Bill Muhlenfeld is owner and publisher of Distinctly Montana magazine and other publications. He lives in Bozeman with his wife and co-owner, Anthea George, and always finds time to enjoy the great outdoors, when he is not writing about it...

“If you will stay here awhile I will promise you strange sights. You shall walk on water; all these brooks and rivers and ponds shall be your highway. You shall see the whole earth covered a foot or more deep with purest white crystals . . . and all the trees and stubble glittering in icy armor.” ~ Henry David Thoreau; 1859

Winter gets a bad rap; but can any weather be more uninteresting than, say, San Diego? In Montana we hold fast to the change of seasons and the shift of our attitudes and perspective. In winter Montana pushes back. Our population sinks to near-norm after the summer and fall crowding; and we welcome the emptiness, even the gray-and-white bleakness of the mountains and plains. Shelter and home take on new meaning in the cold and dark. Friends and family regroup, sharing fireside respite, while conversation seems more earnest and meaningful. Comfy inside, the warm winter sun soon brings joy to the heart and breaks one’s cabin fever with bouts of blue sky living-- hiking, snowshoeing, skiing and the like. We more appreciate our breath now that we can see it.

Winter is “distinctly” Montana. It is probably the key reason why our state is third from the bottom in population density, just seven people to the square mile, far less than our cattle count. Winter makes Montana a secret-- special, spacious and secure.

We hear San Diego is quite nice, but we’ll keep our winters.

Kristen Berube lives a crazy, laugh-filled life with her outdoorsman husband Remi and their three camo-clad children in Missoula, Montana. A graduate of Montana State University and the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology, she loves being a mom and enjoys hiking, fishing, and camping. “Confessions of a Camo Queen: Living with an Outdoorsman” is her first book.

Available for purchase at:http://www.amazon.com/dp/1560376287/ref=tsm_1_fb_lk

Today is a bittersweet day. We recognize the grand experience of Big Game Season 2015 coming to an end. I ask you to bow your heads, close your eyes, and let out a big bugle…since you know it is still hanging around your neck til midnight of closing day.

Big Game Season began this year with sunny skies and high hopes of filling all of the tags that were burning holes in outdoorsman’s pockets. The tags were petted nightly before bed so that they could fill the outdoorsman’s head with visions of big bulls, big bucks, big anything really while he lay his head on his camouflage covered pillow. The season promised the opportunity to miss endless days of work, wear camouflage daily, gorging themselves on man food, and of course the thrill of the big game hunt.

Features of the Big Game Season included only six work days for the entire month of September, yes SIX. September had wonderful weather for the entire month and was above average warm. The outdoorsman’s truck, AKA- “the stink wagon” gained 8056 miles on the odometer and went through endless gallons of gas. The credit card was maxed out by week 3. There were hundreds of glassed animals and hundreds of miles hiked. There was sweat, blood and tears. There were arrows lost and bullets wasted but in the end there was success. The success makes all of those blisters and sore muscles worthwhile.

Big Game Season 2015 consisted of fly-in elk hunts, a weeklong man camp, numerous deer hunts, an antelope hunt, a moose hunt, and a bear hunt. And now there is a full freezer, a taxidermist with his hands full and hundreds of memories.

Now that we must say goodbye to Big Game Season 2015 with tears in our eyes, we are given hope by the waterfowl season, wolf tags, and of course those late season hunts. Although all outdoorsman’s hearts are heavy, we also know that this glorious time will come again and boy howdy, we will be ready!

Until next year…We, salute you Big Game Season 2015- Rest in Peace now, for when September rolls around next year I can guarantee the arrows will be flying, the bullets blasting and the Camo Queens will be shopping.

A little helpful hint- if you would like to butter up the Mrs. for next season…Go book that Hawaiian winter vacation…Trust me…You will get to go hunt whenever you want next year!