Montana, USA

GLACIER INT'L. PEACE PARK:
The white surveyor's obelisks were readily visible in the dense green forest that rose up from the shores of Waterton Lake, marking the 49th parallel dividing Canada and the United States. The cool breeze blowing off the water wasn't enough to cool my excitement at visiting the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park. [Read]

WEST YELLOWSTONE PARK: Beyond Winter Roads - Exploring the Gallatin and Targhee Natonal Forests.
The snow clung to the edge of the mountains with swirls and curls, sculptured by the never-ending wind at the top. It seemed so pure, so innocent, that it was difficult to believe avalanches
did occasionally occur. [READ]

YELLOWSTONE'S PARADE REST RANCH:
I stuck my left foot in the stirrup, grabbed the pommel and hoped for two things. First, that there was enough swing left in my body to pull myself, however ungracefully, into the saddle without assistance. [READ]

M O N T A N A T R A V E L P L A N N E R

Historical Note: To this day, the most provocative public symbol in the state of Montana is a set of numbers—3-7-77—whose meaning is a complete and utter mystery to everyone living there. For generations, the figures have been associated with the vaunted vigilantes who cleaned up the gold camps in 1864 and earned a place in history as great heroes. Folklore holds that the vigilantes used 3-7-77 as an ultimatum to banish malefactors whose presence was considered a danger to public order. The oldest, most popular interpretation of the numbers is that they represented an exact period of time—three hours, seven minutes, and seventy-seven seconds—that the vigilantes gave their targets to get out of town or face violent retribution.