SPRING/SUMMER 2018
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Limited-edition photographs, cards, books, calendars, posters, workshops Glacier Natl. Park Visitor Centers West Glacier: Belton Depot Bigfork: The Sapphire Shoppe Kalispell: Flair Gi fts & Cards Whitefish: Loula's, MT Coffee Traders, Bookworks, Purple Pomegranate
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WELCOME to GO LOCAL!
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hank you for picking up this copy of our Spring/Summer 2018 Go Local Flathead Valley Guide. But more so, for patronizing the local business you’re standing in right now. Citizens for a Better Flathead is a community-minded non-profit organization committed to celebrating our local businesses and their success. Why Go Local? As Michael H. Shuman writes in his book Going Local, going local “means nurturing locally-owned businesses which use local resources sustainably, employ local workers at decent wages, and serve primarily local consumers… Control moves from the boardrooms of distant corporations and back into the community where it belongs.” Going local builds relationships and supports community members on a personal level. It’s the one-on-one connections and friendships we have with the business owner and their staff that creates the distinctive character of our valley. It enhances our self-image and enriches our sense of pride. Going local keeps more of our sales dollars in the valley. Locally-owned businesses recirculate
a greater percentage of revenue locally than do chain retailers. That revenue employs more of our friends and neighbors who are able to work closer to home. That revenue invests in other local businesses, creating a dynamic economy with expanding opportunities. That revenue supports our local non-profit organizations, events, and teams through donations – more than twice as much as big businesses contribute. Going local roots people to their community. With that sense of community ownership, you become more interested and involved in key development issues that shape our lives in the valley – environmentally, economically, and socially. You make a difference in our community by buying, playing, eating, and staying local whenever possible. We at Citizens hope this guide encourages you to patronize many of these businesses and take advantage of the abundance of activities available to you this spring and summer in the Flathead Valley. We wish you fun, memorable experiences this season. Go out! Go local! Enjoy yourself! Richard Turbiak Executive Director
JOIN THE GO LOCAL COMMUNITY Reach out to us to learn more! web: golocalflathead.org phone: 406.756.8993 email: golocal@golocalflathead.org Find us on Facebook and Instagram. We love hearing from you.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The Go Local Flathead Valley Guide is published twice a year by Citizens for a Better Flathead. This magazine wouldn’t happen without the smiles, creativity, strong dedication and hard work of staff members Allison Batch and Linda Jaquette. We want to warmly thank all or our volunteers for making this project possible through their love and support. We also want to thank the wonderful folks at Highline Design Company and photographer Mandy Mohler for making this issue sparkle.
Spring/Summer 2018
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CONTENTS
34 ON OUR COVER Jandy Cox, The New Sheriff In Town, page 28 Rocky Mountain Outfitter in Kalispell Flowers: Flathead Farmworks (April Vomfell) Photography: Mandy Mohler
If you are a locally owned business or writer and would like more information about how to be included in the next issue of Go Local Flathead Valley, give us a call at 406.756.8993, or email golocal@golocalflathead.org.
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Spring/Summer 2018
FEATURES 12
A FLIGHT FOR SORE EYES Float on with Todd Ware of Bigfork’s Air Therapy Aviation. BY CLARE MENZEL
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FILL UP YOUR SENSES Purple fields above the lake at Purple Mountain Lavender. BY MARY JO GARDNER
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THE NEW SHERIFF IN TOWN Changing hands at Rocky Mountain Outfitter. BY TERRY MEYERS
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SUMMER WITH A SPLASH Luxury lodging and river fun with Great Northern Whitewater Raft & Resort. BY ALLISON BATCH
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EDITORIALS 24 P.O.E.T.S. ON FLATHEAD LAKE Lessons in summer sailboat racing. BY JOAN VETTER EHRENBERG 34 CHIT-CHAT WITH A PURPOSE PechaKucha and the art of concise community presentations. BY ALLISON BATCH 46 LEND A HAND TO YOUR PUBLIC LANDS Restoring access to the wildest parts of our community. BY JOEY BULMAN 75 WHY LOCAL ENTREPRENEURS ARE THRIVING Q&A with Rose Mountain Floral. BY JANET WALSH
BUSINESS SPOTLIGHTS
LOCAL BUSINESS GUIDE
56 THE SAPPHIRE SHOPPE Uniquely Montanan, from fine jewelry to fly-fishing supplies. BY LINDA JAQUETTE 63 DIRT RICH COMPOST Alissa LaChance is leading the way in sustainable waste management for the Flathead Valley. BY AARON RABIN 93 ROCKFISH ROCK CLIMBING Rockfish brings more adventure to the valley with indoor bouldering and trips to outdoor crags. BY RICHARD TURBIAK
54 BIGFORK BUSINESS GUIDE
10 BUSINESS INDEX
62 COLUMBIA FALLS/WEST GLACIER BUSINESS GUIDE 69 KALISPELL BUSINESS GUIDE 88 LAKESIDE/SOMERS BUSINESS GUIDE 91 WHITEFISH BUSINESS GUIDE 104 CALENDAR OF FLATHEAD VALLEY EVENTS
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INDEX OF BUSINESSES
BUSINESS GUIDE
Freedom Bank (p.3)
Hockaday Museum of Art (p.81)
Park Side Credit Union (p.5)
John Ashley Fine Art (p.2)
Professional Therapy Associates (p.60)
Montana Modern Fine Art (p.85)
Kehoe’s Agate Shop (p.61)
KALISPELL
Noble Dance (p.79)
The Sapphire Shoppe (p.55)
RESTAURANTS & BARS
BIGFORK SHOPPING Bigfork Drug (p.61) Good Stuff Botanicals (p.16)
ACTIVITIES & ENTERTAINMENT Air Therapy Aviation (p.60) Base Camp Bigfork (p.59) Bigfork Village Market (p.60) Curative Yoga (p.58)
ARTS & CULTURE Bigfork Dance (p.59) Brett Thuma Gallery (p.61) Persimmon Gallery (p.58)
SERVICES Bigfork Brokers (p.55) Professional Therapy Associates (p.60) Valley Maintenance & Property Management (p.59) The Simple Chef Catering (p.58)
COLUMBIA FALLS/ WEST GLACIER RESTAURANTS & BARS Polebridge Mercantile (p.6) Uptown Hearth (p.67) Vaqueros (p.67)
SHOPPING Bad Rock Books (p.66) Montana House (p.66) Perfect Cuts Meats (p.67) Polebridge Mercantile (p.6) Rocky Mountain Nature Company (p.68)
ACCOMMODATIONS
Museum at Central School (p.81) Paint Metal and Mud (p.23)
Bonelli’s Bistro (p.73)
SERVICES
Casa Mexico (p.71)
Able Body Shop (p.70)
Ceres Bakery (p.87)
AirWorks Heating & Cooling Solutions (p.51)
Kalispell Brewing Co. (p.27) Tailing Loop Winery (p.83) Whitefish Handcrafted Spirits (p.17)
SHOPPING
SHOPPING Bookworks (p.92)
Crystal Winters (p.92) Good Seed Co. (p.95) Hart Jewelers (p.100)
Glacier Dermatology (p.107)
Imagination Station Toys (p.85)
Brix Bottleshop (p.79)
Healing Spirits Therapeutic Massage (p.83)
Nelson’s Hardware (p.103)
Evergreen Compounding Pharmacy (p.72)
Highline Design Co. (p.76)
Sage & Cedar (p.37)
Badass Babe (p.80)
First Choice Décor (p.74) Flair Boutique (p.4) Gold Rush Pawn (p.78) Imagination Station Toys (p.85) Kalispell Antiques (p.86) Kalispell Farmers’ Market (p.77) Kettle Care Organics (p.52) Montana Marie (p.106) Mountain Valley Foods (p.82) Nordic Allure (p.80) Plant Land Garden Center (p.85) Potting Studio (p.73) Powder Horn Trading Co. (p.74) Rocky Mountain Outfitter (p.77) Rose Mountain Floral (p.76) Sage & Cedar (p.37)
Kalispell Kreamery (p.43) Insty Prints (p.78) J2 Business Products (p.49) Loren’s Auto Repair (p.71) M and C Tire (p.74) Maranatha Cleaning (p.87) McGarvey, Heberling, Sullivan & Lacey, PC (p.70) Measure, Sampsel, Sullivan & O’Brien, PC (p.78) Montana Sky Networks (p.44) Park Side Credit Union (p.5) Photo Video Plus (p.80) Professional Therapy Associates (p.60) Trinity Lutheran School (p.84) WasteNot Project (p.38)
Sassafras (p.77)
Woodland Montessori School (p.72)
Southside Consignment & Antiques (p.32)
LAKESIDE/SOMERS
Reclusive Moose Cabins (p.65)
Withey’s Health Foods (p.73)
Beargrass Leather (p.89)
ACTIVITIES & ENTERTAINMENT
Remedies Lakeside (p.90)
Wheeler Jewelry (p.73)
Historic Downtown Kalispell (p.108)
ARTS & CULTURE 406 Woman Magazine (p.50)
Spring/Summer 2018
Zucca Marketplace Bistro (p.102)
Flathead Electric Co-op (p.49)
A Montana Home Orchard Project (p.85)
Wheaton’s Cycle (p.83)
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Piggyback BBQ (p.98)
Field Guide Designs (p.76)
Great Northern Whitewater Raft & Resort (p.43)
Dirt Rich Compost (p.65)
Fleur Bake Shop (p.95)
Copperleaf Chocolat & Voyageurs Booksellers (p.98)
Citizens for a Better Flathead (p.52)
Western Outdoor (p.86)
SERVICES
Canvas Kombucha (p.101)
Center for Native Plants (p.99)
Glaciers Mountain Resort (p.68)
Great Northern Whitewater Raft & Resort (p.43)
Amazing Crepes (p.96)
Calm Animal Care (p.79)
The Bookshelf (p.87)
Angel Theater at the LaSalle Grange (p.11)
RESTAURANTS & BARS
Arrants Outdoors (p.45)
Chalet at West Glacier (p.66)
ACTIVITIES & ENTERTAINMENT
WHITEFISH
Terrapin Farm (p.92) Third Street Market (p.97) Treasure Outpost Rock Shop (p.102)
ACCOMMODATIONS Bailey’s Bed ‘n Bale (p.97) Five Star Rentals (p.97)
ACTIVITIES & ENTERTAINMENT Montana Wilderness Association (p.99) RockFish Climbing & Fitness (p.92) Stumptown Art Studio (p.102) Stumptown Vintage Photos (p.101)
ARTS & CULTURE Whitefish Dance (p.59) Walking Man Frame Shop & Gallery (p.95)
RESTAURANTS & BARS
SERVICES
Somers Bay Café (p.89)
Great Northern Drones (p.22)
SHOPPING Purple Mountain Lavender (p.22)
SERVICES Lower Valley Woodworking (p.89)
Buckskin Clothier (p.71)
Professional Therapy Associates (p.60)
Conrad Mansion Museum (p.81)
Remedies Lakeside (p.90)
Go Local Flathead Valley
Northwind Shirt Co. (p.96)
Park Side Credit Union (p.5) Pixelated Photobooth Gigs (p.99) Professional Therapy Associates (p.60) Whitefish Massage Therapy (p.97)
At the LaSalle Grange
an intimate setting for selected performances and events plays • concerts • classic movies • recording services • private events • gift shop
5095 HWY 2 W. COLUMBIA FALLS, MT 59912
Valley 11 Spring/Summer 2018 Go Local Flathead WWW.ANGELTHEATER.COM 406 - 892 - 9033
BUSINESS FEATURE
From 100 feet above ground, Linda Graf saw two red foxes. They were running nearly shoulder-to-shoulder together across a field; one just a pace ahead of the other. BY CLARE MENZEL
Graf watched their tails catch in the wind behind them. They didn’t break stride, and they didn’t notice her and Todd Ware flying just above in Ware’s Apollo “Monsoon,” a 700-pound hang glider-like plane. Ware pushed on the control bar, and they floated past the meadow. He directed the craft north from the Ferndale Airfield, which sits just east of Bigfork. The Swan River came into view. “To see the wiggles and squiggles from that perspective – it was amazing,” Graf, who is a real estate agent in Bigfork, said. “It felt so surreal, seeing all these places I’d hiked and kayaked from above.” They cruised on, passing over a flock of white-winged birds and then along the rise of the Swan Mountains, near the Jewel Basin Hiking Area. Graf had called her friends that morning to tell them she would be flying with Air Therapy Aviation, Ware’s business. Her friends lived in the 12
