Long Sweeping Hwy 12 View - Near Garrison, Montana

 “An old cowboy once told me that memory rides a quiet horse, taking you to the tops of high hills with long sweeping views. Well, this quiet horse would be riding until the day I died, with a view so pretty it would always pain my heart.” - p 299, Sun Dance (Sam Keaton, Legends of Laramie) by Sigmund Brouwer

(Click here to read first-person bits about Garrison, Montana.) 

Going Places - East Missoula, Montana

“Montana, you go fifty-five you never get anywhere. When you do get someplace, it is North Dakota.”

-from The Tumbler, A Gabriel Du Pré Mystery by Peter Bowen (1945-2020), page 4

Diminished Visibility - Missoula, Montana

Visibility is down to 3 miles at the Missoula, Montana, airport, but I think it's even less as you head to the east side of town. Despite the unhealthy fug, we are thankful to not see flames on the mountains bordering town and continue to pray for communities with far greater fire-related concerns.

 

Westward Ho! - Missoula, Montana

These long, lovely days leading into summer provoke cogitation of road trips. 
What gorgeous sights can we drive to in these four (currently) extra hours of daylight?!

"...It's opener there
 in the wide open air...."

- from Oh, The Places You'll Go by Dr. Suess 

April Snow - East Missoula, Montana

April showers on the valley floor brought a dusting of snow on the mountain tops.

Driving Light Returns - Lolo, Montana

Oh, the simple joy of driving in strengthening morning light!

Highway Thoughts - Near Missoula, Montana

"Highway 287 ran through open spaces luminous in the sunshine.  
A sense of peace pervaded the plains, Vicky thought. 
The way the land dissolved into the sky always called her back to herself. She was different here...part of something larger than herself, part of the stories that had shaped her life...Time collapsed into the present...a circle encompassing the past and the future, not like the ribbon of asphalt shooting straight into the horizon."

 - from The Drowning Man by Margaret Coel, page 99

Further Down The Road - Bozeman, Montana

"Those roads provided breath-taking views. There's something special about an empty road going on and on and on to the horizon where the sun burns the world away into a dancing, shimmering heat haze that reflects the crystal blue sky, literally blurring the line between heaven and earth."

- Dave Gorman

More Like March - Missoula, Montana

Aah... snow-dusted mountaintops and early morning roadways (not shown here), brisk winds quickening your step, precipitation shifting any given moment between sleet and snow and rain - THIS is more like what March in Montana ought to look like! And also the reason why studded snow tyres are allowed right through until the end of May.

Storm Front - Near Drummond, Montana

"By early evening all the sky to the north had darkened and the spare terrain they trod had turned a neuter gray as far as the eye could see. They grouped in the road at the top of a rise and looked back. The storm front towered above them and the wind was cool on their sweating faces. They slumped bleary-eyed in their saddles and looked at one another. Shrouded in the black thunderheads the distant lightning glowed mutely like welding seen through foundry smoke. As if repairs were under way at some flawed place in the iron dark of the world.” - From 'All the Pretty Horses' by Cormac McCarthy

NorthBound, Shelby, Montana

vernal by joanna dibble
i hear the cranes again
riding the thermals upward
this warming morning
calling and circling, they
fall into the long v shape
an arrow swiftly northbound

Read more from joanna dibble at her Hello Poetry site.

Full Promise, Central Montana Rainbow

Reason # 41: Why I Love Montana Road Trips

Windy View, McDonald Pass, Helena, Montana

The wind was so strong at the top of McDonald Pass that I was still pushed about even leaning forward into it about 15-20 degrees. Good thing an admirable view was hard to miss and didn’t depend on me crafting the right angle.

The Story of the '64 Ford Falcon - Missoula to Texas

Hooray! The official Nash brothers story of the '64 Ford Falcon is officially available for viewing.

Carve out 10 minutes to enjoy - and have a couple tissues (or a shop rag) handy, as it's a tender family tale.

Video crafted into the wee hours by Tom K. Nash. (aka The Best Husband Ever)