Distinctly Montana Magazine
Issue link: https://digital.distinctlymontana.com/i/952842
D I S T I N C T LY M O N TA N A • S P R I N G 2 0 1 8 74 Every time I pull into Lewistown, something comes over me. I get all moon-eyed at the large- ness of the landscape (which, for a Montana native, is saying something). I want to saddle my big blue roan and go loping off into the foothills. I want to be an outlaw with bad teeth and a slit-eyed regard for the world. I even want to be a madam in an old-time brothel, adjusting my bustle and regarding my charges. If none of that will work, I just want to sit down at the Montana Tavern, have a beer, and listen to the cowboys. And then I want to go fishing. I want to absorb every ounce of it through my pores like osmosis. It's that intoxicating. Drive past the fairgrounds, turn left at the light to head into town, and you'll probably feel your heart soar, too. e main street looks like a sepia-toned post- card or a photograph from yesteryear. Like all the small towns you've come to know and love, Lew- istown is home to a movie theater, a barber shop, and a diner that hosts the same group of ranchers for black coffee every morning. Spring Creek runs beneath the town for five blocks, and the Judith Mountains punctuate the bluffs in the distance. Lewistown is also home to one of Montana's most coveted prizes: Yogo sapphires. Rarer than diamonds and different from other sapphires, which are heat-treated to produce color, Yogo sap- phires come out of the ground a brilliant blue. Lewistown boasts a guitar shop that makes custom pieces for Isaac Brock of Modest Mouse, and, of course, Montana Tavern, which sits W HEN YOU THINK OF VISITING MONTANA, THERE'S A GOOD CHANCE LEWISTOWN PROBABLY ISN'T THE FIRST DES- TINATION THAT SPRINGS TO MIND. at, though, is a serious problem. One of Montana's true "treasures," Lewistown is everything you'd want from a rural escape: it's beautiful, historic, unique, and packed with people who are proud to live there. e nearby rivers, mountains, and grasslands draw hunters and fishermen in droves. It's a place where the sense of community is strong and the soul-stopping, arid grandeur of Montana is alive and well. Plus, it sits in the dead-center of this huge, glorious state. HISTORY, HATCHERIES, AND HARE'S EARS: LEWISTOWN By Ashley Arcel GEM GALLERY LYNN DONALDSON Downtown Lewistown backed by the Judith Mountains, as seen from the top of the hill on the west end of Main Street.