Rainy Days

By Lacey Middlestead

Rainy Days

As I write this, a steady rain is coming down outside. The droplets, falling succinctly one after another, create a translucent grey curtain outside my window. My toes scrunch up inside my shoes longing to frolic freely in sandals again. June has officially arrived in Montana, but it seems that the spring rains desire to linger a tad bit longer.

Rather than sitting at home pouting during a rainstorm, use the dismal weather as an excuse to take in a number of different fun-filled activities you likely won’t consider once the sunshine and warmth returns outside. Here are 8 suggestions to fill up and entertain you on the next rainy day.

  1. Visit a Museum

Montana is a state rich in history. One up your last history lesson from high school or college by visiting one of Montana’s many museums. In the Helena area? The Montana Historical Society is a must see. From Big Medicine, the renowned white bison, to a 2,000 square foot gallery featuring original artwork from Montana’s “Cowboy Artist” Charlie Russell, there’s interesting artifacts to see in every corner. There are also currently two special exhibits highlighting Montana during World War I.

 

Prepping for the next Jurassic Park film installment this summer? Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman delivers a one-of-a-kind dinosaur experience in the Siebel Dinosaur Complex. Housing one of the country’s largest collections of North American dinosaur fossils, including 13 T. Rex Specimens, you’ll be glad the exhibits are merely bones.

  1. Cozy up at a local coffee house

Sure you’ve been pounding the caffeine all week, but what about cozying up with a chai latte at your favorite local coffee shop with no agenda or time limit. It can even just be a coffee date with yourself. Just sip your drink, take in the comings and goings of those around you, and breathe easy knowing this peaceful moment will reward you in full for the rest of the day.

  1. Try an indoor climbing gym

Whether you’re an avid climber or just looking for a new and challenging activity, an indoor climbing gym is the perfect solution. From Stonetree Climbing Center in Helena and Spire Climbing Center in Bozeman to the Hi-Line in Great Falls and Freestone Climbing in Missoula, there are plenty of gyms to choose from. With most gyms offering shoe and harness rentals, all you need to bring is yourself and a “lets’ do this” kind of attitude.

 

  1. Take in a show

I use the term “show” loosely to include everything from movies and plays to musical performances and other theatrics. Theatres like Grandstreet in Helena and the historic Virginia City Opera House highlight local and regional talent with unique performances you can’t see elsewhere. Whether you’re taking in the latest summer box office film or a local play, your rainy afternoon will be an enjoyable one.

  1. Visit an art gallery

Taking a leisurely stroll through a local art gallery is the perfect way to stay busy when the weather outside is cold, wet, and downright yucky. Whether its oil paintings, photography, ceramics, or installations, art is meant to be observed, absorbed, and digested mentally. That process takes the time that a rainy day can lend.

  1. Take a brewery tour

As of February 2018, there are 73 breweries in the state of Montana with 12 known breweries in the planning stages. Undoubtedly you’ve tantalized your tastebuds enjoying beverages from at least a few of these, but why not take a tour to learn how your favorite IPAs and ales are actually brewed.

  1. Visit Lewis and Clark Caverns

While this geologic wonder receives heavy traffic all summer long, it is an ideal destination when the weather outside isn’t suitable for much else. Regardless of what the temperature and weather outside is, the caverns maintain a year-round temperature of around 50 degrees. One of the most decorated limestone caverns in the Northwest, Lewis and Clark Caverns’ stalagmites and stalactites are a must see or re-see for all visitors to the area.

  1. Mud Puddle photo shoot

Recently my wedding photographer, Garrett Thompson and his partner, Jacquie Smith with Floating Leaf Studios in Helena scheduled a special series of photo shoots appropriately titled “Mud Puddles.” Children and families were invited to gather up their rain boots and umbrellas and come, quite literally, to play around in mud puddles while getting their picture taken. The result were some of the most joyful and fun-loving photos I have seen in a long time. Whether you actually hire a professional to do a shoot like this of your own or just take the pictures yourself, I can guarantee you’ll end up with photos you won’t soon forget.

