Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with montana

What are some global warming tipping points?

jefficator — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 06:32:46 -0800

What are some smaller-scale global warming tipping points that would radically alter everyday life? Last night on NPR's marketplace, a special report from Helena, Montana, described the devastation wrought by the pine beetle in the Ponderosa forests of the West. According to the report, a two-degree increase in average temperatures has prevented the hard freezes that kill the pine beetle. As a result, those pests are now rampant and destroying whole forests.

(The report did acknowledge the dissenting opinion that fire suppression and poor forest management are the culprits, but my question still stands.)

We here a lot about generic ice-cap melting, etc. But I'm imagining, for instance, that perhaps the temperature increase might prevent freezes that control mosquito populations in the South? Etc?

Can anyone identify other small catastrophes waiting to happen as temperatures inch up? Especially ones specific to your region that others might not know about?

Montana?

Rudy Gerner — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 07:24:55 -0800

I will be living in Montana for 6 weeks this winter. I've only ever lived in New England, with a couple of brief stints in other places. Please tell me what to expect. I am going to be living in Basin, Montana for most of January and February and other than knowing that it will be somewhat remote and desolate, I have no idea what it will be like to live there. Currently, I have a very urban lifestyle -- I throw on cold weather running gear and run outside, I head to Trader Joe's for cheapish food and Whole Foods or my local health food store for veggies and other comestibles. I go to the movies, bars, coffeeshops. I am a foodie. I am queer, a progressive, an activist, etc. As you can tell, your all around blue New England urban lifestyle.

Wtf will it be like in Basin, Montana? Any tips around day-to-day life, how to show, how to run (I definitely am interested in how to run, both weather-wise and is-it-safe-to-run-alone-in-desolate-landwise), how to recreate, what not to miss (I have heard Missoula is awesome), how to keep warm (weather tips greatly appreciated--no idea what to expect), how to interact with folks. I will have a car out there.

I have so little point for reference that I don't even know what I should be asking here, so I apologize for the vagueness. Thanks in advance.

Regional cuisine/restaurants in Utah, Montana, Idaho?

unknowncommand — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 18:32:03 -0800

I'm a big fan of foods and restaurant chains that are region-specific (think Moxie soda, whoopie pie, Petro's, and Maid-Rite). I'm taking a roadtrip through Montana, Utah, and Idaho next month. What should I check out?

Driving from Arizona to Bozeman, Montana

curie — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 06:33:15 -0800

Driving from Arizona to Bozeman, Montana in about two weeks. What things must we see along the way? We don't have any specific route mapped out and are planning on taking two to three days for driving each direction. I'm not opposed to detouring a few hours out of the way. Bonus points for dog-friendly places as we're considering taking our two young dogs with us.

In Montana, we'll be spending about a week between Bozeman and Red Lodge. Is the drive to Glacier (about four to five hours one way?) worth it?

Montana-Filter: How does someone get from the airport in Bozeman, Montana to a ski resort in Big Sky, Montana at night?

Flood — Mon, 04 May 2009 17:01:46 -0800

Montana-Filter: How does someone get from the airport in Bozeman, Montana to Big Sky, Montana at night? (more inside) Question: Landing at the airport in Bozeman, Montana on Friday, March 26, 2010, at 11:37pm. How does someone get from the airport in Bozeman to Big Sky - at night, during ski season? How much does that cost?

Background: My sister is planning a family ski trip in Big Sky, Montana - for next March. Yes, she is planning VERY early - but that is her way.

There is one problem. Someone is arriving much later than the rest of the group. The rest of the group could rent a car, as planned and go to Big Sky, get settled in - but now, the rest of group might wait 12 hours in bozeman, maybe even spend a day and a night in bozeman - because the one person will not be able to get from bozeman to big sky? Really, he can't get there own his own and meet the rest?

There must be a way that a single adult can get from bozeman to big sky - on a friday night, during ski season - right?

bonus question: plan is ski big sky, with a day trip to yellowstone nat'l park? what other cool things could we do? something cool that the tourist herd would normally miss?

Thanks

How to write a fan letter

LiquidKarma — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 06:19:16 -0800

How do you write a fan letter pretending to be Miley Cyrus/Hannah Montana? My co workers has a daughter with Down Syndrome who is in love with Hannah Montana. She recently told me about a bunch of fan letters that her daughter wrote to Hannah that she was hanging onto. I offered to write a letter back to her daughter pretending to be Miley Cyrus. Due to her illegible writing I'm not even sure of the questions she asked. Where can I find some good information that isn't just stuff you would find on her official site? Also, I've never written a fan letter to anyone before so I have no idea of the response one would get. Any thoughts?

What to see between OR and WI?

Vibrissa — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 14:34:56 -0800

Driving across the country: Cool places to see/things to do on Highway 12? In a couple weeks my parents and I are gonna be driving from Oregon to Wisconsin by way of the Twin Cities, probably on Highway 12 (though maybe 212 through South Dakota). What sights should we make sure to stop for?

Older Northwest Children's Travel Show

rotifer — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 16:17:02 -0800

Growing up in Washington state in the 70’s and 80’s I watched a PBS show about a grandma that visited sites of interest (Columbia Gorge, White Bird Pass, etc.) in the Northwest with her grandchildren. Production quality, as I remember it, was rather crude. Does anyone else remember this show? What was the name? Thanks!

