Explorer 2012

explorer 2012 There are a lot of problems in the world today that weigh us down. Gas prices are high, the job market is still a little squirrelly and it’s an election year.

Lotta stuff to make you want to get away from it all, take your mind off things and disappear into nature.

Well, you’re in luck. Montana offers nothing if not plenty of places to escape to. In fact, the biggest problem you’ll experience here is deciding what exactly to do.

Here’s where we come in. Explorer is

tailored to kickstart your adventure, chalk full of suggestions, directions and friendly advice on where to go, when, and for how long. In fact, in one story we even tell you what to do on the way.

Our hope is that locals and visitors alike will discover at least one undertaking that caters to their particular liking.

Maybe that’s climbing the new features at Mill Creek’s dramatic North Rim or scoping out wildflowers at Lolo Pass.

Perhaps you’d rather float one of the area’s signature waterways or kick back as the

dirt kicks up when some of the world’s best mountain bikers prepare for the Summer Olympics. Whatever it is you desire this summer, we’ve got you covered. No, really. That’s because at the back of this guide there’s a comprehensive summer calendar with hundreds of additional local events to peruse.

Surely there’s something here to satiate your appetite for summer adventure. If nothing else, it’ll take your mind off all that other junk. No campaign ads here.

Photo by Chad Harder

Explorer 2012

Missoula Independent

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Missoula Independent

Explorer 2012

PUBLISHER Lynne Foland EDITOR Robert Meyerowitz PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Joe Weston CIRCULATION & BUSINESS MANAGER Adrian Vatoussis ARTS EDITOR Erika Fredrickson ASSOCIATE EDITOR Matthew Frank PHOTO EDITOR Chad Harder CALENDAR EDITOR Jason McMackin STAFF REPORTERS Jessica Mayrer, Alex Sakariassen CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Skylar Browning COPY EDITOR Ted McDermott PHOTO INTERN Michelle Gustafson ART DIRECTOR Kou Moua PRODUCTION ASSISTANTS Jenn Stewart, Jonathan Marquis ADVERTISING SALES MANAGER Carolyn Bartlett ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVES Chris Melton, Sasha Perrin, Alecia Goff, Steven Kirst, Lorie Rustvold SENIOR CLASSIFIED REPRESENTATIVE Tami Johnson MARKETING & ADVERTISING COORDINATOR Tara Shisler

Missoula Independent P.O. Box 8275 Missoula, MT 59807 Phone number: 406-543-6609 E-mail address: independent @missoulanews.com PRESIDENT Matt Gibson

Table of Contents Climb: Local community helps fill the void . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 Look: Where—and when—to find Montana wildflowers . . . . . . . . .14 Water: A guide to getting wet around Missoula . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22 Cliff notes: Guidebooks to help you along your way . . . . . . . . . . .28 Travel: What to do on the way to area attractions . . . . . . . . . . . . .32 Fish: How to cast a line without crossing the line . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42 Essay: When the great outdoors arrives at your door . . . . . . . . . . .46 Do this: Five events to get your adrenaline pumping . . . . . . . . . .54 Plan: Summer calendar of events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58 Spotlights: Wilco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .73 The Montana Folk Festival . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .76 Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .83

Advertising Focus Pages Philipsburg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Bitterroot Valley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 East Glacier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Automotive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Whitefish . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Seeley/Swan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Lodging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Employment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Explore Montana. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Art, Antiques & Collectibles . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Hip Strip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Play, Laugh, Learn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Pamper Yourself . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 Real Estate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 Healthy Living . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 Downtown Missoula . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 Sportin’ Life. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 Glacier Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78 Mission Valley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 Shopping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84 Sustainable Living. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86 Dish. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89

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Photo by Keith Bosak

Filling the void Climbers geek out over new gym, new sport routes

by Matthew Frank Missoula’s rock-climbing community lost an anchor back in 2007 when the Rock Garden, a climbing gym on East Broadway, cratered. The University of Montana’s rock wall became the city’s one and only, but climbers without a Griz Card were stonewalled.

That is, until last fall. A new climbing gym called Freestone opened on the

Westside, again giving climbers the “community center,” as one frequenter calls it, that had been sorely missed.

Now there’s more good news for local rock jocks: the emergence of a new climbing destination in the Bitterroots, at Mill Creek’s dramatic North Rim. The spot was created over the last few years by a handful of veteran climbing enthusiasts who saw a need for area

Photo by Chad Harder

sport-climbing opportunities—places with permanent anchors and bolts fixed to the rock, suited for beginning and moderate climbers.

“Since Freestone’s opening, and since the increasing popularity of [Mill Creek], it’s a much richer climbing community in Missoula than it was a year ago, or certainly two or three years ago,” says Ken Turley, who helped establish Mill Creek beginning in 2009.

Mountaineer and University of Montana physiology researcher Walter Hailes, 32, opened Freestone in September 2011. “I just thought that I needed a place to climb, so I built it,” he says on a recent morning inside the warehouse-turned-gym at 945 Toole Avenue, next door to Draught Works brewery. It’s an airy, 4,000-square-foot space with variously angled faux-rock, made from plywood and epoxy, dotted with colorful, oddly shaped handholds bolted into it.

“What makes for a climbing gym that looks really good isn’t necessarily the same thing as one that climbs very well,” Hailes says. “So I built a gym that doesn’t look super impressive, but will climb well for a lot of years. That’s my hope.”

To Hailes, who grew up in Kentucky and 8

Missoula Independent

has been climbing since he was 15, the rock wall is “as blank a canvas as you can get,” he says. “The real art is actually setting the routes.”

The dozens of routes are marked with colored strips of tape next to the routes’ series of handholds. Hailes walks on the foam blue mat over to the gym’s most difficult route, marked with bright orange tape. The hand-

One of our main objectives was to try to fill a real need in Missoula, which is for safely bolted, moderate routes—routes for people who are learning to climb...

holds are barely that; they’re all down-sloping, giving the slightest of grip. The gym’s best climbers can master the route if they “spend a few days on it.”

The gym’s been buzzing lately, exceeding Hailes’ projections. He offers day passes, 10-

Explorer 2012

visit punch cards, monthly and annual passes and memberships. There’s a mini-wall and slide for kids. And it offers the convenience of a brewery next door, though Hailes suspects that he sends more business its way than vice versa. “Climbers drink, drinkers don’t climb,” he deadpans.

The other new addition to the climbing scene, Mill Creek Canyon, is located one canyon north of Blodgett Canyon, about an hour south of Missoula. Turley, a software developer, and climbing partner Dane Scott, a UM ethics professor, began developing the Mill Creek North Rim routes a few years ago. Climbing buddies Michael Moore, Tim Karst and Kurt Krueger, among others, have helped along the way.

The several named routes—Tick Magnet, Ticked Off, Ticktastic, Witness the Tickness, etc. (there are a lot of ticks in the area)—are in the 5.7 to 5.11 range.

“One of our main objectives,” Turley says, “was to try to fill a real need in Missoula, which is for safely bolted, moderate routes—routes for people who are learning to climb or people climbing into the mid-5.10 level can come up and enjoy.”

Mill Creek has become more popular than Turley thought possible. On sunny early

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spring weekend days this year, he’s seen about 20 people climbing there. “Mill Creek has surpassed our expectations in terms of how popular it’s become,” he says, “and we’re delighted.”

Turley writes the Mill Creek Report (millcreekreport.blogspot.com), updating climbers on the goings-on at the site. It has a link to the “Mill Creek North Rim Guide,” which includes photos, a map and detailed directions to the site.

In late April, Turley posted to the Mill Creek Report about how, when he was climbing at one of his favorite spots recently, a large handhold he’d gripped countless times before popped right off the wall, sending rock tumbling below him.

“If I have to blame anything I’m going to say it’s Freestone Gym’s fault,” he joked. “I’ve been bouldering in there since winter and I guess I just didn’t realize how much stronger it’s made me.”

Different routes While the additions of Mill Creek and Freestone Gym are welcome additions to the local climbing scene, here are three other spots worth checking out. These recommendations are made with intermediate climbers in mind.

Kootenai Canyon Kootenai Canyon (a few canyons north of Mill Canyon) is the closest crag to Missoula—only about 30 minutes south on Highway 93—and the approaches are short. There are a variety of routes, from sport to traditional. All of which make Kootenai one of the most popular climbing destinations in the area.

Mulkey Gulch Mulkey Gluch, about 45 miles east of Missoula, offers more than 30 routes up limestone rock, most of which have fixed rappel anchors. Difficulty ranges from 5.8 to 5.12. Take the Bearmouth exit off I-90, head west down the frontage road, take a left on Mulkey Gulch Road and then a left at the Y. Rattler Gulch Heading a little farther west down the I-90 frontage road from Mulkey Gulch is Rattler Gulch, where the difficulty ranges from 5.4 to 5.12. “This area consists of large grey and blue Limestone fins,” reports MountainProject.com “The climbing tends to be vertical or lower angle, with lots of the classic limestone pockets, jugs and heavy on the crimps. Tends to be a bit steeper than its neighbor Mulkey Gulch.”

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Full bloom Secrets on where—and when—to find Montana’s most striking wildflowers

by Erika Fredrickson It’s true that flower season is already at its peak in the valleys, but that doesn’t mean you still can’t plan your summer around some super colorful blooms. One thing to keep in mind is that when the lupine and bitterroot are gone from the Missoula hillsides—replaced by the irksome, though initially pretty, blankets of leafy spurge—you’ve just got to hike a little higher to get what you want.

Follow the snowline. Roll out a map and plan your day hike on a trail that will lead you to wild vibrant meadows. Seek out the spots once burned to a crisp by forest fires and you’ll see wildflowers galore. And just when August rolls around, and the grassy mountains turn brown, you can make your way up to Glacier to capture some of the best blooms ever.

Here are a few ideas for where to catch Montana flowers before that window to paradise closes.

June

Camas Camissa quamash Starting around June 12, the camas at Lolo Pass makes a brilliant blue-violet sea. Take your crush for a picnic lunch up to Packer Meadows to check out this dramatic sight—and score some major romance points. The flowers are sweepingly Bitterroot beautiful together, with their star-shaped blooms, balsam leaves and grassy stems.

You can also impress your partner with some history. For instance, the Camissa quamash has a history of practical use. Nez Perce, Cree and Blackfeet tribes boiled or pit-roasted the nutritious bulbs for food.

Where to find it: At Lolo Pass, take the road east past the Lolo Visitor’s Center to Packer Meadows.

Bitterroot Lewisia rediviva Waterworks Hill at the north end of Missoula is full of dogs and people in the summertime. It’s also one of the coolest wildflower habitats in the Missoula area with its range of “alpine” cushion plants. We say “alpine” in quotes because these par-

Arrowleaf balsamroot Explorer 2012

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ticular plants usually grow in alpine environments. But the shallow, wind-exposed soils on the ridge above Cherry Gulch have all the right ingredients to grow these wildflowers at an unusually low elevation.

The Bitterroot—Montana’s state flower— is part of that community. The glowing pink blooms grow close to the ground and can live for a full year without water. They have a long history as an edible plant for American Indians and pioneers, and as a barter tool.

Where to find it: Follow Greenough Drive above Greenough Park and turn left at the Waterworks Trailhead.

Glacier Lily

Photo by Chad Harder

mostly in the spring. You can find it beneath trees in moldy leaf litter and in higher elevations in June.

Where to find it: Paradise Valley and in the Bitterroot National Forest.

July

Chocolate Lilly

Chocolate Lily Fritillaria lanceolata The chocolate lily, or leopard lily, might be a little more elusive than some of these other wildflowers.

Botanist Mel Waggy recently spotted the bowl-shaped, nodding flower at Mill Creek near Livingston, the site of the 2007 Wicked Creek fire. Fire, of course, sparks an outbreak of wildflowers, so you might find the lily in other fire-ravaged spots as well.

The Chocolate Lily appears as a rich molted brown, green and purple flower that blooms Lupine

Lupine Lupinus sericeus You might be able to find silvery lupine along Beaver Creek, as Merriwether Clark did on July 7, 1806—he saved it among several other species, and it’s now housed in the herbarium in Philadelphia’s Academy of Natural Sciences. Silky lupine is prevalent into the later part of July, especially as you get higher in elevation. The half-purple, half-white whorls of flowers are part of the Pea family and prefer poor soil. The name is from “lupis,” meaning wolf, and it was once believed that Lupine were wolf-like because of how they devour soil nutrients.

Where to find it: Beaver Creek near the Blackfoot River.

Photo by Ernst Vikne

Glacier Lily Erythronium grandiflorum Glacier Lilies are yellow beauties with purplish stems scattered throughout local meadows. The bulbs are a favorite food for animals, including humans. The fresh green seed pods taste like green beans; just make sure you’re not getting a poisonous member of the lily family instead. In July, you can hit a 9.5-mile roundtrip hike around Carlton Lake and nearby spot meadows that are chockfull of glacier lilies.

Where to find it: Carlton Lake at the base of Lolo Peak.

Bitterroot Draba, and Bitterroot Bladderpod Draba daviesisae Physaria humilis If you’re game for a slow, strenuous trek with a big payoff, you can sign up for a guided hike up Trapper Peak July 28 with botanist Wayne Philips, author of Northern Rockies Mountain Wildflowers.

The expedition sets out to find two cushion plants from the mustard family that are Montana endemic and only appear in the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness. The Bitterroot Draba has little bright yellow bells. The Bitterroot Bladderpod has silvery green leaves with four yellow petals for each flower. At this time of year, you’re

Join us for these Local Sierra Club Outings

zack.waterman@sierraclub.org St. Mary Peak, Bitterroot Mountains. July 18 - to sign up, contact Mary Owens at mowens320@gmail.com

Free and open to the public!

Bass Creek day hike, Bitterroot Mountains. June 13 - to sign up, contact Mary Owens at mowens320@gmail.com Broadwater Lake day hike, AbsarokaBeartooth Wilderness. June 16 - to sign up, contact Donna Craig at benannod@aol.com Blodgett Canyon day hike, Bitterroot Mountains (women only). June 23 - to sign up, contact Mary Owens at mowens320@gmail.com Elk Lake day hike, Absaroka-Beartooth Wildersness. June 23 - to sign up, contact Donna Craig at benannod@aol.com Sourdough Ridge exploration, Gallatin Range.

June 30 - to sign up, contact Zack Waterman at

Lake Dinah Trail from Lake Elsina, Mission Mountains (women only). July 27 - to sign up, contact Janet Fiero at janetfiero77@gmali.com Hidden Canyon Waterfall day hike, Gallatin Range. August 18 - to sign up, contact Zack Waterman at zack.waterman@sierraclub.org Missouri River Breaks Canoe Trip (women only).

Aug. 29 to Sept. 2 - to sign up, contact Janet Fiero at janetfiero77@gmail.com Some expense required.

Carlton Lake day hike, Bitterroot Mountains.

Sept. 29 - to sign up, contact Mary Owens at mowens320@gmail.com

The Sierra Club's Montana Chapter is helping to protect the landscape and natural resources of Montana for future generations.

For more information visit: www.montana.sierraclub.org Explorer 2012

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bound to find all kinds of flowers on the highest peak in the Bitterroots, but these rarer plants will be especially satisfying to discover.

