Book: A Montana Journal

John Steinbeck famously called Montana “a great splash of grandeur,” and in A Montana Journal (Riverbend Publishing, $25), photographer Christopher Cauble captures that majesty with 36 eclectic images from around the state. Lily pads in Loon Lake, in Montana’s northwest corner; a red fox patrolling the lush grass north of the Crazy Mountains; cirrus clouds sprawling over a windmill on the Hi-Line; the snow-capped folds of the mighty Bitterroots buttressing our western border—this wide swath of Montana magnificence interweaves 144 lined pages, inspiring the nature lover to put pen to paper and let the grandeur take written form. Ideal as an ongoing travelogue for Montana vacationers, this sturdy and stylish journal can also be thrown into a backpack, set on a nightstand, or stashed in a vehicle for those moments when the alpenglow sweeps the Bridgers and the superlatives rush through your mind like snowmelt cascading from the high country.