercial airport situated within a national park. A series of renovations to the airport began in 2008, with......
May 3 – 5 & September 6 – 8 Cheyenne Home Show Cheyenne Ice & Events Center | Cheyenne, WY cheyennehomeshow.com Featuring the latest in home improvement trends, this show includes displays and live demonstrations highlighting new home technologies, interior exterior designs, remodeling tips, and......
Architecture Timber Forge Construction Mountain River Construction Interior Design Camp Martini Ask principal architect Kevin Richardson of Timber Forge to name what he loves most about his client’s newly built Whitefish, Montana home, and he doesn’t hesitate — aside from the incredible outdoor living area,......
Architecture Cushing Terrell Construction Dick Anderson Construction Interior Design James Thomas The process of creating any home succeeds only so far as everyone involved — homeowners, architects, interior designers, builders, and any number of other participants — works together to achieve an ideal balance of......
Architecture Centre Sky Architecture Construction High Country Builders Rock work Quarry Works Riley Masonry Construction The west facade of the Great Northern Chalet in Whitefish, Montana makes an impressive architectural statement. Hand-chiseled stones — some weighing 20,000 pounds — form the wall that rises, stone......
Architecture JLF Architects Construction Big-D Signature Interior Design WRJ Design JLF Architects is the genius that designed a house that emerges from arches of aspen trees and a base of brush and grasses like an organic expression of its stirring Jackson Hole, Wyoming landscape. True......
Architecture Pearson Design Group Construction Highline Partners Interior Design Alexandra Karram Interiors Landscape Architecture Design Workshop It’s not easy to alter a mountain. But when a team composed of two enlightened homeowners, an architect, a landscape architect, and a builder convened on a two-lot site......
Jody Marler, founder and president of Fishcamp Custom home building in Livingston, Montana, believes in a profound connection to place. Despite a recent fishing trip to Mexico, exchanging the late-winter chill of the Rockies for a few days of sun, sea, and big fish, he......
Architecture CLB Architects Construction KWC Interior Design CLB Architects Landscape Architecture Design Workshop When a New York couple approached Jackson Hole-based CLB Architects about building a house on a former cattle ranch in Wyoming, there was instant ease of communication and shared understanding of vision,......
Architecture Reid Smith Architects Construction Teton Heritage Builders Appreciating the rugged beauty and endless splendor of Big Sky Country’s mountain magic isn’t hard to do. For those seeking a destination dream home surrounded by vibrant views of a craggy range and endless sky above a......
A deep pool Water as clear as the air I see She lives there My happiness I know this Though I’ve never seen her Not physically I’ve never touched nor held her vermiculated structure So I believe Despite all my efforts to prove otherwise It’s......
Montana occupies a special place in America’s conservation lore. Not only is it home to the world’s first national park — Yellowstone — but it’s also where one of the nation’s first wilderness areas, the Bob Marshall, was designated, which, in turn, set the stage......
The Western History Association recently announced that a book by Belgrade, Montana author Michele Corriel won the national 2023 Joan Paterson Kerr Award for the best-illustrated book on the history of the American West. Montana Modernists: Shifting Perceptions of Western Art chronicles six mid-20th-century artists......
Montana Freshwater Partners (MFP) works to restore and preserve healthy rivers, streams, and wetlands by applying science-based practices to complex problems impacting water resources and communities throughout Montana. Considering that 80 percent of all life is directly impacted by an aquatic ecosystem of one sort......
Architecture KA Architecture Construction MDM Construction “This is not a mansion. It’s just a home,” says Tim Davis of the primary residence he and his wife, Chris, have created for themselves in Montana’s Sun West Ranch community. Indeed, while the 4,100-square-foot house measures up to......
Jim Bortz has been many things. He’s worked at a steel mill and on construction sites, repaired cable lines, led expeditions as a fishing guide, tended bar, and apprenticed with a taxidermist. He’s a lifelong sportsman and artist, self-taught in both fields. But these days,......