 

Dogpacking in Montana

By Doug Stevens

Dogpacking in Montana

The “domestic dog” (Canis familiaris) – how we all love our dogs! - “man's best friend”.  In fact, according to Wikipedia: “The archaeological record shows the first undisputed dog remains buried beside humans 14,700 years ago, with disputed remains occurring 36,000 years ago”, so, people have been walking (hiking) with dogs for a very long time.  In fact, dogs were the first beasts of burden – millennia before horses, llamas or any other animal.  Seems to me, then, that backpacking with your furry friend, sharing the load and the trip should be in our mutual genes, a natural, so to speak.

I’ve heard that people are either “dog people” or not.  Well, I am definitely a dog person.  But it wasn’t until about 25 years ago that my family and I were in a position to actually have dogs.  They have been at our side on the trail ever since, sharing in the fun and the scenery, carrying their fair share of gear and food on our outings (except in national parks).  I haven’t seen a dog yet that doesn’t love getting out on the trail – either as a day hike or a full backpacking trip.  Every dog I have had. has gone “bananas” when they see me pull the daypack or backpack out of the closet.  Dogs just love getting out!

As a rule of thumb, we set an upper limit of pack weight as a quarter of the weight of the animal.  I have medium to large dogs (labs), and my dogs run about 60-70 lbs.  So, a quarter of their weight would be around 15 lbs.  In reality, it is less, as it is difficult to get to that much weight before running out of space in the packs.  Still I do shoot for 10 – 12 lbs.  Some of that will obviously be her food, but that still leaves room for some nice “luxuries” that I wouldn’t take if I was going bare bones ultralight on my own (see Backpacking into Retirement – My Journey to the “Light Side”, Distinctly Montana, June 2018).  I have modified my dog’s pack so she can also carry my wading boots “to boot” on trips that include fishing. But, beyond the utility of carrying some of the load, it is far more the companionship on the trail that really matters, especially when I am going solo.

As any lab owner knows, labs not only love the hiking, they love the water – boy do they love water!  In fact, this can be one of the major challenges of backcountry fishing – keeping my dog out of the hole before I fish it!  But who can get mad?  Its almost as much fun watching their enjoyment in the stream as it is pulling fish out of it.  Its part of the experience with my dog.

Just like humans, dogs need conditioning.  This isn’t a problem for me.  As an older hiker, I need a lot of conditioning before the summer backpacking season – so “Mysti”, my current hiking buddy, conditions along with me – getting out for weekend warm-up hikes.  But one additional note here.  Its not just the physical conditioning that is important for your pooch.  Their feet are just as important.  Its easy for us as we wear boots.  Feet develop calluses and toughen up as the animal walks on rough terrain.  However, during the winter, they can soften up when walking on just snow.  So it is important to start out slow, and then find rockier areas to hike through the spring.  Even so, I had one trip that took us through some unexpectedly sharp terrain.  My dog ended up with cuts on her feet that required first aid and some extra care on the way out.  Luckily I was prepared.

Once you get a pack for your companion, be aware it will take some time for them to adjust to their new width.  Be prepared for running into trees and rocks.  Be on the lookout for obstacles on the trail so you can be proactive.  One of the toughest, will be deadfalls across the trail, especially if they are reasonably new, with lots of branches intact.  Its one thing for us tall bipeds to part the branches and clamber through – but its quite the obstacle course for a dog with a pack.  I will often just take her pack through these barriers myself.  And then there are always stream crossings.  Sometimes the biggest challenge is getting our dog not to just jump in, pack and all and soak everything that’s inside of it.  That’s fine if its a shallow crossing, but with deep, swift crossings, I like to take the pack across myself, even if it takes extra trips.  This leaves your dog to swim across unfettered, and keeps your gear dry.

