tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12342106884105802162026-03-05T17:42:55.153-07:00a post a day from the big sky country: history, photos, sights, trivia, quotes.Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08691529739021575052noreply@blogger.comBlogger474125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1234210688410580216.post-32259684090319353672020-11-14T08:00:00.024-07:002021-01-01T19:58:55.012-07:00

 It's been a few years since I reluctantly paused this journal, but it still gets a fair number of views and I still remember the blogging experience very fondly.  One of the best things about writing Daily Montana was that I made some real friends during the process, some of which I've kept in touch with for years.  One of the best was a woman named Joey, who lived in

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08691529739021575052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1234210688410580216.post-66963722341522131892013-01-17T08:00:00.000-07:002013-01-30T16:38:47.116-07:00

We've had some real mid-winter weather in Montana this month, so it seems like a good time to mention Cut Bank's giant penguin. The penguin was reportedly constructed decades ago to advertise one of Cut Bank's hostelries, and and it still sits in front of a dated motel building near the east end of town. A classic piece of folk art, and almost certainly Cut Bank's best-known attraction.

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08691529739021575052noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1234210688410580216.post-7516524267008302672013-01-16T08:00:00.000-07:002013-01-22T10:00:47.008-07:00

Back in the days before the Interstate Highway system, old US 91 was unquestionably one of the great drives in Montana. Between Butte and Great Falls, the route crossed the Continental Divide and wandered through a series of lovely mountain canyons, evocative of the best of Montana. One of the narrowest and most spectacular stretches of road was along Prickly Pear Creek, north of Helena.

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08691529739021575052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1234210688410580216.post-20708476615547714472013-01-15T08:00:00.000-07:002013-01-16T07:33:27.608-07:00

My favorite north-south road in Montana is probably US 89 ... not only for the amazing drive along the Rocky Mountain front north of Choteau, but also for the great trip over King's Hill in the Little Belt Mountains. One of my favorite stopping points on the King's Hill drive is Memorial Falls, just a little south of Neihart. It's a short walk up a lovely little canyon, a fine respite in the

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08691529739021575052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1234210688410580216.post-53544826248832771192013-01-14T08:00:00.000-07:002013-01-14T08:00:04.568-07:00

I spent a winter in Missoula a number of years ago, and was fortunate enough to sit in on K. Ross Toole's legendary Montana and the West history class. Those class sessions were filled with memorable moments, and one of the things I recall was how Toole lamented the slow destruction of the Bitterroot Valley ... the ongoing replacement of its farms and meadows with a sea of faceless subdivisions.

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08691529739021575052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1234210688410580216.post-67567675341379906232013-01-13T08:00:00.000-07:002013-01-14T06:57:25.688-07:00

During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Montana's Native American peoples received a surprising amount of attention from artists and photographers ... people who were presumably enchanted by the romance of the vanishing Indian lifestyle, and who hoped to document it in their own way before it was too late. An intriguing but lesser-known person in this category was a woman named

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08691529739021575052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1234210688410580216.post-74655006815924836352013-01-12T08:00:00.000-07:002013-01-13T21:47:37.005-07:00

I mentioned the Hyalite Mountains in yesterday's post, and here's a picture of its crown jewel: Hyalite Lake. The lake is about 8,800 feet high, in a gorgeous basin in the shadow of its namesake peak, and is at the end of a five-mile trail that is arguably one of the most beautiful in the Rockies. I took this photo in late July, the year before last. The last mile or so of the trail was still

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08691529739021575052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1234210688410580216.post-39919261735199389232013-01-11T08:00:00.000-07:002013-01-11T14:42:11.778-07:00

There's no doubt at all that Montana has some of the finest mountain ranges anywhere. The mountains up in Glacier are of course my favorites, but honorable mentions go to the ranges that surround Bozeman: the Hyalites, the Spanish Peaks, and especially the Bridgers. The Bridger range defines the eastern edge of the Gallatin Valley for a good two dozen miles, remarkably straight and tall. The

