Fall 2006

Features

  • A Sense of Place

    Ten years at O/B. Place is everything. In life and in writing, a sense of place is what fills the soul and enlivens the page. Bozeman is a place like no other, and because of this—or perhaps in spite of it—it has changed…
  • A Sense of Place

    A place called home. Place is everything. In life and in writing, a sense of place is what fills the soul and enlivens the page. Bozeman is a place like no other, and because of this—or perhaps in spite of it—it has…
  • Autumn Quarter

    There are only two times of year in Montana: bird season and all the rest.SeptemberSilence and an expanse of empty spaces. Isolated by the approaching sunrise, brilliant Venus stands alone above the eastern horizon, her…
  • Fishy Stories

    The secret of a good fishing story, I’ve learned, is not really about fish at all. Just like a good book, a lot depends on the telling of the story, and a lot depends on the characters. The following episodes were retold to…

Departments

  • Making Magic in the Wilderness

    Editor's note: the Three Rivers Montana treatment program is no longer in operation.Wilderness guide, teacher, medic, mentor, fitness coach, nutritionist, counselor, singer, performer, dancer, naturalist, spiritual advisor…
  • How Stella Got Her Groove Back

    A dog's rough day on the river. The early days of inducting my dog Stella into the pleasures of drift boating left me feeling like a dog abuser. Being from New Zealand, she had never seen a drift boat, much less been in…
  • A Poopy Problem

    Nobody cares for a foot full of poop. You know the story—you head to the park, kick off the flips for some barefoot grass-strolling, and your first frolicking leap comes down on a huge, steamin' pile of doggie delight. Not…
  • Hang Up and Drive

    We’ve noticed a bumper crop of bumper stickers out there lately. Here are some of our favorites: “Did You Move Here to Be in a Hurry?” “Fire Burns” “Raft Naked—It Adds Color to Your Cheeks” “My Child Is an Honor Student at…
  • Shep's Legacy

    In Fort Benton, Montana, there lies an unusual monument to the loyalty of man’s best friend. In 1936, a sheepherder fell ill and was taken to the hospital in Fort Benton, followed by his border collie, Shep. The master’s…
  • Sun Ranch Land Management

    Running along a nine-mile stretch of the Madison River, just below Quake Lake, the Sun Ranch spans just over 18,700 acres in a region known as the birthplace of wild trout management. The area continues to incubate resource…
  • New Incentives for Land Conservation

    Staying on the family farm just got a little bit easier, thanks to a new law recently passed by Congress. Until now, tax deductions on voluntary conservation easements carried significant restrictions, making the prospect…
  • Review: Ruffwear Hover Craft

    My border collie Nelly has been a frisbee connoisseur since she was a pup, and she gets attached to familiar, proven disks. It took a little while for her to accept the Hover Craft Interactive Flying Dog Disc by Ruff Wear,…
  • Fitness After Kids

    My son, Osker, was born in the dead of winter. For the first few weeks of his life, “staying fit” meant moving from the bed to the couch and nursing constantly. Rather quickly, too much so in fact, Osker grew, and I…
  • Proprioception

    Every year, more people engage in winter pursuits and many push themselves to perform “better than last year.” Inevitably, with increased or intensified participation, the number of sports-related injuries also increases.…
  • Bozeman vs. Missoula

    In honor of the November gridiron meeting between our beloved Bobcats and the hated Grizzlies, this season’s battle of college towns goes Montana-style. How will Missoula, the artsy hub of 70,000, dubbed by John Updike as “…
  • Eccentric Loading

    If you’ve seen a recent ski movie or tuned into the winter Olympics last February, you know that free-riding and freestyle have gone off the hook. What is so amazing about these winter athletes is not their aerial maneuvers…
  • Map: Granite Peak

    First Ascent Press’s latest offering from the vertical world is a detailed topographic map of Granite Peak with numerous route descriptions. The state’s highest peak, located in the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness, is an…
  • Rules of the Road