Need to get the most out of my short vacation!

crawfishpopsicle — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 12:06:30 -0800

Where should I go backpacking between Bigfork, MT and Portland, OR? I live in Portland and I am going to a family reunion in Bigfork, MT. I have taken off 3 extra days to go backpacking (drive time back to Portland included). I was thinking Glacier, but it seems like it is such a hassle to get a permit and find an available campground/ avoid crowds.

I am looking for something not too difficult, maybe 4-6 miles per day. Want to see some beautiful back country and not a lot of people.

Any ideas? Am I crazy to not just go to Glacier (if so, any tips of good trails without a lot of people)?

Thanks!

Western Woadtrip

Saucy Intruder — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 18:52:29 -0800

This year's vacation plan: Fly to PDX and drive to Teton, Yellowstone, Glacier, and back via Seattle and Mt. Rainier. What should we not miss along the way? Specifically, I'm clueless about what there is to do in Idaho and along the route between western Montana and Seattle.

portland to minn

sacho — Sat, 28 Apr 2007 20:58:53 -0800

i'm driving from portland, or to washington, dc via minneapolis, mn. i'm a little bit worried about that first leg. i'm completely unfamiliar with that stretch of land. it just looks so big. and empty. and big. i'm driving by myself. so i'm also a bit weary of that. i've never done a big trip like this so i'm not sure how long i'll be able to go at a time - i'm guessing 8 hours. is that reasonable? assuming so, where should i stop? i don't need to do any siteseeing, really. really just looking to get through there as quickly and cheaply (and safely!) as possible.

Invisible tumbleweed?

clgregor — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 10:34:47 -0800

Big News! Mounds of tumbleweed cover homes, driveways. Are there any pictures? Flickr, Google Image (and news) search bring up no results. This seems like something that really deserves a photo along with the story. Help me find some pictures of the tumbleweed pileup of '07.

How to get a print of a digital pic that looks great on my monitor, but like a** on paper

weiler63 — Sat, 27 Jan 2007 21:18:56 -0800

How to get a print of a digital pic that looks great on my monitor, but like a** on paper I have a picture of a Montana sunset that I took with my Nikon-d50 digicam. I now have that pic on my desktop, and it looks great. When I print out the pic (at professional printers) changed to jpeg, tiff and bmp, they all look like crap. Should I be looking for a specific printer or what would you suggest to make the pic look like the quality on my monitor. Thanks in advance.

--Adam

Songs about Western and Midwestern States?

sarahnade — Wed, 28 Jun 2006 19:28:38 -0800

Mixtape filter: I need songs that reference any of the states of California, Nevada, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming, and Utah. The boyfriend and I are taking a roadtrip to all of these places. I want to include some songs on this mix about the states we will be visiting. Even a one line mention is okay, or even songs that allude to geographical areas or special traits about the state. Bonus points if it's folk or metal.

Things I'm thinking of already:
-"North Dakota" by Lyle Lovett
-"Number 6 Driver" by Eddie From Ohio (lyrics: "and there's a cold wind blowin' in Wyoming...")
-"Nebraska" by Bruce Springsteen

Thank You Mefite Music Addicts!

Showdown at Big Sky

granted — Thu, 23 Feb 2006 22:33:57 -0800

Why is the sky so much bigger in Wyoming and Montana than everywhere else? For several summers when I was younger, my mom, my sister, and I would road trip from California to Wyoming, where my mom grew up. She used to tell us that as soon as one crossed the border from Utah to Wyoming, the sky would suddenly expand and become enormous. I'm sure it wasn't really so sudden, but it seemed totally true. By the time we got to Evanston, the sky would have exploded.

I was reminded of this when I watched Brokeback Mountain, which did a beautiful job of capturing the wide open expanses, the great purple mountains, and the huge blue sky. And I started wondering - hey, why? I don't think it's just the openness of the landscape, because I've been in other open, flatter areas and the sky didn't seem so big.

I haven't spent as much time in Montana but assume it's the same deal there, as they have a town named after it.

So why's the sky so big in Wyoming and Montana, and is there anywhere else in the world with the same phenomenon?

Go West! Or something!

jennyjenny — Tue, 20 Sep 2005 04:58:12 -0800

Should we go west? How far west, and how? What do you know about Montana? Small-town life in general? My partner and I are thinking of leaving Brooklyn and going West. The only question is, where can we find a place where we can balance low cost of living, slower pace, affordable land, and our desire for proximity to a college town?

We're knocking around the idea of Montana (Bozeman or Missoula, maybe?) because the cost of living ought to be reasonable, and we are fond of the live-and-let-live attitude Montanans display. But I fear that our life experience of living in medium-to-large-sized cities (NYC, Seattle, Prague, Denver) will lead us to go absolutely batshit crazy in a place with a population of 30 to 50 thousand.

Have any of you made a move like this? Was it a good decision? Also, what can you tell me about Montana? Thanks!

road trip advice going through San Francisco and Seattle

bakiwop — Sat, 07 Aug 2004 15:29:25 -0800

On a whim, I'm driving from Milwaukee to San Francisco to Seattle and back to Milwaukee again. I'll be going through WI, IL, IA, NE, CO, UT, NV, CA, OR, WA, ID, MT, WY, SD, and MN and am looking for some tips on sights I shouldn't miss. Any suggestions? I also forgot to ask, anybody know of any free wifi hookups in any of those states? It would be nice to access the internet from my own laptop. Muchas gracias!

How do I buy a used car in Montana?

davidmsc — Sun, 22 Feb 2004 10:38:03 -0800

Purchasing a car for my daughter from a co-worker/friend. Clueless about any legal requirements -- transfer of title, taxes (Montana), odometer, etc. Any advice at all...?