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flight path, and they came out to wave as she coasted above. That June morning had been a difficult one for Graf. “I was going through a transition,” she said. “But when we flew up, everything fell away. Nothing that I was dealing with in my personal life was on my mind at all. Not even for a second.” What she mostly recalls about that day, she said, is how bright and green Bigfork was, and how the Flathead Valley was bursting into summer. Later that afternoon, she updated her Facebook page with a status about her flight. The serene, wide-open airspace above Lower Valley had become, as she wrote, her “new happy place.” WARE REMEMBERS THE FOXES, TOO. He remembers Graf giggling. “She seemed enchanted,” he recalled. “He’s just so present in the moment,” said Graf, who has
flown twice with Ware and plans to do so again this summer. “I have to admit, I have a little fear of heights. But I trusted him. I totally trusted him.” Years ago, in 1998, Ware had been struggling with a transition of his own. “I was having somewhat of a midlife crisis,” he said. “It was from a bad breakup and I wasn’t recovering. I wanted to do something fun.” His cousin Ryan Mack, who lived in Kauai, Hawaii, ran a hang-glider operation. He told Ware that being in the sky was like forcing your mind completely into the present moment. Nothing, not even the persistent Photo by Elizabeth Vandeberg
memories of an ex-partner, could invade. “I was immediately into it,” Ware said. “I immediately felt better. That’s why I call my business ‘air therapy.’” Ware’s father was a pilot and taught his son the basics of flying in Southeastern California’s Mojave Desert. When Ware was still young, his parents relocated to the Rocky Mountains. Over the next decade, they rotated through a few small towns before settling in Bigfork. By then, Ware had left home and trained to become a licensed massage therapist at the California Institute of the Natural Healing Arts. He opened his own practice in Spring/Summer 2018
FLYING HIS WEIGHT-
SHIFT CONTROL TRIKE “is the closest you will ever get to flying a dragon” – Todd Ware.
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“
It’s beautiful: You feel the wind on your face and you can smell the fields
FLYING A CLIENT over the beautiful Flathead Valley.
and the pine trees when you go low.”
Beverly Hills, and also worked at a Marriott Flagship Spa. About 10 years ago, Ware moved back to Northwest Montana to help his father manage the property near Flathead Lake. He first opened up a massage private practice in Bigfork. Then in 2010, he earned his flight instructor certification and got his aircraft, which he describes as “the closest you will ever get to flying on a dragon.” 14
Spring/Summer 2018
Riding in this open-cockpit, 100horsepower aircraft is a “full body experience,” Ware said. “It’s beautiful: You feel the wind on your face and you can smell the fields and the pine trees when you go low.” “It had worked so well for me as therapy,” he continued, “that, from the very beginning, I had a thought that this would be good for veterans, for guys coming home with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.” Through Air
Go Local Flathead Valley
Aviation Therapy, he offers a 34 percent discount for veterans because, as his website says, “Flying is healing. The sky reaches out and touches you.” Local veterans were his first repeat customers. SINCE OPENING SHOP IN 2015, the business has grown consistently, Ware says. He completes some 250 flights a season, spring through fall, with a capacity to operate up to eight flights a day. Flight sessions, which he calls lessons, run for approximately 30 minutes. Ware pilots between
20 and 1,500 feet above the ground, at speeds up to 90 mph, and usually lets customers take hold of the control bar at some point during the flight. A lot of people tell their friends about
land, they have such a sense of overcoming their fears, and that turns into a real peacefulness.” Elizabeth Vandeberg, a Bigforkbased web developer, said she was
many dots and lakes there are,” she said. “Seeing the area in relation to Glacier National Park and the rest of Northwest Montana, you see how small we really are.”
“honestly intimidated and had no interest in going up.” But she knew Ware personally, and after seeing him fly over town so many times, she decided to try it. He made her feel calm and safe, she said. Ware is an internationally recognized pilot, having competed in the 2015 Dubai World Air Games for the United States. At press time, he was ranked 12th in the world in his aircraft category – a credential, he noted, that puts people like Vandeberg at ease. “It was a beautiful day; the sun was shining. I will say, the most impressive thing, besides the initial takeoff, was the feeling in your stomach of elevating up,” she said. “We were flying over a field, and there were geese flying below us. It was amazing, just being able to get that low to the ground and feel like you’re soaring with the birds.” She reveled in the perspective gained from this new vantage point. “You see how much water is in the area – you don’t really realize how
Vandeberg was surprised about how much she enjoyed flying. She felt like the experience had prompted her to “go with the flow and find calm.” But, until she watched footage from the trip, she hadn’t realized she had been grinning the entire time. “It’s a feeling of joy,” she said. “You get back down on the ground and you’re like, when can I go again?”
TODD WARE looking down from his Special Light Sport Aircraft, the “Monsoon” SLSA, by Apollo Aircraft.
the experience. “The word-of-mouth in the Flathead is wonderful,” Ware said. Many of his first-time customers have also seen the aircraft from the ground. Rick Ward, a retiree who lives in East Many Lakes, first spotted it from The Raven at Woods Bay. He waved from his docked pontoon boat, and immediately set his mind to getting up there with Ware. During a 20-year-long sales career, Ward often traveled on commercial airlines. But even the feeling of a small passenger plane doesn’t compare to the Apollo Monsoon, he said. “When you’re up there in the open air, in the open cockpit you have that, ‘I’m a bird’ feeling,” Ward said. “It’s a different experience than a single-engine plane or a jet. It’s slower, lower, and you’re able to see everything around you – everything. You know how clear the water is here. From the plane, you’re able to see fish.” He encouraged his wife Linda to fly with Air Therapy Aviation too. She was hesitant, but afterward, she couldn’t stop talking about the flight. Ware often flies with folks who dislike heights. He said that some of his best trips have been with customers who are the most apprehensive or afraid. “They’re the most scared taxiing, but once we take off, that turns into euphoria,” he said. “By the time they Photos courtesy of Air Therapy Aviation
For more information about flying with Air Therapy Aviation, visit airtherapyaviation.org.
Spring/Summer 2018
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Clare Menzel is a Montana transplant originally hailing from the East Coast. She’s in the process of starting her own business, a West Glacier pick-up and drop-off washand-fold laundry service called Going to the Suds.
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Spring/Summer 2018
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BUSINESS FEATURE
BY MARY JO GARDNER
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PURPLE MOUNTAIN LAVENDER OWNER, Deb Davis.
O
ne never knows when a passion will be discovered. Deb Davis shares the journey she took to find hers. “We moved to Lakeside and decided to grow something in a section of our 40 acres." With the help and support of her husband, Purple Mountain Lavender evolved and was established in 2004 in Lakeside above beautiful Flathead Lake. Deb grew up in Ohio and moved to West Virginia, Louisiana, and then settled in Montana with her husband Gregg, who is a professor at FVCC. She taught grades kindergarten through eighth for 29 years at area schools including West Valley in Kalispell and Lakeside Elementary. Deb has also been a fitness instructor and personal trainer at The Summit Medical Fitness Center. She currently teaches Tai Chi classes and is a wellness coach in the Journey to Wellness Pro-
Photos by Mandy Mohler from Field Guide Designs
gram, which she finds rewarding. Deb enjoys cross-country skiing in the winter and hiking and kayaking in the summer with her husband and friends. DEB AND GREGG ended up choosing lavender for the mountain top farm for a couple of reasons. It is a drought-resistant plant. (They don’t have an irrigation system so they hand-water.) It’s renowned for its hardiness, ease of growing, and attracting wonderful seasonal visitors such as butterflies, bees, and praying mantis. It not only has a vivid color and fragrance to create a beautiful bouquet, but is also used in lotions, soaps, perfumes, and for culinary purposes. Over 1,100 plants in 30 varieties grow at the farm, with the majority of varieties being true lavender, or Lavandula angustifolia. While lavender is a hardy plant, it comes with its share of challenges. Plants
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are not grown from seeds, but instead are purchased as 3”6” plants from professional nurseries and must be suited to our climate zone. Lavender farmers across the country are currently dealing with a disease called phytophthora, which is a root rot. Once in the soil, it is fatal to lavender plants. The plants must also be protected from furry admirers like deer, rabbits, voles, and gophers. Deb’s lavender is usually ready by July 4th depending on the severity of the winter, spring rains, summer heat, and rainfall. Friends, family, and lavender enthusiasts help cut, bundle, and hang the lavender in the barn to dry. If you are interested in learning and working with the harvest process, the farm is always looking for volunteers! Purple Mountain Lavender is a year-round business. Four weeks before the first frost, the plants need to be cut back. Wintertime means tending to the dried bundles and producing lavender products. “I spend a lot of the winter
bottling, packaging, creating, and making new products with the help of a couple of my special friends, Rhonda and Violet,” Deb explains. Lavender is known as a calming and relaxing herb, and Deb fills her barn with de-stressing products like eye pillows and bath sachets. She recently developed a lavender cocoa mix. Most of Purple Mountain Lavender’s business comes from word of mouth and repeat customers. As a teacher, Deb emphasizes “hands-on” learning and demonstrates that by being a family-owned business where she, her husband, and friends do the planting, harvesting, and production of lavender products using their flowers and essential oil distilled on the farm. SEA OF PURPLE with views of Flathead Lake makes for one of the prettiest vistas in the valley. Below: Purple Mountain Lavender in bloom.