Finally, a word about bears.  We live in Montana and bears in the backcountry are a fact.  I have heard a few different things about bears and dogs.  What some folks have warned me about, was a situation where an unleashed dog goes after a bear, barking at it etc.  Then the bear would get aroused and charge the dog.  It doesn’t take much imagination to see this could result in the dog running back to you for protection with an angry bear in tow!  It seems plausible, but in 25 years, this hasn’t happened to me.  What has happened recently was once, when we were camped on the Middle Fork of the Flathead River, a large black bear appeared on the opposite bank.  Our dog barked, we shouted, but it didn’t seem to be concerned about us.  I suspect this was a bear that had come out of the Park to the north, and so was somewhat familiar with people.  Later that night it must have crossed and come close to camp.  Our dog barked a bit, but then tried to hide under our tent! (we were camped on a sandbar).  So, its something to consider as to the right solution for you and your dog – tie up at night, or leave free.  Different dogs behave differently.

If dogpacking is something you think you might be interested in trying with your best friend, and want to learn more about it, REI has a web site with some great tips.  Its under their “Expert Advice” section: “Hiking or Backpacking with Your Dog”,  https://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/hiking-dogs.html.

You might also enjoy 6 Tips for Hiking With Your Dogs.  Read and learn!

Happy Trails!

Graytrekker AKA Doug Stevens

Take Me to the River

By Phil Knight

Take me to the River

When I was a boy my father built a redwood-strip canoe. He was a master hobbyist and woodworker and this was one of his finer creations. We would float in his canoe on the Farmington River in Connecticut, enjoying the sensation of being away from it all as we paddled through a corridor of greenery and wildlife.

Rivers draw me as they draw so many other people. Many of my life’s finest experiences have centered on rivers – the St. John in Maine, the Green in Utah, The Middle Fork Salmon in Idaho, the Tatshenshini-Alsek in Canada and Alaska, the Yarra in Australia, the Missouri and Yellowstone in Montana. It’s hard to beat a riverside campsite for comfort and tranquility, and even harder to beat a river trip for camaraderie and adventure among friends.

Rivers connect us to far-away places with their flow. Their heads are in the high mountains, their tails in the sea or another river. Rivers have always been travel ways, and much of our nation’s history revolves around rivers like the Mississippi, Missouri, Columbia, Snake, Potomac and Connecticut.

A river is a kind of magic, really. The most useful substance on Earth – water – is delivered 24/7, 365, for free. Yet we tend to take rivers for granted, damming them and polluting them and overfishing them, lining the banks with rip rap and building vacation homes right on the bank.

Most species of terrestrial wildlife depends on riverside habitat. Take a float on the Madison and you can hardly turn a bend in the river without spotting eagles on a nest, deer leaping through the brush, pelicans fishing the shallows, otters fishing the deeper pools, beavers swimming with branches, raccoons seeking crayfish, osprey hovering for fish, and kingbirds snatching flying insects. Busy swallow nests line the cliffs, warblers flit among the willows, and cows come down to drink.

And of course there is a whole other world below the surface, where a wide variety of alluvial denizens lurk among the tree roots and rocks. Fishing brings people from all over the world to Montana, partly because we still have thriving native (and non-native) fisheries. Wild trout hold an allure like no other fish, causing grown men and women to salivate at the thought of hooking and netting a sparkling fish, only to turn it loose again.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, which protects the wild, free-flowing qualities of over 12,000 miles of US rivers and streams, including parts of the Missouri and Flathead in Montana. The East Rosebud River may soon enjoy Wild and Scenic designation as well, with all three of Montana’s congressmen offering legislation to protect the river. Other Montana candidate rivers include the Smith, the Gallatin and the upper Yellowstone.

For our wedding gift my wife and received a new canoe and all the necessary gear, assuring our fate as river rats. We still hit the Madison or Jefferson in the canoe as often as we can. Lately we’ve been upping the ante by floating rivers on Stand Up Paddleboards, bringing new challenges to what are easy rapids in a canoe. Next week my wife and I will be rafting down the Yampa and Green rivers in Colorado and Utah.

