A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day....02-13-08...Montana, the Treasure State

Mama_Bear

[Mama_Bear]

A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day

Free Republic made its debut in September, 1996, and the forum was added in early 1997.   Over 200,000 people have registered for posting privileges on Free Republic, and the forum is read daily by tens of thousands of concerned citizens and patriots from all around the country and the world.

A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day was introduced on June 24, 2002. It's only a small room in JimRob's house where we can get to know one another a little better; salute and support our military and our leaders; pray for those in need; and congratulate those deserving. We strive to keep our threads entertaining, fun, and pleasing to look at, and often have guest writers contribute an essay.

On Mondays please visit us to see photos of A FEW OF FR'S VETERANS AND ACTIVE MILITARY

We're
"On the Road Again"...

Please join "A Few of FR's Finest" as we make a cyber-visit to another state in this great Union of ours.

These are the states
we have presented to date:

05-23-03 Alabama 06-27-03 Maryland 07-11-03 Vermont 07-25-03 Utah 08-05-03 Texas 08-22-03 Nevada 08-26-03 Wash DC 09-05-03 Tennessee 09-17-03 Florida 09-19-03 Minnesota 10-03-03 New Mexico 10-14-03 Georgia 10-17-03 Louisiana 10-22-03 Michigan 11-04-03 South Dakota 11-14-03 California 01-09-04 South Carolina 02-06-04 West Virginia 02-20-04 Oregon 03-09-04 Pennsylvania 03-30-04 Wyoming

04-13-04 Mississippi 04-27-04 Missouri 05-25-04 Indiana 07-21-04 Virginia 08-18-04 Colorado 09-29-04 Idaho 10-20-04 New Hampshire 12-07-04 Hawaii 02-09-05 Maine 03-09-05 North Carolina 04-13-05 Arizona 06-15-05 Iowa 10-19-05 Alaska 09-26-07 Massachusetts 10-03-07 Kansas 10-24-07 Delaware 11-07-07 Kentucky 11-14-07 Oklahoma 12-05-07 Connecticut 01-22-08 New York

State facts at a glance...

Montana is the 41st state;
it became a state on November 8, 1889.
State Abbreviation - MT
State Capital - Helena
Largest City - Billings
State Motto - "Oro y plata" - Gold and Silver

Native Americans have inhabited this land for hundreds of years. 200 years ago Lewis and Clark traversed what would one day be known as Montana. Discovered in the 1860s, gold attracted men with visions of riches. Outlaws, cattle, cowboys and railroads quickly followed. The story of the 20th century became a saga of ranching, mining, logging, tourism and the preservation of nature's treasures. Today, Montana's treasures are found in the state's environment, while technology transforms old industries and creates new economies. In Montana, the old and new await you.

Click HERE for Montana's Historical Timeline

The Expedition Begins
In 1804 a hopeful Thomas Jefferson sent Captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to find the fabled River of the West. From the time of Columbus, explorers and statesmen had dreamed of a Northwest Passage, an all-water route connecting the trade routes of the Pacific to the Old World of the Atlantic. As president of a still-young nation, Jefferson had pressed for the Louisiana Purchase to strengthen American trade and settlement. The final $15 million-dollar agreement with France doubled America's size overnight.

Lewis & Clark in Montana
On April 25, 1805, the Corps of Discovery camped by the riverside near the future site of Fort Union. Lewis and Clark hoped they were only weeks away from the Pacific via an all-water route, the mythical Northwest Passage. The group rested and celebrated their arrival at the confluence of the Yellowstone and Missouri rivers. The expedition journals noted the spot's potential as a trade location between two navigable rivers, the early highways of commerce.  Entering what would be Montana led the expedition into the land of the Blackfeet. Their first contact with this tribe had been less than promising.

The Northwest Passage was not Jefferson's only priority. In fact, of the tasks assigned them, Lewis and Clark accomplished the most within the modern borders of Montana. Contact and negotiations with native tribes, the reconnaissance of suitable sites for trading posts and forts, and scientific accounts of the land's plants, animals, and scenic resources were all in keeping with Jefferson's hopes for the expedition.

Montana Unspoiled Adventure
Today, much of the Montana landscape that Lewis & Clark crossed remains unchanged. From solitary sandstone through river canyons to mountain meadows, Montana's rivers and highways flow past scores of landmarks related to the expedition.

For dyed in the wool history buffs, Wikipedia has an excellent Montana History Page detailing this state's interesting history, from Montana's original Native American inhabitants, to the Louisiana Purchase, to the famous Battle of Little Big Horn.

................................