Purple Mountain Lavender also offers workshops and classes during the summer months: Cooking with Lavender workshops create the experience of using culinary lavender in everything from cookies, to seasonings used in salad dressings, chicken and fish. A local ice cream shop makes a seasonal Lavender Honey ice cream in the summer using Purple Mountain Lavender. Infused syrups can also be made using culinary lavender and added to a variety of beverages. Personal Care workshops teach how to make and use products including all-natural body lotion and
Attend workshops at the farm to learn more about cooking with lavender, making lavender products, wreaths, and lavender ideas for the home.
hand sanitizer. Other classes include Making Your Own Lavender Wreath, lavender ideas For the Home, and demonstrations on Distilling Lavender Essential Oil. A variety of lavender products are offered in the Barn Store: dried lavender bundles, seasonal fresh cut lavender, lavender lotion bars, lavender sachets, lavender pillows, culinary lavender, lavender bath tea, and lavender calm roll-on oil. An apiary is soon planned for the farm since lavender makes a delicious honey. Purple Mountain Lavender products are also available from their website. You’ll find Purple Mountain Lavender at the Huck Days Festival in Swan Lake on August 11th from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. A new event for this season is “Fine Dining with Lavender,” a multi-course dinner prepared by a chef who will use their culinary lavender in each entrée and pair it with the appropriate wine and beer. It’s scheduled for July 24th. Special occasions such as bridal parties and family reunions at the farm can be arranged. Photographers and artists are welcome. Call for an appointment. The farm also sched-
ules tours and talks during the weekends in July from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm. These are free of charge but reservations are required, so call or text ahead to make sure Deb is available. Visitors are welcome to come, relax, and enjoy Purple Mountain Lavender and its beautiful lavender field and spectacular views of Flathead Lake. Fill up your senses with the beauty and fragrance of lavender. Find more about Purple Mountain Lavender at purplemountainlavendermontana.com, or by calling 406.212.5626. You can also subscribe to their email list to be the first to know when the lavender harvest is ready and receive updates on workshops and events.
Spring/Summer 2018
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mary Jo Gardner is a fifth-generation Flathead Valley resident, and serves on the Board of Directors for Citizens for a Better Flathead.
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EDITORIAL
WITH WIND IN THE SAILS, the sun sets on another perfect day in Somers.
P.O.E.T.S. ON FLATHEAD LAKE Teach them to long for the vast and endless sea. BY JOAN VETTER EHRENBERG
A
fter just moving to Montana in 1991, my brother invited me to go to a barbecue at North Flathead Yacht Club (NFYC) in Somers on Flathead Lake. He ski raced on Big Mountain with the same crew who sailboat raced out of Somers. I was fortunate to meet Jim Kelley, the owner and captain of the J29 A-Fleet racing sailboat “Rumrunner,” and his appraiser colleague Ted Ehrenberg over the fire pit. I would become crew on Jim’s boat and soon after Ted and I started dating. A few years later, Ted asked me to marry him. Sadly, both Ted and Jim have passed on, but their calm, cool spirit is always with me – as my roots in 24
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Montana and the love of my life are embedded in sailing. I had never really raced before, or for that matter held the tiller for very long. (Sail Tip: the tiller is attached to the rudder, which is in the water, and the tiller – and whoever has it – drives the boat.) I grew up with the joys of sailing small sailboats with my family on Long Island. Once I joined Jim’s crew, every Friday night we would head down to Somers to The Yacht Club (NFYC) for the P.O.E.T.S. race series. I don’t want to say what P.O.E.T.S. stands for, but I can tell you it has nothing to do with poetry. Honestly though, sailing can be poetry in motion along with Photos by Mandy Mohler from Field Guide Designs
a lesson in teamwork. Sailboat racing is a great way to clear away the stress of the work week combined with a nice following wind, beautiful sunsets on Flathead Lake over Juniper Bay, and the intensity of the race, followed by the camaraderie with all of the other crew and captains at the after-race fire pit while we wait for results. There were several fleets designated by their handicap that would relate to their theoretical boat speed: A, B, C, and D fleet and the Thistle
fleet. A Thistle is a one-design, lowcut wooden boat, with two very skilled nimble crew members. Thistles are often guided by some of the sharper skippers in the fleet and generally serve as the training boat for the up and coming young racers. The J24 sailboats had some steady crew members that had raced on the lake for over 30 years. At one point there were so many J24s they had their own fleet. All combined there could often
KURT AND KATHY HAFFERMAN taking in the calm of the day and the beauty of the setting sun.
be about 35 boats on the water, all waiting for the sun to set behind the mountains over the fish hatchery in Juniper Bay and that consistent evening thermal. For the A-Fleet, things got interesting when Jim Kelley started winning back in the 90s. Suddenly, there were new sails and skippers coming in all the way from Seattle to keep things competitive. But Jim started winning and kept winning. It was that combination of coolness and synergy between captain and steady crew. A GOOD CREW, a clean start, seamless tacks, a fluid jibe, and smooth take downs all can come together for sweet sailboat racing and a firstplace across the finish line. But often, that would not be the case. The race just might not go all that smoothly. In high winds, equipment would become stressed and would just simply break. And there we were trying to rig together a solution. In most other fleets there would not be collisions that would cause equipment to break, but in the Montana Cup, it was competitive. The Montana Cup is the premiere northwest sailing race with boats from Washington, Idaho, and Canada, held over the first weekend in August with 30-50 boats participating. Coming around the mark is where the majority of incidents would occur. This is when all boats round a buoy, known as a mark, and change tack. A spinnaker is usually set at the first mark – those are the great big triangular colorful sails set for downwind. Sometimes the spinnaker would go up smoothly. But every now and then it would “hourglass” and get stuck, giving the crew heartburn. Just imagine several boats merging to round a large buoy. There could be quite a bit of yelling. “Starboard!” “Room at the mark!” “Coming around the mark!” All of us crew
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A DAY AT SEA with the energy and howl of the wind, splash of the lake, chatter of the crew, and occasional margarita...
were on fire, silent, perched, and ready to perform our jobs. And yes, at times the protest flag would fly. At the next mark, the spinnaker would come down; another massive flurry of energy with the largest sail on the boat flying freely into our arms and a fierce hand-over-hand scramble to take her in. Ted and I were fortunate to race on Jim’s boat until our daughter was born in 1998. And over the last few years, I’ve started back crewing again on Jim’s newer boat, the “Limerick,” a Shock 35. (Sail Tip: a J29 is a 29-foot sailboat manufactured by J/Boats, as is the Shock 35 – a 35-foot sailboat – manufactured by Shock.) One of the keys for Captain Kelley and his winning formula was retaining a reliable crew – crew that showed up every week who learned and knew their jobs. Jim kept it cool and everyone else on the boat obliged. There was never a lot of chatter, no yelling 26
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except when extremely urgent, maybe a little small talk down wind, and no “clucking,” as fellow crew-member Ed Maul would say. For me, this is the essence of a winning team in any arena and I saw it played out weekly. Jim set the tone, as our captain. Of course, there where tense moments coming around the mark, disputes over who had rights – that’s racing! But so much of winning is showing up and being consistent. Know your job and do your job. We were lucky over the years. Ted, of course, was a no fluff guy and consistently handled jibes and flying the shoot without a fuss. After the horn would blow as we crossed the finish line, we always finished the race with Jimmy Buffett’s “Margaritaville” on the stereo, some Coronas with limes, of course, and occasionally a margarita or two. That may have helped our team spirit as well.
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If you would like to experience the poetry of sailing on Flathead Lake, Dayton Yacht Harbor offers sailing school and sailboat rentals (daytonyachtharbor.com, 406.849.5423). Flathead Lake Sailing and Charters offers sailing trips out of Flathead Lake Lodge in Bigfork (flatheadlakesailing. com, 406.837.5569). ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Joan Vetter Ehrenberg moved to Whitefish in 1991 and worked in Hotel and Resort Marketing and Sales for many years. After taking some time off, she just started her own company, JVE Campaigns, and is a Guest Teacher at Muldown Elementary.
Photo by Mandy Mohler from Field Guide Designs
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BUSINESS FEATURE
ALLEN ‘QUICKGRIDDLE’, JANDY COX AND JENNY MONTAGUE INSIDE RMO.
