A study done by the University of Montana on tourism, shows that just over 11 million travelers came to the state during 2013, which is a 2.3 percent increase. They spent $3.6 billion.

Tourism is everywhere, even across the walls of Adventure Cycling.

"Last year we had about 1,200 visitors who cycled here from everywhere from Japan to across the nation, and that's a 150-percent increase over the last 5 or 6 years with the amount of visitors that we're having," said Executive Director of Adventure Cycling Jim Sayer.

There are pictures hanging on the wall from people who have visited, even some from Scotland and Sweden.

"It's had a huge benefit to our organization. We've become one of the largest nonprofits in Montana. We've tripled our budget, we've doubled our staff," said Sayer.

Tourism has helped boost other businesses like Grizzly Hackle, especially during the summertime.

"We book trips from people all around the world," said Grizzly Hackle’s outfitting manager Rick Marcum.

Not to mention, increasing the numbers this year.

MORE>>>NBC Montana

Angela Jamison is a native Montanan and she grew up in beautiful Bozeman. I'm the mother of two girls and write a blog about our life here and taking in the simple pleasures of family and food.   http://www.rdeliciouslife.blogspot.com/

There is this "Portlandia" episode I was thinking about today. (Portlandia is a hilarious sketch comedy about Portland, OR) In this skit the sun peaks out through the dark, ominous skies and the people of Portland all run for this sliver of sunshine, pull out lawn chairs and picnic blankets. Crack open a beer and all smile, saying "The sun, is out!" Within moments the clouds cover the sun, the crowd packs up their things and mope away. And then the sun peaks back out and the cheers return. This goes back and forth for awhile, you get the point. Having lived in Portland briefly I understand this…the sunshine did not often make appearances. It reminded me of how Montanans have a similar experience with spring. Not the sunshine part. No, we are lucky, it may be 30-degrees below zero and we still get a blue bird day. But, with spring? Spring time we search out for after the long winter hibernation. This week the temperatures have creeped towards the 50's and you can see everyone's spirits visibly lift. When it actually hits 50-degrees people will be pulling out the shorts and flip flops. Yea, we go a little crazy here for spring. But who can blame us after months of cold and snow?

This winter has been long, bitter cold and snowy. I hear my fathers voice in my head when I tell people "It reminds me of the type of winters we had when I was a kid." But it's true. The last few winters have been mild and dry compared to this. Even my die hard ski friends are over it. It is the topic of conversation everywhere and I do believe everyone is over talking about it too. Which is why when these first hints of spring come it is as if the clouds have parted and we all lift our faces to the sky and smile…knowing the end is in sight. The snow is melting, the birds are chirping. Grass is poking its way out of the snow searching for a piece of sun and breathing after being buried. You notice people around you are smiling a bit bigger and the "morning" you get while out for a run is a little more enthusiastic. And, my personal favorite…the "M" is beginning to show on the Bridgers. Just a hint of it from under the melting white. When the snow has left the Bridgers that is when I know. When I know it is time for the skiers to leave the mountains and make way for the rest of us to enjoy them in our way. It is our turn to hear them calling early in the morning and to answer eagerly. It's around this time of year I start to ache to get into my mountains. I can close my eyes and imagine myself on the top of them, breathing in warm mountain air, smelling the pine trees around me and feeling the sun kiss my face.

I have lived here long enough to know these hints are only teasers. Spring in Montana is like that. Flirting with us and the ideas of what's to come and then blasting us with a cold front and dumping snow. Crushing our spring loving spirits and like the "Portlandia" episode, we mope away, shoulders slumped. Reminding us that playing in the mountains is still months away. Telling us to put those flip flops away, there is no place for those until June. This is okay. It's okay because where else do people appreciate a 45-degree day? Only in Montana. We get the importance of getting out and taking advantage of those slivers of spring-like days because they won't last. I think it makes us all much more grateful for the nice days we have and gratitude is an awesome trait for a state to have. And, don't get me started on summer. Nobody does summer like a Montanan. Well, except maybe if you live in Portland.

Ladies and gentlemen, we are entering crunch time.

That time of the year when spring and winter play a tug of war, and depending on how it goes, deer and elk could be the losers.

Members of the deer family that go into winter in good shape have the energy reserves and body fat to survive those December and February subzero spells. But a long winter that continues through March and April will start to tip over the smallest and weakest.

And if we humans are not careful, we’ll cause some of the bigger animals to tip over.

Already some of our large game species could use a break. January was nice, with a handful of 50 degree days. But February plunged us back into winter, which after all is the season we’re in.

