Distinctly Montana Magazine

D I S T I N C T LY M O N TA N A • W I N T E R 2 0 1 7 10 MAVERICK MOUNTAIN MAGIC PAGE 13 AARON THEISEN is a Spokane-based outdoors and travel writer. He is currently working on a book, Day Hiking Western Montana's Glacier Country. Closer to home, he and his wife enjoy the outdoors with their young son. His Web site is www.aarontheisen.com. EARN YOUR TURNS: A GUIDE TO ALPINE TOURING PAGE 19 Twenty-nine years living in Montana and a lifetime in northern climes have given PHIL KNIGHT a real appreciation for the power of landscape. A student of wild places and the people and creatures who inhabit them, he writes about his adventures and misadven- tures from his home in Bozeman. SKI GUIDE INSERT LACEY MIDDLESTEAD is a Helena-based freelance writer and outdoor enthusiast whose first love is Montana. She blogs at bi- tofgracebitofgrit.blogspot.com. Her article writing has appeared in the Helena Independent Record, Helena Vigilante, Distinctly Montana and SnoWest. HOARFROST PAGE 30 CAROL POLICH'S photos and travel adventure stories have been widely published since the early 1990's. She also leads workshops. A list of her accomplishments can be viewed on the Internet by Googling her name. www.wildnaturetrails.com AMERICANA MUSIC PAGE 36 Butte-born, AARON PARRETT has authored Montana Then and Now and Literary Butte: A History in Novels and Film, plus many articles. He has released several albums of American music. He teaches literature and philosophy at the University of Great Falls. See www.aaronparrett.org. SCULPTURE IN THE WILD: BLACKFOOT PATHWAYS AND DUNROVIN RANCH PAGE 39 SUZANNE MILLER, a native of Butte, owns Dunrovin Ranch, a full-service guest ranch and equestrian club offering unique backcountry adventures on Tennessee Walking Horses. The in- stallation of a web camera led SuzAnne to enable cyber viewing. www.DaysAtDunrovin.com. KITCHEN GUY: ELK POT ROAST PAGE 43 CHEF JIM GRAY is a Missoula-based culinary instructor and food writer. He also teaches for the kitchen store chain Sur La Table in Scottsdale, Arizona. BUTTE MAGIC KEEPS ILLUSION ALIVE IN MONTANA PAGE 44 JOSEPH SHELTON lives in Bozeman, Montana, where he received his Masters in English Literature. He loves film, hiking, reading, exploring, and above all, writing. TOP 5 FOREST SERVICE CABINS IN THE GALLATIN RANGE PAGE 50 JESSIANNE WRIGHT is a freelance writer and Bozeman native, who makes it a point to get out and enjoy the Montana winter. Her work has appeared in publications including Mountain Outlaw Magazine, Explore Big Sky newspaper and Montana Parent Magazine. MONTANA HEALTH REPORT 2016 PAGE 60 RACHEL ROCKAFELLOW (MSN, RN, BCCCN) is a registered nurse living in Bozeman who loves Montana, writes occasion- ally, and hosts a monthly radio show on Yellowstone Public Radio (ypradio.org) called "Health Matters" the first Monday of every month at 6:30 p.m. WILD WEST WORDS PAGE 70 CHRYSTI M. SMITH was raised on a farm in northeastern Mon- tana and now wrangles words for her daily radio series, "Chrysti the Wordsmith," produced at KGLT-FM in Bozeman; it can be heard on public radio stations throughout Montana, Wyoming, Utah, and worldwide on Armed Forces Radio. www.wordsmithradio.org OLD RED AND 27 SEASONS OF CALVING PAGE 74 HOLLY MATKIN and her family reside on their fourth-generation cattle and elk ranch south of Havre. For nearly a decade, she wrote investigative reports for the State of Montana both as a Social Worker and as an Adult Probation and Parole Officer. Read more about her love of rural living at www.enjoyingmontanalife.com. VALERIE HARMS has edited this magazine since 2005 and says it is like throwing a party every season. A writer as well as editor, she is the author of 10 books and numerous articles. A graduate of Smith College, for seven years she was an editor at the National Audubon Society in New York City. She has taught writing and given workshops around the country, plus in Greece and Canada. In 1995 she moved to Montana to see wild animals in their habitats and explore the mountains and rivers. For more info see her Web site at www.valerieharms.com. Email queries to valerie@distinctlymontana.com. ROBERT RATH collects hyphens. Currently, he's an illustrator-designer-author-art director-dog walker living in Bozeman. He's illustrated many children's books, including the award-winning First Dog: Unleashed in the Montana Capitol, and Yellowstone's Hot Legends and Cool Myths. His clients include Lucasfilm, The History Channel, Scholastic Books, Farcountry Press and many others. He isn't allergic to anything, can't remember the names of housing subdivisions, likes to cook, can wiggle his ears, and hates writing bios. ALEXIS PIKE O U R C O N T R I B U T O R S

• Cover