Montana



GET YOUR GOAT – Don’t leave Montana without seeing the nimble mountain goat, one of the state’s iconic mammals. One low-key area to look for these shaggy climbers is Rattlesnake Creek National Recreation Area near Missoula. You may spot bighorn sheep and black bears while you’re at it. Find more information at www. montanabirdingtrail.org.


HOME TO HEROES – At Missoula, visit the Smokejumper Center, the largest training facility in the country for firefighters who parachute into forest fires. Check out the 1930s-era lookout tower and the “Loft,” the smokejumpers’ home base when they’re not fighting fires. Get more information at smokejumpers.com.


WITH THEIR BOOTS ON – Walk through a vintage bit of the West at the Boothill Cemetery in Billings. As the memorial says, “In boots and spurs they lie,” often killed in gunfights, frequently nameless. One of Gen. George Custer’s scouts (who was not at the Little Big Horn) was buried here after he was killed doing his job as a deputy sheriff in Billings.