Where to find it: Trapper Peak in the Bitterroot Range. Call Wayne (453-0648) for details on where to meet for the guided hike.

purple, making it artful and showy. And it thrives in full sun. A lot of asters are fragrant, which means they are popular with the birds and the bees. There are 19 species of asters in Montana alone.

Where to find it: Crazy Canyon at the Pattee Canyon National Recreation Area.

Asters Aster spp.

Lavendar asters are a late summer treat in the meadows on the east side of Glacier Park, but you can also find them earlier in the season around Missoula. Aster is part of the sunflower family, and its name means star, which makes sense because of the way it flowers out into spindly rays. It has a yellow center—opposite on the color wheel from

Mountain Heather Phyllodoce empetriformis Low-matted pink mountain heather grows like a carpet along Spring Gulch Trail in the Rattlesnake and blooms in mid-August. It has narrow waxy leaves that jut out into bristles and spectacular candy-pink flowers. This is a little more like the camas bloom— expansive in meadows along the way. The burst of color still makes it feel like spring, even if the Missoula Valley is starting to get a tad dry.

Where to find it: This trail is a loop that starts at the Rattlesnake Recreation Area Trailhead.

Head north along Rattlesnake Creek, then turn left onto the Spring Gulch trail.

Aster Photo by Chad Harder

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August

Indian paintbrush Castilleja spp.

This flower was named after Spanish botanist Domingo Castillejo, because it resembles a painter’s paintbrush daubed in color. In early summer you can see the bright red bristles around Mount Jumbo and other hills, but in August you can catch big blooms of pink paintbrush in Glacier. It’s toxic if the green parts are consumed, but if only the flowers are eaten it supposedly has the same benefits as garlic.

We’re talking health-wise, not vampirewise.

Where to find it: In the meadows near Logan’s Pass in Glacier National Park, on the way to Reynolds Mountain.

Beargrass Xerophyllum tenax There’s a song called “Montana Melody” that totally ripped off the melody from the Beatles’ “Octopus’s Garden.”

Actually, it’s a pretty catchy tribute to the wilds of our state, including its mention of the iconic beargrass bloom. You might be surprised to know that the fuzzy, bulbous flowers are part of the lily family. In late summer, you’ll find them crowding mountain meadows near some of the higher lakes.

And just to be clear, it’s not really a grass and bears don’t eat it.

Where to find it: The alpine meadows of Hidden Lake Overlook in Glacier.

Blue Mountain bog gentian Gentiana calycosa Blue Mountain bog gentian blooms in deep-blue funnels, and you can find patches of them late into August. They spring from fleshy green roots around lakes in the Bitterroots. These are worth taking time to admire: streaked with green and mottled with yellow on the inside, they are especially perfect for those with an artist’s eye for natural beauty.

Where to find it: Around Baker, Middle and Gem lakes, nestled at the base of Trapper Peak.

Go to the Montana Native Plant Society’s website, mtnativeplants.org, for more wildflower info and to register for the group’s annual meeting at Lubrecht Experimental Forest Fri., June 29, through Sun., July 1.

Photo by Chad Harder

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Haunted by waters A guide to getting wet every which way around Missoula

by Alex Sakariassen • photos by Chad Harder Norman Maclean once spoke of Missoula as being at “the junction of great trout rivers in western Montana.” Yes, we have trout. We have perch and mountain whitefish and northern pike, too. But our rivers aren’t just trout rivers anymore.

They’re a cool and fast-moving playground, and we keep finding more ways to play on them.

Head away from Missoula in any direction in the height of summer and you’ll find boat landings choked with

eager boaters and floaters. Some seek a serene trickle, others a bone-jarring torrent. There’s quiet to be had, if you want it. The scene can get pretty rowdy, too.

But sometimes rowdy is just what we’re looking for.

Since Missoula is, geographically, a junction, we thought it best to break down the varied water sports opportunities by cardinal direction. Read on, load up and then get ready to put in.

North: Paddling the Flathead Few stretches of water near Missoula are as calm, as scenic and as sparsely populated as the Flathead River. This crisp blue ribbon is nestled south of Kerr Dam, in the heart of what was once the expansive heartland of the Salish. Towering silt cliffs cut you off from the rest of the world, breaking occasionally in exchange for pastoral fields and rolling hills dotted with pine.

The Flathead is a Class 1 river for and you’re at the top of the natural order.

Head offers a score of canoe or kayak much of its course, boasting little more than packages between $20 and $30. Since The Bitterroot is perfect for just such a few bouncy patches of water. That gentle an escape. The Sapphire Mountains flank much of this stretch of the Flathead lies nature makes it great for those wanting to the valley east, the Bitterroots to the west. on the Flathead Indian Reservation, boattry their hand at kayaking, or for There’s nearly 90 miles of navigable those just searching for a getaway. waterway here, snaking past rural Landowners and state agents pastures, pine groves and historic From the put-in at Buffalo Bridge southwest of Polson, it’s about 20 landmarks like Hamilton’s Daly have struggled for years to river miles to Sloan—five hours if you Mansion and Travelers’ Rest State haul, seven if you dawdle and stop for Park. Fishing access sites dot the river a sun-soaked gravel bar lunch. Farther throughout the valley, making it easy contain the Blackfoot’s downstream are the towns of Dixon, to tailor an outing to any timeline.

Perma and Paradise, all easily accessiThe banks are lush along the partying masses. ble from Highway 200.

Bitterroot. Elk herds are thick along The lower Flathead typically gets certain stretches, and deer and waterless attention than its grander northfowl are everywhere. More imporern reaches above Kalispell, but the views tantly, however, the trout tend to bite even ing also requires a tribal use permit. A are equally spectacular. Osprey wheel in when there’s no hatch. Be ready to wrestle three-day permit goes for $8 at Bob Ward tight circles over the water, searching for with a few feisty rainbows. and Sons. fish. Eagles perch along the banks, their Fishing guides are almost as abundant hulking nests awkward and precarious as the fish themselves. Fly shops around South: Floating the Bitterroot atop the tallest trees. When the river Missoula can steer you in the right direcA fly rod in the hand can be just as bends back on itself to the east, it sometion, or you can go hunting yourself. relaxing as a paddle. Watching the river times offers a breathtaking view of the Day trips on the Bitterroot average about for that telltale ripple and responding at Mission Mountains across the valley. the wrist to the flash of a trout belly draws $300 for two people. You can also rent Kayak rentals run about $40 from you into a primal sort of rhythm. Connect fishing rafts, complete with trailer, for Strongwater Paddlesports, and the Trail around $140. your fly with the water at the right time 24

Missoula Independent

Explorer 2012

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East: Tubing the Blackfoot The only real planning involved in a tube trip down the Blackfoot is deciding how best to float your stash of beer.

Some prefer to bag it; others award their booze a tube of its own. Every other detail tends to fall in place from there.

Landowners and state agents have struggled for years to contain the Blackfoot’s partying masses. The river’s long, roughly 75 miles from its headwaters to its confluence with the Clark Fork. That means there’s been plenty of room to accommodate everyone, provided they stick to the right areas.

When it comes to partying, the ideal stretch is downstream of Whitaker Bridge. The rowdy crowd tends to consolidate here, leaving the Blackfoot quieter upstream for families, anglers and other not-so-drunk

consider starting at Johnsrud or continuing past it toward K. Ross Toole or Angevine. Be warned: The Blackfoot is currently closed through Bonner for public safety reasons.

The Blackfoot was Maclean’s stomping ground, and is revered by Montanans to this day. With that in mind, keep your party as contained as possible. Crapping on the riverbank is seriously frowned upon.

Discarding beer cans, flip-flops and other garbage is punishable by public shaming and social exile. Glass is legally forbidden.

folk. There aren’t many landowners to disturb either.

It’s just a lush, winding bit of river a half-hour from town.

Inner tubes are available for rental or purchase from a variety of stores in Missoula.

Rentals go fast. Don’t forget to

park a spare car at your intended take-out point.

Most tubers opt to take out at Johnsrud Park. Here, college kids sunbathe and blast music while rangers and wardens wait with citation books in hand. If that’s not quite your thing,

West: Shooting the Gorge Missoula has a fairly high population of thrill-seekers, the type who derive more pleasure from a heart-in-the-throat dousing than a lazy-day paddle on glassy water. And Alberton Gorge on the lower Clark Fork

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River enjoys an elevated level of esteem among their ranks.

With Class II and III whitewater like Tumbleweed and Fang Rapids, the Gorge is best summed up as “totally dope.”

At 16 miles long, this stretch of intermittently fast- and slowmoving water offers some of the most spectacular rafting in all of Montana. Flooding scoured out the Gorge thousands of years ago, leaving a sheer-walled canyon that, according to the Five Valleys Land Trust, draws more than 30,000 people a year.

The Clark Fork’s eddies are home to scores of trout. Elk, moose and bear criss-cross the river for habitats north and south. The cliffs above house birds of prey.

The whitewater is the real

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draw. Adventurers brave rapids in rafts, in kayaks and even on stand-up paddleboards. Calmer stretches allow boaters to catch their breath and massage their muscles, but the Gorge never lets up for long.

A number of companies offer guided outings on the Gorge. It’s certainly not a waterway to be braved without an expert. Row Adventures charges $94 per adult for a full day trip. 10,000 Waves offers day floats at $85, and has gourmet dinner trips for $115.

Montana River Guides, located near the Gorge 30 miles west of Missoula, has half-day raft rates of $55 per person and full-day rates of $79.

275 W. Main St • 728-0343 Explorer 2012

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Guide to the guides A collection of classics and new releases to help you along your way

by Independent staff

Classic Rocky Mountain Natural History: Grand Teton to Jasper,

by Daniel Mathews Missoula lies at both the literal and figurative heart of this explicit compendium, which details the natural world between Grand Teton and Jasper national parks. Expansive as it is detailed and humorous as it is wise, it may be impossible to find a more easy-to-read and informative treatise on Missoula’s neigh-

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borhood. If you’re looking for a lifetime of knowledge wrapped up in a 650-page (but knapsack-friendly) encyclopedia of the land, weather, critters and history of our bioregion, buy this book without hesitation.

Classic Hiking Montana, by Bill Schneider and Russ Schneider Here’s all you need to know: this was originally published in 1979 and it’s still in

Explorer 2012

print. Bill Schneider is the co-founder of Falcon Publishing, and he wrote the original guide as one of the company’s first books. The 25th anniversary edition—what you’ll find at most bookstores, with Russ Schneider sharing a byline—is the third revision and includes 24 more hikes. What makes this a backpack staple for hikers of all ambitions is the breadth of what it covers. You’ll find the popular routes, sure, but there are also a few offerings that, even 33 years later, find little foot traffic.

Classic Paddling Montana,

by Hank and Carol Fischer Originally published in 1999, although a 2008 update could knock this longstanding boaters’ bible into the “newer” category. All the vital stats are included for 32 different river trips, as well as helpful hints like “Where the crowd goes” and “Avoiding the scene.” The insider tips are what makes this a great read, even when the Fischers provide a little too much information. For instance, in the Marias River section, the husband-and-wife duo notes it’s a “great river for conceiving children.

Our oldest son’s middle name is Marias.”

New Motorcycling Montana,

by Cole Boehler Butte motorcycle enthusiast and writer Cole Boehler offers a thorough guide to touring Big Sky country with the wind in your hair. He touts the Rocky Mountain Front between Choteau and Augusta as Charlie Russell-inspired landscape “to die for” and he offers incredible road shots, including one of a gnarly rain squall on a late September evening in the Big Hole Valley.

The book includes 350 photos, in fact, as well as 120 user-friendly maps of each region he’s writing about—which ends up to be a good chunk of the state’s 12,000 miles of paved roads. The 512-page spiral-bound book also covers what to pack and not to pack, and what sorts of weather conditions, wildlife or town culture you might face. It’s infinitely helpful for both newbies and pros alike.

Classic A Climber’s Guide to Glacier National Park, by Gordon Edwards There are plenty of newer guides to climbing Glacier that are worth recommending—Blake Passmore’s two-volume Climb Glacier National Park comes immediately to mind—but Edwards’ book is considered a classic of mountaineering literature. The 1995 updated version, in particular, includes new route information and color photos that better supplement Edwards’ text. A friend has had his since the late ’90s and still brings it along when he visits the park; it’s filled with Post-Its, dog-eared pages and notes in the margins that show just how much he’s used it. Part of the appeal is that, while Passmore’s book provides greater details, Edwards leaves some of the discovery up to the climber.

New Bitterroot Mountain Summits,

by Michael Hoyt If you ever drive south from Missoula and marvel at the majestic Bitterroots to the west, wondering what it’d be like to look down on the valley from up there, Hoyt’s book is for you.

Aimed at beginning and intermediate climbers, he offers more than 60 routes to 50 summits throughout the range. There’s no other more comprehensive guide to this area—something that may bum out a few longtime climbers used to having these spots all to themselves, but a great resource for the rest of us.

New Peakbagging Montana,

by Cedron Jones What the heck is peakbagging? Fair question. Cedron Jones explains in this user-friendly guide that a peakbagger is someone looking to check a summit off a list, such as the highest point in the state or the highest in a specific county. They’re list-makers, essentially, and Jones has put together a list of 53 easy-to-moderate scrambles or hikes that can turn even the least technical climber into a productive peakbagger.

Each approach includes maps and route descriptions, with distance, elevation and trail status clearly defined. The only question you’ll have after working through this book is what recommendation Jones has for climb number 54.

Photo by Chad Harder

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Journey vs. destination What to do on the way to the region’s biggest attractions

by Jessica Mayrer Missoula is surrounded by thrilling, educational and bizarre destinations. Just a halfday’s drive lands you at quirky bars, historic sites and soothing hot springs. We think the process of getting there can be just as much fun as arriving.

With that in mind, we rounded up four of our favorite road trips and the best spots to stop along the way.

Heading east A trip to Great Falls’ Benton Lake National Wildlife Refuge Complex is more than worth a three-and-a-half hour trip from Missoula. During spring and fall migration, typically in April and October, thousands of tundra swan, geese and up to 150,000 ducks flock to Benton Lake. When waterfowl take flight, they block out the sun above the 12,383-acre refuge. It’s like an Alfred Hitchcock movie, but not as scary.

During the summer breeding season, dozens of different bird species nest at Benton Lake. Big blue herons hide in the tall grass. Kites, eagles, owls and osprey fly overhead. Meadowlarks sing their heads off. On July 15, the refuge opens Lower Marsh Road, which enables visitors to explore an area teeming with birds like black neck stilts, sora

rails, sandpipers, longspurs, sparrows, finches and grebes.

Each bird species has its own unique character, says Benton Lake’s Pat Johnstone.

The long-billed curlews are especially pushy.

“They’re noisy birds. And they’re very territorial,” Johnstone says. “They’re kind of scary because their bills are very long.”

Bull elk, deer, antelope, muskrats and badger periodically wander the refuge, too.

Johnstone says that though the curlews can be intimidating, mosquitoes are the ones to look out for. “Bring bug spray.”

After getting your fill of nature, we recommend that you head south to Great Falls’ famous Sip ’n Dip. It’s less than 15 miles from the refuge to Montana’s most awesome tiki lounge. Patrons sip fishbowl-sized rum drinks while just behind the bar “mermaids”—or young women wearing aquamarine colored tails and bikini tops—smile, wave and blow kisses from inside an underwater tank.

