Closing Statement

After nearly 22 hours of road time around southwestern Montana my truck suffered a catastrophic breakdown rendering it impossible for me to achieve the final goal of my project, a rugged off road trip over Flathead Pass. While I did not make it up to Flathead I'm still confident that I have successfully provided an accurate portrayal of the landscapes and lifestyles of southwestern Montana

Vacation Home

Along US 191, along the Gallatin and near the Big Sky Ski Resort second home owners and logging have taken away from much of the once natural beauty of these hills.

The Gallatin Canyon

The Gallatin River meanders through this canyon southwest of Bozeman. Lewis and Clark traveled down this same canyon on their journey home after reaching the Pacific Ocean.

Storm Castle

This is The Storm Castle along US 191 in the Gallatin Canyon. The canyon is pretty amazing complete with moose, bear, bald eagles, thick pine forests and brooding mountains.

Norris Bar

The small farming town of Norris sits at the Junction of Montana Highway 84 and US 287. To the south of Norris is the, vast, Madison River Valley and to the Northeast are the Tobacco Root Mountains.

Highway 84

Another shot of Highway 84 as it winds through the Madison River Canyon towards Norris

The Madison River Canyon on highway 84 just before reaching the town of Norris. The area is renowned for fly fishing and it is also common recreation to float the river during the summer months.

Montana 84 towards Norris from Bozeman. This is the type of view they were thinking of when they came up with the "big sky state" slogan.

sunset over I-15

this image was taken in Dillon, MT while i was on my way to Sun Valley. I-15 starts in San Diego and runs all the way north to the canadian boarder passing right through the sleepy town of Dillon.

Montana 55 is the highway that runs off of I-90 at Whitehall, MT and continues on to Dillon, MT where it then joins up with I-15. Whitehall is a small, hardworking, rural town in montana made famous by an indian assimilation school that used to exist there.

I captured these fiery clouds over the Bridger Range one evening while driving the Bracket Creek Road between Montana 86 and Montana 89. the view was incredible. the photo almost doesnt do it justice

Abandonment

I found this old machine sitting on the side of Montana 89. It is a keepsake of the way things in montana used to be. i have never seen this particular piece of machinery before and thought that the photo was quite worth shooting.

The Mighty Ridge

The Mighty Bridger Bowl Ridge as seen from Highway 86. There are not many other mountain ranges in the world that are similar to the Bridger's. They are a geologic piece of artwork. I challenge someone to try to find a mountain range that is one giant ridge like these that contain the same majesty.

Highway 86

Montana Highway 86 is best known as the road one takes to drive from Bozeman up to the Bridger Bowl Ski Area. What many people don't understand is that once you progress north passed the ski are the land opens up into a massive, beautiful, farming valley.