We are blessed in Montana with a variety of beautiful and accessible rivers. Go to the river, catch a fish, have a picnic, take a swim, float a ways. The river will bring you peace, plenty, friendship and adventure. Take me to the river.

~Phil Knight

Bear Attack!

By Michael Ober

Bear Attack!

Randy certainly had not planned on lying down in the middle of the trail that day.  But there he was, clutching his now dead flashlight.  His face and neck were covered with dry-black blood, flies buzzing around.  After he realized I was there, looking down at him incredulously, he managed to put a few halting words together.

“Don’t go in there…!  There’s a bear.  It’s his home.  He lives there...”

Just moments before I had been absorbed in the numbing foot over foot trudge up the steep trail, focused only on the tops of my boot laces, hunched over, making slow time.  I almost walked right over him. 
Whooa…Oh.  OH!  I think I said in astonishment.  And then, looking at what lay before me: “Holy...  Are you… Are you OK?”    Then he told me, in halting words, of his bear attack.

I ditched my large pack, helped him to his feet and together we stumbled downhill to the trailhead, just 1/8 of a mile away.  As I stopped to let him rest he explained that he had hiked all night putting painfully slow distance between him and the Lincoln Lake backcountry campground.  Eventually, he said he could hear cars on the road, could even see some flashes of headlights through the trees as they passed by in the early morning darkness.  But he could go no further and lay down, facing the dark sky,   spent.

I had left the trailhead early to beat the July heat, destination Lincoln Lake.  Over the previous weeks my partner and I had knocked off all the other seasonal evaluations on the backcountry campsites in our district and I drew the short straw for Lincoln, “Stinkin’ Lincoln”, as it was dubbed because it was just so hard to reach and a singularly boring 8.8-mile trail in.

I did not have a radio to call Headquarters to report finding Randy so I drove to the District Office.  Back then, 1972, there was no ambulance service that responded to Park calls so we folded Randy into Dave’s patrol car and drove him to the nearest hospital in Whitefish.

There, Randy took on an almost celebratory fame.  After all, it is not common for any emergency department in North America to admit a bear mauling victim.  Soon, all kinds of health care personnel were swooping into the room, taking measurements, taking photographs, asking questions, administering drugs, examining wounds with an almost giddy fascination.  We obtained enough details from Randy for our report and left, leaving a small knot of folks, hospital counselors, the grievance pastor, social service officials and other assorted “lookie loos” clustered around Randy’s gurney.  Word spreads quickly through the halls of a small local hospital.

Next day, another ranger and I took two horses and a mule into Lincoln Lake to examine the campsite and pack out his stuff.  Arriving, the scene unfolded with perfect clarity.  True to his story, a bear had collapsed his tent in the early morning hours and had chased him up a tree, seizing his legs and pulling him down.  He fell through the branches and onto the side of his face, breaking his nose, fracturing an orbital socket and a cheek bone.  Despite the gashes and puncture wounds on his feet and lower legs where the bear had bitten him, he managed to thrust his bare feet into his boots, grab a large D cell flashlight and fled down the trail.  He hiked all night.  At little creeks he filled the lens cavity of his flashlight with water as if it were a live-giving cup to quench the thirst brought on by blood loss.

We gathered up Randy’s gear.  From the looks of things, the bear had stayed around quite a while and worked the camp over, consuming any food items and scattering gear everywhere.  We found his sleeping bag, torn and tattered, in a nearby alder patch, leaking down feathers.  Back near the outlet creek at the foot of the lake, we saw telltale black bear tracks in the mud.  And at the campsite it was clear that the bear had climbed up the tree after Randy, leaving obvious claw marks all around the trunk of the large spruce tree.  Freshly broken branches littered the base of the tree.

“Wow.  Look at this”, Dave said as he handed the binoculars to me that he had been using to follow the claw marks high up into the tree.  “Bear went all the way up there!  D’ya see that?”  He pointed twenty-five feet up the tree.