The joint feels like something from another era. “Piano” Pat Spoonheim adds to that feel. For decades she’s sung songs about smoking and drinking from the same perch inside the lounge. Another bonus for the Sip ’n Dip is the fact that the O’Haire Motor Inn is attached to it. That means if you have too many daiquiris you can rent a room and stay for the night. Rubber ducks come with the room. Take it home as a souvenir of a night you’ll barely remember.

National Park. Glacier has roughly 740 miles of trails that run deep into the backcountry, up jagged mountain peaks and through wildflower dotted valleys. At 8,180 feet high, Mount Oberlin is among the easiest peaks in Glacier to summit and it offers an amazing view of the Garden Wall, Pollock Mountain and Going-to-the-Sun Road. The hike takes a half day or less and a bit of easy scrambling.

It’s not uncommon to spot mountain goats roaming the peak. Check in with the Logan Pass visitor center before heading up to ensure you’re traveling the best route.

Heading north If you’re heading north, chances are good you’re aiming straight for Glacier

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As you plan your drive to Glacier, consider a brief detour to Moiese. Bison breeding season runs from mid-July through August. In our opinion, those months mark the best time to go hang out at the National Bison Range. You’ll see bison bulls, which grow to about 2,000 pounds, fight and posture in an effort to woo the ladies.

The early summer is also a good time to spot calves. Born in April and May, newborn fur stays a rust color for the first month or so.

In addition to the 400 or so bison that live here, elk, white-tailed and mule deer, pronghorn antelope, bighorn sheep and black bear also roam the 18,500-acre preserve.

You can find the Bison Range right off Highway 93, just more than two hours south of Glacier.

Heading west Just west of Missoula is…Idaho. So we’re branching out a bit and covering that area, as well. And if you like feeling your stomach jump into your throat and the wind battering your face, we suggest Tremors at Silverwood 36

Missoula Independent

Theme Park, a little over three hours west of Missoula off I-90 in Athol, Idaho. The roller coaster climbs 100 feet before dropping into what feels like a free fall. It lasts for less than two minutes, but at the end of the ride your knees shake, eyes tear and the corn dog you had for lunch is on its way back up. This is what summer is all about.

Tremors is one of four roller coasters at Silverwood. The sprawling playground for kids and adults also puts on magic shows and has a massive water park. At 650-feet long, Avalanche Mountain is Silverwood’s longest water slide. It accommodates a six-person raft that splashes down in a pool at the bottom of a canyon. Silverwood’s communications manager, Layne Pitcher, says the park tacked on an addition to Avalanche Mountain, called Ricochet Rapids last year. It adds a whole different dimension, a wide tube that shoots rafts straight down into the water below.

“You’ll go completely vertical,” he says.

If you’re not gutsy enough to handle Ricochet Rapids or Tremors, take a meandering ride at Silverwood’s lazy Elkhorn Creek.

Pollywog Park is for kids. It juts out in all

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directions with hoses, slides and geysers.

General admission at Silverwood is $42.99 for adults and $21.99 for kids. The park periodically offers specials, especially for groups.

On the way back home to Missoula check out Lincoln’s 50,000 Silver Dollar Bar. Gerry and Marie Lincoln opened the roadside attraction in 1952. It gained notoriety for the silver dollars labeled and left there by patrons from all over the world. Coins cover the ceiling, walls and bar. The joint was called the 10,000 Silver Dollar Bar for decades. In 2009, they changed the name to the 50,000 Silver Dollar Bar to account for more coinage. At last tally, they had 60,635 silver dollars, says Brooke Lincoln, granddaughter to Gerry and Marie.

The Silver Dollar also has gaming machines, a gift shop and a full restaurant.

You’ll find it just this side of Coeur d’Alene, on exit 16 off I-90, in Haugan, Mont.

Heading south Montana is rich with American Indian history. Among the most compelling sites is the Big Hole National Battlefield, about two

hours south of Missoula and 10 miles west of Wisdom. Located on the banks of the Big Hole River’s North Fork, the site commemorates lives lost during the largest battle of the five-month Nez Perce War. The Big Hole battle erupted on August 9, 1877, when the U.S. Army attacked five Nez Perce bands—composed of 750 men, women and children—who had refused to be moved onto an Indian reservation. Nearly 90 Nez Perce and 31 soldiers were killed during the day-and-a-half battle. Trenches dug by the Army remain visible today. In July and August, the battlefield hosts historians and tribal elders who provide their interpretations of the events surrounding the battle.

About 20 minutes south of the Battlefield, nestled between the Bitterroot and Pioneer mountain ranges, sits Jackson Hot Springs. It’s a rustic yet comfortable resort. Foremost among its amenities is a large natural geothermal pool that’s cooled to about 100 degrees. Jackson’s restaurant serves delicious steaks and seafood. There’s a full bar, too. Cabins with fireplaces start at $126 a night; sleeper cabins are $45. Or you can pitch a tent for $30.

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Fishing rules Tips on how to cast a line without crossing the line

by Skylar Browning It doesn’t take an expert angler to recognize those yahoos on the river who appear more ready for a competitive game of Whack-AMole than a productive day catching trout. You can spot them—or hear them—two put-ins away, and, sure enough, they somehow seem to follow you as the day goes on, no matter how hard you try to escape their path.

Here’s the thing: some folks don’t know any better. They’ve never been schooled on proper river etiquette and see a day casting flies no differently than a day tubing with the gang. Even worse, as area waterways get increasingly crowded, others get increasingly protective about

their favorite stretch of water. This can lead to confrontations, and nothing good ever comes of those.

All of which is why we spoke with Bill Pfeiffer, a licensed fishing guide and creator of Zoo City Aquarium (zoocityaquarium.com), about some of the dos and don’ts of local fishing. Maybe with a little education we can get past the nonsense and onto more important business, like holding up a trophy fish for that vital snapshot we’ll be showing off to friends and family the rest of the summer.

Mind your space With the aforementioned crowds, especially on popular

stretches of the Bitterroot River and Rock Creek, space is at premium. “The easiest thing to remember is the golden rule: do unto others as you would have them do to you,” says Pfeiffer. That means don’t jump in front of someone else’s spot and, if you can manage it, try to get out of eyesight altogether.

“That’s not always possible,” says Pfeiffer, “but it’s good to keep in mind.”

Space is an even bigger issue when it comes to boaters and waders. In general, boaters should do whatever they can to avoid going over the water a wader is using. Get to the shallow side, give a friendly wave and move along.

Communicate “So much can be avoided with a little friendly communication,” says Pfeiffer.

For instance, if he comes across another wader he’ll be straightforward so there’s no mistaking his intentions. “I’ll tell ’em: ‘Hey, I don’t want to disturb you, so I’m going to head about a half-mile upstream.’”

trout, should be released. It’s illegal to harass or capture the native bull trout, which has been designated a threatened species. Release the bull trout immediately.

Non-native fish, on the other hand, are fine to catch and keep, especially pike.

“Whack ’em,” says Pfeiffer.

Be discreet Keep it quiet Pfeiffer says he’s crazy sometimes about stalking fish. “The hardest thing for some people to realize is it’s no different than hunting,” he says.

“You don’t want to alert the quarry that you’re there.”

So, it’s important not to disrupt the area you or others are fishing in.

That said, Pfeiffer points out that fish are used to a little bit of chaos, and they will return to feed. If a boat nosily floats through, let the fish settle for a bit and then cast again. “They get conditioned,” he says, “so there’s no point in thinking things are ruined.”

Catch and release This one’s a no-brainer, but worth reiterating. Native fish, such as cutthroat

One of the bigger questions facing anglers—and journalists writing about angling—is whether to give up the goods when it comes to sweet fishing holes. Pfeiffer, for instance, has a favorite spot for pike fishing that’s easy to access right off of a main road. Even though he’s told no one about it, he’s noticed it’s attracted more and more people in recent years. It’s bound to happen.

“I try, especially with my blog, to give people the tools to find those spots rather than map it out for them,” he says. “There are some who don’t tell anyone anything, and I understand that. But I think there’s a middle ground.”

He adds with a laugh: “I mean, this isn’t Colorado yet. We still have plenty of good spots that haven’t been found.”

Photo by Chad Harder

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Living with deer Sure, you could chase nature all summer.

But what about when it arrives at your front door?

by Robert Meyerowitz • photos by Chad Harder They slip through the South Hills in the April gloaming, like sprinters in high heels.

Gangs of whitetail does and little juveniles of both sexes, too old to be fawns, too young to be yearlings, congregate on the open land above Southwest Higgins Avenue, which conveniently surrounds the house I rent. This is one of the great things about living in Missoula: You can easily go out into nature, but nature comes to you, too.

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I love living among deer. I love their silent, unexpected appearance.

I’m not exactly alone: There are an estimated 20 million whitetail deer on this continent and at least as many people who love to see them when they’re not stepping into a busy road. Something so large and even numerous wandering free, especially through suburbs, speaks to us. They have no bills to pay, no errands to run. They’re high-rumped

Explorer 2010

ambassadors from the natural order, navigating sidewalks, fences and walls.

Deer come to us from beyond antiquity.

Whitetails seem to be the original deer, having evolved in North America four million years ago. Four million years. Think about that: Long before there were blacktails or mule deer, elk or moose, or humans, or even mammoths or mastodons, they were complete, more or less as you see them today. Unlike many species

their success, feeds a backlash. It’s almost as can hurt us. No less a naturalist than John they once knew, they survived the Ice Age. All though we’re jealous. Talk to people about McPhee, the writer, has called them “rats with of that is in their blood. antlers” and “roaches with split hooves.”

By the turn of the 20th century, their There are other views. Almost a cennumbers had dwindled to a relative tury ago, Henry Beston said we err when handful. We almost lost them because Something so large and even numerous we condescend to wild animals. “In a they’re tasty. Eating them, too, has made world older and more complete than them what they are. Yet they’ve more wandering free, especially through suburbs, ours,” Beston wrote, “they move finished than rebounded, thanks to protection and complete, gifted with extensions of from hunting in many places, and speaks to us. They’re high-rumped ambasthe senses we have lost or never removal of predators, and because we attained, living by voices we shall never keep reproducing ourselves and creating sadors from the natural order, navigating hear. They are not brethren, they are not more deer habitat. When we clear land underlings; they are other nations, for houses and schools and shops, we sidewalks, fences and walls. caught with ourselves in the net of life also create the places deer need to forand time.” age and roam.

One of the puzzles if you spy on this They’re among the most commonly sightdeer and it won’t be long before someone says nation is about deer’s inner lives. It seems ed wildlife in the U.S., and, like pigeons and that among other things, they’re a nuisance. almost impossible for us to think our way into geese and starlings, their very commonness, They eat our landscaping, they carry ticks that

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the minds of large prey animals. We’re so much more accustomed to thinking like big predators. These are animals who live on the edge all the time, big-eyed, hyper-alert. We go to yoga and try to be present, stay in the moment, be here now. The deer are in the moment all the time. In his account of amur tigers, John Vaillant notes that for a predator to take game, it has to be in precisely the right place at the right time, which can take enormous effort and cunning, more often than not without result—while the prey just has to not be there. This is where deer excel. They’re also very good at not being there.

When I moved to the South Hills house last summer, I came with Sally, a border colliechow mix who’d spent most of her life in Alaska, where she loved to stalk moose. She saw deer for the first time in Missoula and discovered they were much easier to move, so

she settled for doing that. She’d patrol to the edge of our lawn, flushing them, and the deer would reassemble 20 or 30 feet below her, browsing in the brush, one eye always on the canid. She’d settle beneath a big tree at the edge of the property, where she could watch all of them.

In the winter, Sally fell ill with bone cancer. She could barely use one of her hind legs, but she still went down the hill every day to check for the deer and lie in her spot beneath the tree, which had become as much a part of her as her bark. One day in December, on one of her last days, I watched her there as a troupe of whitetails filed past. She lay still and silent, holding their gaze from just a few feet away. One big doe stretched her neck and sniffed her ruff. Then two smaller deer moved in from behind the doe and licked the face of the dying dog.

Now the deer have claimed that spot to bed, or more likely reclaimed it. They lie there in the afternoons sometimes, three or four or five of them, placidly digesting their salads and making me feel, despite the loss of Sally, that the world is complete. And lately, I’ve had a little doe, about 10 months old, maybe three feet at the shoulders, coming to visit. If I’m right about her gender and age, she’s at the peak of her curiousness-to-wariness ratio. Soon enough, if she’s fortunate and follows her star, she’ll be hiding a fawn. Now, though, it still might be in her interests to try new things. I might be a food source; she’s not sure. She shows up every other day or so right at 5 p.m., vaulting a chest-high fence to stand in my small front yard and nibble. Sometimes she lets me walk right up to her.

It’s probably no coincidence that she comes to me at the same time each day. Deer are busy, social animals, and one such as her may never wander farther than a mile from where she was born, covering the same range her mother did, and her grandmother. They may not have bills, but they have schedules and agendas. Street dogs in Moscow have figured out how to use the subway to travel to certain places at certain times on certain days.

There’s nothing to make us believe that whitetail deer in Missoula are any less canny than feral dogs in the heart of Russia.

These deer are under little if any pressure from predators. They’re not only safe from human hunters but also, mostly, from wolves and coyotes and mountain lions, which don’t care to risk this proximity to us. We often say that we’ve encroached on the deer’s habitat, which is true, but it’s probably equally true that they’ve taken shelter with us at arm’s length, which is where they should stay. A tame deer, a human-fed deer, would be only half a deer, almost no deer at all.

I’ve started photographing the 5 p.m. doe.

She’s started posing. My camera makes that soft click when I take a picture, that unnecessary sound that digital camera manufacturers put in to comfort us, the way Betty Crocker makes you add one egg to brownie mix and some electric cars make warning sounds. From 15 feet, that infinitesimal click gets her full attention at just the right moment. As models go, she’s foolproof. And then, in a twinkling, she’s gone.

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You’re up Five Five summer summer events events to to get get your your adrenaline adrenaline pumping pumping by

by Skylar Skylar Browning Browning

The nice thing about exploring Montana in the summer is that most of it can be done at your leisure—head in any direction, at any time you want, and pick any number of different adventures to fit your skill set and schedule. But a few marquee events are planned and organized—and worth highlighting for either their participatory or spectator appeal.

Here are five worth circling on the calendar:

Waterton-Glacier Relay

Missoula Marathon

Photo courtesy of Tom Robertson

How many races require participants to carry a passport? This monster covers 100 miles, starting in Cardston, Alberta, and ending in East Glacier, Montana.

Most teams include eight runners—some are only four, others 12—who break up 24 different legs of the course.

Participants run through night and day, and must finish in less than 20 hours. It’s a grueling test, but one that traverses some of the most beautiful terrain in the region.

This year’s event starts at 4 a.m. on June 23.

Oh, and about those passports? We love how the 21page race instructions include this little nugget: “The border is not providing a special lane of traffic for this event (runners or vehicles) and may therefore lead to added excitement and/or delays to your leg of the event.” Added excitement, indeed.

For more information, visit watertonglacierrelay.com

Marshall Mountain Races Last year, Missoula hosted its first-ever professional cross-country mountain bike race at Marshall Mountain.

