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Bill Muhlenfeld is owner and publisher of Distinctly Montana magazine and other publications. He lives in Bozeman with his partner, Anthea, and always finds time to enjoy the great outdoors, when he is not writing about it....
Let's face it. Montana is just one big bucket list all by itself. After living here for 16 years I am amazed at how many things I have not done, seen or experienced. Why have I not been to the Hi-line, or seen the Cut Bank penguin? The Yaak Valley? Not yet. Custer's last stand portrayal? Maybe next year. Wild Horse Island? Uh-uh. Garden of a Thousand Buddhas? Pray for me.
Honestly, I'm starting to feel a bit guilty about not getting to all these places. Yes, I do add them, new ones every year; but, come on, there are 54 state parks, on top of a book-full of oddities and curiosities--like Jim Dolan's 39 horse sculptures outside of Three Forks, the World's Longest Dinosaur in Bynum and the barstool races in Martin City.
Trust me, the list goes on and on.
So what's the answer? I'm not sure there is one, except to keep plugging away. For help and guidance I rely on the Montana State Parks app for my mobile phone, and a great little book called Montana Curiosities.
Now, if you excuse me, I'm off to see the $50,000 Silver Dollar Bar in Haugan.
National parks and monuments boosted the economies of surrounding communities in Wyoming, Montana and Idaho by a combined $1.15 billion last year, according to a new study.
More than 2 million visitors were recorded at Glacier National Park in Northwest Montana, spending more than $178 million. That was nearly half of the $397.3 million spent in Montana by visitors to parks and monuments run by the National Park Service.
Wyoming saw $723.3 million in spending by visitors to national parks and monuments, while Idaho’s piece of the action was much smaller — $29.4 million.
These details were part of a nationwide report released Friday by the National Park Service. Spending on hotels, restaurants, gas and supplies by visitors to all U.S. national parks in 2013 contributed $14.6 billion in economic benefits to communities within 60 miles of the parks nationwide.
Wyoming, Idaho and Montana share parts of Yellowstone National Park, where visitors spent almost $382 million in nearby communities. Yellowstone had 3.18 million visitors in 2013.
A new federal earthquake map dials up the shaking hazard just a bit for about half of the United States and lowers it for nearly a quarter of the nation.
The U.S. Geologic Survey (USGS) updated its national seismic hazard maps on Thursday for the first time since 2008, taking into account research from the devastating 2011 earthquake and tsunami off the Japanese coast and the surprise 2011 Virginia temblor.
The maps are an important part of the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program, a partnership of four federal agencies to reduce risks of earthquakes. The four agencies include USGS, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the National Science Foundation.
Most high-risk zones are concentrated on the west coast and Alaska, with a few other hotspots clustered around faults in the Midwest and Southeast.
Most of the changes in this year's updated map are relatively minor. Project chief Mark Petersen said parts of Washington, Oregon, Utah, Oklahoma, Colorado, Wyoming and Tennessee moved into the top two hazard zones.
Parts of 16 states have the highest risk for earthquakes: Alaska, Hawaii, California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Utah, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee, Illinois, Kentucky and South Carolina.
In 1868 Congress approved the creation of the Wyoming Territory. Thomas Edison patented his voice recording machine. And a brewery in Helena acquired a tool to keep its valuables safe.
MTNS Chet Layman took his modern voice recording machine to Three Forks to show us first-hand the Kessler Brewing company's safe and its first trip out of Helena in 146 years.
You're looking at a three-ton piece of Montana and US history. Hall's Safe and Lock company built it in Cincinnati in 1854. The safe was then shipped to the Gulf of Mexico where it boarded a boat for Fort Benton, Montana Territory. That is 1868, because of its weight, an oxen team had to carry it to its final destination - the Kessler Brewing Company in Helena.
Helena would become the capitol in another 21 years, but this safe had plenty of work to do.
Steve Hamilton/New Safe Owner: "All the gold that came out of Diamond City, the gold that came out of Last Chance Gulch was held in this safe for security purposes until it was able to be shipped up and out of Fort Benton," said Steve Hamilton, the safe's new owner.
The ADCI or the 
National parks and monuments boosted the economies of surrounding communities in Wyoming, Montana and Idaho by a combined $1.15 billion last year, according to a new study.
A new federal earthquake map dials up the shaking hazard just a bit for about half of the United States and lowers it for nearly a quarter of the nation.
In 1868 Congress approved the creation of the Wyoming Territory. Thomas Edison patented his voice recording machine. And a brewery in Helena acquired a tool to keep its valuables safe.