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08691529739021575052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1234210688410580216.post-52885366908148855232013-01-10T08:00:00.000-07:002013-01-10T09:39:55.932-07:00

This is an historic photo of a spot called "Fifty Mountain" ... easily one of Montana's most evocative place names. Fifty Mountain is high in the backcountry of Glacier Park, a dozen miles from the nearest road, and it's a spectacular location. That's Mount Kipp in the background. This image, reportedly by the noted park photographer T.J. Hileman, dates from the 1920s or 1930s. Back then, the

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08691529739021575052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1234210688410580216.post-86544532789106534482013-01-09T08:00:00.000-07:002013-01-09T08:02:27.926-07:00

Among the most common local history books are those that consist primarily of individual or family biographies, usually self-written.  Many of the recent ones are commemorative volumes produced by local museums and history committees, and they're often great resources; sometimes, they're the only substantive published histories ever prepared for an area.  Earlier volumes were typically

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08691529739021575052noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1234210688410580216.post-60440724039660294182013-01-08T08:00:00.000-07:002013-01-09T07:16:49.959-07:00

Even though it's cliché, I'm still hooked on taking random photos of Montana sunsets. I saw this one in the summer of 2011, in the German Gulch area southwest of Butte.

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08691529739021575052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1234210688410580216.post-89728991172543651832013-01-07T08:00:00.000-07:002013-01-08T16:23:38.078-07:00

Speaking of older motels, here's a photo I took a little over a year ago while on a trip to Miles City.  I stayed at a faded chain motel on the south side, probably built in the 1970s or so, and I noticed this welcoming message painted on the concrete footing of the building's porte cochere.  That little sign was easily the best part of the whole motel!

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08691529739021575052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1234210688410580216.post-71134529457425112252013-01-06T08:00:00.000-07:002013-01-08T16:09:52.228-07:00

Here's an interesting postcard view of Billings, shot to advertise a downtown motel in the late 1960s or so. Both the motel and its adjoining restaurant are great examples of mid-twentieth century roadside architecture, and the classic advertising signs add to the period feel. Lurking in the background, though, are two other major examples of mid-twentieth century design. The staid,

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08691529739021575052noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1234210688410580216.post-6350692883816546262013-01-05T08:00:00.000-07:002013-01-07T09:20:31.150-07:00

These days, I'm working on a project to locate and research all of Montana's extant railroad depots, part of an upcoming book for the Montana Historical Society. So you'll be seeing a lot of railroad-stration photos here ... which is appropriate, given their importance to the state's history, and their ephemeral, vanishing nature.  This is an early-evening shot of the little Northern

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08691529739021575052noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1234210688410580216.post-53498336591422840192013-01-04T08:00:00.000-07:002013-01-06T11:27:34.622-07:00

While I was searching for info on "Lloyd's of Butte" for yesterday's post, I stumbled across a Montana quote that I hadn't seen before. This is from an apparently-forgotten 1963 novel called The Hallelujah Bum, by a British author named Andrew Sinclair. The dream sequence below conveys a compelling metaphor for southwestern Montana's copper industry: We swing up into Montana with Anabel at the

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08691529739021575052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1234210688410580216.post-81300731368804178812013-01-03T08:00:00.000-07:002013-01-06T11:17:34.955-07:00

If you get off the freeway in Butte looking for a place to eat, one of the first options you see might be an older, nondescript building on South Montana Street ... part restaurant, part casino, and not really recommended.  But a couple of generations ago, the place was something of a landmark, and one with a memorable name:  Lloyd's of Butte. I don't know much about the history of the

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08691529739021575052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1234210688410580216.post-40490866715681575832013-01-02T08:00:00.000-07:002019-12-20T14:41:00.545-07:00

For years now, I've kept an eye out for popular music lyrics that mention Montana. Some of the songs I've found really feel like true reflections of the state, while others (perhaps the majority) could be written about almost anyplace ... but choose to take advantage of the evocative "hook" provided by our state's name. A song that probably fits the latter category is "A Horse Called Music,"

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08691529739021575052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1234210688410580216.post-36820223076836321102013-01-01T08:00:00.000-07:002013-01-02T13:14:43.525-07:00

I know it's been a long time, but I think this blog should start up again ... at least for a while. And a sunrise photo seems like a good way to do that. I took this shot last summer near Antone Peak, at the far southern end of the Snowcrest Mountains, just above the Centennial Valley. It's a wonderful area, that (thankfully) very few people manage to visit.

