Beautiful Montana: Discover the Scenic Wonders of Big Sky Country where deer, antelope play, plus birds, light and that sky

Big Sky Country on the Stillwater River looking from our friends' home, John and Laurie Beers, toward our place up the road a bit, called High Chaparral. 

BIG SKY COUNTRY OFFERS MULTITUDE OF GORGEOUS SIGHTS, MEMORABLE VIEWS, WILDLIFE, NATURE, CALM

A prairie grouse poses out our front door, enjoying the late summer sun.

STORY By CHRISTENE MEYERS

PHOTOS By BRUCE KELLER

"The Carpe Diem Kids"

Editor's Note: this piece was reviewed and updated July 22, 2026

Montana's nickname, Big Sky Country, captures the feeling of endless horizons, majestic mountains, winding rivers and wide-open spaces of my childhood. Whether I'm driving a scenic highway, hiking through alpine wilderness, photographing wildlife or watching the sun set over rolling plains, every turn reveals another memorable view.

My memories showcase why Montana remains one of the most spectacular destinations for outdoor adventure, relaxation and nature photography. Come see for yourself.

MUCH HAS been written about our famous sky and mountains.

The state Highway Department used the phrase "Big Sky Country" in a 1960s promotion, but the moniker traces back to writer A.B. Guthrie's 1947 novel.

His book, "The Big Sky," is considered by the late fellow writer and critic, Wallace Stegner, to be "the best" of Guthrie's six novels dealing with the Oregon Trail and the development of Montana from 1830 to the 1880s.

The Fishtail Store is an institution in Stillwater County.

The sweeping saga spans the time of the Mountain Men to the cattle empire of the 1880s to the time of the book's writing, post World War II.

Up the draw toward the artesian well, High Chap as the autumn colors begin to appear on the aspen.

Beautiful Montana and Her Mountains

MY NATIVE state offers a bounty of beautiful sights:  the aspen trees are beginning to turn. Big Sky Country is not just a wondrous place, it's a feeling.

A beautiful Big Sky sunset with reds and golden tones in Stillwater County near Nye, Montana.

Birds are loading up on berries.  The sunsets are a glorious blend of crimson, orange, pale blue and golden hues, accentuated by smoke from 19 wild fires surrounding us.

Tourists and natives alike also love Montana's mountains.  Writer John Steinbeck said they were the kind of mountains he'd make if mountains were ever put on his agenda.

RETURNING to the mountains this year, to our beloved Big Sky Country Home on the Range, has special meaning for us.

When we left nearly 13 months ago, for our winter base in San Diego, we were climbing slowly up the list for Keller's liver transplantation.  We did not know if we would be back this year, so even the sometimes smoky view at the Beartooths is a blessing.

High Chap's mountain at the "top of the prop" provides a setting for an annual picnic and saxophone serenade.

We're reveling in reunions with our dear friends here -- some locals and others summer people such as are we.

We crossed paths by only days with the "Georgia contingent," a group of Atlanta based sojourners and like-minded friends, who closed up their places just after we all met by the river for a "no labor Labor Day party."

Gooseberries, chokecherries and elderberries are favorites with deer.

OUR FRIENDS are an eclectic group -- well traveled, well educated, avid readers, activists,  thinkers, global in their politics.  It took us a while to find them.  The party hosts, for instance, recently built on the Stillwater and sold their home in St. Croix. Others are from Pennsylvania, Washington state, California and many other parts of the world. We met a couple recently who live in Spain and visit Montana a couple times a year.

Sandhill cranes greeted us on our drive up the valley to home.

Wild flowers are still blooming, albeit only a few are left.  They are glorious.

WE'RE thankful to celebrate our return with these friends who have had their own losses, illness and accidents during our absence and challenges with the transplant. We're planning an encore climb up the hill behind our home, to the "top of the prop" as we call it, for me to offer a picnic serenade with my saxophone.

And while little things are frustrating -- a few trees lost to winter -- we feel the same love we always feel when we land in Montana with its beauty and staunch pals. There's no place like it. As Steinbeck put it, "For other states, I have admiration, respect, recognition, even affection. But with Montana it is love. And it's difficult to analyze love."

The Ariel String Quartet thrills a sell-out crowd at an earlier Tippet Rise event.

NEXT UP:  Tippet Rise, that magical art and concert venue near Fishtail, Montana, is in its second fantastic season. On tap this weekend are world renowned pianist Anne-Marie McDermott and the St. Lawrence String Quartet.  Each weekend, world class musicians thrill crowds in a unique setting, always a sold-out venue, with tickets kept cheap to encourage a wide audience range. Join us at Tippet Rise, remembering to explore, learn and live. We post our novel look at nature, the arts, health and travel each Friday, for the weekend.