    The Gallatin Valley’s apparent cycling boom could be attributed to the Lance Armstrong frenzy or high gas prices, but most likely it is a combination of factors. In any case, Outside Bozeman readers are excited to see it…
  • Bridger Ski Foundation Annual Ski Swap

    Every year in New York, Filene’s Basement has a famous one-day sale where leftover designer wedding dresses, each worth thousands of dollars, go on sale for $249. As you can imagine, there is a long line outside and a…
  • Whirling Disease

    In the years that rainbow trout have repopulated the Madison River since the whirling disease die-off in the mid-1990s, Dick Vincent has noticed something very curious and troubling. Few of the Madison’s rainbows survive…
  • Codger Tours

    Early this past summer I had two small epiphanies:Epiphany One: Bozeman is a great place to live and my garden is very satisfying, but if I’d stuck it out as a federal bureaucrat, I could afford a nice garden in, say,…
  • More Than You Can Chew

    Sometimes the food chain doesn’t look quite right. You’ve probably seen a couple of ants with a beetle in tow, a spider with a grasshopper. “You bite off more than you can chew. You might be little but your eyes are big.”…
  • The Oil + Water Project

    Local kayakers Seth Warren and Tyler Bradt have paddled safely throughout numerous kayaking expeditions, including first descents in Africa and waterfalls in South America. But as their thirst for paddling adventure settles…
  • Black Out

    Yellowstone grizzlies are not your garden-variety grizzly. Because an unusual number of them go through a black-color phase, and because they are more ponderous and gargantuan than the government often gives them credit for…
  • A Moveable Feast

    Nordic skiing near the Park.“There’s no other place like this. I mean, where can you ever go knee-deep in powdery snow in November?” says Urban Sandel, a Swedish student at Minnesota State University. “I’d never miss such…
  • Element Film Festival

    Bozemanites are surrounded by big mountains, cold rivers, and vast valleys, but what many don’t know is that we’re also surrounded by creative folks who know how to tell great stories about these places we love to live in…
  • Review: Booty Call

    Surely you’ve been caught in the backcountry with foot and footwear issues, which is the last thing you need to contend with when trying to enjoy the outdoors. Getting properly fitted boots can help you overcome this. The…
  • How to Order Wine

    So you’ve decided to order a bottle of wine with your meal. Where to start? Have you ever seen a wine list 30 pages long? Unless you see something you’re familiar with, the possibilities are endless and you might not care…
  • Lightening the Load

    Bozeman, once a sleepy little enclave without a Gap or Home Depot, focused on a single flashing blue light in the winter months, has morphed into a bustling and bursting mountain metropolis. Despite low incomes and high…
  • By The Numbers

    94—billions of dollars generated annually by recreational activity in national forests, according to a 1995 Forest Service study19—billions of dollars generated annually by timber and mining in national forests, according…
  • A Bad Idea

    The worst experiences make for the best stories.The mountain lion dodged away as my headlamp stabbed at the darkness. Its muscular tawny form would be beautiful if the lion were not stalking us in the predawn hours as we…
  • Get to the Point

    Taking a stab at knife shopping.Buying a knife can be overwhelming—the choices in today’s market are immense. You can purchase a pocket knife for a couple dollars at any convenience store or evaluate several thousand $25…

Book Reviews

Columns

  • Sky Triangles

    In the West, triangles have a certain “Come and get it!” quality, as any hungry cowpoke at the end of a long day can tell you: the clang of the metal triangle—the dinner bell from the chuckwagon--was music to his stomach.…
  • The Cross-Eyed Stripper

    Late September through mid-November is my favorite season. The brown trout get their deep, darkened spawning colors, and become overly territorial and predatory. The old adage “big fish, big fly” is no more true than at…
  • Scat Tracks

    If you spend much time in the backcountry, you know that Mother Nature has a twisted sense of humor. You also realize that things don't always go as planned—can’t get a shot on the trophy bull, the trout aren't hungry, or…
Outside Bozeman Fall 2006

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