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08691529739021575052noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1234210688410580216.post-15457797471010451782011-04-30T08:00:00.000-06:002013-01-02T09:54:50.223-07:00

One more post today about the Milwaukee Road, and its Montana passenger service.  All of Montana's transcontinental railroad routes heavily advertised the state as a summer vacation destination in the early twentieth century, evoking Old West images of cowboys and Indians, along with the more contemporary lure of Montana's great National Parks. The Milwaukee was at a definite disadvantage

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08691529739021575052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1234210688410580216.post-5147325513381212622011-04-29T08:00:00.000-06:002013-01-02T09:24:56.903-07:00

Yesterday's post noted that 2011 was the centennial year of the Olympian, a great Montana passenger train. The Olympian traveled the state for 36 years, but in 1947 the Milwaukee Road replaced it with a beautiful new streamliner called the Olympian Hiawatha. The orange-and-maroon train was noted for its modern equipment, created by the famed industrial designer Brooks Stevens. The Hiawatha's

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08691529739021575052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1234210688410580216.post-7850236733930459922011-04-28T08:00:00.000-06:002013-01-02T07:56:54.225-07:00

For much of the twentieth century, three of America's great transcontinental railroads traversed Montana east to west, and all three companies served the state with luxurious long-haul passenger trains.  The Empire Builder still operates today, the longest-lived and best-known of Montana's trains, but the state's most exotic and memorable passenger trains were operated by the Milwaukee

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08691529739021575052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1234210688410580216.post-46626819735035338102011-04-27T08:00:00.003-06:002012-03-11T18:38:37.973-06:00

In one of my early posts here, I mentioned that I was very fond of the work of the late CBS Television journalist Charles Kuralt ... and that Charles Kuralt was pretty fond of Montana. In part, that was certainly because Montana is where he would rendezvous with his long-time mistress, but Kuralt loved the state for other reasons, too. One of the reasons was fishing -- like so many people,

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08691529739021575052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1234210688410580216.post-72959602692718803132011-04-26T08:00:00.002-06:002012-01-22T07:38:43.959-07:00

There's no doubt that as a state, Montana is overrun with postcard-worthy views. I've always thought, though, that the very best of those scenes were of Lake McDonald, up in Glacier Park. Most postcard photos of Lake McDonald are shot from the Apgar area, looking down the full length of the lake at the impossibly-beautiful mountains that frame the opposite shore. But I like this closer view

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08691529739021575052noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1234210688410580216.post-66721905388271488102011-04-25T08:00:00.003-06:002012-01-21T12:55:31.448-07:00

I spent a winter in Missoula back in my college days, and while I was there I got to participate in an urban-design charette sponsored by the American Institute of Architects. We put together a 100-page report over the course of a single weekend, quite a challenge in the days before personal computers and digital cameras. It was all kinds of fun.The report definitely looks a little ragged by

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08691529739021575052noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1234210688410580216.post-73118629283153321222011-04-24T08:00:00.002-06:002013-01-02T13:15:13.679-07:00

The famed artist Maynard Dixon is best known for his paintings of the American Southwest, but his work was also influenced by a 1917 visit to northwestern Montana. Sponsored by the Great Northern Railway, Dixon's Montana trip included time in Glacier Park, as well as the Blackfeet Indian reservation nearby. In the years that followed Dixon translated his Montana memories into a number of

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08691529739021575052noreply@blogger.com3