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ORPHAN TRAIN RIDERS OUT WEST PAGE 68
TERESA OTTO is a freelance writer, photographer, and
retired pediatric anesthesiologist based in Billings.
When she's not traveling around Montana or our
big, beautiful world, she serves as a waitress and
housekeeper for two rescued cats and a dog. Fol-
low her travels at www.thenomadsdaughter.com.
NOT JUST C.M. RUSSELL
PAGE 72
BRIAN D'AMBROSIO is the author of more than 10 books
and his articles have been published in local,
regional, and national publications. D'Ambrosio's
favorite journalistic topics or subjects: history,
music, architecture, vernacular artists, boxing,
photography, forgotten inventors, and obscure
American poets and authors. Also a private investigator, he may
be reached at dambrosiobrian@hotmail.com
FROM POKER TO HORSESHOES
PAGE 76
BILL MUHLENFELD is the former owner and publisher of
Distinctly Montana. Hard to get him to leave, so
you may be seeing him in these pages from time-
to-time.
AFTER THE BURN
PAGE 80
LARRY EVANS, named "the Indiana Jones of mush-
rooms" by a diplomat in the Russian Far East
during the 1990s, has spent years researching
mushrooms and nontimber forest products in Asia
and the Americas. He is a certified mushroom ven-
dor and taught mycology at UM and the Glacier
Institute for decades. He is a founder of the Western Montana
Mycological Assn. (fungaljungal.org) and has recorded 2 CDs of
mushroom music, Fungal Boogie (2003) and Fungal Boogieman
(2007) and appeared in Ron Mann's comedocumentary Know
Your Mushrooms (2009).
WILD WEST WORDS
PAGE 92
CHRYSTI "THE WORDSMITH" SMITH was born some decades
ago in Poplar, where she misspent her youth rid-
ing horses and motorcycles. Putting those things
behind her as adult, she turned toward studies in
archeology/anthropology at MSU, where she also
accidentally discovered radio broadcasting. She
has been producing "Chrysti the Wordsmith" at MSU's radio
facility, KGLT-FM, since 1990.
LINCOLN COUNTY
PAGE 92
A native Montanan, BRYAN SPELLMAN has lived all over
the state, and now lives in the foothills of the Cab-
inet Mountains. A graduate of UC Berkeley, he is
now retired from a career centered in the School of
Fine Arts at the University of Montana. In retire-
ment, he spends his time on weaving, photogra-
phy, travel, writing, and, yes, geocaching.