THE NEW SHERIFF IN TOWN From one legend to another. BY TERRY MEYERS
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was sitting in the loft of Rocky Mountain Outfitter (RMO) the other day talking to Don Scharfe about his future and the future of his store after 42 years on the job. They call the loft “the library.” It’s a cozy little space filled with books, papers, table and stools – a space donated to Glacier Mountaineering Society, an example of the many community contributions Don and his wife, Colleen, have made over four decades. Pleasant banter along with some serious conversation drifted up from the main floor through the hanging kayPhotos by Mandy Mohler from Field Guide Designs
aks, carabiners, and climbing harnesses. It reminded me of what a fun atmosphere this store always has! When I asked Don about the camaraderie, he said he “sets a fun and friendly pace” because his customers and employees are family. Don operates by the Golden Rule. He donates to local nature and environmental causes, and will continue to do so after he retires from RMO. A serious concern of his is climate change, which can mean smokier hiking seasons like summer and fall of 2017, and snow-scarce winters. He reflects that the main challenges during his career in Spring/Summer 2018
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retail were responsibility to the families working for him, and management of inventory. (Customers won’t buy if the store doesn’t stock what they want.) I wondered how Don would sustain his close relationships with people during “retirement.” He will stay on the board of the Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation, put in quality time at RMO, and maintain his ties to the environmental community. He also has some dynamite trips planned, so I’m expecting to hear about those when I run into him at Montana Coffee Traders or in the shop. Every year Don and his wife Colleen, together with their son and daughter-in30
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law, Kyle and Karen, travel together. Scheduled for this August is Greenland’s 150-mile Arctic Circle Trail! Next year could be Scotland Highlands, a rugged trip of 250 miles. Don has always been generous about sharing his knowledge and expertise. Want to plan a hiking trip? Talk to Don and Colleen. JOHN ANDREAS “JANDY” COX has been passionate about climbing from an early age. Growing up with busy government-worker parents in Washington, D.C., he was sent to climbing summer camp to keep him out of trouble. He loved it and later rode his bike to climbing areas in
JANDY COX REACHING FOR NEW HEIGHTS...
ing community. It was a perfect fit for both Jandy and RMO. Jandy gained some additional retail and business experience on his own, and briefly even had a climbing guide service called Vertical Ventures, before returning to RMO for good. He met his wife Denise, who grew up here, and they went climbing on their first date. They now have two sons – Fynn, age 14; and Gus, age 11 – and live near Foy’s Lake. Jandy has always had a good relationship with Don, and he remembers, as a relatively new employee at age 19, Don’s advice to him before leaving for a long spring ski trip in the Alps: “Treat the store as if you own it.” He has been doing that ever since, but it’s finally become official – Jandy will be the new owner of the outdoor shop as Don retires.
Maryland and Virginia. His Austrian mother often took him to the Alps to visit grandparents and ski with family and friends. He fudged his age and began working in outfitting stores at 14 and a half, then became such a successful bike courier that he could afford to buy a bus and travel around the country, climbing every rock possible. In the 80s at the Kookanusa Krank he met Don Scharfe and the local climb-
JANDY KNOWS the “incredible and positive influence” climbing had on his life and wanted to make sure local kids “had a gateway to wholesome outdoor activities.” The boulder park at Lawrence Park is his answer to that hope and his success story. You might not know this about Jandy, but he also swims when he can get away. He and a buddy have swum all the long lakes in Glacier Park and elsewhere. They pull a dry bag behind them with their clothes and shoes, then run back to the truck after swimming. Jandy is the perfect successor to Don. Don says he has “always connected with Jandy.” As Jandy takes over the store, there will be no big change – except, perhaps, for REI
coming to town. As it always has, RMO will maintain its “must visit when in town” status. Need to buy tickets for a community event? RMO sells them. Not sure how to volunteer for a cause? RMO knows about it. Want to support a downtown initiative? RMO is in the middle of it. None of that will change. Jandy is excited and optimistic about the future of the store and the area. Like Don, he is incredibly positive about the future of downtown Kalispell. Vibrant is a word they both use. Don says the new businesses have “depth, traction, teeth. Service-oriented people want to shop there because of friendly, well-informed staff.” Jandy says, “The community supports our business just as we support the community.” Both say their biggest reward is interacting with wonderful folks who stop in the shop. You’ve heard the phrase “livin’ the dream.” Well, Don has lived the dream of being self-employed in the recreation industry he loves. He is handing the baton to Jandy, but he’s not going to stop “racing.” He’ll be part-time at RMO. He’ll continue to ski, backpack, scramble, and take hiking trips to exotic places. Jandy will mind the store and be passionate about climbing. In short, RMO will remain rock solid. Visit Rocky Mountain Outfitter at 135 S. Main Street in Kalispell, open Monday through Friday 9:30 am to 6:00 pm, and Saturday from 9:00 am to 5:30 pm. Find them online at rockymountainoutfitter.com, or call 406.752.2446.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Terry Meyers has loved living in the Flathead since 1982. He enjoys adventures with his standard poodle, Bella, leading the way.
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EDITORIAL
HOSTED BY HIGHLINE DESIGN, THE LOCAL PECHAKUCHA GROUP has just wrapped up its first full year of events. Top right: Elma Giavasis from Highline Design Co. Bottom left: Zach George from Workaday Design. Right: Sarah Brooke Bell.
CHIT-CHAT WITH A PURPOSE
PechaKucha is bringing the art of concise community presentations to Kalispell. BY ALLISON BATCH
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hit-chat. We’re used to having this kind of inconsequential conversation when we run into an acquaintance or in the checkout line at the grocery store. “How’s your day going?” “How about this weather?” “Any big weekend plans?” This type of small talk actually serves a purpose: to help us feel connected to other people and happier as the social creatures we are. PechaKucha, meaning “chit-chat” in Japanese, is taking this concept of casual chatter to a whole new level. Described as “the art of concise presentations,” PechaKucha Nights (PKN) use a specific format for the talks given during their events. Each speaker gets 20 slides for 20 seconds each, for a total of six minutes and forty seconds. The slides are set to automatically advance and can’t be reversed. This 20x20 format forces presenters to be short, sweet, and to the point. This unconventional style delivers a lot of information to the audience very quickly and compactly – and crowds have responded with resounding praise. What started as a one-time event in Tokyo, Japan, has spread to over 1,000 cities across the world. Architects Astrid Klein and Mark Dytham invented the format and hosted the first PechaKucha Night in 2003 as a way to share ideas and netPhotos by Mandy Mohler from Field Guide Designs
work with other architects. Eventually, the idea began to spread to other places and other fields. In each different city that hosts a PKN, a local organizer chooses the topics and keeps the events relevant to that community. Here in Kalispell, the local PechaKucha group has just wrapped up its first full year of events. As part of the informal “handshake agreement” to use the PKN name, each city must host at least four events per year. PechaKucha Night Kalispell held its fourth event in April of 2018 with the theme Art & Design in the Flathead – bringing the event back to its creative roots. Kalispell PKN organizer Ben Oblas explains how they choose the theme for each event. “We can choose any topic; there are no parameters around that, which is sometimes sort of a
struggle. What we’ve realized is that keeping [the subject] pretty broad seems to work best. Then we can find people who want to speak on that topic and give them the freedom to tie it in however they see fit.” Ben is currently working as a landscape architect, and worked as a cabinetmaker for 15 years before that.
ries of growing up in Montana and being connected to the natural landscape. “Magic, Mystery, and Lore in the Flathead Valley” had a historical focus on the people and events that shaped our community. “Farm to Table” explored local farms and our relationship with food. But really, the theme is just a jump-
“Each speaker gets 20 slides for 20 seconds each, for a total of six minutes and forty seconds. The slides are set to automatically advance and can’t be reversed.” (It’s important to PechaKucha that the local organizers have a regular day job and they run the event “only for the inspiration, love, and fun of it.”) He was first introduced to PKN while living in Ellensburg, Washington when he was asked to speak at one of the local events there. Once he moved to Kalispell, he knew he wanted to bring something different to the community. “I thought [PechaKucha] would be a cool way to get into the community and meet people, and do something new.” A small, fully volunteer team helps Ben put together the local PKN events. Zana Faulkner with Whitefish Credit Union has assisted with logistics from the start. George and Elma Giavasis with Highline Design do all of the promotion to get the word out. A few speakers from past events have also joined the crew: Jacob Thomas, Executive Director for the Museum at Central School; April Vomfell, owner of Flathead Farmworks; and Heather Estrada, the director of the Agricultural Program at Flathead Valley Community College. The first three PechaKucha events in Kalispell had distinctly local themes. “Big Sky, Big Land” told sto-
ing off point. “You’re going to hear so many different perspectives on the same theme; the topic’s not too important,” Ben explains. “The interesting part about it is you take something different from each speaker.” And the beauty lies in the flexibility the speakers are given. “Whether or not you think you’ll enjoy the topic or the subject that someone’s speaking on, it’s just good to hear people being passionate about whatever they’re passionate about. I think that’s really the takeaway.” He adds, “So far they’ve all been great. I haven’t seen a bad one.” The 20x20 format certainly lends itself to speakers of all comfort and experience levels. The presenters have the visual aid of the slides, and the limited time frame keeps people from being long-winded. “It forces you to get to the nut of what you’re talking about, which is what makes it appealing,” says Ben. “Especially when you’re watching from an audience, you get a lot of ideas and new information in a quick amount of time, and it makes it more interesting than sitting in a long lecture or something.” The speaking portion of the event is just one small part of PechaKucha
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KRISTY ‘KRUSTY’ OVERMAN brings the crowd to laughter during her presentation at PechaKucha Vol. 4: Art & Design in the Flathead Valley.
– the spur to get your creativity and interest going. Once you’ve heard from the speakers, the event includes built-in breaks to allow the audience and speakers to mingle and share ideas. Ben describes, “It’s really a community engagement format. The [presentations] just keep things moving. The idea is that, once you’ve engaged this way, then if you want to learn more you go and talk to the person who spoke.” THE ART & DESIGN PKN IN APRIL was the biggest event yet – the studio at Highline Design (where the last two events have been held) was packed to the brim, and they had the greatest number of presentations thus far at nine different speakers. From an oil painter to a costume designer, from an art therapist to a tattoo artist, each speaker brought their own fresh perspective to the topic, detailing their artistic process and sharing their creations. It was a refreshing and inspiring event in a town that seems to be igniting with new energy and creative pursuits every day. While Ben and the other organizers of PechaKucha Night Kalispell definitely want to keep the event going, the future is wide open. “The idea is to keep traveling around the community, to reach out and connect with different people and places that have different crowds. We’re not thinking 36
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of [the event] as having a home; we hope to keep moving around to different venues.” It will stay in Kalispell, however. “That’s the base of our branch. Anyone could start [a PechaKucha Night] anywhere else in the valley if they want to make it happen.” The 20x20 format even works for smaller gatherings, say, in a living room. “It doesn’t necessarily need to be an organized community event. It’s just a good way for people to get together.” The next PechaKucha Night will be hosted at Montana Modern Fine Art (127 S. Main St, Kalispell) on July 19th. To learn more about PechaKucha Night Kalispell or to watch past presentations, visit their website at www.pechakucha.org/cities/kalispell. If you are interested in volunteering, speaking, or know of a possible venue for future events, contact Ben Oblas at kalispellpk@gmail.com. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Allison Batch is the Sustainability Programs Coordinator at Citizens for a Better Flathead. A Minnesota native, she came to Montana in 2011 and, after a couple moves around the state, has been happily settled in Kalispell since 2015.