In the day-to-day events of working in a national park it is easy to forget that raw nature can be very unforgiving.  Just two summers after Randy’s incident, I witnessed similar wounds on a visitor who self-reported at the West Entrance, his naked back looking like it had been riddled with buckshot.  Puncture wounds and larger gashes in tissue peppered his shoulders and he sat there, on a stool, shivering with shock.  After he went to the hospital, we inventoried his backpack and found a diary that contained this entry: “Go to visitor center.  Find where most bears are.”

Several seasons after Randy’s incident, I was sitting outside one of the Park’s backcountry patrol cabins, drinking scotch with an old sage ranger that we all revered.  I told him about Randy’s encounter with the black bear that summer.  After a moment of quiet reflection, he looked off to the distant ridgeline as if picturing the moment.  Then, after pouring another scotch, he said, “Well, you know, wilderness ain’t wilderness ‘less there’s something out there as kin gitcha!”

~Michael Ober

The Noble Whitebark

By Phil Knight

The Noble Whitebark

Here on the northern rim of Greater Yellowstone, great ranges of mountains rise into the cobalt sky like dragons teeth. Climb into the high country of the Montana Rockies and you enter the realm of the Whitebark Pine (Pinus albicans). Long-lived, slow-growing, sturdy and hardy, these iconic trees are an integral part of Greater Yellowstone’s mountain ecosystem.

Whitebarks grow only at high elevations in western North America. These five-needle pines are often found in association with dark, pointy Subalpine fir (Abies lasiocarpa) and are closely related to Limber pine (Pinus flexilis).

Whitebarks grow fat and short, forming bushy growth that is often made up of several trunks. Stout trees like these tend to hold snow in drifts, helping conserve snowpack and lengthen the time it takes to melt off, thus preserving high-country snows into summer.

The only way to reliably tell Whitebarks from Limbers is by their cones. Limbers have large, woody cones, the largest of any tree in Greater Yellowstone, while Whitebarks produce small, sticky purple cones which, when ripe, are loaded with edible pine nuts.

Whitebark pine nuts are the most important food source for grizzly bears in Greater Yellowstone. This is a unique association between bears and trees, with help from squirrels and Clark's Nutcrackers that collect and store the seeds and cones. Bears depend in a big way on these rich, fatty pine nuts to make it through hibernation. In the late summer and early fall, bears swarm the Whitebark groves, knocking cones out of trees and picking out the nuts or raiding the caches of cones and nuts made by birds and squirrels.

When you enter a Whitebark pine forest you can easily see the results of climate change. The needles on the Whitebark trees are a rusty red, if indeed they have any needles left at all. Look across a high elevation forest from a peak in the Absaroka or Gallatin range, and you see red everywhere. According to retired USGS biologist David Mattson, in 10 to 15 years the Whitebark Pine will be functionally extinct in Greater Yellowstone.

Since the 1980s, Whitebarks (and Limbers) have been dying across the Yellowstone Ecosystem from a combination of an invasive pathogen called white pine blister rust, an epidemic of pine bark beetles, and extreme weather events. The blister rust, while not a symptom of climate change, did result from human meddling (it probably got to North America on a shipment of plants from Asia). The bark beetles, however, have invaded the Whitebark forest solely due to warming temperatures. These native insects normally cannot survive the cold winters at high elevations in the Rockies.

Climate change is happening faster at higher elevations (and higher latitudes), thus allowing the beetles to attack Whitebarks that have little defense against them. The one-two punch of beetles and blister rust is delivering the death blow to these spectacular trees.

Few scientists predicted the swiftness of the demise of the Whitebarks. Attempting to predict the rate and the effects of climate change and related events is like trying to predict which way the cars on a crashing train will roll. Forest ecosystems and weather systems are more complex than we can know, and the added chaos of climate change is leading to unpredictable consequences.

