Montana

Beartooth Pass, Montana, July 2016

I WAS IN MONTANA LAST MONTH. Another travel writing gig, and one that I was looking forward to quite a bit, as this part of the United States is mostly a mystery to me. Donnie, our guide, told us that "Big Sky Country" is just one of many slogans the state has used to attract tourists. Looking back at my photos, I certainly did shoot a lot of sky, but that's OK with me.

We started in Billings, then got in the car the next day and drove south to Red Lodge. There was a hike, a wander around town, a very excellent dinner and a drive up into the hills around the town as the sun went down, searching for a picturesque sunset. No sunset, but a lot of very eerie cows.

Montana, July 2016

The next day we were back in the car driving the Beartooth Highway through Wyoming and back up into Montana to Cooke City, a charming but slightly ragged little former mining town with a year-round population of eighty-five and several bars. I liked it there.

Another wander around town, then a wild off-road trip up into the mountains above Cooke City to where they once mined for gold. Suspicious as I am of mere lush scenery, I was grateful when Bob, our guide and driver, pointed out the piles of rusting machinery sitting in a mountain meadow. Finally, industrial detritus - something I know something about!

That night in Cooke City I ate bison, and hoped that no one would smell their cousin on my breath the next day.

Montana, July 2016

Somewhere along the way I even found time to do a quick portrait.

Next stop: Yellowstone.

Biker, Beartooth Highway, Montana, July 2016