Quirky Exhibits at Three Central Montana Museums

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Many museums have unique and historic items on exhibit but let’s take a look at some rather quirky things at three of Central Montana’s small town museums. In Stanford, Montana you’ll find the Judith Basin County Museum next to the local courthouse. A well-manicured lawn and beautiful flowers surround the entrance during the summer. As you enter the main floor level of the museum you can’t help but see their massive collection of salt & … Read more

Mighty Mo Brew Co. – Mighty Good Beer and More

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It was 2013 when Mighty Mo Brewing Company established their brewery in downtown Great Falls. It quickly became a great gathering place, lunch place, dinner location, beer drinking place and more. Two guys, one great idea, that sums it up, but I’m sure it took a lot of hard work to get to opening day. Mighty Mo, which is also how locals refer to the Missouri River, is located in a historic building right on … Read more

Beaver Creek Park Offers Something for Everyone

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It’s typically not top of mind on a crisp and breezy January day when you decide to visit a park. This isn’t just any park though – it’s the nation’s largest county park with some incredibly varied terrain. I only saw patches of snow, somewhat rare for January, but those beautiful endless blue skies had me captivated. The statistics. Beaver Creek Park begins 10 miles south of Havre. The park is a mile wide, 17 … Read more

National Wildlife Refuge 15 Minutes From Downtown Great Falls

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It’s hard to believe, but driving just fifteen minutes north of Great Falls, Montana, a town of 60,000 people, you can be at Benton Lake National Wildlife Refuge. Covering 12,383 acres (19 square miles), this wetland refuge is sprawling. Birders have documented 240 species of birds there. Twenty-eight different species of mammals, including mule deer, white-tailed deer, pronghorn, muskrats, badgers, yellow-bellied marmots, coyotes and more enjoy the terrain at Benton Lake. A crisp and wintry … Read more

Drink Brews Named For Mining History at Black Eagle Brewery

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It was a chilly, snowy late afternoon when I stopped at Black Eagle Brewery. Only one other couple sat at the beautiful custom-crafted polished wood bar. Handmade wooden bar-height tables and living edge wood decor on the walls gave warmth to the brewery and it felt good after experiencing the weather outside. Open for 4 1/2 years, Black Eagle Brewery adjoins a restaurant named The Pit Stop. Across the street to the west is a … Read more

Something’s Fishy in Downtown Great Falls

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Actually, there are a lot of fishy things in downtown Great Falls! Some background – the Missouri River ambles through Great Falls and you occasionally see fishermen on the river banks. Several businesses have used the river and fish theme in their marketing…follow along as we explore the town. A group of us were recently at Mighty Mo Brewing Company on Central Avenue in Great Falls. We weren’t sure of what beer to order so … Read more

A Focus On Production at Jeremiah Johnson Brewing

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We talk a lot about breweries these days and we are used to seeing those shiny barrels, lots of tubing and piping, typically behind glass panels, as we sit and sip one of our favorites. Jeremiah Johnson Brewing Company’s business model is a bit different, in a good way. Jeremiah’s primary goal is production and they refer to their location in Great Falls, Montana as a production facility. Beer is brewed there, canned and kegged … Read more

Central Montana’s Missouri River Playground

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Last week I enjoyed two vastly different sections of the Missouri River, one in a canoe, the other in a raft. I first strapped on my river shoes to slide a canoe into the water on the southwestern edge of Fort Benton. Mid September usually means low water and this year was no exception. The Bureau of Land Management has a convenient launch site but I’ll just say, we did not resemble eels gently slithering … Read more

Three Days, Three Outdoor Experiences in Central Montana

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Central Montana offers an amazing variety of outdoor activities as the fall season approaches. Top of my list of favorites is an evening canoe or kayak trip on the Missouri River. In Fort Benton you can launch at the edge of town at a campground managed by the Bureau of Land Management. To access it you drive through the Chouteau County fairgrounds. It’s an easy launch. Water levels and flow on the Missouri River in … Read more

Waterfalls, Freshwater Springs and a Smokestack

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The five waterfalls of the Mighty Missouri River are the liquids that gave the town known as Great Falls its name. The Missouri River drops a total of 612 feet in ten miles as it tumbles over five waterfalls. About 187 feet of that drop is the plunge from the series of waterfalls, and the remaining 425 feet comes from the descent of the riverbed. Black Eagle Falls are the uppermost falls and they are … Read more