1. When the sun peeks over the horizon
Sunrise over the Little Belts near Monarch
2. You’ll soon see why
Sunrise over Flathead Valley
3. They call this the golden West
Sunrise over Benton Lake National Wildlife Refuge
4. The wild Montana skies
Hi-Line winter skies
5. Are wider and bluer than anywhere else on Earth
Bears Paw Mountains as seen from Kremlin Bay
6. They named it Big Sky Country for a reason
Montana sky (location unspecified)
7. In Montana you can call the wild wind brother
Wildfowl in flight, Benton Lake National Wildlife Refuge
8. Or call a moose your mother
Moose in Fishercap Lake, Glacier National Park
9. Or an antelope your aunt
Pronghorn antelope on Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge
10. A hoary marmot could be your grumpy grandpa
Hoary marmot on Logan Pass
11. And this bear could be your mooching cousin, always looking for a handout
Montana brown bear (location unspecified)
12. Montana distances are measured in hours
Train passing through the Bowdoin National Wildlife Refuge
13. The landscapes are straight out of Louis L’Amour
Montana mountains (location unspecified)
14. Or a John Wayne movie, like that one where he gets killed by cattle rustlers (oops, spoiler alert)
Roundup on the Fort Keogh Livestock and Range Research Laboratory near Miles City
15. Montana’s got three and half million acres of unspoiled wilderness
Glacier National Park
16. And don’t forget, a river runs through it
Aerial view of Teton River
17. Actually quite a few
Judith Landing, Missouri River
18. Also awesome lakes
Flat Head Lake
19. This must be where God goes when he wants to sneak in a little fly-fishing
Upper Madison River
20. The Blessed Virgin Mary (BVM) prefers mountain climbing
Our Lady of the Rockies, just outside Butte
21. Winter is a good time to stay indoors
Aerial view of Logan pass visitors center
22. The cold is sharp enough to cut right through you
Montana winter scene (location unspecified)
23. Yet the beauty, like the cold, will take your breath away
Apgar Village, Glacier National Park
24. And the warm spring sunshine will thaw you out again
Glacier National Park
25. Montana’s flowers can be sweet
Penstemon laricifolius growing in the Pryor Gap
26. Or spiky
Coryphantha vivipara growing in the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge
27. But they all thrive in tough situations, as do its people
Great Falls
28. As you ride off in the sunset
Indian Memorial at the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument
29. You’ll see mountains bathed in fire
Sunset over Camp Mak-a-Dream, Missoula
30. And the biggest sky means you can see the most stars
Starry Montana night
