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Big Sky Journal

Lake MacDonald Glacier National Park

Montana Winter Road Trip

WINTER DOESN’T MEAN THAT ROAD TRIP SEASON IS OVER; it just means you have to take a little extra time on the road. And isn’t that the point? Last February, I ventured into Western Montana to cross-country ski and soak in hot springs with my husband, Henry, and our two boys, Anders, 8, and Finn, 6. …

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The Long Term Business of Owls

UNDER A CRYSTAL CLEAR NIGHT SKY, I stepped out of the Owl Research Institute (ORI) fieldhouse — not far from the little town of St. Ignatius, Montana, on the edge of the Ninepipe National Wildlife Refuge — to gaze at the stars. To my left, a great horned owl hooted in the darkness. Another replied …

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Suspicious Travelers

A statement from the 1907 U.S. Army’s Rules, Regulations and Instructions for soldiers and scouts on duty in Yellowstone warns, “All persons traveling through the park from October 1 to June 1 should be regarded with suspicion.” Who besides poachers would brave bitterly cold weather; hidden, yet scalding hot springs; isolation and desolation; almost impossible …

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Roadside Attractions (Notebook)

When one thinks of the west, images of soaring mountains, rugged canyons and wide open spaces often come to mind. But there is another side to the left half of the country. A kitschy side. An odd side. A strangely absorbing side. Driving around Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, one can find pyramids, giant women and …

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Microbreweries (Notebook)

I met brewer Todd Crowell outside Grand Teton Brewing Company (GTBC) in Victor, Idaho. Perched on the border of Wyoming and Idaho in the shadows of the Tetons, the brewery is the last business you see before crossing into Wyoming or the first as you enter the Gem State. GTBC is celebrating their 20th anniversary …

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Art Walks (Notebook)

It’s not just the mojitos that draw me into b. Civilized on a hot end-of-summer night. Other art galleries serve wine and beer, both of which are totally adequate, but those mojitos sure are yummy. Then there are the people. Friends I haven’t seen in a while, new folks to be introduced to—all out for …

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The Red Shed

Smack in the middle of the best steelhead fishing in the world, at least according to one man, sits an old 15 X 20 hayloft converted into a flyfishing shop. If you open the door of the red, wood-sided building you’ll likely find a man who looks a whole lot like Jerry Garcia leaning on …

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Bear Watch (Notebook)

Every time I drive over the pass, returning home to Livingston from Bozeman, I peer out my truck window in hopes of catching a glimpse of a grizzly bear. At one time grizzlies roamed free on Bozeman Pass—and probably an occasional bear still makes her way through—but the bears I’m looking for live in a …

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