Big Sky Blog

Looking for a place to rent in Montana? Then check out MTHousingSearch.com and see if you can find what you want. There are over 3,000 listings and they are in English and Spanish so this should make it easier to find a place.

If you’re in the Forsyth area stop by and take in the county fair. If you want to enjoy an old-time style county fair this is a great opportunity for you and your family.

From the Billings Gazette:

The Rosebud/Treasure County Fair celebrates its 100th anniversary this year July 16-20.

In addition to the traditional events at a traditional small county fair - 4-H and FFA exhibits, a Thomas Shows Carnival, free stage shows - the fair will host the Southeastern Montana Professional Bull Riders Challenger Tour on Thursday, country music group Sawyer Brown on Friday night, country music legend Charley Pride on Saturday night, and the American Legion Demolition Derby on Sunday night.

Admission to the fairgrounds is free. Free parking is located outside the fairgrounds. For tickets or information, call 406-346-2144.

Take either exit from Interstate 94 into Forsyth. Turn north from Main Street and drive five blocks to the fairgrounds.

Only you can prevent forest fires.

To help us prevent forest/wildfires several fire management organizations have created a public website called firerestrictions.org to keep us abreast of where and how severe the fire dangers are around the country. Montana is part of the Northern Rockies Region which is composed of Montana, Idaho, North Dakota and northwest South Dakota.

From The Billings Gazette:

The public can access the most current information on fire restrictions and what areas may be closed. The Web site is a cooperative effort between the Northern Rockies Coordination Group and the National Center for Landscape Fire Analysis at the University of Montana.

Wildland fire restrictions are implemented in two stages, stage I and stage II, in Montana, Idaho and northwest South Dakota. North Dakota refers to restrictions as very high and extreme. Weather, moisture in the vegetation, number of human-caused and natural fire starts, firefighting resource availability and other factors are considered to determine if wildland fire restrictions are needed.

When you go out and about this summer have fun but let’s also remember the admonition of Sgt. Phil Esterhaus, “Let’s be careful out there.”

It’s been confirmed that Democrat presidential nominee Barack Obama will be visiting Butte, America on the 4th of July, aka Independence Day. A former Butte resident ponders the excitement, and Big Sky Cairn notes the possible consequences of the ensuing media circus:

…I’m not sure how to feel about Obama’s decision to come to Butte for the 4th. On the one hand, it’s kind of cool. But…there is the real possibility that his presence will ruin the very idyllicism that his campaign is trying to harness. Police officers who would have had the Fourth off, will now be working security. Thousands of out-of-towners will invade the parade route. And journalists of all sizes and stripes will be working Harrison Avenue for B-roll and man on the street interviews. Yes, it is going to be Mansfield-Metcalf part deux.

But the best part of Obama visiting Butte - again! - is summed up by a commenter over at Left In The West: “I’ll bet the butt cheeks of all those liberals in Missoula are clenching, big time.”

The 2008 Montana H.O.G. Rally will be held in and around Great Falls on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday this week (June 26-28). H.O.G. stands for “Harley Owners Group,” by the way. This year, the H.O.G. is going for a pirate theme:

Arrrr matey - Hoist anchor and set sail to join us in Great Falls, Montana on June 26-28, 2008, for a few days of swashbuckling merriment. This will be the time to show off your gleaming galleons as the “Chromed Armada” passes through the heart of the city.
We’ll party at pirate’s cove and venture out to the “Barbary Coast” for evenings filled with grub, grog, lively chanteys, and the fellowship of your comrades.
Test your wit in the pirate’s quest or decode the clues for a chance at the treasure chest. We might even make you walk the plank.
Sift through the shifting sands to find buried gems or eat like a king at the Captain’s Feast.
You won’t want to miss this - Montana’s gathering of buccaneers, cutthroats, & wenches.

Events scheduled for the 3-day party include Poker Runs, Treasure Hunts, Parade of the Chromed Armada, and more. Even if you’re not a registered participant, it should be fun to see the HOGs out & about Great Falls!

Over at the blog of the University of Nebraska Press there is a Montana trivia quiz Go ahead and give it your best shot!

We all know that Missoula has a reputation for being somewhat liberal, politically and culturally. So it comes as no surprise - via OpenSecrets - that Missoula leads the largest communities in Montana in campaign donations to John Edwards, arguably the most liberal of the major Presidential candidates (well, until last week, when he dropped out of the race). Here is the list of candidates who raised the most Montana money in Missoula:

Courtesy of CrazyLaws.com, here is a list of laws in Montana that defy common sense.

• It is illegal to have a sheep in the cab of your truck without a chaperone.
• In Billings, Montana it is illegal for employees of the city’s communications center to program their phones with speed dial.
• Balls may not be thrown within the city limits.
• It is a misdemeanor to show movies that depict acts of felonious crime in Montana.
• Bozeman has a law that bans all sexual activity between members of the opposite sex in the front yard of a home after sundown — if they’re nude.
• Seven or more Indians are considered a raiding or war party and it is legal to shoot them.
• It is illegal for a man and a woman to have sex in any other position other than missionary style.
In Montana, it is illegal for married women to go fishing alone on Sundays, and illegal for unmarried women to fish alone at all.
• It is a misdemeanor to show movies that depict acts of felonious crime.
• It is a felony for a wife to open her husband’s mail.
• It is illegal to have a sheep in the cab of your truck without a chaperone.
• Excelsior Springs: Balls may not be thrown within the city limits.
• Helena: No item may be thrown across a street.
• Helena, Montana, mandates that a woman can’t dance on a table in a saloon or bar unless she has on at least three pounds, two ounces of clothing.
• Salisbury: Pop bottles are not to be thrown on the ground.
• Whitehall: It is illegal to operate a vehicle with ice picks attached to the wheels.
• Montana just legalized the production of caviar.

I can’t vouch for whether or not any of these are true; if anyone can confirm or deny - or add one of their own - that would be cool.

Hi my name is Cuba and I am a Havanese dog who lives in NYC. It is important we have a say in our next President. Please see our debate questions on youtube.

Then go to my web site and VOTE. I need votes from your state, Montana.

thanks
Cuba

A roundup of some free (or inexpensive) things that you can do alone, with your kids, or with your husband/wife/boy-or-girlfriend:

- 100 Ways to Have Fun With Your Kids

- Cheap But Great Dates

- 15 Things To Do During A Money-Free Weekend

Anybody have Montana-specific suggestions for free or cheap fun things to do, places to see, and such?