The event—sanctioned by the International Biking Union and U.S.A. Cycling—returns in 2012 on July 14.

That means the weekly pre-race series also returns, making for a rugged competition for local riders and a spectator-friendly spectacle. The races run every Wednesday evening for three weeks before the big event—that’s June 27, July 4 and July 11, starting at 5:30—and feature three riding levels, prizes and beverages. It’s a great opportunity to pedal a professional course, support an emerging local event and meet other riders. If you just want to watch, we recommend staking out a spot at the infamous “A-Line,” a mid-course jump that guarantees big air, wreckage or the jeer-worthy veer to the safer “B-Line.”

For more information, visit missoulaxc.org

Missoula Marathon Readers of Runner’s World magazine nudged this event into national acclaim when it was named Best Overall Marathon in 2010. Now in its sixth year, the race is touted for its attention to detail, cooler temperatures, and scenic course, which runs through the Missoula Valley’s rural westside before finishing downtown. Last year’s event drew participants from all 50 states, plus Khazakstan and Singapore, and a post-race survey showed 90 percent of them would be back again within the next couple years. This Missoula Marathon year’s race is set for July 8, with a 5K and Kid’s Marathon scheduled for July 7.

Find more information at runwildmissoula.org Photo courtesy of Tom Robertson

Marshall Mountain

Full-moon rides at Glacier This one isn’t organized, but it does require a certain amount of planning—specifically around the lunar cycle. During the summer on clear nights with a full moon—or a day before or after—cyclists can take to Going-to-the-Sun Road. The ride itself is a blast, highlighted by a slow, steady grind uphill before a breather at the brilliantly moon-lit Logan Pass. The descent features almost a dozen miles of black ribbon dodging in and out of moon shadows.

Couple pointers: it’s cold, especially as you’re barreling downhill, so dress appropriately. Also, the Park Service requires all riders to have both front and rear lights, and to wear helmets. Lastly, expect company. The ride can attract Photo by Chad Harder as many as 500 other cyclists, many of whom park at Avalanche Campground to start their journey.

Needless to say, this is one of the coolest—literally and figuratively—ways to experience one of Montana’s treasures.

Montana Whitewater Championships It’s hard to miss Brennan’s Wave, one of downtown Missoula’s best summer attractions. It’ll be even harder to miss the manmade wave under the Higgins Avenue bridge on June 27 and 28 during the Montana Whitewater Championships. That’s when U.S.A. Freestyle Kayaking concludes its 2012 tour with a two-day event featuring competition in nine different categories. Kayakers can register at the USAFK website, or line the banks of the Clark Fork to watch.

For more information, visit mtwhitewaterchampionships.com.

Photo by Chad Harder

Montana Whitewater Championship

Financing to make you feel at home The personal and financial rewards of owning a home are many.

And you want to be sure your financing works for your home and your life, for today and tomorrow.

So, whether you’re buying your first home, a second home or refinancing your current one, a Wells Fargo Home Mortgage consultant will listen to your goals and help you choose the financing that can help you enjoy a lifetime of homeownership.

Contact your Wells Fargo Home Mortgage consultant today.

Wells Fargo Home Mortgage 1800 S Russell Street, Suite 200, Missoula, MT 59801 Office: 406-543-5770 Toll Free: 1-866-282-1844 Wells Fargo Home Mortgage is a division of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. © 2012 Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. All rights reserved.

NMLSR ID 399801. AS952984 5/12-5/13

• 625 Tie Chute, Florence • 3 bed, 3 bath, 10.27 acres • $349,000 • 225 North Tudor, Victor • 4 bed, 3 bath • $135,000 • 10569 Nez Perce, Lolo • 6 bed, 3.5 bath, bsmt • $430,000 • 2393 Hwy 83 North, Seeley Lake 5500 sq.ft. with Salmon Lake frontage • $1,300,000 • Buckhouse Lane Commercial Building Site Next to Loren's Carpet, Missoula • $250,000

3

months of fun

June

SATURDAY JUNE 9

THURSDAY JUNE 7 Meet up with the crew and do that voodoo that you do so well at Downtown ToNight, a weekly food fete at Missoula’s Caras Park from 5:30-8:30 PM. This week’s tunes by Bad Neighbor. Free. Visit missoula downtown.com.

Get a taste of southern rock and honor one of Missoula’s most popular rock and roll DJs during Angel’s Birthday Bash with Black Stone Cherry at the Wilma Theatre at 8 PM. $15, with advance tickets available at ticketfly.com.

FRIDAY JUNE 8 Oh, look at this: Montana’s largest mule and donkey show kicks off today at the Ravalli County Fairgrounds. See more than 100 classes, featuring driving, riding, cattle and fun events. Montana Mule Days starts at 8 AM and continues through Sunday. Visit montanamuledays.com.

Look up, a lot, during the Wings Across the Big Sky Bird Festival. Things kick off today at Kalispell’s Hilton Garden Inn, but the feathers really start flying (or the binoculars really start getting raised) on Saturday and Sunday morning.

Visit mtaudubon.org/birdwatching/festival.html.

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See all the beautful people and purchase fresh-baked yummies, gorgeous veggies and maybe have a taco at one of western Montana’s farmers’ markets. In Missoula at Circle Square (missoulafarmersmarket.com), on Pine Street and under the Higgins Avenue bridge (clarkforkrivermarket.com), in Stevensville on Main Street and in Hamilton at South Third and Bedford streets. Hours vary for the markets but it all typically goes down between 8 AM and 1 PM. Slam down a Flaming Blue Lambourgini and party down at the Missoula Independent’s 21st birthday party, Indy Fest. Food and family fun and bands galore: Jameson & theSordid Seeds, Sick Kids XOXO, Shahs, Off in the Woods, and Baby & Bukowski. Plus a limited edition beer, Indy Red Ale, brewed by Blacksmith Brewing Co. Caras Park. 4-10 PM. Free.

Put your hand up on my hip and sign-up for the Pengelly Double & Single Dip, a serious bit of running up Mt. Sentinel. The double dip starts art 9 AM and is a half-marathon for those with knees o’ steel, while the single dip is a mere 10K. Both races field the best views in town. Visit runwildmissoula.org.

SUNDAY JUNE 10 Take a Sunday stroll and a spin on the carousel at the Carousel Sunday Market &

Explorer 2012

Festival, which offers up local veggies, crafts and all sort of yummikins. Every Sunday from 10 AM to 2 PM at the New Park parking lot near A Carousel for Missoula. Visit carrousel.com/acfm/carousel-sunday-marketand-events.

MONDAY JUNE 11 Travel through space and time during the ExplorationWorks Science Center Distinguished Space Speaker Series when you listen to NASA Astronaut Dr. Cady Coleman talk about her 4,330 hours logged in space, including three missions to the International Space Station, her flights aboard the space shuttle and her stint on a Russian Soyuz. She speaks at Helena Middle School Auditorium at 7 PM. Free. Space is limited (ha!).

Don't just express yourself, be expressive at the ZACC's weekly, one-hour poetry workshop. 235 N. 1st St. 8 PM. Free.

At Slacker Mondays, from 6 PM until close, slackline fans can come to Freestone Climbing Center at 935 Toole Ave. to test their balance. $13. Visit freestoneclimbing.com.

TUESDAY JUNE 12 It’s always a glutenous good time when Wheat Montana, 2520 S. Third St. W., presents Black Mountain Bluegrass at 5:30 PM. Free. Call 327-0900.

Acupuncture Clinic of Missoula Dallas Seaber, L.Ac., MAcOM | AnnaBryn Simkowitz-Rogers, L.Ac., MAcTCM State Licensed and Nationally Certified Acupuncturists

Oriental Medicine is a comprehensive health care system that treats the whole body and mind, and works well with western medical care. The strength of this ancient medical system is its ability to treat ailments that range from the common cold, to pain and injury, to mental and emotional health, and almost everything in between including:

• All Types of Pain/Injury, Headaches, Neck and Back Pain • Respiratory Health: Allergies (NAET), Asthma, Sinusitis, Rhinitis, Bronchitis • Insomnia/Sleep Issues • Women’s and Men’s Health • Health Maintenance & Wellness • Stress Reduction • Mental/Emotional Health Depression/Anxiety/ADD/ADHD/OCD • Digestive Health/IBS/Crohn’s Disease/Chronic Constipation/Diarrhea

Free Consultation • 728-1600 Located at Health Options Clinic 3031 S. Russell

www.AcupunctureClinicOfMissoula.com

For those about to rock, be sure that you are sure. Southern Rockers Black Stone Cherry play the Wilma on Thu., June 7, at 8 PM. $15, with tickets available at ticketfly.com.

WEDNESDAY JUNE 13

SATURDAY JUNE 16

Num-nums and various vittles are the order of the day at Missoula’s Caras Park during Out to Lunch, which runs from 11 AM to 2 PM. This week’s tunage provided by Zeppo MT. Free. Visit missouladowntown.com

See all the beautful people and purchase fresh-baked yummies, gorgeous veggies and maybe have a taco at one of western Montana’s farmers’ markets. In Missoula at Circle Square (missoulafarmersmarket.com), on Pine Street and under the Higgins Avenue bridge (clarkforkrivermarket.com), in Stevensville on Main Street and in Hamilton at South Third and Bedford streets. Hours vary for the markets but it all typically goes down between 8 AM and 1 PM.

THURSDAY JUNE 14 Meet up with the crew and do that voodoo that you do so well at Downtown ToNight, a weekly food fete at Missoula’s Caras Park from 5:30-8:30 PM. This week’s tunes

by Dead Winter Carpenters. Free. Visit missouladowntown.com.

FRIDAY JUNE 15 Forget television, the Alpine Theatre Project’s production of Master Class is the kind of high-powered drama you can’t get enough of. The story of an opera diva who challenges her master class to take the kinds of risks that made her a controversial star features Tony Award nominee Barbara Walsh and is directed by David Ackroyd, who you might know from “Dallas” and “Knots Landing.” Shows at the Whitefish Performing Arts Center, 600 E. Second Street in Whitefish at 8 PM. $18–$39 at alpine theatreproject.com

Forget television, the Alpine Theatre Project’s production of Master Class is the kind of high-powered drama you can’t get enough of. The story of an opera diva who challenges her master class to take the kinds of risks that made her a controversial star features Tony Award nominee Barbara Walsh and is directed

by David Ackroyd, who you might know from “Dallas” and “Knots Landing.” Shows at the Whitefish Performing Arts Center, 600 E. Second Street in Whitefish at 8 PM. $18–$39 at alpinetheatreproject.com

SUNDAY JUNE 17 Take a Sunday stroll and a spin on the carousel at the Carousel Sunday Market & Festival, which offers up local veggies, crafts and all sort

of yummikins. Every Sunday from 10 AM to 2 PM at the New Park parking lot near A Carousel for Missoula. Visit carrousel.com/acfm/ carousel-sunday-market-and-events.

Forget television, the Alpine Theatre Project’s production of Master Class is the kind of high-powered drama you can’t get enough of. The story of an opera diva who challenges her master class to take the kinds of risks that made her a controversial star features Tony Award nominee Barbara Walsh and is directed

by David Ackroyd, who you might know from “Dallas” and “Knots Landing.” Shows at the Whitefish Performing Arts Center, 600 E. Second Street in Whitefish at 6 PM. $18–$39 at alpinetheatreproject.com Suck on this! Stalwarts of the ‘90s Primus perform whacked out antipop tuneage at the Big Sky Brewery in Missoula at 8 PM. $35, with advance tickets at knittingfactory.com

MONDAY JUNE 18 Forget television, the Alpine Theatre Project’s production of Master Class is the kind of high-powered drama you can’t get enough of. The story of an opera diva who challenges her master class to take the kinds of risks that made her a controversial star features Tony Award nominee Barbara Walsh

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We have quick and delicious lunch specials 6 days a week starting at $7, and are open for dinner 7 nights a week.

Lunch 11:30-3 Mon-Sat. Dinner 5-9:30 Every Night.

Very Family Friendly.

and is directed by David Ackroyd, who you might now from “Dallas” and “Knots Landing.”

Shows at the Whitefish Performing Arts Center, 600 E. Second Street in Whitefish at 8 PM. $18–$39 at alpinetheatreproject.com Don't just express yourself, be expressive at the ZACC's weekly, one-hour poetry workshop. 235 N. 1st St. 8 PM. Free.

At Slacker Mondays, at 6 PM until close, slackline fans can come to Freestone Climbing Center at 935 Toole Ave. $13. Visit freestoneclimbing.com.

TUESDAY JUNE 19 It’s always a glutenous good time when Wheat Montana, 2520 S. Third St. W., presents Black Mountain Bluegrass at 5:30 PM. Free. Call 327-0900.

Forget television, the Alpine Theatre Project’s production of Master Class is the kind of high-powered drama you can’t get enough of. The story of an opera diva who challenges her master class to take the kinds of risks that made her a controversial star features Tony Award nominee Barbara Walsh and is directed

by David Ackroyd, who you might know from “Dallas” and “Knots Landing.” Shows at the

Whitefish Performing Arts Center, 600 E. Second Street in Whitefish at 8 PM. $18–$39 at alpinetheatreproject.com

WEDNESDAY JUNE 20 Howl at the moon and shoot out the lights at the Missoula Cultural Council inaugural Summer Solstice Party at the Missoula Winery. With tunes by Salsa Loca and an open air art auction squired by Mayor John Engen.

5646 W. Harrier Way. missoulacultural.org.

Num-nums and various vittles are the order of the day at Missoula’s Caras Park during Out to Lunch, which runs from 11 AM to 2 PM. This week’s tunage provided by Gladys Friday. Free. Visit missouladowntown.com Forget television, the Alpine Theatre Project’s production of Master Class is the kind of high-powered drama you can’t get enough of. The story of an opera diva who challenges her master class to take the kinds of risks that made her a controversial star features Tony Award nominee Barbara Walsh and is directed

by David Ackroyd, who you might know from “Dallas” and “Knots Landing.” Shows at the Whitefish Performing Arts Center, 600 E. Second Street in Whitefish at 8 PM. $18–$39 at alpinetheatreproject.com

THURSDAY JUNE 21 Love thy neighbor? Sure. But this weekend you should also give the globe a big wet one and a hug because it’s the Love Your Mother Earth Festival. Bands include Euforquestra, The True Spokes, Bobo David, The Tequila Mockingbird Orchestra and many others. Today through Sunday, June 24, at Rock Creek Lodge in Clinton. $55 in advance from Ear Candy or Rockin Rudy’s, or $65 at the gate. Visit loveyourmother earthfestival.com.

You haven’t really experienced Montana until you’ve soaked in the scene at Libby’s Logger Days. Watch large men cut even larger pieces of wood, among other competitions, starting today at 5 PM and running through Sunday, all at J. Neil’s Memorial Park in downtown Libby. Visit loggerdays.org.

Meet up with the crew and do that voodoo that you do so well at Downtown ToNight, a weekly food fete at Missoula’s Caras Park from 5:30-8:30 PM. This week’s tunes

by Cabin Fever. Free. Visit missoula downtown.com.