In the 1990s my wife and I hiked the Indian Ridge trail into the Spanish Peaks Wilderness of Montana. We walked through what may have been the most beautiful Whitebark Pine forest we had ever seen, and called it the "Enchanted Forest." When I backpacked that trail in 2012, the Whitebark forest was unrecognizable. All the trees were dead and most had blown over, forcing trail crews to recut the trail through all the thick dead trunks. Elsewhere on Indian Ridge, another patch of healthy Whitebarks had been destroyed by a recent avalanche.

Extreme weather events like windstorms, avalanches and severe wildfires are also taking out Whitebarks, which grow so slowly that, even were they to grow back, it could take a century to replace a ruined forest. I did, amazingly, find some healthy patches of Whitebark high on Indian Ridge, loaded with sticky purple cones and that, of course, is where I found fresh bear tracks on the trail.

Forest destruction like that I saw on Indian Ridge is shocking and produces a visceral reaction in me. It's like witnessing the loss of something you never knew how much you loved until it was gone. It's also an in-your-face display of the power of human-induced climate change, a process that is ramping up as we draw well past the 400 ppm mark of CO2 in Earth's atmosphere.

Trees, bears, squirrels, birds, humans...which will be the next to face the abyss of extinction? Or can we, the only species with power to decide, amend our wasteful ways for the sake of all?

 

~Phil Knight

UFO Saga

By Michael Ober

 UFO Saga

                Live long enough in Montana and you’ll likely end up with some kind of extraterrestrial story or UFO saga.  Events like mutilated cattle and crop cutting designs come to mind.  So it was that one sultry July night south of Havre, circa 1962, something happened.

                My brother and I had just walked home from the Orpheum movie theater, a double feature, to our home on the south edge of town.  It was late and darkness was crowding out daylight.  Our parents were at a dinner party with plans of coming home much later.  Stepping out on the back patio to feed the dog, we saw them:  four bright objects low over the southern horizon, slowly tracking back and forth across the dark sky.  We peered and strained and looked because, well, this was not normal.  And we knew it.  The bright objects were equidistant apart and, at the end of a tracking pattern they scattered and aligned once again into a perfect line of flying “things”, which is the best word we could come up with.  Now, as young boys we had built enough model airplanes to know these were not conventional aircraft.  We scurried inside and did what young problem-solving boys would do.  We grabbed dad’s scope-sighted hunting rifles, his .270 and .308, in an attempt to get a better look.  Even up close, we could detect no navigational lights and, more puzzling, no sound.

                During the early 1960’s there had been a flurry of news accounts of flying saucer landings, little green men, curious objects in the sky.  This, coupled with the imagination of two young boys, eleven and eight, and no adults around to supply answers, sent us into dread.  Was this it?  Had they landed?  We looked at each other with a shared sense of puzzlement and, then, fear.

                As if on que, two VOO DOO Air Force fighter jets, F101’s, screamed over the edge of town, so low we could see the orange-hot exhaust from the tail cones.  We knew the design and shape and silhouette.   Of course!  Glasgow, less than a hundred miles to the east, had a fighter interceptor squadron!  Hooray!  Calvary to the rescue.  As the paired jets drew nearer, the objects scattered and, then, zoomed at hypersonic speeds up into the dark sky.  And were gone.

                Our parents arrived later to find us huddled under the covers of the bed, drenched in as much sweat as two young boys could generate, still filled with dread.  We told them.  And they believed us.   We had seen something.  A military training exercise?  An illusion?  Meteorological phenomena? Extraterrestrials probing the vast landscape? Montana’s skies are so big they can contain endless answers.  But we had seen something…

~Michael Ober

5 Runs Around Bozeman

By Sean Jansen

5 Runs Around Bozeman

Spring is a season of change. Snow typically continues to blanket the alpine environment while the valleys thaw and begin to bloom. Montanans have mixed emotions. Some loath the season for they know their time skiing is coming to an end, while others welcome it with open arms, rejoicing at snow melt and wild flowers. However if there is one constant about the season of spring that need mention, is that it is simply the season leading up to summer. And with summer inching closer and closer, the snow recedes further and further, exposing miles and miles of trail. With that being said, here are my five favorite trails to run in spring, in and around Bozeman.