"Montana was built from the back of the horse. Those who continue in their footsteps can be seen in the rodeo arena spotlight and out on the working ranches of today.”………Flint Rasmussen, Choteau, Montana - Professional Barrelman

"Spanish explorers brought the horse to the New World, and the first herds cantered onto the Montana high plains around 1730. Almost immediately, it can be assumed, somebody here got on a horse that didn't like it and promptly fell off.

This interaction between human and horse is replayed again and again during three days every May in one of America's most exhilarating -- and remote -- parties: the annual Miles City Bucking Horse Sale. By day it is a lot like a rodeo, but it isn't a rodeo. At night it is a street celebration billed as the "cowboy Mardi Gras," but that doesn't get it right either.

This is a raw, beer-soaked anachronism closer in mood and action to the annual bullfighting festival in Pamplona, Spain, than to anything else, though you won't hear many people in eastern Montana use the word aficionado....." - William Souder. Read more of this WashingtonPost.com article HERE.

I yearn for the life that I used to know
When the range was free and wide,
When a man could see where the sunsets go
'Way out past the Great Divide.

Oh I want to mount my old cayuse
And gallop off with a song,
To twirl my rope and to throw the noose
And chase the dogies along.
I long for the roads of yesterday,
For the trails I used to ride,
For the cowboy's life, his yip-oo-ray
As he roamed the countryside.

What's a man to do who rode all day
Through shortgrass and mesquite,
With tractors and plows and a paved-highway
And fenced-in fields of wheat?

My sad heart pines for the prairies still,
I long to follow the trail,
I miss the call of the whippoorwill
And the coyote's lonesome wail.

I want to feel the wind in my face
And to give my horse the word,
To wheel and turn as he sets the pace
And cuts through a longhorn herd. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Montana's World Famous Huckleberries

During the summer and fall, wild huckleberries grow abundantly in Montana.  Bears love huckleberries, and they are a big part of both the grizzly and the black bear’s diet.  Huckleberries are also one of Montana's original "gourmet" people foods.

Thank you, JustAmy, for
contributing these Montana recipes.

• Montana has the largest migratory elk herd in the nation.
   
• The state boasts the largest breeding population of trumpeter swans in the lower United States.
   
• North of Missoula is the largest population of nesting common loons in the western United States.
   
• The average square mile of land contains 1.4 elk, 1.4 pronghorn antelope, and 3.3 deer.
   
• The Freezeout Lake Wildlife Management Area contains as many as 300,000 snow geese and 10,000 tundra swans during migration.
   
• The Montana Yogo Sapphire is the only North American gem to be included in the Crown Jewels of England.
   
• In 1888 Helena had more millionaires per capita than any other city in the world.
   
• 46 out of Montana's 56 counties are considered "frontier counties" with an average population of 6 or fewer people per square mile.
   
• At Egg Mountain near Choteau dinosaur eggs have been discovered supporting the theory some dinosaurs were more like mammals and birds than like reptiles.
   
• Montana is the only state with a triple divide allowing water to flow into the Pacific, Atlantic, and Hudson Bay. This phenomenon occurs at Triple Divide Peak in Glacier National Park.
   
• The notorious outlaw, Henry Plummer, built the first jail constructed in the state.
   
• No state has as many different species of mammals as Montana.
   
• The moose, now numbering over 8,000 in Montana, was thought to be extinct in the Rockies south of Canada in the 1900s.
   
• Miles City is known as the Cowboy Capitol.
   
• Yellowstone National Park in southern Montana and northern Wyoming was the first national park in the nation.
   
• Montana has the largest grizzly bear population in the lower 48 states.
   
• Combination, Comet, Keystone, Black Pine, and Pony are names of Montana ghost towns.
   
• Virginia City was founded in 1863 and is considered to be the most complete original town of its kind in the United States.
   
• The density of the state is six people per square mile.
   
• The highest point in the state is Granite Peak at 12,799 feet.
   
• The most visited place in Montana is Glacier National Park, known as the crown jewel of the continent.
   
• Buffalo in the wild can still be viewed at the National Bison Range in Moiese, south of Flathead Lake and west of the Mission Mountains.
   
• Montana's first territorial capital, Bannack, has been preserved as a ghost town state park along once gold-laden Grasshopper Creek.
   
• Just south of Billings, Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer and his troops made their last stand. Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument features the Plains Indians and United States military involved in the historic battle.
   
• The first inhabitants of Montana were the Plains Indians.
   
• Montana is home to seven Indian reservations.
   
• The Going to the Sun Road in Glacier Park is considered one of the most scenic drives in America.
   
• The state's motto Oro y Plata means gold and silver.
   
• Montana's name comes from the Spanish word mountain.
   
