Travel Stories, Cruise Reviews, and Cultural Adventures

MY GRANDMOTHER Olive loved hollyhocks. She was my mother's mum, and lived next door. She taught me to separate and save flower seeds each fall. Revered among her many flowers were the faithful hollyhocks. Dad's mother, Grannie Annie, loved her lilacs, too. I remember a large crystal bowl filled with those soft, circular blossoms -- sometimes a clutch of all-whites, other times a profusion of pinks, purples, reds.

STARS SHINE BRIGHTLY FOUR DECADES LATER; LIVINGSTON PLANS A PARTY TO CELEBRATE

Rock Creek Resort has an Old World charm, enhanced by its owners' European roots and sensibilities. ROCK CREEK RESORT OFFERS OLD WORLD CHARM, REVISITS A GENTLER TIME OF HOTEL HOSPITALITY A columbine at the lobby entrance trumpets your arrival. STORY By CHRISTENE MEYERS PHOTOS By BRUCE KELLER Bikes are a leisurely way to enjoy the scenery at Rock Creek Resort. WHEN ROCK CREEK Resort began to create the legendary place it is today, owner Pepi Gramshammer drew from childhood m

RED LODGE'S OLDEST HOTEL IS CITY'S GRAND DAME DOWNTOWN Snow can come to Red Lodge in summer -- but usually doesn't stay down long. But the Pollard is a hotel for all seasons -- stately and beautiful rain or shine, summer, spring, winter or fall. STORY By CHRISTENE MEYERS PHOTOS By BRUCE KELLER IT'S HARD FOR ME to drive through Red Lodge without at least stopping by The Pollard for a glass of wine in the Pub or a stroll through the artfully appointed lobby to take a few mome

An array of vintage buildings present visitors with a feeling of nostalgia, in Hardin, a town proud of its history. LITTLE BIG HORN...

STILLWATER PROTECTIVE ASSOCIATION DOES GOOD WORK, THROWS FUN PARTY WITH A FILM CLIP The Stillwater Protective Association preserves life...

THREE DAYS after Custer fell on a hot June day in 1876, a distressed Indian approached Captain Grant Marsh and his Far West steamboat, near Forsyth. It was June 28 and using sign language, he explained there had been a terrible battle. The Indian was Curley, a Custer Crow scout who on June 25, had been the last known man to see Custer and his Seventh Cavalry alive.

YES, THERE WERE survivors of the two-day siege on the Little Bighorn, but they were not among the five companies who stayed with Custer. That was June 27, 1876.

Custer's final days on Earth WHEN LIEUTENANT Colonel George Armstrong Custer traveled to Montana, to bring "hostile Indians" under control, he was already famous, a decorated Civil War hero and career military man. He had no reason to believe his next mission would go wrong - but, boy, howdy, did it. Big time. For Custer and 262 of his men, the battle, known for decades as "Custer's Last Stand," was bloody, brutal and fatal.

Kateri, a gorgeous golden eagle, was injured while feeding on a dead deer near Gilette, Wyo. She cannot fly. She was named by a young Cody girl. Kateri honors the patron saint of people who love nature and preserve the environment. Volunteer and raptor aficionado Patrick Pitet, a retired attorney, visits the raptors and helps with the birds. Here he is with Suli, a turkey vulture beloved by the staff., . ENRAPTURED BY RAPTORS AT THE BUFFALO BILL CENTER OF THE WEST IN CODY, W

Glacier National Park, often called the "Crown of the Continent," is a million-acre sanctuary in northern Montana where ancient glaciers have carved some of the most dramatic landscapes in North America. Whether you are seeking a peaceful retreat to unplug or a high-adrenaline mountain adventure, Glacier offers a rare, pristine ecosystem that feels truly wild.

Yellowstone Park in our back yard! Time for our annual nostalgic pilgrimage celebrating a world wonder

YORKIES WILL TURN TEN THIS YEAR! PAWS UP FOR OUR FAITHFUL COMPANIONS AND ROAD WARRIORS Nick and Nora enjoy a recent trip to Glacier...

MIGRATING CRANES THRILL ROAD-TRIPPERS AS THEY SWOOP DOWN FOR A STAY BY FISHTAIL

AUF WIEDERSEHEN TO A BELOVED ICON: ACTOR, WRITER, CAT LOVER, GOURMET, GARDENER, TRANSLATOR, TRAVELER Hannelore Carter, left, her longtime companion and "son of the heart," Jason Webinger, and Christene Meyers, at a reception following a play. "The sun will rise and the moon will set and we learn how to settle for what we get. It will all go on if we're here or not, so who cares, so what." -- "So What?" from the score of "Cabaret" STORY By CHRISTENE MEYERS PHOTOS

Project Hope in Columbus, Montana, offers hope for the new year and beyond to anyone in need in Stillwater County. Here, the Project's next-door sister shop, Laughing Ladies, aids the effort through antiques and vintage clothing. STORY By CHRISTENE MEYERS PHOTOS By BRUCE KELLER I'VE ALWAYS been proud of the warm-hearted spirit of small towns. Project Hope in Columbus, Montana, is proof that good deeds and generosity can change lives. The non-profit organization provides

You're sure to find a wilderness preserve or wildlife and bird refuge near you. Check it out for a relaxing, cheap diversion. STORY By...

Glacier Park's beauty reflects millions of years of changing ancient rock formations. Here, summer meets winter as canoes of the warmer season's activities sit idle with early winter snows. Snow has already come to Glacier National Park in northern Montana but melts quickly on warm days. "Today, for the first time in my life, I have seen Glacier Park. Perhaps I can best express to you my thrill and delight by saying that I wish every American, old and young, could have been

THE FOLLOWING SPECIAL posting is one of several recently published newspaper articles. It ran in the hometown paper of novelist Christene Meyers, a Montana native launching an international book tour in Australia and New Zealand. Meyers grew up in Montana, where the novel is partly set. It is garnering praise on Amazon as an eBook. "LILIAN'S LAST DANCE" features a love triangle, and a troupe of actors in New York, Europe and Los Angeles during the transition from silent mov

WRITERS TOOK TO BACKROADS, MUSEUMS, RANCHES, HOTELS IN SEARCH OF LOCAL COLOR The gorgeous Parker Ranch in Hawaii inspired a passage about paniolo life in "Lilian's Last Dance." STORY By CHRISTENE MEYERS RECENT PHOTOS By BRUCE KELLER Click here ==> Lilian's Last Dance ON THE TRAIL of local color and detail for the book, "Lilian's Last Dance," my late husband Bill Jones and I traveled to Hawaii, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, Illinois and many other states. We learned so