The College, “M,”

There isn’t an official visit to Bozeman unless one makes the ascent up to the college landmark of the, “M.” Located just off of Rouse Ave., or the Bridger Canyon Road en route to Bridger Bowl ski area, the landmark is hard to miss. With two options of reaching the, “M,” the trail to the right is a strenuous half mile ascent of 700 feet nearly straight up, where as the option to the left is much friendlier and wide open, giving the experience a far more enjoyable one with wildflowers and a few shady sections for those toasty Spring Days.

Buffalo Jump State Park

The name couldn’t be more resemblant of what has happened there in the past. Native Americans once herded bison to the edge of this cliff and forced them off of it to harvest their meet for winter survival months. The state of Montana has made this small cliff face a state park in remembrance of this slaughter and have carved a beautiful set of trails that go to the top of the cliff offering expansive views of the Lower Madison River. Flowers mix with rocks atop the cliffs making the run an enjoyable yet distracting cruise. Don’t let the views shift your focus from your footing, as I would hate to hear about a runner being the latest victim of the gruesome past the bison faced.

Bear Trap Canyon

Easily my favorite run in Southwest Montana. Where else do you get to combine trail running as well as fly fishing in one canyon? The Bear Trap Canyon Trail is roughly six miles from where it starts up to where the dam is from Ennis Lake. Making it a potential 12-mile out and back. However one can simply go a far as they wish and turn around where desired. The trial follows the river along its banks and rarely curves away from it making the trail an incredibly peaceful run to the sounds of footsteps and water. However don’t be like me and try to run while watching trout sip insects from the surface. You will likely face plant and fall head first into the river.

Missouri Headwaters State Park

Famous from the history of Lewis and Clark led by Sacajawea, the state park is also where the U.S.’s longest river begins; the Missouri. With relatively short and fairly easy running terrain, one can enjoy the splendor of this wide open environment where the Gallatin, Madison, and Jefferson Rivers all meet then run the shores of the first mile of the Missouri River.

Springhill Community Road

Now this is certainly not a trail, however the environment surrounding this dirt road makes it worthy in my book. Springhill Community Road is about a 20-minute drive north of Bozeman where one can enjoy wide-open farmland while staring at Ross Peak of the Bridger Range. Listen to sand hill cranes, watch white tail deer cross the road from pasture to pasture and for those with a sense of history or who have paid attention, catch a few scenes from the infamous fly fishing film, A River Runs Through It.

Memories Are Made in the Saddle

By Visit MT

Memories are Made in the Saddle

As part of their mother-daughter getaway, Kara and Nya experience the western tradition of the Augusta American Legion Rodeo. They watched with awe as cowboys and cowgirls compete in events of precision and skill, like barrel racing and calf roping. Sharing the thrilling moments of hopeful anticipation during the bull and saddle bronc riding, they cheer for the riders who hold their position for as many seconds as possible. Nya takes the opportunity to meet a few of the rodeo riders and learn more about the training and athleticism western rodeo events require.  

"Most memorable for me, is to have Nya be exposed to all of these strong women that are confident, that are hardworking," reflects Kara Shapiro. "To show her that anything she wants to do, she's able to do."

The western experience continues with a horseback riding excursion while staying at the Rocking Z Guest Ranch. Kara and Nya take in the stunning views, as their horses cross through the meandering current and climb rolling hills with the mountains in the distance. It's the perfect setting for fulfilling Nya's passion for riding. The horses also feel relaxed as they move easily and responsively under the mother and daughter. While they've experienced this many times as ranch horses, you can almost sense equal excitement at the adventure as their ears shift forward and they walk eagerly along the route. This mutual excitement and passion for riding, western life and the outdoors is the driving force for Zack and Patty Wirth, owners of the Rocking Z Guest Ranch.