Forget television, the Alpine Theatre Project’s production of Master Class is the kind of

Stay one night or stay a month

406-830-3900 120 Expressway, Missoula www.staymissoula.com

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• All suites with full kitchens • Free full hot breakfast • Movie theatre • Billiards room • Basketball court • Indoor pool and hot tub • Free laundry facilities • Business center with free high-speed internet

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Pick up your reading folder at Missoula Public Library starting June 1.

The whole family is encouraged to participate!

Read books & collect coupons to use at Dairy Queen, Del’s Place, the Good Food Store, or Civitella’s Espresso Bar Summer Activity Programs for school-age children Tuesdays at 2 p.m. June 19-July 31.

Thursday afternoon at the movies! Movies show at 2 p.m.

June 21-July 26 Special programs and movies for adults June, July, and August.

Teen Nightclub Wednesdays 2-6 p.m. June 20-July 25.

See www.missoulapubliclibrary.org for details.

theuptownflatsmissoula.com

1 & 2 bedroom condos.

Walking distance to Farmers’ Market, Art Museum, shops, restaurants, Clark Fork River and everything Downtown Missoula has to offer.

Jeff Ellis 406-529-5087

Anne Jablonski 406-546-5816

PORTICO REAL ESTATE

high-powered drama you can’t get enough of. The story of an opera diva who challenges her master class to take the kinds of risks that made her a controversial star features Tony Award nominee Barbara Walsh and is directed by David Ackroyd, who you might know from “Dallas” and “Knots Landing.” Shows at the Whitefish Performing Arts Center, 600 E. Second Street in Whitefish at 8 PM. $18–$39 at alpinetheatreproject.com

FRIDAY JUNE 22 Celebrate Western heritage in historic Stevensville during Heritage Days. Things kick off this evening at 5 PM, but Saturday features a parade and evening dance. All events on Main Street. Visit mainstreetstevensville.com.

The Missoula Osprey open their first home series with a twonight stand against the hated Great Falls Voyagers at 7:05 nightly. Call 543-3300.

Forget television, the Alpine Theatre Project’s production of Master Class is the kind of high-powered drama you can’t get enough of. The story of an opera diva who challenges her master class to take the kinds of risks that made her a controversial star features Tony Award nominee Barbara Walsh and is directed by David Ackroyd, who you might know from “Dallas” and “Knots Landing.” Shows at the Whitefish Performing Arts Center, 600 E. Second Street in Whitefish at 8 PM. $18–$39 at alpinetheatreproject.com Do some reminiscin’ or learn about the olden days of the ‘80s during The Montana Band 25th Anniversary Reunion Tour at the Wilma Theatre, show starts at 8:30 PM. $25, tickets available at ticketfly.com.

SATURDAY JUNE 23 See all the beautful people and purchase fresh-baked yummies, gorgeous veggies and maybe have a taco at one of western Montana’s farmers’ markets. In Missoula at Circle Square (missoulafarmersmarket.com), on

Pine Street and under the Higgins Avenue bridge (clarkforkrivermarket.com), in Stevensville on Main Street and in Hamilton at South Third and Bedford streets. Hours vary for the markets but it all typically goes down between 8 AM and 1 PM. Terry Malt just may melt your face off during a set at The Palace, 147 W. Broadway. 9 p.m.

Cover TBA. Taste all the Treasure State has to offer at th 4th Annual Garden City LocalFest, which has a farmer’s grip of music, kids’ activities and, new this year, the Local Gourmet Chef Challenge. Caras Park. 11:45-8 PM. Free.

Forget television, the Alpine Theatre Project’s production of Master Class is the kind of high-powered drama you can’t get enough of. The story of an opera diva who challenges her master class to take the kinds of risks that made her a controversial star features Tony Award nominee Barbara Walsh and is directed by David Ackroyd, who you might know from “Dallas” and “Knots Landing.” Shows at the Whitefish Performing Arts Center, 600 E. Second Street in Whitefish at 8 PM. $18–$39 at alpinetheatreproject.com

SUNDAY JUNE 24 Rock royalty graces The Top Hat when Thurston Moore, he of Sonic Youth and the Ecstatic Peace record label, arrives for a solo show. 9 PM. $15.

Take a Sunday stroll and a spin on the carousel at the Carousel Sunday Market & Festival, which offers up local veggies, crafts and all sort of yummikins.

Every Sunday from 10 AM to 2 PM at the New Park parking lot near A Carousel for Missoula.

Vi s i t c a r r o u s e l . c o m / a c f m / carousel-sunday-market-andevents.

Forget television, the Alpine Theatre Project’s production of Master Class is the kind of high-powered drama you can’t get enough of. The story of an opera diva who challenges her Explorer 2012

Missoula Independent

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This punk is steamed. The most ‘90s band of all-time, Primus, plays hot licks at the Big Sky Brewery on Sun., June 17, at 8 PM. $35, with advance tickets at knittingfactory.com

Get away to a beautiful mountain lodge Dine at award-winning CafĂŠ Kandahar Ride the chairlift, go ziplining, pick huckleberries

Located one hour from Glacier National Park Visit our website or call for more info www.kandaharlodge.com/800-862-6094

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Missoula Independent

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ZOOTOWN ARTS COMMUNITY CENTER “Missoula’s Do-It-Yourself Art Center” • Paint Your Own Pottery Studio • Montana’s ONLY Public Print Shop • Summer Camps & Afterschool Program • Adult & Family-Friendly Art Classes • Room Rental for Events!

• Local Artist Gift Shop

china woods

JOIN US! Mon-Sat 12-6 • 2nd Friday Gallery Openings 5:30-8:30 • FREE Screenprinting 2nd Fridays • Glass Fusing Class 3rd Tuesdays

235 N. 1st St. W 406.549.7555 zootownarts.org BRING THIS AD IN FOR BUY ONE, GET ONE ½ OFF PAINT-YOUR-OWN POTTERY!

716 dickens | toole ave at the tracks | 550.2511 thursday - sunday 11-5 | chinawoodsstore.com

SPOTLIGHT

more moon

master class to take the kinds of risks that made her a controversial star features Tony Award nominee Barbara Walsh and is directed by David Ackroyd, who you might know from “Dallas” and “Knots Landing.” Shows at the Whitefish Performing Arts Center, 600 E. Second Street in Whitefish at 8 PM. $18–$39 at alpinetheatreproject.com

MONDAY JUNE 25 Don't just express yourself, be expressive at the ZACC's weekly, one-hour poetry workshop.

235 N. 1st St. 8 PM. Free.

At Slacker Mondays, at 6 PM until close, slackline fans, and you know who you are, can come to Freestone Climbing Center at 935 Toole Ave and give it your best shot. $13. Visit free stoneclimbing.com.

TUESDAY JUNE 26 It’s always a glutenous good time when Wheat Montana, 2520 S. Third St. W., presents Black Mountain Bluegrass at 5:30 PM. Free. Call 327-0900.

WEDNESDAY JUNE 27 The last couple times Wilco has traveled through Missoula, they’ve played the Adams Center and made that tinny box ring true with perfectly executed sets of their expansive brand of Americana. One of those shows—the same night the New Orleans Saints won the Super Bowl, an afterthought to the thousands of devoted fans inside—was the best I’ve ever heard the much maligned University of Montana venue sound, which is to say, the acoustics never once got in the way. That said, one couldn’t help but wonder what songs like “California Stars” or “More Like the Moon” could sound like, you know, under the actual stars and moon.

Wilco is one of those bands tailor made for summer outdoor

shows, where sunburned fans can wear flip-flops and swig beers, and sets can begin at sunset and end well into darkness.

They are, after all, getting comparisons to a contemporary Grateful Dead for their inventive live shows, tireless touring and dedicated following. And the Dead were always a different animal when fans, unencumbered by winter weather, could mill about before and after long summer shows. It was an event as much as a concert.

Maybe that’s what Missoula will experience when Wilco visits in June. It’s at a brewery, for goodness sakes, with clear views in every direction of Big Sky Country’s big sky. That seems like a good recipe for a memorable evening.

—Skylar Browning

Who: Wilco, with Blitzen Trapper When: Thursday, June 28, 7:30 p.m.

Where: Big Sky Brewery, 5417 Trumpeter Way How Much: $44 at ticketfly.com

Korn has been around for a long time, but it’s still nu metal to us.

See the band that recorded Life is Peachy and See You on the Other Side at Big Sky Brewing, with J. Devil and Sluggo opening.

8 p.m. $36 at ticketfly.com.

Num-nums and various vittles are the order of the day at Missoula’s Caras Park during Out to Lunch, which runs from 11 AM to 2 PM. This week’s tunage provided by Broken Valley Roadshow. Free. Visit missouladowntown.com Grab a can of corn and head out for an evening of America’s pasttime when the Missoula Osprey take on the Helena Brewers during a three-night stand at 7:05 PM nightly. Call 543-3300.

THURSDAY JUNE 28 Meet up with the crew and do that voodoo that you do so well at Downtown ToNight, a weekly food fete at Missoula’s Caras Park from 5:30-8:30 PM. This Explorer 2012

week’s tunes by Chele Bandulu.

Free. Visit missoual downtown.com.

Listen, Roger, Wilco brings their rarified sound and well-reviewed tunes to the Big Sky Brewery along with PDX alt-country allstars Blitzen Trapper at 7:30 PM. $44, with advance tickets available at knittingfactory.com.

FRIDAY JUNE 29 Wax the hood and polish the rims of your favorite lowrider for the annual River Rod Run in downtown Missoula. Nearly 200 classic and hot rods vehicles parade through town starting at 9 PM and ending with more gawking at Caras Park.

Meriwether Lewis called the Lubrecht Experimental Forest the “prairie of the knobs” and that’s where you’ll meet for the Montana Native Plant Society’s anniversary annual meeting, which starts today and continues through Sunday, July 1.

Register between 3 PM and 6 PM, then eat dinner and party with other plant lovers and spend the next couple of days field tripping through places such as Garnet Ghost Town and Swan Valley, and discussing plants. $30/$10 kids, plus meal and lodging fees. Go to mtnativeplants.org for more info and to register online.

SATURDAY JUNE 30 See all the beautful people and purchase fresh-baked yummies, gorgeous veggies and maybe have a taco at one of western Montana’s farmers’ markets. In Missoula at Circle Square (missoulafarmersmarket.com), on Pine Street and under the Higgins Avenue bridge (clarkforkrivermarket.com), in Stevensville on Main Street and in Hamilton at South Third and Bedford streets. Hours vary for the markets but it all typically goes down between 8 AM and 1 PM. Here’s all you need to know: savory hors d’oeuvres, beer or wine, and the docile tones of a few yarns and tales gracefully told by cowboy poets. Oh, and yodeling. An Afternoon of Cowboy Poetry and Music

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starts at 2 PM at Ravalli County Museum.

the

July SUNDAY JULY 1 Take a Sunday stroll and a spin on the carousel at the Carousel Sunday Market & Festival, which offers up local veggies and crafts.

Every Sunday from 10 AM to 2 PM at the New Park parking lot near A Carousel for Missoula. Visit carrousel.com/acfm/carousel-sundaymarket-and-events.

MONDAY JULY 2 Don't just express yourself, be expressive at the ZACC's weekly, one-hour poetry workshop. 235 N. 1st St. 8 PM. Free.

At Slacker Mondays, at 6 PM until close, slackline fans, and you know who you are, can come to Freestone Climbing Center at 935 Toole Ave and give it your best shot. $13. Visit free stoneclimbing.com.

TUESDAY JULY 3 It’s always a glutenous good time when Wheat Montana, 2520 S. Third St. W., presents Black Mountain Bluegrass at 5:30 PM. Free. Call 327-0900.

WEDNESDAY JULY 4 Show the Brits how it’s done ‘Merican-stylie and celebrate Independence Day with a Fireworks Spectacular at Southgate Mall, beginning at 9 PM with live tuneage, the presentation of colors and the national anthemm then, blam-o! the fireworks begin at 10:30 PM. Bring a chair. Park in the lot in front of Bob Ward’s. Free.

Num-nums and various vittles are the order of the day at Missoula’s Caras Park during Out to Lunch, which runs from 11 AM to 2 PM. This week’s tunage provided by Shodown. Free. Visit missouladowntown.com

THURSDAY JULY 5 Meet up with the crew and do that voodoo that you do so well at Downtown ToNight, a weekly food fete at Missoula’s Caras 76

Park from 5:30-8:30 PM. This week’s tunes by Blue Collar. Free.

Visit missouladowntown.com.

Crazed dentists and man-eating plants aren’t that far from reality, are they? Little Shop of Horrors got a boost when it came to the big screen with Steve Martin and Rick Moranis.

The musical production by the Alpine Theatre Project brings back what was a spoof on 1950s sci-fi movies. You can catch it at the Whitefish Performing Arts Center in Whitefish, 600 E. Second St., at 8 PM. $18–$39 at alpinetheatreproject.com

SPOTLIGHT

a mighty win

FRIDAY JULY 6 Cruise the streets of Missoula today and scope all that art on display in galleries and storefronts and on sidewalks during First Friday, when artists of all styles and scenes unleash their works on the town for you to peruse. Visit firstfridays missoula.blogspot.com.

Crazed dentists and man-eating plants aren’t that far from reality, are they? Little Shop of Horrors got a boost when it came to the big screen with Steve Martin and Rick Moranis.

The musical production by the Alpine Theatre Project brings back what was a spoof on 1950s sci-fi movies. You can catch it at the Whitefish Performing Arts Center in Whitefish, 600 E. Second St., at 8 PM. $18–$39 at alpinetheatreproject.com

SATURDAY JULY 7 Run down to the Caras Park Pavilion to pick up your registration packet and hang out with like-minded foot abusers at the Missoula Marathon Expo and Missoula Marathon Festival from 8 AM to 6 PM, where food and fun abound as well as a kids’ marathon at 10 AM. Then on Sunday, July 8, at 6 AM, endeavor to pugilize your mind, body and soles during the Missoula Marathon or take it easy and do the half-marathon, a mere 13.1 miles. Go to runwildmissoula.org for details.

The annual Whitefish Arts Festival attracts more than 100

Missoula Independent

Explorer 2012

Like it or not, the Montana Folk Festival in Butte, America, is much more than a bunch of old gummers scratchin’ at their fiddles and strumming odes to the Appalachian coal miners of yore.

Indeed the festival has taken on the same international flair that Butte had during the heyday of the “Copper Kings.” It makes sense. After all, the festival began after the city hosted the National Folk Festival and its wide-ranging performers for three years.

The MFF squashes the notion that folk music is simply home to lily-white harmonies or living room hootenannies hosted by Uncle Jimbo belting out the revivalist folk numbers of artists such as The Kingston Trio. (Not that there’s anything wrong with that.) The eclectic lineup of performers is certain to have something for every music fan and likely something you didn’t know you loved, from the Scandinavian fiddle music of Paul Dahlin to the kosher gospel of Joshua Nelson

to the sacred hula dancing of Hula Halau ‘O KeiKialI’I to the western swing of Hot Club of Cowtown.

But if your horn don’t toot for music there’s plenty of other action going down. The First Peoples’ Market features contemporary and traditional American Indian arts and crafts, while the Montana Traditions Art Market has pottery, jewelry and other handmade crafts. On Saturday, July 14, the Butte Farmers’ Market might have some of the best carrots you’ve never had. Also, the Montana Folklife Area hosts old-timey demonstrations based on this year’s festival theme– Connecting the West: Transportation To and From the Western Crossroads. If none of that suits you, maybe you ought to buy a pork chop sandwich (“loaded”), take a seat on the stoop of the old YMCA and watch 165,000 musically sated people stream on by.

