Outside Bozeman

Thy pen is mightier than the sword. Join like-minded individuals at a letter-writing party, taking action with Dan Baileys and the Park County Environmental Council by using your voice for the Roadless Rule. More details here.

Montanans are fortunate to enjoy something increasingly rare across the American West: public access to our rivers and streams. Whether it’s the Gallatin or Madison rivers, the famed Missouri, the Big Hole or the Yellowstone, access is what creates experiences and opportunities for us on those rivers. For many, that access is a normal part of living in Montana. We rarely stop to think about the right to be on those waters, or the ability to get there.

Replacing monotonous highway hours with something you'll remember: shared playlists, phone-free miles, split driving, and the talks that come easier side by side. A long drive with your significant other can unfold in one of two ways. You spend six hours arguing over music, snacks, directions, and where and when to stop for coffee what what activities to do when we get there. Or you turn it into an adventure. The difference is mostly attitude.

From hopping on pop before sunrise to packing the freezer after a successful day afield, My First Hunt (Amazon, $15) takes young readers on a hunting adventure they’ll want to come back to again and again. Author Daniella Beckwith captures the excitement, anticipation, and small-but-significant moments that make a first hunt unforgettable.

In Water Lines: A Life on Marshes, Rivers, Seas, and in the Rain (Patagonia, $30), Riverhorse Nakadate writes about a life shaped by water in nearly every form. Through essays centered on fly fishing, surfing, travel, conservation, and time spent in wild places, Nakadate reflects on the way rivers, marshes, oceans, and rain can leave a lasting impression. This book is less about where he goes than what those places reveal along the way.

If you’re looking to dive headfirst into the fall spirit, This Haunted Land: Reckoning with Ghosts and the Stories That Shaped America (Torrey House Press, $25) should do the trick. Local author Betsy Gaines Quammen takes readers across the nation through ghost stories and haunting tales, starting with Montana. The book opens with Betsy’s own ghostly experience, told with a refreshing honesty about her fear and instinct to run, without the theatrics. This sets the tone for what follows.

A turkey-day alternative Thanksgiving harkens back to Indians forgiving Pilgrims over a feast of passenger pigeon and beans. Back then, ingredients were locally harvested and readily available. In this economy, though, if you can’t kill your own, it might just be tofurkey for you. As the cost of living continues to spike, Montanans are searching for budget hacks to preserve holiday traditions without paying through the nose.

Skip to main content On a remote and technical bike-packing adventure deep in the backcountry, the NestOut 2-Panel Solar Charger ($90) gave me a convenient way to charge up my phone and headlamp en route. Unfolded, the charger fit perfectly atop my seat-post bag, so I could charge while I rode, though the charge wasn’t as consistent as when I stopped and set it up in direct sunlight.

Doing the right thing can be a double-edged sword. I used to darn near ruin hunts trying to avoid littering—in focusing on where my spent shotgun shells landed, I lost track of where the birds went down. After losing a couple birds, I quickly realized that my priorities were off. The game is what’s most important: a clean kill, securing the downed bird, not wasting the meat. But the littering bothers me.

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