"Rocking Z Ranch is all about feeling free, in the open spaces that are here," say Justi Vonada, ranch wrangler. "And leaving with something to always remember."

Rocking Z Guest Ranch focuses on the beauty of natural experiences and respect for the environment where the ranch operates. One of the experiences you will discover is learning natural horsemanship methods that focus on building and strengthening communication between horse and rider. Riding without a saddle and bridle, as Nya experienced, demonstrates how mutual trust and respect make these tools unnecessary. The ranch's focus on this horse and rider bond is part of preserving the heritage of western life and the tradition of depending on your horse as your daily partner and companion. You don't have to go far during your stay to explore the untouched beauty around you. Going for a horseback excursion on the ranch's property demonstrates the vastness of the green valleys and mountainous terrain dotted with pine forests. On the breeze, you can smell the pine and sagebrush as it carries the song of a meadowlark in the distance. It is here, as the blue sky stretches infinitely overhead, that you can truly feel the meaning of the "Last Best Place."

"The vastness of the valley and to be able to see the big sky of Montana was remarkable," says Kara. "It's really important having these moments of life together."

Kara and Nya Shapiro's western adventures are just a few ways to discover your #MontanaMoment.  You can find yours with horseback ridingrodeos and the many ranch experiences Montana has to offer. Explore the unlimited possibilities for family fun in Montana, and make lasting memories like the Shapiros did.

Montana Leads in Startups

By Jessica Kane

Montana Leads the Nation in New Venture Start Ups

Silicon Valley and other heavily populated locales in the United States garner a great deal of attention as being places where a considerable number of new businesses launch. Recognizing this reality, research by the esteemed Kauffman Foundation tells a different story. The Kaufmann Foundation provides a yearly analysis and associated ranking of new venture start up activity in every state.

According to the research and analysis of start up trends in the United States undertaken by the Kaufmann Foundation, the true hotbed of business creation is Montana.

The Start Up Rate in Montana

A key factor taken utilized by the Kaufmann Foundation in considering which parts of the country lead the way when it comes to new ventures is the number of businesses started by adults each month. The business start up rate in Montana is through the roof.

Each month, an average of 540 people, per every 100,000 residences of the state of Montana, start new businesses. This is almost twice the national average, according to the Kaufmann Foundation.

Underlying Causes for High New Venture Rate in Montana

Montana joins Wyoming and North Dakota in having above average start up rates than the national average. Montana does outpace these other two states, however.

Researchers associated with the Kaufmann Foundation believe that the oil boom in the trio of states just mentioned contributes significantly to high rate of new businesses starting up. These three states are all associated with what is known as the Bakken Region. Oil drilling in in the Bakken Region has been undertaken at a frenetic pace. The rush of development in Montana associated with the oil boom is attracting a considerable number of new residents and workers to the state.

Beyond expanding the work force in Montana, the intense activity in the oil industry in the state has spawned the launch of a significant number of new businesses. There are some segments of the marketplace when new business launches have been particularly intense. These market sectors include:

  • restaurants
  • clothing stores
  • day care centers
  • equipment manufacturers
  • transportation companies
  • other types of retail outlets
  • breweries

About the Kaufmann Foundation

In order to understand the reliability of the results of the research undertaken by the Kaufmann Foundation, an understanding of the organization is helpful. The Kaufmann Foundation is a not-for-profit organization headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri.

The Kaufmann Foundation was established in the 1960s by entrepreneur Ewing Kaufmann. Kaufmann himself founded pharmaceutical giant Marion Laboratories with $5,000. Marion Laboratories ultimately merged with Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, forming Marion Merrell Dow. Kaufmann was the owner of the Kansas City Royals Major League franchise.

The mission of the Kaufmann Foundation includes advancing entrepreneurship. As part of that effort, the Foundation has been calculating what has become known as the Kauffman Index annually. The Kaufmann Index ranks state and local start-up activity. The Kaufmann Index has been in use for over a decade.