–Jason McMackin

WHAT: The Montana Folk Festival WHO: Hot Club of Cowtown, Diunna Greenleaf and Blue Mercy Band, Samba Ngo and many more WHEN: Fri., July 13, through Sun., July 15 WHERE: Butte, Montana HOW MUCH: Free

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artists to Depot Park in downtown Whitefish for a weekend of fine crafts, food and community celebration. Starts at 10 AM both today and Sunday.

See all the beautful people and purchase fresh-baked yummies, gorgeous veggies and maybe have a taco at one of western Montana’s farmers’ markets. In Missoula at Circle Square (missoulafarmersmarket.com), on Pine Street and under the Higgins Avenue bridge (clarkforkrivermarket.com), in Stevensville on Main Street and in Hamilton at South Third and Bedford streets. Hours vary for the markets but it all typically goes down between 8 AM and 1 PM. A bunch of rag-tag musicians with who knows what kind of instruments get together on the first Sat. of every month for The Bitterroot Valley Good-Time Jamboree, a musical concert with Scatter the Mud from 7–9:30 PM at The Grange Hall, 1436 South 1st St. Call Clem at 961-4949.

Crazed dentists and man-eating plants aren’t that far from reality, are they? Little Shop of

Horrors got a boost when it came to the big screen with Steve Martin and Rick Moranis.

The musical production by the Alpine Theatre Project brings back what was a spoof on 1950s sci-fi movies. You can catch it at the Whitefish Performing Arts Center in Whitefish, 600 E. Second St., at 8 PM. $18–$39 at alpinetheatreproject.com Grab a blanket and enjoy the cinemagic with your special friend(s) under the stars at the Missoula Outdoor Cinema. This evening’s screening is the kid-friendly Chicken Run, starting around 9:30 PM, at the the Headstart school on the corner of Worden and Phillips on Missoula’s Northside. Free, but donations accepted.

SUNDAY JULY 8 If it’s Wrangler butts that be driving you nuts, then the 7th Annual PRCA Rodeo in Drummond might put you in a mood or give you a spell. Parade at noon, rodeo at 2 PM. Sponsored by the Drummond Kiwanis.

Drummond is 52 miles east of Missoula on I90. drummondmontana.com.

Why are all these people running? Must be the Missoula Marathon, which starts at 6 AM and finishes on the Higgins Avenue bridge. If you’re not running, consider cheering on some of the poor souls in the midst of struggling through 26.2 gorgeous miles of terrain. Visit runwildmissoula.org.

Crazed dentists and man-eating plants aren’t that far from reality, are they? Little Shop of Horrors got a boost when it came to the big screen with Steve Martin and Rick Moranis.

The musical production by the Alpine Theatre Project brings back what was a spoof on 1950s sci-fi movies. You can catch it at the Whitefish Performing Arts Center in Whitefish, 600 E. Second St., at 6 PM. $18–$39 at alpinetheatreproject.com

TUESDAY JULY 10 Crazed dentists and man-eating plants aren’t that far from reality, are they? Little Shop of Horrors got a boost when it came to the big screen with Steve Martin and Rick Moranis.

The musical production by the Alpine Theatre Project brings back what was a

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The Glacier Institute serves adults and children as an educational leader in the Crown of the Continent ecosystem, with Glacier National Park and the Flathead National Forest at its center. The Crown of the Continent is the only ecosystem in the lower forty eight states where all indigenous predator and prey species are naturally occurring, including grizzly bears and gray wolves.

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spoof on 1950s sci-fi movies. You can catch it at the Whitefish Performing Arts Center in Whitefish, 600 E. Second St., at 8 PM. $18–$39 at alpinetheatreproject.com

WEDNESDAY JULY 11 Num-nums and various vittles are the order of the day at Missoula’s Caras Park during Out to Lunch, which runs from 11 AM to 2 PM. This week’s tunage provided by Erik Fingers Ray. Free. Visit missoula downtown.com Lookout for basalt flows when the Grand Junction Rockies take-on the Missoula Osprey for three nights beginning tonight at 7:05 PM. Call 543-3300.

Crazed dentists and man-eating plants aren’t that far from reality, are they? Little Shop of Horrors got a boost when it came to the big screen with Steve Martin and Rick Moranis.

The musical production by the Alpine Theatre Project brings back what was a spoof on 1950s sci-fi movies. You can catch it at the Whitefish Performing Arts Center in Whitefish, 600 E. Second St., at 8 PM. $18–$39 at alpinetheatreproject.com

THURSDAY JULY 12 If you’ve never watched the graceful movements of a Missouri Fox Trotter horse in

action you’ve never beheld beauty. Not to fear the Big Sky Fox Trotter Association is holding its annual point show at the Sapphire Event Center in Corvallis. The threeday show hosts horses and riders from all over the country. Call 777-0577 for more info.

All the pretty horses have gathered outside Kalispell for The Event at Rebecca Farm, a four-day equestrian competition. Visit rebeccafarm.org for full schedule and admission info.

Kick the tire and light the fire, Bosco, the Missoula Independent’s Best of Missoula party gets rockin’ with tunes, food and awards galore.

Categories include Most Awesomest Dude and Least Canadian. Caras Park. 5 PM. Free.

Alpine Theatre Project brings back what was a spoof on 1950s sci-fi movies. You can catch it at the Whitefish Performing Arts Center, 600 E. Second St., at 8 PM. $18–$39 at alpinetheatreproject.com

FRIDAY JULY 13 Hitch a ride to Butte, America for the threeday music mega-blast, the Montana Folk Festival. The festival hosts a wide-array of international folk artists and artisans and has a farmers’ market, too. Free. montana folkfestival.com.

Crazed dentists and man-eating plants aren’t that far from reality, are they? Little Shop of Horrors got a boost when it came to the big screen with Steve Martin and Rick Moranis.

The musical production by the Alpine Theatre Project brings back what was a spoof on 1950s sci-fi movies. You can catch it at the Whitefish Performing Arts Center in Whitefish, 600 E. Second St., at 8 PM. $18–$39 at alpinetheatreproject.com

SATURDAY JULY 14 Grab a blanket and enjoy the cinemagic with your special friend(s) under the stars at the Missoula Outdoor Cinema. This evening’s screening is 1968’s The Producers, starting around 9:30 PM, at the the Headstart school on the corner of Worden and Phillips on Missoula’s Northside. Free, but donations accepted.

Follow the horse trailers on them Cadillacs down to Darby for Bull-O-Rama, a professional bull riding event that is certain to be a fine old time for all but a few cowboys, at the South Valley Event Center. 7 PM. Visit southvalleyeventcenter.com.

Coach Williams would tell you this: All’s you little sucks need to do to win the 3-on-3 Street Jam is defend the pick-and-roll, my mom knows that. The jam takes place today

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Farmer’s Market 9-1 Downtown Polson.................Every Friday Mission Mountain Rodeo & Parade..........................June 29-30 Arlee Powwow .............................................................July 4-8 4th of July Parade & Block Party: Fireworks at Dusk July 4 Lake County Relay for Life.........................................July 13-14 Standing Arrow Powwow...........................................July 20-22 Live History Days.........................................................July 21-22 Main Street Cherry Festival........................................July 21-22 20th Annual Flathead Lake 3-on-3 Tournament.....July 27-29 Ronan Lake County Fair .............................................July 30-Aug 4 Polson Bay's Water Daze............................................August 4 Cruisen' By the Bay: Car Show & Concert...............August 10-11 Sandpiper Gallery Art Festival: Courthouse Lawn..August 11 Smokin' on the Water: BBQ Cook-Off......................August 18 Brew Tour......................................................................August 18 Rotary Chili Cook-Off..................................................August 25 Polson Fly-In.................................................................September 8

and tomorrow in the parking lot of Northgate Plaza, located near the intersection of Mullan Road and North Reserve Street. Call 544-6623 or visit missoulachamber.com.

North America’s best mountain bikers converge on Marshall Mountain for the Hammer Nutrition Missoula XC. This professional race is part of USA Cycling’s cross-country mountain bike tour, and is the last tune-up before American and Canadian cyclists head to London for the Summer Olympics. All-day events with elite riders starting at 3 PM (women) and 6 PM (men). Visit missoulaxc.org.

See all the beautful people and purchase fresh-baked yummies, gorgeous veggies and maybe have a taco at one of western Montana’s farmers’ markets. In Missoula at Circle Square (missoulafarmersmarket.com), on Pine Street and under the Higgins Avenue bridge (clarkforkrivermarket.com), in Stevensville on Main Street and in Hamilton at South Third and Bedford streets. Hours vary for the markets but it all t ypically goes down between 8 AM and 1 PM. Who are are the Orem Owlz? The opponents of the Missoula Osprey for the next four nights at 7:05 PM. Call 543-3300.

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Missoula Independent

Crazed dentists and man-eating plants aren’t that far from reality, are they? Little Shop of Horrors got a boost when it came to the big screen with Steve Martin and Rick Moranis.

The musical production by the Alpine Theatre Project brings back what was a spoof on 1950s sci-fi movies. You can catch it at the Whitefish Performing Arts Center in Whitefish, 600 E. Second St., at 8 PM. $18–$39 at alpinetheatreproject.com

SUNDAY JULY 15 Crazed dentists and man-eating plants aren’t that far from reality, are they? Little Shop of Horrors got a boost when it came to the big screen with Steve Martin and Rick Moranis.

The musical production by the Explorer 2012

Alpine Theatre Project brings back what was a spoof on 1950s sci-fi movies. You can catch it at the Whitefish Performing Arts Center in Whitefish, 600 E. Second St., at 6 PM. $18–$39 at alpinetheatreproject.com

MONDAY JULY 16 The rock will be raining down when HaleStorm hits the historic Wilma Theatre, with New Medicine & Emphatic opening. 7 PM. $17.

WEDNESDAY JULY 18 The pride of Boise, Youth Lagoon, aka Trevor Powers, plays the Top Hat. Maybe he’ll play his haunting track “Montana” since, well, you know.

10 PM. Cover TBA. Num-nums and various vittles are the order of the day at Missoula’s Caras Park during Out to Lunch, which runs from 11 AM to 2 PM. This week’s tunage provided by Ed Norton Big Band. Free. Visit missoula downtown.com

THURSDAY JULY 19 Meet up with the crew and do that voodoo that you do so well at Downtown ToNight, a weekly food fete at Missoula’s Caras Park from 5:30-8:30 PM. This week’s tunes by Big Sky Mudflaps. Free. Visit missoualdowntown.com.

FRIDAY JULY 20 Sharpen your throwing axe, hop in the crummy and head down the ‘Root for Darby Logger Days, a two-day celebration of the logging life which begins Friday, July 20, at 4 PM with boxing over water and kids’ chocker races. On Saturday, July 21, a parade begins at 9 AM with food, music and competitions throughout the day. Visit darbyloggerdays.com.

The Hockaday Museum of Art breaks free from the confines of brick and mortar to bring you Arts in the Park, an annual fundraiser held at Kalispell’s Depot Park. 9 AM both today and Saturday, but 10 AM on Sunday. Visit www.hockaday museum.org.

SPOTLIGHT

no joke

Steve Martin & The Steep Canyon Rangers perform bluegrass music and surely make you giggle when they perform at Ogren Park Allegiance Field in Missoula at 7:30 PM. Tickets are $39.50 to $59.50 and available at ticketfly.com.

SATURDAY JULY 21

All of Me is the first comedy I watched multiple times to make myself cry with laughter. From there, Steve Martin came into my world in welcomed waves of absurd hilarity: The Jerk, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, old and new “Saturday Night Live” sketches (that dance with Gilda Radner!) and his stand-up. He’s written awesome books, screenplays and plays. And, if you didn’t know already, he’s an extraordinary banjo player. Lest you think this just another case of some celebrity trying his hand at being a cool musician, I’m telling you now, you’re wrong. Martin has been playing banjo since he was 17 when he used to take 33rpm bluegrass records and slow them down to learn the tunes. He’s used the banjo in stand-up routines as well, but over the years he’s only gotten better. In 2001, he played banjo on Earl Scruggs’ remake of “Foggy Mountain

Breakdown,” and the album it was on won a Grammy the following year. In 2009, he put out his own full-length music-only album—sans stand-up material—called The Crow: New Songs for the 5-String Banjo. That album, which includes a cameo from Dolly Parton, won a Grammy for Best Bluegrass Album in 2010, and it’s amazing.

That same year, Martin went on “Late Show with David Letterman” and gave out a statue and $50,000 check to a young banjo player named Noam Pikelny. Martin was warm and funny, but mostly selflessly promoting the rising banjo star on the show. When they played dueling banjos sitting next to Letterman, it all started out serious, but then, like an “SNL” skit, Pikelny got fancy with his fingerpicking and Martin, in classic Martin deadpan, stared him down as the check in Pikelny’s pocket magically moved back into Martin’s, as if he’d decided to take his money back. It’s funny, and you still get a taste for good banjo-picking.

Martin’s upcoming show in Missoula promises to be a treat for audiences and showcase his sweet mix of comedy and musicianship. Do I have a celebrity crush on Steve Martin after all these years? Obviously. I bet you do, too.

—Erika Fredrickson

WHO: Steve Martin with the Steep Canyon Rangers WHAT: An Evening of Bluegrass and Comedy WHERE: Ogren Park Allegiance Field WHEN: Fri., July 20, 7:30 p.m.

HOW MUCH: Stadium seats $39.50/field seats $59.50 at ticketfly.com or MSO Hub

Find out what Uncle Fester was yammering about during suppertime at the Miracle of America Museum’s annual Live History Days south of Polson on Hwy. 93. This two-day event features old-timey activities such as soapmaking, blacksmithery, weavers, carvers and more. Music and sweet old rides to boot. Visit miracleofamericamuseum.org or call 883-6804.

Grab a blanket and enjoy the cinemagic with your special friend(s) under the stars at the Missoula Outdoor Cinema. This evening’s screening is Mike Judge’s Office Space, starting around 9:30 PM, at the the Headstart school on the corner of Worden and Phillips on Missoula’s Northside. Free, but donations accepted.

See all the beautful people and purchase fresh-baked yummies, gorgeous veggies and maybe have a taco at one of western Montana’s farmers’ markets. In Missoula at Circle Square (missoulafarmersmarket.com), on Pine Street and under the Higgins Avenue bridge (clarkforkrivermarket.com), in Stevensville on Main Street and in Hamilton at South Third and Bedford streets. Hours vary for the markets but it all typically goes down between 8 AM and 1 PM. Put a smile on your face ten miles wide during Polson’s twoday Flathead Cherry Festival, which begins at 9 AM, and features cherry pie eating contests, cherry-inspred num-nums and of loads of nice people spitting cherry pits for distance. Visit montanacherries.com.

WEDNESDAY JULY 25 Num-nums and various vittles are the order of the day at Missoula’s Caras Park during Out Explorer 2012

to Lunch, which runs from 11 AM to 2 PM. This week’s tunage provided by Kenny James Miller. Free. Visit missoula downtown.com

THURSDAY JULY 26 The pros know that going to St. Patty’s Day in Butte, America is a cold, dark, wet mess. That’s why they head to Evel Knievel Days in sunny and dry July. This threeday event celebrates the world’s most famous stuntman with daredevils, car shows, mototrcycle antics and, of course, tube tops. Head to knieveldays.com.