• In Montana the elk, deer and antelope populations outnumber the humans.
   
• Glacier National Park has 250 lakes within its boundaries.

.......discovers a destination where the outdoors dominates the senses. Here are rustic Montana cabins, amazing Montana mountain vistas, rivers and streams for fishing, canoes and rafts for water sports, and places for reflection. This is Lewis and Clark territory with two national parks and millions of acres of public access lands. In Montana, you see the world as it was meant to be seen: unspoiled, high, wide and handsome, filled with wildlife experiences and incredible scenic vistas. One of the most intriguing aspects of Montana is its great size. There are miles and miles of open road, of back country and mountain vistas and the distances between any two points can be vast, much larger than the entire land area of entire European countries as we are the fourth largest state in the union.

The Montana visitor can spend time searching out historic sites or enjoy the wide open playgrounds of fishing, hiking, wildlife viewing, skiing, camping, white water rafting, and river boarding. You can journey into the wilds of Glacier or Yellowstone National Parks for unspoiled scenery and outdoor adventure or spend time in the more social world of guest ranches and small specialized resorts. Montana is home to more than 50 state parks and ten national forests. There are literally millions of acres of public lands for you to enjoy. Accommodations range from rustic cabin rentals and tipi rentals, to resorts with great options. The most popular outdoor activities, are wildlife viewing, hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding, boating, snowmobiling, fly fishing, camping. Montana is Big Sky Country! Bring your blue jeans, boots, hat, camera, and plan for a great adventure!

With appreciation to the following websites...

Montana Recipes
Montana Travel
Montana Facts and Trivia
Bruce Gourley Photography

03-27-07 ~ Hall of Fame #19 ~ Final

THIS WEEK'S THREADS 02-11,12-08 ~ Military Tribute

Opinions by our own 'King of Ping' Every Thursday at the Finest The guy's good, folks!

[Mama_Bear]

[Mama_Bear]

[fieldmarshaldj]

Here’s something on your state.

[Mama_Bear]

Thanks, Billie, for letting me post your military prayer table, since yours is up to date and mine isn't.

God bless and protect our courageous military and their families!

Below are names of some of our FReepers' loved ones who are serving our country. If you have someone you would like to add, please address a post to

Billie; Dutchess; DollyCali; The Mayor; GodBlessUSA; ,
and we will add their name to this list. As we pray for them, we pray also for all our nation’s leaders, and military personnel, and their families and friends. May God hold them close to His heart.

gator girl........................husband severa............husband, brother Maigrey.........................cousin mystery-ak...........son, husband Inspectorette.......................son Blessed American..........nephew Slip18..........................nephew Diver Dave........niece, nephew Diver Dave....................cousin ConspiracyGuy........2 nephews W.W.Smith.......................son sneakers..........................son weldgophardline.............2 sons weldgophardline.....brotherinlaw jamaly.................brotherinlaw Future Snake Eater.......cousin WaterDragon............grandson WaterDragon...........son-in-law kimmie7......................brother LadyX (RIP)..............grandson fawn796......................nephew ValerieUSA..................2 sons Lakeside......................2 sons LakeLady....................nephew Spruce......................daughter Leofl.................................son chena...............................son Hope and Glory..................son TheMayor...............friends'son Doug from Upland.......soninlaw homeschoolmama........nephew ariamne...................2 cousins mhking.........................cousin 911angelady.................2 sons Consort.................2 daughters Consort...................son-in-law gonzo...................friend's son Jen's Mom.................daughter Meg33......................grandson cookcounty......................son JFC............................nephew visualops......................cousin painter........................nephew Himyar.............................son jrushing.............................son LoneRedRanger...brother-in-law tina07......soninlaw & his friend varina davis...............grandson weeder1.....................nephew MontanaCowgirlCop......brother nelibeli........................nephew fatima...............granddaughter Misty4jc.....................husband Colorado Slim..............nephew Tapatio....................2 nephews meanie monster ....family friend ProudAFDad......................son JulieRNR21.....friend's grandson Alouette.............................son Katydidnt...........................son Zechariah_8_13....brother-in-law Zechariah_8_13.............cousin PreviouslyA-Lurker........brother sheeza.......................husband kemathen7..................husband monkeyface...........2 grandsons redhead................grandnephew Q6-God..................twin brother Q6-God....................active duty Warrior Nurse...........active duty SK1 Thurman...........active duty David Osborne..........active duty fc2tomschermuly......active duty bkwells....................active duty LongCut...................active duty cjk...........................active duty Trish........................active duty ODC-GIRL................active duty AF_Blue...................active duty thumperusn..............active duty Veloxherc.................active duty Don Simmons...........active duty wingnutx...................active duty CGblue.....................active duty bigghurtt...................active duty frankiep....................active duty veeceeque................active duty JRios1968................active duty NoLongerFreeState...active duty CMS........................active duty AlaskaErik...............active duty JemiansTerror...........active duty tongue-tied ..............active duty txradioguy................active duty Hoosiersailor ...........active duty DCBryan1................active duty Col. Mike.................active duty

