News

The wet, cool weather of the past week has kept the bears close to the roads around Tower as they work the grass in the lower elevations. On one day, we got really lucky and saw nine black bears before 10 a.m. One sow with triplets was in view for about an hour just before the Tower Junction.

Of the 130 vacation homes managed by Vacasa (vah-cah-sah) Montana, half are in Big Sky. Vacasa Montana General Manager Sarah Bennett says it’s a growing market—and one she started focusing on about a year and a half ago.

Visits to Yellowstone in May set a record of 446,875, which surpassed the record set in May 2016 when the park welcomed 444,630. This new record has resulted in ever more crowded roads, parking lots and pullouts. The challenge is to avoid all the extra traffic to reduce the hassle factor.

It’s not a Bear Stewardship Committee meeting without some talk about who’s seen any bears lately. Most recently, reports via social media are coming in that a big bear with two cubs has been in the Mountain to Meadow Trail area. Some say it’s a grizzly, but it could be a rather large black bear. Another bear has been seen around 320 Ranch.

Lone Peak Lookout: We’ve got to mention “The Voice.” What motivated you to try out last year? What was the experience like, and what did you take away from it? 

Jon Tester is the U.S. Senate’s only working farmer. This lets him communicate in a sophisticated yet folksy way. It’s a skill that was on display during a June 19 conference call with reporters from around Montana. 

If you happened past the Warren Miller Performing Arts Center recently, there’s a good chance you heard the song “I’m a Believer” blasting from the speakers. You probably also caught the sound of little tap shoes echoing from the stage, a lot of singing, and a lot of laughter.

Willie and Robin Blazer, owners of the popular Willie’s Distillery in Ennis, Mont., enjoyed making their own beer and wine recreationally and the bigger step of opening a distillery just seemed to make sense.