Montana tagged posts

By Lindsay Persico

It was spring when I met the man I am proud to call my husband. Our “first date” ( not sure we actually called it that ) was a trip out to feed and sit over a bear bait in Idaho. We spent the evening laughing and joking. He taught me about lighting a fire with my flint and steel and we just simply enjoyed the outdoors together. It is a favorite memory of mine.

Needless to say we hit it off. The year before we got married I was blessed with the opportunity to join him on his elk hunt in Montana. I drove over from Idaho and we headed up to his family cabin in the beautiful Montana mountains. I remember being so excited to get in on the experience and being nervous that I would slow him down in this steep country.

We set out our numerous layers of hunting clothes the nig...

By Hannah J. Ryan

The morning sunlight seeps across Wyoming’s sky and into a corn stubble field near the river. Friends and family are tucked to either side of me in layout blinds. My feet are reaching that freezing point that would soon drive me from my hiding place, but a dark cloud lifts off the river as a few hundred Canada geese leave their night’s resting place.

As their ruckus reaches us, our adrenaline-levels spike and my numb feet are eitherwarmed or forgotten. Our decoy spread forms an open-ended triangle and we are stationed in the V’s crook. Four geese break from the flock and head for the open ground we left in the spread directly before our blinds.

When the birds come in range, someone calls out, “Take ‘em!” and we pop up from our prone positions, shotguns singing...

By Jill Alban

Living in Montana is a feast for the eyes, the mind – and the stomach. Before I moved West ten years ago, I was a vegetarian/sometimes vegan – I didn’t eat meat, fish, or cheese. I was concerned with how industrial agriculture exploited animals and polluted water sources. I wanted to take a stand – to make a small difference against a big, complex, overwhelming global system.

That first winter in Missoula, people laughed when I told them I was a vegetarian. At parties, my friends offered up cured meats, spicy sausages, and elk steaks. Unhesitatingly, I said no. “You’ll change your mind,” they’d say, those well-meaning men with thick beards and impressive outdoor resumes. “Vegetarians don’t last long in Montana.”

And – for better, I think – those fella...

By Brenna Richardson

Some people would call it crazy. Maybe they’re right.  Getting up at 5 a.m. to fish in freezing temps in January is slightly insane.  I really have no idea how cold it was, but a quick glimpse at the historical temps put it at 3.2 degrees (F).  The website I looked at didn’t include a wind-chill factor, but in the summer, wind gusts rip through South Park, Colorado at an average of 25 plus, mph!  I think its safe to say, it was cold.  Bitter cold. There was a truck that stopped and talked to my boyfriend when we were gearing up, “You are really going to fish in this weather?“ When I stepped around the truck their eyes grew big, “There is a woman out here fishing in these temps!” You betcha!

My eyelashes froze, as did the corners of my eyes...

By Stephanie Spika

Growing up in Montana, I’ve been on my fair share of hunting excursions.  After moving across the country, however, years went by without donning the blaze orange I so missed. 

One Friday afternoon I found myself at a work happy hour boasting of my hunting skills.  There may have been some embellishment, but still, I wasn’t a complete novice to the outdoors.  After a few glasses of liquid courage, I challenged my male co-workers to step up to the plate and take me hunting.  Sweet Jeff Johnston volunteered, without knowing what he was getting himself into.

Stephanie and her buck

He later confessed that when he told me to show up at his house – an hour away – at 5 am the following morning, he put it at less than a 10-percent chance I’d show up...