Montanans - Please Join Me in Going Idle-Free

Idling cars drive me crazy. Over the past few years, I have noticed this happening more and more around Bozeman. It’s a year-round phenomenon, which I have spotted everywhere including places one wouldn't expect such as the parking lots at the Community Food Co-op and Crosscut Mountain Sports Center. Additionally, it’s not uncommon to see people sitting in their idling cars tapping on their phones before they drive off after a trip to the store, and you could make a game out of counting how many idling cars you spot on a cool morning in late fall as you commute to work by bike. 

The A-List Eats - Soft Serve Ice Cream

As a child in the 1970s and 1980s, my family maintained healthy eating habits. Vegetables from our vast garden, home-cooked meals, school lunch sandwiches made with whole wheat bread, and other wholesome foods were staples of our diet. TV dinners were out and an occasional glass of Coke with pizza or, my favorite, a soft serve ice cream cone, were rare treats.

Remedy for the Bozeman Blues: My New Haven Fantasy

A meandering piece exploring my boredom with Bozeman and my fantasy of escaping for a few years. My love of New Haven features prominently.

Read to the bottom before you call me crazy.

(You can buy this print and other New Haven illustrations by clicking here.)

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The Phenomena of Ugly Shoes

The “ugly shoes” phenomena is something I first noticed during my college days. It’s a three-part cycle that goes like this. First, I spot the hideous shoes. “Wow, those are ugly” is my immediate reaction. Next, I begin to see them more and more frequently, and soon they are ubiquitous. “Why are so many people buying these dreadful shoes?” I wonder. “You’ll never catch me in a pair.” Finally, over time, I come to want a pair myself. Over the years, my wardrobe has been filled with ugly shoes. Here are a few.

Ugg boots, five toe running shoes, Doc Martens, Dr. Scholl’s (Who remembers them?! I had a pair in middle school and they may have been my original trendy yet ugly shoes.), Crocs (I have a pair in pink), the list of ugly shoes goes on and on. What are your favorite ugly shoes? Share your story in the comment section of this post.

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Welcome Home Bingo - European Edition

Here's a fun game you can play when you return from your next trip to Europe. See how long it takes before you see or experience the following. Challenge your travel companions to see who can be the first to check off all of the items found on the list.

Do you have items to add to the list? If so, please share them in the comments section of this post.

Note: This list is based my experiences during numerous trips to Europe. I just returned from a trip to Croatia and Bosnia and many of the items found below are specific to the trip. I am by no means suggesting that this is how it is everywhere both home and abroad. And it is not my intention to pass judgement or to say that one way is better or worse than the other. These are just my observations. You may find different things during your travels and where you live.

Please take this game lightly as it is intended. Most importantly, get out and travel.

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The Stages of Deep Cold

I jotted down some ideas over the winter but a busy period at work and surprisingly good spring ski conditions have kept me busy until now. It's kind of strange to be posting about the cold when summer is only a few weeks away but here it is.   

2021-2022 Snow Stats

It's 2 degrees Fahrenheit outside as I write this and a faint death mist is falling from the sky. Temperatures have not been above single digits since Monday afternoon and it feels like "real" winter. But this is just a blip in a winter that has been warm, dry, and windy. Unless we have a killer March in terms of snowfall, this winter will not be one to remember.

Beyond the Obvious - My Favorite Backcountry Ski Spot Near Bozeman

This story has been floating around for a few years - a tale that runs through my mind on long approaches while backcountry skiing. I decided to get it down in writing and put it "out there." When I have time one day I'll refine it by adding sensory details, more thoughtful reflection, and all of the other writerly details. If only I were retired...

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My favorite place to backcountry ski close to Bozeman is a bit like Eastern Europe; a touch scrappy and rough-around-the-edges, but it rewards those who are willing to go beyond the obvious and explore deeper.

The Horrors of Biking in Snow

I’d always been skeptical about biking in winter, but with fat bikes popping up around Bozeman like balsamroot in June, curiosity got the best of me and I decided to give it a shot. Trying new activities has always been fun for me, so I took to winter biking with the same attitude. If nothing else, I’ll build rock-solid legs for mountain-biking season, I thought.

Beehive Basin Snow Measuring Stick

Since 2014, I have posted updates on snowpack levels at local ski areas. The readings are usually  taken as the Steenburgh Winter comes to an end. Data comes from each ski resort's snow report and once recorded in these pages, the posts become a good reference point for comparing snow levels each year. (Click here to see reports for each year.)

In addition to what is reported in the snow reports, I have a series of photos that also report on the snowpack. Over the years, I have found the wilderness boundary sign in Beehive Basin to be a great measuring stick. The photos include a snow-free photo for comparison. I will continue to add photos as I get them.

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WinCo Bozeman - Big Deal or Just Another Grocery Store?

In small mountain towns, little things like new grocery stores get people talking. When I moved to Jackson, Wyoming in 1999, the local Albertson’s was in the process of building a new store. They opened to much anticipation and the reaction was mixed. Some people complained that it was too big and too “fancy” while others marveled at its novel-for-the-time features such as a coffee shop and fireplace. A few months later, a new executive director moved from the Washington D.C. area to assume leadership of the organization I was working for. Several weeks after his arrival someone asked if he had been to the new Albertson’s. He looked at them blankly and when he realized they were serious he said, “It’s just a grocery store.” 

Although Bozeman is much bigger than Jackson, we’re still a small mountain town in many ways with the propensity to succumb to chatter about new grocery stores. I had never heard of the WinCo chain before they opened a store here. As with many things during this tumultuous period of growth in Bozeman, people had opinions about it. I didn’t follow the saga closely (And it was a saga – Bozeman Daily Chronicle links at the bottom of this post), and they opened their store in February. 

Being nosy and wanting to see what the fuss was all about, I finally got around to shopping there for the first time three weeks ago. Is WinCo a big deal or just another grocery store? Here’s what I found.

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