Photos by Mandy Mohler from Field Guide Designs
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BUSINESS FEATURE
From luxurious lodging to wild river adventures, Great Northern Whitewater Raft & Resort provides everything you need for a one-ofa-kind Montana experience. BY ALLISON BATCH Photos courtesy of Great Northern Whitewater Raft & Resort
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J BYRON BEERS
Just a mile outside of Glacier National Park, a bright red caboose emerges from pines and cottonwoods. The sight spurs visitors to stop and see what this place is all about. The answer is, “A great time!” according to Rebecca Jorgenson, Director of Operations at Great Northern Resort. “We want everyone to be having a great time at Great Northern, and we have pretty much something for everyone.”
a group of friends “ We’re and family that love what we do and want to share what we have with others who visit the area.”
LEE BEERS
CATHI BEERS
The red caboose is a delightful place to start. The train car is a genuine antique from the same railroad from which the resort gets its name. The Great Northern Railway helped establish Glacier National Park and brought early visitors to the area. The restored and refurbished caboose now houses the Railway Café, a great spot to grab an espresso or bite to eat on your way to the park. (Or a happy hour drink on your way back!) While the caboose draws first-time visitors, the café is just one piece of the puzzle for this family-run resort. Great Northern offers a “complete Montana vacation experience,” from adventure trips to lodging. Brothers Lee and Byron Beers and their wives Sandi and Cathi took over the resort in 2016. The four have been learning and expanding the business ever since. After their first summer, the Beers knew they had to divide and conquer. “We have a wedding venue, a rafting business, lodging, and a small café all in one,” Cathi explains. “We’ve learned that each of us has a knack for each of the bits that need attention.” Cathi is in charge of the wedding venue, as well as the front desk and advertising. Her husband Byron manages the rafting and fishing trips, having worked as a raft guide himself in the ‘90s. Lee runs the café and lodge, and Sandi handles the financials. Rebecca, the only year-round employee, helps Cathi with reservations and promotion. Photos on this page by Mandy Mohler from Field Guide Designs
SANDI BEERS
PAST THE RED CABOOSE and through the front door, Great Northern Whitewater Raft & Resort has been welcoming visitors since 1977.
and it’s going to be a bumpier and more exciting ride.” She adds, “The best thing is that, if your family is split on who’s feeling adventurous, you can send your teenage kids in the inflatable kayak and the parents can go on the larger raft. So everyone can go on the same trip and have different levels of excitement.” If you prefer a calmer ride, the resort also offers scenic raft trips – Rebecca’s personal favorite. “You’re
West Glacier has always been a special place for the Beers family. Lee and Sandi moved to the area 20 years ago, wanting to start fresh away from their small hometown in New Hampshire. Byron and Cathi came to visit them often and dreamt of moving west, but it was hard to move to a small town without employment. When the opportunity arose, all four jumped at the chance to own Great Northern Resort. The business combined activities they loved with their dream of running a small business in a tight community. “Our families owned a raft that we used every summer on the Middle Fork [of the Flathead River],” Cathi tells me. “We could only dream of owing a business that incorporated fun and rafting for a living!” WHITEWATER RAFTING IS THE CORNERSTONE of the business. Great Northern was built in 1977, a year after the Flathead River received the Wild and Scenic designation. Thanks to this protection, the river has remained clear of dams and development – and a whole lot of fun to raft down. Great Northern offers rafting trips for all levels of excitement and experience. Different boat sizes allow whitewater rafters to customize their adventure. Rebecca explains, “A smaller boat will react to the water more significantly [than a larger raft]. The waves and hits will feel a lot bigger, Photos courtesy of Great Northern Whitewater Raft & Resort
on genuinely one of the most beautiful rivers you’ll ever float.” The boat passes over deep pools where you can see 40 feet straight down to the bottom, and through box canyons surrounded by steep rock cliffs. Plus, the guide does the paddling for you. “It’s a great chance to do bird watching. I’ve seen moose, elk, and bears. You can swim and skip rocks. It’s a really nice time on the river.” You can even enjoy a full gourmet meal, cooked for you by your raft guide, on the banks of Middle Fork. Great Northern has a long-time partnership with local chef Meg Lindberg, owner of Earth Angel Organics. Meg packs every meal by hand before the trip – anything from premium steaks to fresh vegetables straight from her farm – and it all gets grilled up riverside. A delectable dessert is the cherry on top, then the guides pack everything up and Spring/Summer 2018
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get you back on the river. The entire set up fits under the guide’s seat on the boat. Guided fly fishing trips are another way to experience the magic of the Middle Fork. Great Northern’s guides have been fishing this river for years, and even beginners usually get a few bites. “This really is world class fishing – our rivers are clear and pristine with amazing trout,” Rebecca illustrates. And their guides are always happy to be on the river. “They often go right back out and keep fishing and floating beyond dark!” she laughs. For local boaters, Great Northern offers Whitewater Skills Camp to teach river safety and rescue techniques, valuable skills in an area where river recreation is part of the community’s DNA. No matter what type of trip you choose, “our guests can expect a lot of fun and conversation!” Cathi says. “Our guides are all passionate about the area and want to share everything they know.” “No one’s here on accident,” Rebecca adds. “The people who live here really admire the area and want to celebrate it with others.” OFF RIVER, Great Northern provides many land-based amenities as well. There are two styles of lodging available for guests who want to stay minutes outside of Glacier National Park. Dotting the pond are Swissstyle chalets with full kitchens, private bedrooms, and fireplaces. A few hundred feet away from the chalet is a brand new 14-room lodge that opened in 2017. Owner Lee Beers designed and built, almost singlehandedly, the new lodge over one winter. Mirroring the Swiss-style architecture found in Glacier National Park, Lee handcrafted the lodge using local wood for the custom-made archways, balconies, and doors. 42
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ALL SMILES after an exciting river run with Great Northern Whitewater Rafting & Resort Co.
The lawn includes fire pits, grills, a sand volleyball pit, horseshoes, and other yard games. Wraparound decks with lounge chairs allow guests to soak in views of the area. The rooms have air conditioning and WiFi – rare amenities in West Glacier. Guests can rent bicycles to ride into the park or grab ice cream from the village restaurant. During the summer are “Fridays Out Front,” a weekly event featuring live music on the porch outside of the Railway Café. Guests enjoy local pizza, craft beer, and signature cocktails, and there’s fresh squeezed lemonade and root beer on tap for the kids. “It’s a chance for everyone to gather after a long day of adventure, relax and enjoy the deck, or play games on the lawn and let the kids dance around,” says Rebecca. “It’s a great garden party every week!” Community and family are essential to the Beers, and it’s evident in how they run their business. As a small, family-run resort, they offer
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a personalized level of service for guests to make their stay as comfortable as possible. “We’re a company of employees that are considered family. We have celebrations together, we help each other, and we truly care about one another,” explains Cathi. “We aren’t just a business, churning people in and out. We’re a group of friends and family that love what we do and want to share what we have with others who visit the area.” For more information on Great Northern Whitewater Raft & Resort, visit www.greatnorthernresort.com, or call 406.387.5340. Or, pull over at the red caboose at 12127 Highway 2 East in West Glacier – someone will be happy to show you around. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Allison Batch is the Sustainability Programs Coordinator at Citizens for a Better Flathead.
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EDITORIAL
LEND A HAND TO YOUR PUBLIC LANDS
After the intense fire season in 2017, local trails groups need your help more than ever to restore access to the wildest parts of our community. BY JOEY BULMAN
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hen the trails we use to navigate the wild are in danger, we need to lend a hand to their recovery. Though the open air and crisp vegetation is loved by many, when our access to these lands are threatened it can be hard knowing where to start. Often, we need a little assistance turning our passion for the spirit of the wild into action.
When it comes to the beautiful and unkempt Montana backcountry, local non-profit Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation (BMWF) fills in the gaps. From laboriously rewarding trail work to passionate artist residencies, The BMWF’s main goal is to connect Americans with their wilderness heritage in one of the world’s most spectacular places – the Bob Marshall
Wilderness Complex. BMWF brings in the volunteer hands needed to keep the trails we cherish in working order. Montana’s 2017 fire season was heavy enough to be deemed the largest since 1910. Over 1.4 million acres were burned, landing the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex’s 3,200 miles of trails the number one spot on the US Forest Service’s priori-
DEEP IN THE BOB MARSHALL WILDERNESS the Chinese Wall averages a 1,000ft in height and stretches unbroken for a dozen miles. Photo by Mandy Mohler from Field Guide Designs 46
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ty list for trail work. This prioritization, though necessary, won’t do much more than (hopefully) inspire selfless citizens like yourself to pack up, head out, and give back by taking part in the ultimate recovery process. The truth is that the shadow of the US Forest Service’s underfunded nature has been looming since BMWF’s start 22 years ago, when a group of concerned citizens noticed trails in disrepair or disappearing all together. Since then, maintaining this necessary part of the human spirit has been a daunting but rewarding task for the Foundation. Recognizing the importance of increased funding is simple, but collecting the money to support the backcountry is nearly impossi- TRAIL MAINTENANCE VOLUNTEERS hard at work in the Bob Marshall ble. In 2016, Congress issued a mandate com- Wilderness. Photo courtesy of Bob Marshall Wilderness Association. manding the agency to “increase trail maintebeled the support as “essential, every year.” In 2017, The Bob nance by volunteers by 100 percent within five years.” So saw 336 volunteers pass through the Complex – a 10 percent far, the BMWF can’t financially push their trail work past increase from the previous year. its 40-crew limit. “[People] have a huge support for public lands, but heartThis year, sign-ups for the Field Season 2018 trips went felt support isn’t necessarily being felt as fiscal support,” said live on March 1st. These trail “adventures” – also commonly Jessica Shaw, BMWF’s Outreach Coordinator who pushes known as trail “vacations” – vary in difficulty and do not for grassroots advocacy to support her cause. She also larequire experience. Whether you’re a novice or an expert
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VOLUNTEERING IS A GREAT WAY TO HELP GIVE BACK. For more information on how to sign up and volunteer your time with either the BMWF or MWA, go to www.bmwf.org/volunteer2018 and www.wildmontana.org.