OhioWfan................................son ladtx..................................2 sons Hostel............................cousin ak_daddoo........................nephew Dubya............................nephew LBGA (RIP)..........................son katykelly..............................son Armymarinemom................3 sons american_ranger.....................son SpookBrat........................nephew SpookBrat........................cousin boxerblues........................2 sons the piper..............................son Tiffee4Bob......................boyfriend TexKat.......................son, step-son StarCMC.............................brother Darheel...............................niece Donaeus...........................nephew BeAllYouCanBe........................son Repubmommy........................brother Ladysmith......nephew, friend's son auboy..................................cousin AgThorn................................2 sons kneezles.................................son RoseinRoseBear.....cousin's hubby Atomic Conspiracy......half-brother Atomic Conspiracy...........nephew Atomic Conspiracy..............niece Sunflowergal....................grandson spotbust1............................husband campfollower............................fiance LUV W........................................son SilentServiceCPOWife........husband DirtyHarryY2K......................daughter DirtyHarryY2K................son-in-law Skimask.....................................son Palladin...............................grandson MississippyMuddy...................sister MississippyMuddy........2 nephews Kramster...............................stepson Socratic.............................nephew freema.......................nephew, son Azbushgal..............................son kimmykay.................................son NavySEAL F-16........................son repubmom...........................2 sons wolfcreek..........................daughter JesseJane ...........................cousin Roses0508..............................son pmmd81..................................son SoldiersPrayingMom.................son WakeUpandVote..................brother Skyraider.................................son CyberAnt...........................nephew mrs tiggywinkle...................cousin Nadine...............................nephew U S Army EOD.................daughter thehumanlynx...........brother-in-law Earthdweller......................nephew ChairmanDec19thSociety ..brotherinlaw Anthem............................2 cousins PragmaticWarrior..........2 nephews Sageb1...........................3 cousins SuzyQue...mom,2 sons,3 brothers IndyPendance..daughter,soninlaw Lori from Long Island....soninlaw gonzo............................soninlaw Rivendell.......................daughter vigilante2.....son, adopted soldier NavySEAL F-16....................son Jaxter...........................son-in-law USMCWife6869..............husband AgThorn & Lily4Jesus.............son 2ndDivisionVet..........brotherinlaw 2ndDivVet.....former stepdaughter GrandEagle........................friend DebWisconsin.................nephew jackv....................................son prophetic.................brotherinlaw GulfWar1Vet.................2 cousins Tina Kirby...........................son Kudsman.......................nephew JarhedAirmanPatriot......brother TADSLOS............................son Athelass........2 sons, 2 nephews ItsForTheChildren......2 nephews dwhole2th.............................son skimask...............................son VARepublican.......................son Katydidnt..............................son oneolcop...............................son Edgewood Pilot...son, 2 nephews Trooprally.............................son 007girl.............................nephew arbee4bush ...................daughter PERKY2004...................husband marsh2............................nephew lilycicero..........................husband

[GOP Poet]

Thanks Mama_Bear! I’m Montana born and raised and darn proud of it. Miss it more and more every year. Man do I miss my Huckleberry pie and pancake syrup :-).

[timer]

Yup, yup, yup; that’s my MONTANA, land rich, money poor. Have a cowboy cousin : hat, horse and all. He barely scratches out a living in SE MT on a 11 mile wide by 13 mile long ranch. He had a really good looking trophy wife some years ago, but with the nearest dusty road 5 miles away thru the sagebrush, she escaped; first as a UPS driver, then as a go-go dancer/stripper in Billings.

My dad said he spent a significant amount of his young life trying to figure out a USE for sagebrush, never did. And the people down there(Broadus)are just as tough. One day a great aunt was out walking in the sagebrush w/2 friends. A rattlesnake up and bit her...then crawled off and died.

Dad had a cousin, Ruth Baxter. Her son-in-law was a great Montana historian. He has lists of dozens of incidents/events that happened way back when for every day of the year, if you’re a Montana-phile.

[G.Mason]

Though I am well beyond "middle age" I have always day dreamed about going to Montana to live.

With family and work I never did.