Meet up with the crew and do that voodoo that you do so well at Downtown ToNight, a weekly food fete at Missoula’s Caras Park from 5:30-8:30 PM. This week’s tunes by The Cold Hard Cash Show. Free. Visit missoula downtown.com.

FRIDAY JULY 27 Brother, let me tell you about hard times, the Hardtimes Bluegrass Festival a coon’s throw from Hamilton that is. This three-day long is for fans of traditional bluegrass and family fun.

Music begins today at 6 PM and concludes on Sunday at 4 PM. Admission for the weekend is $10, under 12 $5. Camping fee is $10 for the weekend. For cogent directions and other info visit hardtimesbluegrass.com.

Step into the wayback machine when Hamilton celebrates its heritage during Daly Days.

Named after the former Copper King, this two-day event features turn of the century re-enactments, demonstrations, antique farm equipment and cars, carriage rides, local artisans, pony rides and music. On Friday night there’s a street dance in downtown Hamilton, and Saturday features sidewalk sales, a vintage car show and a brew festival. This is pretty much the biggest thing that happens up the Bitterroot, so, you know, check it out starting at 9 AM. Visit bitterrootvalleychamber.com.

Get some fresh air (if the woods aren’t ablaze) and see some fresh art at Hamilton’s Art in the Park, sponsored by the

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Bitterroot Arts Guild. The event continues through Sat., July 28 and takes place at Legion Park across from the Hamilton City Hall on Second and Bedford. 9–5 PM. Free.

SATURDAY JULY 28 Grab a blanket and enjoy the cinemagic with your special friend(s) under the stars at the Missoula Outdoor Cinema. This evening’s screening is Woody Allen’s Annie Hall, starting around 9:30 PM, at the the Headstart school on the corner of Worden and Phillips on Missoula’s Northside. Free, but donations accepted.

If you have any Irish in ya, come on down and check out Celtic Festival Missoula at Caras Park, which celebrates all things celtic and boasts the contemporary artists such as the Young Dubliners and An Dochas as well as traditional music by Tra La Gael and the Montana ShamRockers. 11 AM. Free.

See all the beautful people and purchase fresh-baked yummies, gorgeous veggies and maybe have a taco at one of western

Montana’s farmers’ markets. In Missoula at Circle Square (missoulafarmersmarket.com), on Pine Street and under the Higgins Avenue bridge (clarkforkrivermarket.com), in Stevensville on Main Street and in Hamilton at South Third and Bedford streets. Hours vary for the markets but it all typically goes down between 8 AM and 1 PM.

SUNDAY JULY 29 Finish the weekend with a couple few hours of baseball and sunstroke when the arrogant Great Falls Voyagers come to town to take on the Missoula Osprey at 5:05 PM. Call 543-3300.

MONDAY JULY 30 Representatives of the state capitol, the Helena Brewers, bring their wily ways to MSO when they take on the Missoula Osprey for two nights at 7:05 PM. Call 543-3300.

family fun fest has stage acts, games, fun, displays, food, and fun. 11:30–3:30 PM. Free.

August WEDNESDAY AUGUST 1 Go nuts, have a ball or use a pun of your own choosing at the Testicle Festival out at the Rock Creek Lodge, where partiers and pansies alike chow down two-and-half-tons of Rocky Mountain Oysters. Yep, fried bull testicles. The festy runs from 10 AM to 2 AM through Sun., Aug. 5 and is 22 miles east of Missoula off I-90 at exit 126. $15, with ticket prices subject to change. testyfesty.com.

TUESDAY JULY 31

You can say they have no heart, you can call them bastards, just don’t you dare say they ain’t got no soul. The Heartless Bastards play The Top Hat with Little Hurricane. 9 PM. Cover TBA.

Let those beautiful little urchins run amok at the Kids’ Fest in Missoula’s Caras Park. This

Num-nums and various vittles are the order of the day at Missoula’s Caras Park during

Loose Moose 145 W. Main Street Missoula, Montana

Resale Apparel Books . Music

On deck. Americana players and good eggs Broken Valley Roadshow make lunch more luncheable at Missoula's Caras Park during Out to Lunch, on Wed., June 27, from 11 AM to 2 PM. Free. Visit missouladowntown.com

Out to Lunch, which runs from 11 AM to 2 PM. This week’s tunage provided by Corinne Chapman. Free. Visit missouladowntown.com

THURSDAY AUGUST 2 Meet up with the crew and do that voodoo that you do so well at Downtown ToNight, a weekly food fete at Missoula’s Caras Park from 5:30-8:30 PM. This week’s tunes by Russ Nasset. Free. Visit missoula downtown.com.

FRIDAY AUGUST 3 Holy curds, goat boy, it’s 100th Creamery Picnic in Stevensville and this three-day event is, well, the creme de la creme of summer fun, with a parade, barbecue contest, food vendors, a foot race and crafters. Visit creamerypicnic.com.

SATURDAY AUGUST 4 Paddle on my wayward sons (and daughters), the Epic Shore to Shore Race at Flathead Lake is a scenic bit of torture-riffic racing with teams and solo participants paddling from 4.5 miles to 24 (!) miles. $45-$75. epicshoretoshore.com.

Grab a blanket and enjoy the cinemagic with your special friend(s) under the stars at the Missoula Outdoor Cinema. This evening’s screening is David Bowie’s Oscar-winning

performance in Labyrinth, starting around 9 PM, at the the Headstart school on the corner of Worden and Phillips on Missoula’s Northside. Free, but donations accepted.

See all the beautful people and purchase fresh-baked yummies, gorgeous veggies and maybe have a taco at one of western Montana’s farmers’ markets. In Missoula at Circle Square (missoulafarmersmarket.com), on Pine Street and under the Higgins Avenue bridge (clarkforkrivermarket.com), in Stevensville on Main Street and in Hamilton at South Third and Bedford streets. Hours vary for the markets but it all typically goes down between 8 AM and 1 PM.

TUESDAY AUGUST 7 Who loves to party? Everybody headed to the Western Montana State Fair, a five-day heartburn inducing, demo derbying, bullridin’, Zipper riding fun-a-pa-looza. Western Montana Fairgrounds, 1101 South Ave. W. today through Sun., Aug. 12, starting at 11 AM daily. Visit westernmontanastatefair.com or call 721-3247.

Mountain Men. Free. Visit missouladowntown.com

THURSDAY AUGUST 9 Meet up with the crew and do that voodoo that you do so well at Downtown ToNight, a weekly food fete at Missoula’s Caras Park from 5:30-8:30 PM. This week’s tunes by Mudfoot and the Dirty Soles. Visit missoula downtown.com.

The Alpine Theatre Project waits until the hot days of August to spice things up with H e dw ig and the A ngr y I t c h , t h e story of a rock band fronted by an East German transgender singer. It’s all steeped in the androgynous 1970s David Bowie era, and the story is both gleefully trashy and sweetly moving. Catch it at the Whitefish Performing Arts Center, 600 E. Second St., at 8 PM. $18–$39 at alpinetheatreproject.com.

FRIDAY AUGUST 10

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 8

Spend the weekend with a meat stick and the Missoula Osprey when they take on the Billings Mustangs for two nights at 7:05 PM. Call 543-3300.

Num-nums and various vittles are the order of the day at Missoula’s Caras Park during Out to Lunch, which runs from 11 AM to 2 PM. This week’s tunage provided by Dodgy

The Alpine Theatre Project waits until the hot days of August to spice things up with Hedwig and the Angry Itch, the story of a rock band fronted by an East German trans-

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You saw right through me. Head to the ‘Root for Darby Logger Days, a two-day celebration of the logging life which begins Fri., July 20 and runs through Sat., July 21,with classic logger sports, food and music. Visit darbyloggerdays.com. gender singer. It’s all steeped in the androgynous 1970s David Bowie era, and the story is both gleefully trashy and sweetly moving.

Catch it at the Whitefish Performing Arts Center, 600 E. Second St., at 8 PM. $18–$39 at alpinetheatreproject.com.

SATURDAY AUGUST 11 Grab a blanket and enjoy the cinemagic with your special friend(s) under the stars at the Missoula Outdoor Cinema. This evening’s screening is weird-o sci-fi flick Cowboys and Aliens, starting around 8:50 PM, at the the Headstart school on the corner of Worden and Phillips on Missoula’s Northside. Free, but donations accepted.

Shakespeare in the Parks presents the old Bard’s Twelfth Night at the Gunport Theater at Old Montana Prison Yard in Deer Lodge, at 6 PM. shakespeareintheparks.org See all the beautful people and purchase fresh-baked yummies, gorgeous veggies and maybe have a taco at one of western Montana’s farmers’ markets. In Missoula at Circle Square (missoulafarmersmarket.com), on Pine Street and under the Higgins Avenue bridge (clarkforkrivermarket.com), in Stevensville on Main Street and in Hamilton at South Third and Bedford streets. Hours vary for the markets but it all typically goes down between 8 AM and 1 PM. 88

Missoula Independent

I’ll be your huckleberry at the annual Huckleberry Festival up on the shores of Swan Lake. Browse various booths and, more importantly, witness the intense baking competition. Starts at 9 AM. Call 406-886-2003.

The Alpine Theatre Project waits until the hot days of August to spice things up with Hedwig and the Angry Itch, the story of a rock band fronted by an East German transgender singer. It’s all steeped in the androgynous 1970s David Bowie era, and the story is both gleefully trashy and sweetly moving.

Catch it at the Whitefish Performing Arts Center, 600 E. Second St., at 8 PM. $18–$39 at alpinetheatreproject.com.

SUNDAY AUGUST 12 The Missoula Symphony Orchestra takes over Caras Park and makes downtown Missoula into a melodious amphitheater during its annual Symphony in the Park concert, at 2 PM. Free.

The Alpine Theatre Project waits until the hot days of August to spice things up with Hedwig and the Angry Itch, the story of a rock band fronted by an East German transgender singer. It’s all steeped in the androgynous 1970s David Bowie era, and the story is both gleefully trashy and sweetly moving.

Catch it at the Whitefish Performing Arts Center, 600 E. Second St., at 6 PM. $18–$39

Explorer 2012

at alpinetheatreproject.com.

MONDAY AUGUST 13 Good news, Baseball Annie, the Ogden Raptors come for three nights of Pioneer League ball versus the Missoula Osprey at 7:05 PM. Call 543-3300.

TUESDAY AUGUST 14 The Alpine Theatre Project waits until the hot days of August to spice things up with Hedwig and the Angry Itch, the story of a rock band fronted by an East German transgender singer. It’s all steeped in the androgynous 1970s David Bowie era, and the story is both gleefully trashy and sweetly moving.

Catch it at the Whitefish Performing Arts Center, 600 E. Second St., at 8 PM. $18–$39 at alpinetheatreproject.com.

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 15 Num-nums and various vittles are the order of the day at Missoula’s Caras Park during Out to Lunch, which runs from 11 AM to 2 PM. This week’s tunage provided by Lefty Lucy. Free. Visit missouladowntown.com The Alpine Theatre Project waits until the hot days of August to spice things up with Hedwig and the Angry Itch, the story of a rock band fronted by an East German transgender singer. It’s all steeped in the androgy-

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the $…Under $5 $–$$…$5–$15 $$–$$$…$15 and over

Bernice’s Bakery 190 S. 3rd St. W. 406-728-1358 bernicesbakerymt.com Locally owned and operated for 35 years, Bernice’s Bakery is a Missoula landmark. Located along the Clark Fork River, Bernice’s offers you an incredible view and downtown access. No trip to Missoula should be made without a stop at Bernice’s. Enjoy cupcakes, pastries, quiche, lunches, awesome iced coffee, and the world’s best cup of joe. Then take a walk by the river. Open 7 days a week from 6am – 8pm. Come see why Bernice’s has been voted Missoula’s Best Bakery for 16 years running. xoxo Bernice.$-$$ Biga Pizza 241 W. Main Street 728-2579 Biga Pizza offers a modern, downtown dining environment combined with traditional brick oven pizza, calzones, salads, sandwiches, specials and desserts. All dough is made using a “biga” (pronounced bee-ga) which is a time-honored

Italian method of bread making. Biga Pizza uses local products and the freshest produce as well as artisan meats and cheeses. Featuring seasonal menus. Lunch and dinner, Mon-Sat. Beer & Wine available. $-$$ The Bridge Pizza Corner of S. 4th & S. Higgins Ave. 542-0002 A popular local eatery on Missoula's Hip Strip.

Featuring handcrafted artisan brick oven pizza, pasta, sandwiches, soups, & salads made with fresh, seasonal ingredients.

Missoula's place for pizza by the slice. A unique selection of regional microbrews and gourmet sodas. Dine-in, drive-thru, & delivery.

Open every day 11 to late. $-$$ Buttercup Market 1221 Helen Avenue 541-1221 One block west of the University of Montana, between McLeod and University Avenue.

Serving breakfast and lunch every day.

Espresso, pastries, and take-out dinners. In the historic Freddy's Feed & Read in the heart of the University District. $-$$

Butterfly Herbs 232 N. Higgins 728-8780 Celebrating 40 years of great c o f f e e s a n d t e a s . Tr u l y t h e “essence of Missoula.” Offering fresh coffees, teas (Evening in Missoula), bulk spices and botanicals, fine toiletries & gifts. Our cafe features homemade soups, fresh salads, and coffee ice cream specialties. In the heart of historic downtown, we are Missoula’s first and favorite Espresso Bar. Open 7 Days. $-$$

Doc’s Gourmet Sandwiches 214 N. Higgins Ave. 542-7414 Doc's is an extremely popular gathering spot for diners who appreciate the great ambiance, personal service and generous sandwiches made with the freshest ingredients. Whether you're heading out for a power lunch, meeting friends or family or just grabbing a quick takeout, Doc's is always an excellent choice. Delivery in the greater Missoula area. We also offer custom catering!...everything from gourmet appetizers to all of our menu items. $-$$

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Double Front Chicken 122 W. Alder • 543-6264 Number of years ago Double Front was built: 103. Number of years they’ve been cooking chicken: 78. Number of years in the Herndon family: 52. Always getting that perfect chicken dinner: timeless.

Come find out why we rule of the roost. Always the best, Double Front Chicken. $-$$ eMpanadas @ the Clark Fork River Market Under the Higgins St. Bridge

empanadalady.com 728-2030 Hechas a mano con amor... ¡Qué sabor! Made by hand with love…what flavor! Carne de búfalo, pollo, lamb, salchicha, humita, acelga & more. Since 2005, Missoula’s original Argentine-style empanadas are crafted from premium, homegrown ingredients and delivered by bicycle, straight from the oven to the market, every Saturday 8am – 1pm. Taste the difference. $-$$ FIVE GUYS Burgers & Fries 820 E. Broadway 830-3262 • fiveguys.com Five Guys gives you exactly what their name

offers: burgers and fries. But Missoulians come here for the best burgers and fries in town. And if you have a hankering for an amazing burger and world-class french fries, Five Guys is your place. $-$$ Flippers 125 S. 3rd West 721-4895 Flippers is the Hip Strip's only Bar and Casino.