with cross-cut saws, axes, pulaskis, shovels, and loppers, the Bob Marshall field trips will create an opportunity for you. A complete list of excursion dates can be found at The Bob’s website bmwf.org/volunteer2018. The Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation isn’t the only
“Montana’s 2017 fire season was heavy enough to be deemed the largest since 1910.” group through which to donate your time to these public lands. The Montana Wilderness Association offers trail maintenance trips in National Forests and Wilderness Areas across the entire state of Montana. According to the Montana Wilderness Association, while 30% of Montana’s land is public, just 3.7 % of those lands are labeled capital-W “Wilderness,” referring to significantly unmodified lands that are officially protected by the Wilderness Act of 1964 (upon which Wilderness is defined much more poetically as “... an area where earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man 48
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himself is a visitor who does not remain.”). The MWA is embarking on 11 different trail maintenance trips this year in hopes of maintaining that sentiment, and the spots are quickly filling up. Like the BMWF, MWA is offering a wide array of excursions varying in difficulty, with the first trips taking off in early May and the latest lasting into September. Trips are labeled anywhere from “easy” to “very strenuous” but there’s good news for those who wouldn’t say physical labor is necessarily their strong suit. MWA is also looking for camp cooks (meals are planned, ingredients are shopped for, and food is provided on every trip) and volunteer photographers who are ready to take their craft a little further into the backcountry. For more about volunteering with Montana Wilderness Association, visit wildmontana.org. Whatever your idea of a good time might be, consider for a moment the state of our public lands and what you might be able to do to help. Take a hike and lend a hand. Your trails will thank you. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Joey Bulman is a full-time student and writer originally from California who is making his mark on the Flathead Valley.
Photo courtesy of Bob Marshall Wilderness Association
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FLATHEAD VALLEY BUSINESS GUIDE RESTAURANTS & BARS SHOPPING ACCOMMODATIONS ACTIVITIES & ENTERTAINMENT ARTS & CULTURE SERVICES
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BIGFORK Air Therapy Aviation Base Camp Bigfork Bigfork Brokers Bigfork Dance Bigfork Drug Bigfork Village Market Brett Thuma Gallery Curative Yoga Good Stuff Botanicals Kehoe’s Agate Shop Persimmon Gallery Professional Therapy Associates The Sapphire Shoppe The Simple Chef Catering Valley Maintenance & Property Management
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BUSINESS GUIDE
BIGFORK
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BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT
MONTANA MADE
From fine jewelry to fly-fishing supplies, the Grahams have cultivated their shops to be as uniquely Montanan as they are. BY LINDA JAQUETTE
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urry and Janet Graham first met while attending Columbia Falls High School. Murry’s family owned a dairy farm on LaSalle near what is now Glacier International Airport. Janet’s family lived in West Glacier. After they were married, the Grahams worked in West Glacier during the summer. Janet worked in Apgar Village, and Murry helped to build the KOA campground. They found they both enjoyed the tourist industry. They liked the fact that they were working with happy people from all over the world. Located in the small town of Hungry Horse on the way to Glacier National Park, Rocky Mountain Nature Company had its beginnings in the
HOMEGROWN GEMS Top left: A Montana agate cut by Murry. Top right: A Montana Yogo sapphire necklace. Bottom: The Grahams’ second shop, The Sapphire Shoppe, on Electric Avenue in Bigfork.
with Janet about the possibility of acquiring it. They decided the location was a good place for a summer business and bought it. As craftsman builders and artisans who love to work with rocks, both Murry and Janet spent their vacations and free time building the rock wall that is the front of the store. Each rock was hand-picked and placed. The beautiful large interior beams were
Mining for the Grahams is usually a family affair, with everyone including the grandkids competing to find the first or the largest gem. late 1980s as an old car wash. When Murry saw that the property was for sale he thought about it and talked 56
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cut from timber left after the North Fork’s Red Bench fire in the late 1980s. Working part-time, the building
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was finally finished and opened with a small inventory in 1991. It was well received. With each successful season, they’ve changed the inside of the shop. Each year brings new products, new interests, and new customers. Janet and Murry’s favorite part of the business is the people. They have a wonderful repeat clientele and they look forward to them stopping in year after year. The shop is filled with Montana Yogo sapphires and other Montana sapphires, jewelry, rocks, and fossils. You may also find home decor, artwork, clothing, and books. The fly-fishing corner has a great selection of flies that work well for our rivers and streams. Out behind the store, you can experience the thrill of panning for your own sapphires, gold, and garnets. You will find the store has something for everyone of every age.
Murry hand-crafts most of the jewelry sold in the shop. The rocks and the gems combined with Murry’s artistic skill as a jeweler prove to be store’s most successful items; especially the Montana Yogo Sapphires. The Graham’s love of Yogos began long ago when one day a goldsmith came in and consigned some jewelry set with Montana Yogo Sapphires. Originally the Grahams purchased Yogos from a mine located between Great Falls and Lewistown, Montana. They later sought out, found, and bought property to work their own mine in the same vicinity. Mining for the Grahams is usually a family affair, with everyone including the grandkids competing to find the first or the largest gem. Yogos are found only in Yogo Gulch, part of the Little Belt Mountains in central Montana. They are considered to be one of the finest sapphires in the world and are one of the only gemstones that are not enhanced with heat. Yogos are known for their natural cornflower blue color, clarity, and brilliance. About two percent of Yogos will be purple – the rarest of the rare. For more information about Montana Yogos, Janet recommends the book: Yogo, The Great American Sapphire by Stephen M. Voynick. Around fall of 2010, the opportunity presented itself for the Grahams to acquire a vacant storefront in Bigfork. Located on Electric Avenue, this is now the Sapphire Shoppe. While Murry primarily runs Rocky Mountain Nature Company, The Sapphire Shoppe is Janet’s passion. A unique, eclectic shop with an inviting, old-fashioned, village atmosphere, The Sapphire Shoppe is filled with Montana treasures as well as those from around the world. Like Rocky Mountain Nature Company, the Sapphire Shoppe has grown consistently. Janet‘s artful eye and passion for gemstone jewelry, rock sculpture, crystals, and artwork are
HUNTING FOR YOGOS Top left: Janet and Murry’s grandkids love getting their own bucket full of ore to wash. Top right: Looking down into the Grahams’ Yogo mine. Yogos are found in the grey/gray ore layer. Bottom left: A Yogo found in a chunk of ore. Bottom right: Yogos still rough after being washed from the ore. The Grahams measure and weigh the gems before deciding what shape to facet.
Photos courtesy of The Sapphire Shoppe
evident. You may come in to look, but you’ll be tempted to buy. Stop in at either shop this summer. Janet, Murry, and the rest of the Grahams look forward to meeting you. Both stores are open mid-May through September.
The Sapphire Shoppe is located at 570 Electric Ave., Suite A, in Bigfork, and can be reached at 406.387.2595.
Find Rocky Mountain Nature Company at 111 Hungry Horse Blvd., Hungry Horse. Call 406.387.4079 or visit www.rockymountainnatureco.com. Spring/Summer 2018
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Linda Jaquette serves as the Development Assistant at Citizens for a Better Flathead. While she wears many hats, Go Local is her favorite.
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Brett Thuma Gallery Daybreak at Many Glacier, Oil
Downtown Bigfork (406) 837- 4604 brettthumagallery.com
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COLUMBIA FALLS/ WEST GLACIER Angel Theater at the LaSalle Grange Bad Rock Books Chalet at West Glacier Dirt Rich Compost Freedom Bank Glaciers Mountain Resort Great Northern Whitewater Raft & Resort Montana House Park Side Credit Union Perfect Cuts Polebridge Mercantile Professional Therapy Associates Reclusive Moose Cabins Rocky Mountain Nature Company Uptown Hearth Vaqueros
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BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT
ALISSA LACHANCE Owner of DirtRich Food Scrap Pickup and Compost Product.
CLOSING THE LOOP Leading the way in sustainable waste management for the Flathead Valley, Dirt Rich Compost in Columbia Falls is turning our trash into treasure – one banana peel at a time. BY AARON RABIN
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lissa LaChance, self-proclaimed “Soil-Nerd” and sustainability enthusiast, is on a mission to make composting for the Flathead Valley a win-win. At Dirt Rich Compost, she sees their service as a double-whammy for customers – an affordable and environmentally productive outlet for waste disposal. “Dirt Rich puts a high emphasis on keeping things local and not diverting to a landfill, for waste sustainability,” says Alissa, owner and operator of Dirt Rich Compost, LLC. What happens when your garbage can gets dumped at the landfill? What becomes of all those miscellaneous clumps of detritus hugging the inner lining of your garbage bags? Well, nothing much. Since landfills are oxygen-free environments, food waste tends to become mummified instead of breaking down. And here’s a fact: on average, food scraps account Photo by Mandy Mohler from Field Guide Designs
for 35% of your waste stream. That’s a sizable percentage. Given that your trash (more than likely, at least partly comprised of these food scraps), isn’t going anywhere substantial, it’s more than a bit relieving that Alissa and her fellow workers are tirelessly cultivating a new option to use your garbage in both healthy and efficient ways – in the form of compost.
