#montana-and-idaho

#montana-and-idaho

We found our route but advanced only a few hundred yards before encountering an impassable logjam. The dense forests on either side meant that we couldn't go around it, only through.

The Million Dollar Highway is a narrow, two-lane road that runs above a deep gorge, with sheer rock walls on one side and an unguarded drop on the other. Drivers experience awe-inspiring views of 14,000-foot peaks as they navigate this perilous route.

The 2025-26 winter saw extreme weather, with the eastern half experiencing consistent cold and heavy snowfall, while the western half endured record warmth and a lack of snowfall.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park was the most popular park in the country last year, drawing more than 11.5 million visitors, according to data from the National Park Service. In fact, the park, which straddles North Carolina and Tennessee, accounted for 12.3 percent of all national park visits.

Tens of millions of tourists visit Las Vegas each year, spending billions of dollars in the city's casinos, entertainment venues, and attractions. Yet my move brought me to Reno, a seven-hour drive from the desert of Las Vegas. Although Reno still has its fair share of casinos, the city feels like a world apart.

Prospect and refuge: These two themes have long guided the work of Tom Kundig. Siting houses in some of America's most breathtaking but also rugged terrains, the AD100 architect takes care to create a deep sense of shelter-nestling buildings into hillsides, even blasting into rock-and engineer awe through sweeping vistas and intimate connections to nature. "Architecture is not the center of the world," he has often said. "It's the landscape that's the center of the world for me."

Big Sky play on Saturday will see the the Montana Grizzlies (14-11, 8-4 Big Sky) host the Montana State Bobcats (14-11, 8-4 Big Sky) at Dahlberg Arena, beginning at 9 p.m. ET. Montana was victorious in its previous game against Idaho, 73-68, on Saturday. Money Williams starred with 14 points, plus one boards and four assists. On Saturday, in its most recent game, Montana State fell to Eastern Washington 72-71. With 14 points, Jeremiah Davis was its top scorer.

Nestled in the Appalachian foothills near Mentone, Cloudmont Ski & Golf Resort is the southernmost ski area in the eastern United States. With a vertical drop of just 150 feet and two rope tows, Cloudmont runs on snowmaking and sheer stubbornness, opening for a few precious weeks or days each winter.

I trekked it in December 2023 with plans and a permit to camp at Bright Angel Campground, a scenic cottonwood-shaded hideaway just near the famed Phantom Ranch (the only lodging on the world wonder's floor). Then, two days before my trip, a miracle happened: One last-minute reservation became available for Phantom Ranch. The ranch digs typically book out over a year in advance, but if you're lucky, you can either get in via the lottery or a last-minute opening. This made the grueling but gorgeous hike down and up the steep South Kaibab Trail even more memorable.

Larch House serves as both a launch pad into the beautiful, big-sky landscape of Whitefish, Montana, and a place of refuge after time spent in that wild landscape,

After a lean start to this season, the Montana clouds finally opened up, dropping 11 inches of snow over the last 3 days at Big Sky Resort. This snowfall, mixed with some high alpine wind, left the slopes immaculate for the Bluebird day this past Sunday. While coverage on certain portions of the mountain remained spotty, if you know where to look, some fresh untracked snow was your reward.