Publisher’s Note | Spring 2025
Warm days have finally arrived! A summer of basking in the sunshine and watching the dormant world come alive is unfolding! It’s a short season in Montana, and we hope to fill it with as many outdoor adventures as possible.
Mom loved this time of year. She jokingly used to say that her spiritual animal was the grizzly bear: she relished the idea of hibernating all winter and waking up when spring is in full force. She loved simple things - the smell of lilacs, the chorus of frogs, the gathering of family. While she instilled an appreciation of simple things in us, Dad instilled work. We learned at an early age that work was expected of us, especially if we wanted to do something fun when we were done. Dad worked us hard, but he also knew when to ease up; nothing was more exciting than when he drove out to the hayfield and told us to “shut down the equipment, we’re going fishing!”
When we were raising our kids, as soon as school let out, we would have each of them make a list of things they wanted to do over the course of the summer. Some were easy to achieve – ride bikes, go swimming, visit Gramma and Grampa. Others took more planning – tubing at Cooney, jumping off the cliffs at Yellowtail, time at the cabin, fishing on the Yellowstone. We tried to be intentional about packing as much as we could into a few months. That hasn’t changed with our grandkids; we intend to spend as much time as possible with them yet still do some adventuring on our own.
With the long, endless winter finally behind us, we took off in a different direction with this issue and filled it with passionate people who love the outdoors. We feature a group of trail blazer horsemen out of Absarokee; a mountain biker from Red Lodge; an ATV rider out of Columbus and a rafter who finds solace on the rivers. Stu also shares memories of his lifelong love of fishing. They all have something in common – find your passion and go live it!
We’ve included some easy lunch ideas to take with you on your summer excursions and if you like spending the warm months working in your yard, we have a few ideas of how to use native plants to enhance it.
We’re blessed to live in such an incredible area of our country with a multitude of ways to get out and enjoy God’s creations. I read on a billboard the other day, “Be an outsider!” Translation - Get outside and adventure!
For those of you who are always outside taking care of livestock and crops, we hope you take time to enjoy doing something that brings you excitement, renewal and pleasure. That’s our plan!
And lastly, we’ve included a great guide to help you support small businesses, adventure companies and local artists. Check it out and plan to include stopping at a few of them while you’re out road- tripping this summer! Be sure to check out the annual Summer Events Calendar listing community events to take part in all summer long. There’s some great events you don’t want to miss!
Have a safe and fun-filled summer!
“For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible – all things have been created through Him and for Him.” Colossians 1:16