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Dirt Rich, as Alissa puts it, is “...a two-aspect company. It’s a lot about diverting and collecting materials that are actually resources, instead of making them waste. And instead of making them waste, we make them resources while also providing a local and sustainable outlet.” Dirt Rich picks up food waste from residential customers and restaurants, including some high-volume clients like the Glacier National Park conces- BLACK GOLD Left: Alissa checks the temperature on a compost pile to make sure it’s cooking sions and Whitefish properly. Right: Finished compost product from Dirt Rich. Schools’ cafeterias. They also offer a drop-off area for yard waste – leaves, grass membering what it was like when she first launched into clippings, manure, etc. – at their compost site. Dirt Rich the business. “I started getting into the biology of compost, uses a thermal composting process to make sure all of the and also really started getting technical about how to promaterials break down completely and to kill off any weeds vide a sustainable outlet for compost too.” She even has a or pathogens. The finished compost product is sold to local microscope to help her get more scientific in examining farms and gardens as a high-quality soil amendment. the biology behind the composting cycle. Dirt Rich has been doing our valley good for the past Now, three years and quite a few happy customers later, three years, which is as long as Alissa has been back from Alissa makes it a point to ever emphasize just how importstudying in Missoula and traveling. According to her, being ant the green and cyclical process of local composting is. away was just not enough for her to settle with not coming “Learning to manage waste streams and take responsibility back. “I couldn’t find any other ski towns or outdoor-orifor what we use and buy is major,” she said. ented options like this one,” she remarked. “I didn’t realize Despite the name, Dirt Rich is just about the cleanest how important the community [of Columbia Falls] was to way for us here in this valley to reduce our waste and turn me until I had left for a while.” This realization eventually it into something useful. led her back to the valley and, with a friend’s help, to start up Dirt Rich. Dirt Rich offers residential and commercial curbside Yet, despite the fluidity of how this wonderful business pickup for food waste throughout the Flathead, and also of sustainability came about, this was not her initial idea. sells finished compost product straight from their piles or Alissa had wanted to go into farming for a while, more by delivery. Learn more at www.dirtrichcompost.com, or specifically working with food and food alone. by calling 406.212.7535. Look for their new burlap bags of But after having pursued the option for some time she compost at farmers’ markets this summer! came to another realization: that farming just wasn’t cutting it for her. “It wasn’t really the whole picture for me.” ABOUT THE AUTHOR Thus began the search for something more. When her Originally from New York, Aaron Rabin is an aspiring business partner suggested both the name and the idea writer who’s currently enrolled in a boarding school here in Kalispell. He plans to attend college at behind Dirt Rich, Alissa was psyched. She had found the American University in the fall. missing piece of the puzzle. She really started getting into compost after that. “I learned on the job,” she remarks, re64
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Photos courtesy of Dirt Rich Compost
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BUSINESS GUIDE
KALISPELL 406 Woman Magazine
Hockaday Museum of Art
A Montana Home Orchard Project
Imagination Station Toys
Able Body Shop AirWorks Heating and Cooling Solutions Arrants Outdoors Badass Babe Bonelli’s Bistro Brix Bottleshop Buckskin Clothier Calm Animal Care Casa Mexico Ceres Bakery Citizens for a Better Flathead Conrad Mansion Museum Evergreen Compounding Pharmacy Field Guide Designs Flair Boutique Flathead Electric Co-op Glacier Dermatology Gold Rush Pawn Healing Spirits Therapeutic Massage Highline Design Company Historic Downtown Kalispell
Insty Prints
Plant Land Garden Center Potting Studio Powder Horn Trading Co.
J2 Business Products
Professional Therapy Associates
John Ashley Fine Art Kalispell Antiques Kalispell Brewing Co.
Rocky Mountain Outfitter
Kalispell Farmers Market
Rose Mountain Floral
Kalispell Kreamery
Sage & Cedar
Kettle Care Organics
Sassafras/First Choice Décor
Loren’s Auto Repair M and C Tire Maranatha Cleaning McGarvey, Heberling, Sullivan, & Lacey, P.C. Measure, Sampsel, Sullivan, & O’Brien, P.C.
Southside Consignment & Antiques Tailing Loop Winery The Bookshelf Trinity Lutheran School WasteNot Project
Montana Marie
Western Outdoor
Montana Modern Fine Art
Wheaton’s Cycle
Montana Sky Networks Mountain Valley Foods Museum at Central School Noble Dance
Wheeler Jewelry Whitefish Handcrafted Spirits Withey’s Health Foods Woodland Montessori School
Nordic Allure Park Side Credit Union Paint Metal and Mud Photo Video Plus
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EDITORIAL
FROM THEIR PERSPECTIVE:
WHY LOCAL ENTREPRENEURS ARE THRIVING
Q&A
WITH LOCAL BUSINESS OWNERS
Janet Walsh is the owner of Rose Mountain Floral, a local florist and gift shop on Main Street in Kalispell.
What does your business offer?
Rose Mountain Floral is a natureinspired, premier floral boutique on Main Street. We offer an eclectic mix of decorative items, beautiful gifts, a new baby corner, chocolates (for survival), along with lush blooming and green plants and succulents in decorative containers. We have a cooler with a wide variety of flowers and shades of color, featuring fieldto-vase (supporting local growers), the great favorites we all love, and the new popular stems (think ranunculus, anemone, and dahlia). One of our missions is to give back to the community. One way we have done so is by featuring a floral design on our web page dedicated to Sparrow’s Nest of Northwest Montana, offering a 12% donation for every sale.
range from the flower aficionado, the desperate partner needing flowers in time for a birthday or anniversary, the thoughtful friend who’s always sending flowers to cheer someone up or celebrate their special day, the sympathy customer who wants to honor a lifetime with a beautiful arrangement, and the star-struck lover – when more roses are better. Nothing is more powerful than receiving flowers with that special message! Our first-time customers just come in to smell the flowers and explore our eclectic offerings. The Flathead area is growing in the destination wedding business and we are seeing that business increase every year with our brides locally and from all over the country. Why did you recently choose to move to Main Street?
When we took over Rose Mountain Floral, it was located on 3rd Street East, and we loved the little shop. One little boy walked in and shouted, “This is the smallest shop in the world!” When the landlord decided to renovate our space and turn it into offices, it was a real challenge to find a space to relocate. It was the 11th hour when finally, 344 Main Street came on the radar. It worked out to be the best choice we could have made.
Who are your customers?
Our customers are the best. It’s a real joy to create designs that they are thrilled to have and send. Customers
From your perspective, what does it take to succeed as an entrepreneur in the Flathead?
In the short time we have been a shop owner in Kalispell, the tried and true adage of offering the best customer service and best product consistently helps to build a strong customer base and loyalty to your brand. We focus on sourcing new customers by word of mouth, our website, Facebook, and making donations to local non-profits. Getting involved in the community and participating in special events offered to the downtown shops is a great way to promote brand recognition and visibility. The Art Walk, Shop Small Saturday, and The Chocolate Affair are all wonderful events. Supporting surrounding shops with referrals helps build a community of strong businesses. How have you seen the Flathead Valley change in your time doing business here?
We moved here when Cabela’s was just ready to have their grand opening. Since that time the area has attracted more retail than I had imagined. Main Street was in transition with buildings in need of repair and for sale. Now they are all renovated with thriving businesses. The future of Kalispell looks bright!
Rose Mountain Floral: 344 S. Main Street, Kalispell www.rosemountainfloral.com 406-752-7673
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[OUR]MO LOCALLY OWNED
ADVENTURE ESSENTIALS
EXPERT OUTDOOR ADVICE
COMMUNITY STEWARDS
135 MAIN STREET KALISPELL, MT (406) 752-2446 WWW.ROCKYMOUNTAINOUTFITTER.COM
May 5th - October 13th
Annual Indoor Harvest Holiday Market October 20th at the Fairgrounds
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Tuesday - Friday 10 am - 5 pm Saturday 10 am - 4 pm
May 16th - October 16th Tours 10:00 am to 4:00 pm
Valid through 4/30/19 Valid through 4/30/19
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48 Main St. Corner of First & Main Downstairs from Western Outdoors Kalispell • MT 406-257-2800 Open 7 Days a Week
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LAKESIDE/ SOMERS Beargrass Leather Lower Valley Woodworking Professional Therapy Associates Purple Mountain Lavender Remedies Lakeside Somers Bay CafĂŠ
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WHITEFISH Amazing Crepes
Sage & Cedar
Bailey’s Bed ‘n Bale
Stumptown Art Studio
Bookworks
Stumptown Vintage Photos
Canvas Kombucha Center for Native Plants Copperleaf Chocolat & Voyageurs Booksellers Crystal Winters Five Star Rentals Fleur Bake Shop Good Seed Co.
Terrapin Farm Third Street Market Treasure Outpost Rock Shop Walking Man Frame Shop & Gallery Whitefish Dance
Great Northern Drones
Whitefish Massage Therapy
Hart Jewelers
Zucca Marketplace Bistro
Imagination Station Toys Montana Wilderness Association Nelson’s Hardware Northwind Shirt Co. Park Side Credit Union Piggyback BBQ Pixelated Photobooth Gigs Professional Therapy Associates RockFish Climbing & Fitness
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BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT
REACHING NEW HEIGHTS A CLIMBER pushes her limits on the bouldering wall.
RockFish Climbing Gym in Whitefish is bringing this once intimidating sport within reach. BY RICHARD TURBIAK
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n 2016, Belinda Kreitman saw a need and a dream. After working for 16 years at Next Level Fitness at the Mountain Mall in Whitefish, she bought the business with her partners Darren Stone and Shaun Olcutt and expanded it into a bouldering gym. Her brother Jason Olcutt constructed the facility. Together they created RockFish Climbing & Fitness – the only climbing gym in the valley.
Bouldering is rock climbing stripped down to its raw essentials. Leaving the ropes behind, you are free to concentrate on the climbing, not the equipment. It’s just you, the wall, and your friends on the ground rooting you on. At RockFish you’re able to train and hang in a safe, supportive environment. The 12,400 square-foot climbing gym has a 3,000 square-foot climbing surface along walls up to 14 feet high. Nine inches of padding line the floor to help manage the risks of falling. There’s also a slackline, if you want to switch things up. The space is designed with a flow and spacing that appeals to a variety of abilities. Not only is there the prow, the roof, the overhang cave, and vertical slabs, but there’s a kids’ boulder with a fort and slide. A new
Photos courtesy of Rockfish Climbing Gym
route is introduced each week and available to train on over the next four to five weeks. It keeps members interested and always coming back. Although most of the business is on the RockFish side of things, there’s also the 24-hour, full fitness gym offering personal trainers along with yoga and boxing. The crossover is appreciated – a good climbing
“It’s an awesome feeling when you do it. It’s good to share that with somebody.”