I can still see the Battle of Little Big Horn, Lewis & Clark, Yellowstone, and the mountains from the imagination of a child, the same as I did when I first read about them as a young boy.

Thank you for doing this.

[ConorMacNessa]

Great thread and Pledge, Mama Bear!

[ConorMacNessa]

Happy Warm and Fuzzy Wednesday to Finest FRiends!

[The Mayor]

February 13, 2008

Fresh

ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download

READ: Psalm 51:8-13

Restore to me the joy of Your salvation. —Psalm 51:12

What do you think of when you hear the word fresh? When the weather is nice, my husband and I enjoy going to the farmers market so we can buy produce that was picked that very morning. To me, fresh means just-harvested fruits and vegetables—not stale or spoiled, but crisp and full of exquisite flavor.

I need that kind of freshness in my relationship with God. I can have too many stale attitudes—impatience, criticism, and selfishness—and not enough “longsuffering, kindness, . . . gentleness,” which are “the fruit of the Spirit” (Gal. 5:22-23).

As David repented of the sin in his life, he prayed, “Create in me a clean heart.” Then he petitioned God: “Restore to me the joy of Your salvation” (Ps. 51:10-12). Confession and repentance of our sin renews our fellowship with the Lord and allows us to joyously begin anew.

What better time than today to ask God to give you a newness of spirit, a freshness of faith, and a renewed appreciation of Him!

Lord, we want the fruit of our lives to always be “fresh and flourishing” (Ps. 92:14). Help us to experience Your love, compassion, and faithfulness that are “new every morning” (Lam. 3:22-23). Amen.

The Master is seeking a harvest
In lives He’s redeemed by His blood;
He seeks for the fruit of the Spirit,
And works that will glorify God.  —Lehman

To bear good fruit, clear out the weeds of sin.

Bible in One Year:  Leviticus 1–3; Proverbs 15:22-33

[SnarlinCubBear]

<>< Will read later - thanks MamaBear - that picture just made me very COLD!

[GodBlessUSA]

Wow!!! :) Your thread, pledge and ping are exceptional! Thank you, for today’s trip to Montana, MamaBear :) My daughter and I just enjoyed reading about Montana. Looking at all your wonderful photos. I wonder if I can make that bread in the bread machine... I have yet to use. ;)

[Smokin' Joe]

Montana is an Oil producing state as well, producing over 36,000,000 bbl of oil in 2006, more in '07, though I do not have the numbers. For the curious, the latest available report (2006) is at Montana Oil and Gas production and is a .pdf file

(I'm working a well in the largest producing field (in terms of oil produced) right now.)

[jaycee]

A beautiful thread and Pledge, M.Bear! You have put some work into this...love the pictures and recipes! Thanks for the work you’ve put into beautiful Montana!

[Mama_Bear]

Good morning, and thanks for joining us on our cyber-trip to Big Sky Country.

For our Montana natives, Montana friends, wannabe's and fellow cyber-travelers; here's a poem I found while researching Big Sky Country. This guy REALLY wants to go home to Montana!

[Mama_Bear]

Man do I miss my Huckleberry pie and pancake syrup :-).

I found that Huckleberries are REALLY popular in Montana. When I was reasearchinig your state, I found Huckleberries everywhere! Huckleberry muffins to Huckleberry hand lotion...I bet there is even Huckleberry wine. :-)

I've never been to Montana, but my daughter-in-law is a native Montanian, born and raised in a little town on the plains near Miles City. I'd like to visit Montana someday, but I think not in the winter. It looks very cold.

Thanks for coming by our thread. Any information about your state that you'd like to add would sure be appreciated.

[Billie]

Good morning, Lori. I am lovin' your Montana presentation, (and all those cowboys/cowgirls!) Beautiful job and makes me want even more to talk Mr.B into a visit (though not in the winter!)

Could NOT resist using this today. :)

[Billie]

Morning, Snarlin - I didn't answer your post the other day about the King Charles breed and if we had ever owned one. Not us - have some frieds with one - darling sweet little thing!

[Mama_Bear]

One day a great aunt was out walking in the sagebrush w/2 friends. A rattlesnake up and bit her...then crawled off and died.

LOL!!

Hey, another real live Montanian! Thanks for coming by our thread today. Anything more you'd like to add about your fine state would sure be appreciated. :-)

My daughter-in-law grew up among the sagebrush out on the Montana prairie in a little tiny town to the east of Miles City. She says the winters are brutal on the plains. From the photos I've seen, I don't doubt it.

[Billie]

I told you the other day that we had just watched a movie called "Montana Sky", so was looking forward to your profile of the Big Sky Country! Yes, I know there's more to Montana than ranches and cowboys and horses. :)