Stop by and enjoy friendly staff, a local atmosphere, and try your luck on our machines. Also, enjoy our twelve domestic and micro beers on tap along with a delicious burger! We are open 8 am. to 2 am., seven days a week. “See you on the Flippside!”

Jimmy John's 420 N. Higgins Ave. 542-1100 jimmyjohns.com America's Favorite Sandwich Delivery Guys! Unlike any other sub shop, Jimmy John’s is all about the freshest ingredients and fastest service. Freaky Fast, Freaky Good - that's Jimmy John's.

Order online, call for delivery or visit us on Higgins. $-$$

Kind Swine Mile Marker 11 Hwy. 200 E. BIG-PORK (244-7675) Kind Swine is an authentic Kansas City style BBQ restaurant featuring ribs, chicken, brisket, burnt ends, smoked ham, pork loin, and our tantalizing house bacon! We also offer a mouthwatering selection of signature sandwiches as well as a tasty breakfast menu all day. Our hours are 7am to 9pm, 7 days a week. Come eat on the beautiful banks of the Blackfoot River. Catering is also available; call for more info. $-$$ The Mustard Seed Asian Café Southgate Mall 542-7333 Contemporary Asian Cuisine served in our all-new bistro atmosphere.

Original recipes and fresh ingredients combined from Japanese, Chinese, Polynesian, and Southeast Asian influences to appeal to American palates. Full menu available in our $…Under $5 $–$$…$5–$15 $$–$$$…$15 and over

"Best $5 Burger A Man Can Eat" ~ GQ Magazine 820 E. BROADWAY ONE BLOCK WEST OF UM

BUTTERFLY HERBS THE ESSENCE OF MISSOULA

COFFEE • TEAS • HERBS • SPICES • UNUSUAL GIFTS

COFFEE HOUSE ESPRESSO • ICE CREAM • SANDWICHES SALADS AND SOUPS 232 NORTH HIGGINS AVENUE DOWNTOWN MIS SOULA • 728-8780 90

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406-830-3262

CALL IN OR ORDER ONLINE WWW.FIVEGUYS.COM

1221 HELEN AVENUE

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the non-smoking bar. Fresh daily desserts, microbrews, fine wines & signature drinks. Takeout & delivery available. $$-$$$ Red Bird 111 N. Higgins • 549-2906 redbirdrestaurant.com A hidden culinary treasure nestled in the historic Florence Building.

The Wine Bar offers casual dining with over 25 wines by the glass & an extensive beer menu with live music on Mondays. The Restaurant offers intimate evening dining showcasing local ingredients and transforming them into edible artwork. Wine Bar Monday-Saturday 5-10:30; Restaurant Tuesday-Saturday 5-9:30. $$-$$$

Red's Bar 127 Ryman 728-9881 www.redsbar.net Home of “Dead Pecker Row” DPR Inc. Red's has a huge sports memorabilia collection including the largest football helmet collection in the state as well as two full service bars, 11 plasma TV's, keno-poker games, a new pool table and "Big Buck Hunter" to accommodate our patrons.

Come on down and support your favorite team with your friends, family, & acquaintances.

Come on down and have a good time at Red's Bar, Missoula's Sports Bar since 1952.

Sapore 424 N. Higgins 542-6695 Voted best new restaurant in the Missoula Independent’s Best of Missoula, 2011. Located on Higgins Ave across the street from Wordens. Serving progressive American food consisting of fresh house-made pastas every day, pizza etc. Fresh fish delivered from Taste of Alaska, and local beef! Tues.-Sat. 5 pm-10:30 pm; Brunch on Sat. 11 am-3pm; Sun 5 pm-9 pm. $$-$$$ Sis's Kitchen 531-5034 sisskitchen.com Wheat, gluten & allergen-free foods. Frozen & dry mix products. Sis's Kitchen plays a part in Best of Missoula "Best Pizza" Winners for 2008-2011. Find our products at: The Good Food Store • Biga Pizza • Bridge Pizza • Missoula Food Co-Op • Pizza Cafe in Ronan (12"crust.)

We have quick and delicious lunch specials 6 days a week starting at $7, and are open for dinner 7 nights a week. Try our comfort food items like Pork Katsu and Chicken Teriyaki. We also offer party platters to go and catering for all culinary styles. Lunch 11:30-3 Mon-Sat; Dinner 5-9:30 every night. Corner of Pine and Higgins.

Very family-friendly. $$-$$$ Taco Del Sol 422 N. Higgins 327-8929 Stop in when you're in the neighborhood. We'll do our best to treat you right! Crowned Missoula's Best Budget Lunch.

Mon.-Sat. 11-10 Sun 12-9. $-$$ Ten Spoon Vineyard + Winery 4175 Rattlesnake Dr. 549-8703 tenspoon.com Award-winning Made in Montana organic wines – no added sulfites. Tasting hours: Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, 5pm-9pm. $…Under $5 $–$$…$5–$15 $$–$$$…$15 and over

NOT JUST SUSHI 403 N. Higgins 549-7979

KENO POKER POOL

Montana’s Largest Football Helmet Collection

DirecTV Sports Pack NFL Sunday Ticket ESPN Game Plan Mega March Madness

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MLB Extra Innings NBA League Pass ESPN Full Court NHL Center Ice

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Soak in the harvest sunshine with a view of the vineyard, or cozy up with a glass of wine inside the winery. Wine sold by the flight or glass. Bottles sold to take home or to ship to friends and relatives. $$

Bitterroot BITTERROOT Bella Valle 315 S. 3rd St., Hamilton 375-5078 Welcome to Bella Valle! We are the Italian Family Restaurant located at S. 3rd & Madison in a stunning 1905 Victorian house, just blocks from beautiful downtown Hamilton Montana. We proudly serve Montana-made wines, pastas and meats! Tues-Thurs & Sunday 11am-9p Friday & Saturday 11am-10pm. $$-$$$

Cowboy Troy's Restaurant, Saloon and Casino 2359 US Hwy 93 N. Victor 642-3380 cowboytroys.com Voted Bitterroot's Best Cowboy Bar & Bitterroot's Best Wings! Wood-fired brick oven

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pizzas, certified Angus beef burgers, 9 flavors of chicken wings. Tuesday: $1.25 Tacos & $3 Margaritas Wednesday: 60¢ Wings $1 PBR draft. Friday: Live Music @ 8. Saturday: Karaoke. Dine in, take out & catering. Your hometown bar! 11am-1:30am; food till 10pm.

7 Days A Week. $-$$

Farm Table Restaurant 1639 Sleeping Child Rd. Hamilton 375-8765 Sleeping Child Farms and the Farm Table Restaurant are located just 10 miles south of Hamilton, Montana, in the Beautiful Bitterroot Valley. The Farm Table Restaurant operates year round, the hours vary by season. We sustainably produce a bountiful harvest of seasonal vegetables right on the property and use them to create farm fresh, gourmet meals for you to enjoy inside or outside while taking in the beautiful views.

We also have a full bar, local microbrews and a great wine list. Bring your family and friends to The Farm Table at Sleeping Child Farms for a warm welcome, great service, and a memorable meal. $$-$$$

Explorer 2012

River Rising Bakery 337 Main St. Hamilton 363-4552 Hamilton's newest bakery, deli, and espresso bar. Serving all-butter pastries, delicious and nutritious muffins, cream scones, and delectable desserts. Or choose from our selection of homemade soups, salads, and sandwiches found nowhere else. Open 6:30am-5:30pm Monday-Friday, 8:00am4:00pm Saturday, 8:00am-2:00pm Sunday.

Weekday local business lunch delivery available 9:00am-1:00pm. $-$$ Second Street Sushi 322 S. 2nd St. Hamilton 363-0600 Second Street Sushi is dedicated to providing the finest Sushi experience in the Bitterroot Valley. Named National Top 100 Asian Restaurants 2011. Daily specials, delicious entrees, and a full beer, sake and wine menu. Lunch 11:30-2:30 Dinner 5-9 Mon-Sat. Walk in or call ahead. 363-0600. $-$$$ $…Under $5 $–$$…$5–$15 $$–$$$…$15 and over

Grizzly Property Management, Inc. “Let us tend your den”

Since 1995, where tenants and landlords call home.

715 Kensington Ave., Suite 25B • 542-2060 • grizzlypm.com

549-6106 • 422 Madison • Missoula • www.gcpm-mt.com

nous 1970s David Bowie era, and the story is both gleefully trashy and sweetly moving.

Catch it at the Whitefish Performing Arts Center, 600 E. Second St., at 8 PM. $18–$39 at alpinetheatreproject.com.

THURSDAY AUGUST 16 Totes, McGoats, my friends, it’s time for three days of sweaty nights and ringy-dingy ears as Total Fest XI backs the truck up and dumps thirty odd ton of the musical kind grind, with bands from across the street and around the world. Venues include the Badlander, Palace, Zoo City Apparel, the VFW and Big Dipper, too. Visit totalfest.org for new rocking info.

Meet up with the crew and do that voodoo that you do so well at Downtown ToNight, a weekly food fete at Missoula’s Caras Park from 5:30-8:30 PM. This week’s tunes by Joan Zen. Free. Visit missouladowntown.com.

Unfortunately for them, the Idaho Falls Chukars are a minor-league affiliate of the Kansas City Royals; fortunately for us, they’re in town to battle the Missoula Osprey at 7:05 PM for four nights (5:05 PM on Sunday). Call 543-3300.

The Alpine Theatre Project waits until the hot days of August to spice things up with Hedwig and the Angry Itch, the story of a

rock band fronted by an East German transgender singer. It’s all steeped in the androgynous 1970s David Bowie era, and the story is both gleefully trashy and sweetly moving.

Catch it at the Whitefish Performing Arts Center, 600 E. Second St., at 8 PM. $18–$39 at alpinetheatreproject.com.

FRIDAY AUGUST 17 Great American Taxi, aka the band with the guitarist from Leftover Salmon, visits familiar territory with a night at The Top Hat. You know, if they’re so familiar we should refer to him by name: Vince Herman. 9 PM. Cover TBA. The Alpine Theatre Project waits until the hot days of August to spice things up with Hedwig and the Angry Itch. Catch it at the Whitefish Performing Arts Center, 600 E. Second St., at 8 PM. $18–$39 at alpinetheatreproject.com.

SATURDAY AUGUST 18 Smoke up, Johnny, and sniff the sweet scent of pork gesticulating in its own juices at the two-day Stumptown BBQ Smoke Off at Depoe Park in Whitefish. This event is a pro/am contest with $8,000 in prizes. Bands, cherry pie and vendors, too. 510 Railway St. stumptownbbqsmokeoff.com.

See all the beautful people and purchase fresh-baked yummies, gorgeous veggies and maybe have a taco at one of western Montana’s farmers’ markets. In Missoula at Circle Square (missoulafarmersmarket.com), on Pine Street and under the Higgins Avenue bridge (clarkforkrivermarket.com), in Stevensville on Main Street and in Hamilton at South Third and Bedford streets. Hours vary for the markets but it all typically goes down between 8 AM and 1 PM. The Alpine Theatre Project waits until the hot days of August to spice things up with Hedwig and the Angry Itch. Catch it at the Whitefish Performing Arts Center, 600 E. Second St., at 8 PM. $18–$39 at alpinetheatreproject.com.

SUNDAY AUGUST 19 The Alpine Theatre Project waits until the hot days of August to spice things up with Hedwig and the Angry Itch, the story of a rock band fronted by an East German transgender singer. It’s all steeped in the androgynous 1970s David Bowie era, and the story is both gleefully trashy and sweetly moving.

Catch it at the Whitefish Performing Arts Center, 600 E. Second St., at 6 PM. $18–$39 at alpinetheatreproject.com.

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Who gives a buck? Vikings, smash-up derbies, rides, goats and music await at the Western Montana State Fair which runs from Tue., Aug. 7, through Sun., Aug 12, at the Western Montana Fairgrounds, 1101 South Ave., starting at 11 AM daily. Visit westernmontanastatefair.com or call 721-3247.

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 22

SATURDAY AUGUST 25

Num-nums and various vittles are the order of the day at Missoula’s Caras Park during Out to Lunch, which runs from 11 AM to 2 PM. This week’s tunage provided by Three Eared Dog. Free. Visit missoula downtown.com

Wrap up summer with a bit of groovin’ and movin’ during the two-day River City Roots Festival, which features groovin’ tunes, a juried art show, 4-mile run/walk and takes place in downtown Missoula. Free. Visit rivercityrootsfestival.com.

THURSDAY AUGUST 23

Grab a blanket and enjoy the cinemagic with your special friend(s) under the stars at the Missoula Outdoor Cinema. This evening’s screening is the Jimmy Cliff ganja flick classic The Harder They Come, starting around 8:35 PM, at the the Headstart school on the corner of Worden and Phillips on Missoula’s Northside. Free, but donations accepted.

Meet up with the crew and do that voodoo that you do so well at Downtown ToNight, a weekly food fete at Missoula’s Caras Park from 5:30-8:30 PM. This week’s tunes

by Full Grown Men. Free. Visit missoula downtown.com.

FRIDAY AUGUST 24 Kilts aren’t necessary, but they definitely help set the tone at the Bitterroot Scottish Irish Festival, happening at the Daly Mansion today, Saturday and Sunday. Experience highland dancing and games, as well as food and drinks. Visit bitterrootscottishirishfestival.org.

Let not thy mother lose her prayers, y’all: I pray thee, stay with us; or go to Seeley Lake for Shakespeare in the Parks’ performance of Hamlet at the Double Arrow Palladium on the Double Arrow Lodge grounds. 6 PM. Free.

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Montana style golf in a fine Montana valley.

The Big Hole Cow Pasture Golf Tournament is all business, with a golf cart parade and prizes for Most Original Golf Cart and Most Original Golf Attire, as well as closest to the hole and longest drive, not to mention first and last place. Naturally, all discrepancies will be arbitrated by the Cow Pasture Committee. To enter or for more info. call 689-3260 or 834-3264.

See all the beautful people and purchase fresh-baked yummies, gorgeous veggies and maybe have a taco at one of western

Explorer 2012

Montana’s farmers’ markets. In Missoula at Circle Square (missoulafarmersmarket.com), on Pine Street and under the Higgins Avenue bridge (clarkforkrivermarket.com), in Stevensville on Main Street and in Hamilton at South Third and Bedford streets. Hours vary for the markets but it all typically goes down between 8 AM and 1 PM.

TUESDAY AUGUST 28 Bazookas, bonus babies and bench jockeys are sure to be found when the Missoula Osprey take on the Great Falls Voyagers for two nights at 7:05 PM. Call 543-3300.

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 29 Num-nums and various vittles are the order of the day at Missoula’s Caras Park during Out to Lunch, which runs from 11 AM to 2 PM. This week’s tunage provided by Smoke.

Free. Visit missouladowntown.com

THURSDAY AUGUST 30 Meet up with the crew and do that voodoo that you do so well at Downtown ToNight, a weekly food fete at Missoula’s Caras Park from 5:30-8:30 PM. This week’s tunes by Mike Bader and Bearjam. Free. Visit missoula downtown.com.

fat tire amber ale is brewed by new belgium brewing fort collins co