“Brands are the classic language of the American West,” said one of Montana’s most celebrated writers, Ivan Doig. That cowboy shorthand continues today . . . at least for a while. Continue Reading →
A picture-perfect day for an old-school branding
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Diversions
Recent Posts
Author tells of women’s visits to early Yellowstone Park
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CODY, WYO. — Any visit to Yellowstone National Park comes with at least some sense of adventure. And packing the car for even a short family trip through the park can be a logistical challenge. But the next time you’re flummoxed by packing for a Yellowstone weekend in the RV with the kids, consider Eleanor Corthell. Corthell spent two months in Yellowstone in the summer of 1903. Continue Reading →
Filed under: Diversions, M. Mark Miller, Yellowstone National Park, YellowstoneGate.com
One-of-a-kind play area opens Saturday at Audubon Center
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Darcie Howard, director of the Montana Audubon Center, was not impressed when she first heard about something called a “nature play space.”
The center’s mission is to get children out into nature, into the wild, so creating a manmade “natural area” didn’t seem like a very good idea. (more…) Continue Reading →
Filed under: Billings, Diversions, Darcie Howard, Good Earth Works, Montana Audubon Center, Nick Cladis, Peaks to Plains Design, Phillips 66
‘Spring Into Yellowstone’ kicks off park’s summer season
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CODY, WYOMING—The Spring Into Yellowstone Birding and Wildlife Festival returns next week, offering tours of some of the most scenic and inspiring spots in Yellowstone National Park and public lands to the east of the park. The growing festival is entering its third year, but many of the places highlighted in its tours and events have been popular with wildlife and people for thousands of years. (more…) Continue Reading →
Filed under: Diversions, Cody Country Chamber of Commerce, Larry Todd, Spring Into Yellowstone, Sunlight Basin, Yellowstone Gate, Yellowstone National Park
Under their skin: Recalling Billings’ tattoo pioneers
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This is the story of the oldest tattoo shop in Montana. No, wait. This is the story of the two oldest tattoo shops in Montana, whose roots are so intertwined that they both have a fair claim to that title. (more…) Continue Reading →
Filed under: Culture, Diversions, Buzz Bailey, Deacon Raty, Dustyn Owen, Eagle Tattoo, Elaine Raty, Josh Degele
‘Remarkable rock’ opens new season this Saturday
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Except for a few Bureau of Land Management employees, Brigit and Ken Painter and their two dogs had Pompeys Pillar National Monument pretty much to themselves Thursday morning. Brigit Painter said they live in Huntley and go out to the monument every day to walk their dogs. (more…) Continue Reading →
Filed under: Diversions, Montana, Bureau of Land Management, Jeff Kitchens, Lewis and Clark, Pompeys Pillar National Monument, William Clar
Valley of wonders: Indian art, fossils, a quarry and more
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BEAR GULCH—On the ranch her grandparents homesteaded almost a century ago, Macie Lundin Ahlgren is ascending a trail beneath steep cliffs of layered limestone. Stopping on the trail and gesturing to a rock wall behind her, she mentions an archaeologist who visited the site years ago. (more…) Continue Reading →
Filed under: Diversions, Montana, Bear Gulch, Fraternity of War, John and Mavis Greer, Macie Lundin Ahlgren, petroglyphs, pictographs
Evel who? Meet Montana’s unsung motorcycle hero
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If there were any justice in this world, Gregory Frazier would be as famous as that other Montana motorcyclist, the late Robert Knievel. Frazier, who lives in Fort Smith when he’s not on his motorcycle, is not a daredevil in the traditional sense of the term, meaning he doesn’t jump over cars, buses or gorges. But it takes a different kind of guts, and incredible doggedness, to do what Frazier has done on a motorcycle. (more…) Continue Reading →
Filed under: Diversions, Billings Gazette, David Grubbs, Evel Knievel, Fort Smith, Gregory Frazier, Joe Whalen
Pictures from a variety of Montana expeditions
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At the end of what must have been one of the most open winters in the history of Montana—a year after one of the snowiest winters on record—it occurs to me that I didn’t do nearly as much traveling as I should have. And then it occurs to me that when I set out on my first big out-of-town trip this winter, to do a story on the Beaver Creek Brewery in Wibaux way back in mid-November, it was snowing, windy and bitterly cold. (more…) Continue Reading →
Filed under: Diversions, Butte, Dixon, Laurel, Melstone, Musselshell, NorthWestern Energy, Paradise
Mysterious cave in Yellowstone at center of legal dispute
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UPDATE: It has come to our attention that many readers failed to realize that this was an April Fool’s Day story. The writer, Ruffin Prevost, had hoped that the “yeti toe” would have provided enough of a clue, together with the links in the story to his previous April 1 spoofs. But apparently not. We repeat: This was a spoof, just like our story last April 1 about the gentleman surfing in the BBWA Canal. (more…) Continue Reading →