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OUTSIDE OF THE GYM RockFish offers outdoor climbing trips and instructional courses.
of like-minded people could go,” says Whitey. “With the amount of outdoor activities in the Flathead, it’s cool to have one more thing to do.”
gym offering the fitness piece that supports better rock climbing. It’s been quite the journey since that opening two years ago, and general manager Alex “Whitey” White has been there from the beginning. “People are always looking to do active things. I wanted to create a space where a lot 94
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WHITEY IS passionate about rock climbing. He fell in love with the sport when he was seven after attending a birthday party at a climbing gym. His first climb on real rock was at a summer camp when he was 11. He’s a self-taught climber – which he doesn’t recommend. His mom would drive him and his friends to a crag. She would read her book while the boys went scrambling. After a few years he figured it all out, finally feeling he knew what he was doing. Since those early days climbing has taken Whitey all over the world – Canada, Mexico, Vietnam, France, and Greece. He hopes to visit China soon. RockFish offers a safe, accessible introduction to the sport, for people of all ages wanting a healthy activity to pursue. In a strong way, that begins with kids, as it had for Whitey and his friends. You can sign your kids up for Summer Camp through the Parks and Recreation departments of both the cities of Whitefish and of Kalispell. It’s a day of indoor rock climbing with climbing-specific games and activities for all abilities. RockFish brings people together. They work closely with Rock Climb Montana to offer outdoor climbing and instructional courses – covering the basics to more advanced anchor building and lead climbing courses. Want to learn something out of the ordinary? They’re also able to create
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a custom course on what YOU want to learn. Again, this summer, they’ll host ladies-only outdoor climbing events through their collaboration with Outsiety, an organization formed with the sole intention of connecting women to one another through action sports. And there are Bouldering 101 courses held through Flathead Valley Community College during the spring/summer and fall/winter semesters. Not only will this 12-week class make you a better climber, but course registration includes membership to RockFish and 24-hour access to their fitness facility. When school is back in session in the fall, there’s the Youth Climbing Team – the Rockfish Scalers. The team, for ages six to 18, travels to climbing competitions in the Northwest. And the After school Climbing Club offers two days a week of fully supervised instruction and a healthy, fun, and engaging activity for your child to enjoy. For RockFish it’s about building enthusiasm, camaraderie, and trust – in your partner and in yourself. To Whitey, “You’re sharing an experience with someone else. It’s fun to have somebody push you too, past your limits. It’s an awesome feeling when you do it. It’s good to share that with somebody.” Visit RockFish Climbing & Fitness at the Mountain Mall in Whitefish: 6475 Hwy 93 S, #13. Find more information by calling 406.863.9895, or visit their website rockfishclimbing.com. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Richard Turbiak is the Executive Director of Citizens for a Better Flathead. Also a stained glass artist, he finds much inspiration in the beautiful Flathead Valley.
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123 Central Ave Whitefish
862-6002 www.amazingcrepes.com
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www.WhitefishRockShop.com 239 Central Ave Whitefish 406-890-3790 Open Daily 11-5
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CALENDAR OF EVENTS IN THE FLATHEAD VALLEY
BIGFORK
JUNE 5 & 19: UKULELE STRUM ALONG Imagine IF Library, 1pm
MAY 26 – 27: WHITEWATER KAYAKING FESTIVAL Wild Mile on the Swan, 10am
JUNE 8 – 10: BIG SKY BIRD FESTIVAL Red Lion Inn
JULY 4: 4TH OF JULY PARADE & FIREHALL BBQ Starts at Noon
JUNE 8 – 9: YARD SALE & CRAFT FAIR Heritage Plaza Healthcare, 10am – 4pm
JULY 12: FESTIVAL OF FLAVOURS SUMMERFEST Flathead Lake Lodge 6 – 9pm
JUNE 9: LEAVE NO TRACE BONANZA! Lone Pine State Park, 1pm
AUGUST 4 – 5: FESTIVAL OF ARTS Downtown Bigfork
JUNE 15 – 16: BARREL RACING: Majestic Valley Arena
AUGUST 26 – SEPTEMBER 1: CROWN GUITAR WORKSHOP & FESTIVAL Flathead Lake Lodge
JUNE 21: 9TH ANNUAL TASTE OF KALISPELL Museum at Central School, 5:30pm – 8pm
SEPTEMBER 5 – 7: BIGFORK RETROSPECTIVE FILM FESTIVAL Bigfork Center for The Performing Arts
JUNE 21: SUMMER SOLSTICE HIKE Lone Pine State Park, 6pm
COLUMBIA FALLS/ WEST GLACIER JUNE 5: FVCC ALUMNI MIXER Backslope Brewing JUNE 16: RAFTING FOR REFUSE, CELEBRATION OF WILD & SCENIC RIVERS ACT Glacier Guides & Montana Raft JULY 25 – 29: HERITAGE DAYS Downtown Columbia Falls AUGUST 12 – 13: GLACIER NAT. PARK STAR PARTY FLOAT TRIP West Glacier
KALISPELL JUNE 2 – 3: THREE BLIND REFS SOCCER TOURNAMENT KidSport Complex & Glacier High School
JUNE 23: THE BIG SHINDIG Desoto Grill, 8am – 4pm JUNE 28: STRAWBERRY MOON HIKE Lone Pine State Park, 9pm JULY 4: 4TH OF JULY PARADE Downtown Kalispell, 10am JULY 6 – 8: ARTISTS & CRAFTSMEN OF THE FLATHEAD SUMMER SHOW Kalispell Courthouse Park West, 10am – 5pm JULY 13 – 15: 50TH ANNUAL ARTS IN THE PARK Depot Park JULY 17 – 21: MONTANA 200 Raceway Park JULY 20 – 23: THE EVENT AT REBECCA FARM AUGUST 18: MOUNTAIN BIKE RACE Herron Park, 10am AUGUST 15 – 19: NORTHWEST MONTANA FAIR & RODEO Kalispell Fairgrounds
For more event information, visit the local Chamber of Commerce websites.
LAKESIDE/SOMERS
JULY 4: FIREWORKS ON THE LAKE Whitefish City Beach
JUNE 3: LAKESIDE QRU HAM DINNER FUNDRAISER, 3pm
JULY 6 – 8: WHITEFISH ART FESTIVAL AT DEPOT PARK
JUNE 1 & 22: LAKESIDE OUTDOOR CONCERT Lakeside Town Center
AUGUST 6 – 12: FESTIVAL AMADEUS Various Locations
JULY 4: 4TH OF JULY FIREWORKS & BOAT PARADE Lakeside Volunteer Park
AUGUST 10 – 12: HUCKLEBERRY DAYS Whitefish Depot Park
JULY 10: FLATHEAD LAKE BIOLOGICAL RESEARCH CRUISE Lakeside Marina, 3:30pm JULY 14: 29TH ANNUAL LAKESIDE COMMUNITY FAIR & PARADE, 7am – 4pm AUGUST 3: FLATHEAD LAKE BIO STATION OPEN HOUSE, 1pm AUGUST 4 – 5: MONTANA CUP SAILING REGATTA North Flathead Yacht Club AUGUST 4: MEET YOUR VOLUNTEERS ICE CREAM SOCIAL West Shore Library, 2pm AUGUST 11: LAKESIDE COMMUNITY CLUB BLACKTAIL HILL CLIMB Tamarack Brewing Co., 8am SEPTEMBER 8 – 9: DRAGON BOAT FESTIVAL Volunteer Park, 10am SEPTEMBER 15: 24TH ANNUAL SHRINERS/SPINNAKER CHILI COOK-OFF & WIENER DOG RACES Spinnaker Bar & Grill
WHITEFISH JUNE 9: 1ST ANNUAL BREWFEST Moose Lodge, 3 – 7pm
SEPTEMBER 28 – 30, OCTOBER 5 – 7: GREAT NORTHWEST MONTANA OCTOBERFEST Whitefish Depot Park
LOCAL FARMERS’ & COMMUNITY MARKETS BIGFORK BIGFORK VILLAGE MARKET Brookside Yard, Mondays 3 – 7pm BIGFORK FARMERS’ MARKET CO-OP 8098 Hwy 35, Tuesdays 3pm – 6pm, Fridays 10am – 1pm COLUMBIA FALLS/W.GLACIER COLUMBIA FALLS COMMUNITY MARKET AT THE COOP Thursdays 5pm – 8pm GLACIER FARMERS’ MARKET West Glacier, Fridays 3 – 6pm KALISPELL FARMERS’ MARKET Flathead Valley Community College, Saturdays 9am – 12:30pm THURSDAYFEST! Downtown Kalispell, Thursdays 5pm WHITEFISH FARMERS’ MARKET Depot Park, Tuesdays 5 – 7:30pm
ONGOING EVENTS MONDAYS: TASTING ROOM TRIVIA NIGHT Kalispell Brewing Co., 6pm TUESDAYS: PICNIC IN THE PARK Kalispell Depot Park, 6pm WEDNESDAYS: PICNIC IN THE PARK Kalispell Depot Park, 11:30am THURSDAYS: HANDCRAFTED BAZAAR Whitefish Handcrafted Spirits, 5pm BRASH RODEO SUMMER SERIES Blue Moon Arena, 7pm 1ST THURSDAY GALLERY NIGHTS Downtown Whitefish, 6pm 2ND THURSDAY SENIOR TOUR & TEA DAY Hockaday Museum of Art, all day FRIDAYS: FRIDAYS OUT FRONT Great Northern Lodge, 5pm SATURDAYS: 3RD SATURDAY NOOKS & CRANNIES TOUR Conrad Mansion Museum, 9am WEEKLY: SUMMER PLAY SERIES Bigfork Summer Playhouse, bigforksummerplayhouse.com 50TH POP UP EXHIBIT SERIES Hockaday Museum of Art hockadaymuseum.org KID- & TEEN-FRIENDLY CLASSES ImagineIF Libraries imagineiflibraries.org
JUNE 22 – 24: WHITEFISH WOODY WEEKEND VII: WOOD BOAT SHOW Whitefish Lake Spring/Summer 2018
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Made in Montana Gift Shop with over 60 Artists
Mother-Daughter Owned Montana Apparel with Big Sky Personality Espresso
140 S. Main St, Downtown Kalispell 406.260.4499 Monday – Saturday, 10 AM – 5:30 PM