Now the real test for wildlife begins.

By March and April, many animals will have used up the majority of their nutritional reserves. For deer, especially, winter is a long downhill slide. If spring arrives early or the winter has not been too tough, the females will come through in good shape and produce healthy fawns.

MORE>>>Montana FWP

The American Dream Well-Being sub-index measures the extent of resident contentment, health and prosperity in life. It is developed from the following dimensions:

Family Support

Support of Friends

Support of Someone Special

Happiness

Freedom of Expression

Fruits of My Labor

Entrepreneurial Spirit

Leisure Activities

Social Status

Personal Health

Satisfaction with Residence

Optimism

This is the sub-index that would likely be impacted most directly by the quality of a resident’s non-work life. For employers, employee dissatisfaction with and/or lack of engagement in their community outside of work contributes to turn-over. That is why the traditional “Best Places to Live” surveys are paid attention to by HR Directors. The impact of well-being has been scientifically studied and described as “job embeddedness”. It is described in the literature as “community dimensions of fit”. Lack of “fit” contributes to higher voluntary turn-over among employees. Locations with a higher well-being score may offer employers a competitive advantage in employee retention.

And the Winner is...More at Burghard Group

Lacey Middlestead is a Montana native and freelance writer currently living in Helena, Mont. She loves meeting new people and helping share their stories. When she’s not busy writing articles for newspapers like the Independent Record and Helena Vigilante, she can usually be found indulging in her second greatest passion–playing in the Montana wilderness. She loves skiing and snowmobiling in the winter and four wheeling, hiking, boating, and riding dirt bikes in the summer.

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Being the daughter of a man who owned a powersports dealership for over 30 years, I was naturally born and raised a motorhead. But, on occasion, I find myself needing those quiet moments out in nature without the sound of an engine thrumming underneath me. So this past weekend, I traded in my 155” track and 2 stroke snowmobile engine for snowshoe crampons and the sheer ingenuity of my own lungs to propel me.

One of the beautiful things about living in Montana during a solid winter season is that you can often drive a mere 20 minutes to find hip deep or greater snow to play in. My boyfriend and I headed for the top of MacDonald Pass for some snowshoeing last Sunday as it is usually deserted and affords plenty of snow.

When we reached the top of the pass, we pulled off and parked on the side of the highway. As we strapped on our snowshoes, we noticed two ladies plodding along in their snowshoes back to their vehicle. Smiles stretched across both of their faces and made me anxious to begin my own hike.

Snowshoeing is peaceful, but man is it ever hard work. The first time I tried it I had this disillusion that it would be like Jesus walking on water and I would just skim gracefully across the snow barely making a dent in its surface. This is so not how snowshoeing is. While snowshoes do elevate you and make walking in deep snow easier, you still have to make an effort and trudge your way through. If you don’t snowshoe often, it can be terribly awkward. My boyfriend was dressed in head to toe brown Carhart gear and I told him he looked like a newborn deer learning to walk. He didn’t appreciate this comment very much but I felt it was fairly creative metaphor. He also didn’t think it was funny that I chose to let him break the trail while I followed in his footsteps. And what interesting footprints snowshoes make. A casual observer might mistake them for the remnants of some rectangular-footed snow beast gallivanting about in the mountains.

Snow is one of my favorite things in the world, but when you whiz by it on a snowmobile or downhill skiis, you miss some of the details about it that make it so amazing. As I walked along, I noticed long ripples in the snow like desert sand gets from the wind. The sun was high in the sky that day and illuminated every twinkling crystal on the ground. The only noises around me were the occasional rustle of wind through the trees, the crunch, swish, crunch swish sound of my snowshoes, and my labored breathing that synchronized with my steps. The feeling of isolation that encompassed the area was refreshing and calming. I began to fantasize that I was walking alone through some undiscovered “white” desert somewhere.

E. E. Cummings wrote that “The snow doesn’t give a soft, white damn whom it touches.” Snow truly falls upon the earth indiscriminately and let’s anyone play in it that wants to. I think that’s one of the reasons I love it so much. I found that quote popping into my head as I flopped backwards into the untouched snow to make a snow angel. No matter how old I get, making snow angels still puts a smile on my face. Trying to stand back up from my snow angel sprawl in snowshoes, however, put an even bigger smile on my face.

I spend every winter frolicking about in the snow in any number of ways, but snowshoeing is the one activity that forces me to slow down and appreciate the snow for all of its little splendors. It was another beautiful and blessed day in Montana for me.