Missouri River Country - Virtual Montana

Montana Day (4/06) and March Madness

February 20, 2019April 6, 2016 by Bert Carlstrom

What better way to celebrate 4/06 than by voting for your favorite Montana State Park?

MT March Madness Final Four

March 5, 2019April 3, 2016 by Bert Carlstrom

Montana March Madness Elite 8

March 5, 2019March 30, 2016 by Bert Carlstrom

The field is getting smaller, but with Ghost Towns, geologic anomalies, and National Wildlife Refuges still in the running, it is still anyone’s game. Vote for your favorite Montana public spaces below:

Montana March Madness Sweet Sixteen

March 5, 2019March 25, 2016 by Bert Carlstrom

What State Parks will emerge from the Montana March Madness Sweet Sixteen? You decide, vote below!

Minnie Two Shoes: A Montana Wit and Activist

March 5, 2019July 1, 2015 by Bert Carlstrom

Why is there not a book of Minnie Two Shoes columns? That question might make a bit more sense if you had some context. Minnie Two Shoes was born in Poplar, Montana, in 1950 as Minnie Eder. She worked as a publicist for the American Indian Movement, an advocacy group for Native Americans founded in … Read more

Maximilian of Wied and Karl Bodmer: Instagram like it’s 1833

March 5, 2019May 8, 2015 by Bert Carlstrom

One of the first tourists to Montana was a man named Maximillian of Wied. Or, if you want to be more specific, Prince Maximillian Alexander Phillip of Wied-Neuwied. Unlike the Lewis and Clark Expedition or the fur trappers that followed, Maximillian did not come to explore or make money, he came simply to look around. … Read more

11 Ways to Travel Through Montana Like My Dad

March 5, 2019December 5, 2014 by Bert Carlstrom

You, dear reader, will never have an opportunity to travel through Montana with my dad [name withheld because he doesn’t trust the internet]. Which is a shame, because it is one of the best ways of seeing the state. References like Names on the Faces of Montana, virtualmontana.com, this blog, and a good Montana Map … Read more

Charlie Russell: Painting the Frontier

March 5, 2019October 2, 2014 by Bert Carlstrom

One of my favorite Charlie Russell stories comes from an essay by Rick Newby called “Bookmen of the Montana Frontier:” “Early in the twentieth century, Montana folklore has it, a Helena couple visiting Paris stumbled upon Charlie Russell in the galleries of the Louvre. Russell greeted them warmly but begged them not to mention to … Read more

Montana Fall Roundup

March 5, 2019September 22, 2014 by Bert Carlstrom

Did you know that today is the first day of fall? Of course you do. Turns out, so do the people at Montana’s official tourism regions. Back in the old days, fall meant roundups. the big ranches would bring their cattle in from their summer pasture to winter them closer to home. Today, fall … Read more

Aboard the Empire Builder

March 5, 2019August 7, 2014 by Bert Carlstrom

The lounge car of the train, with its arching tinted windows, chrome inlays and sturdy vinyl seats evokes a mid-century glamour. Occasionally a conductor will stroll through, stomach straining the buttons on his vest, one thumb tucked into a vest pocket, importantly checking the big round face of the watch at his wrist, calling … Read more