Five Things to Do in Summer

Five Great Things to Do in Summer
by Glenda Wallace

Distinctly Montana’s list of Five Great Things to Do in Summer includes cowboy poetry, Native American dancing, fresh-water scuba diving, large group motorcycling, and music from the 17th century.

It begins Fourth of July weekend and achieves its crescendo in the golden days of September (and for some it never ends). The travel involved will give you a chance to get to know this fine state better.

SCUBA DIVING IN MONTANA WATERS – Year Round
Mention the word scuba to the average American and most may know it means “Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus” and that it was invented for ocean use. Some may even know it was Jacques Cousteau who helped invent the aqualung. But not so many people know that Montana is a treasure state for scuba divers.

“It’s a normal reaction,” says Bonnie Kuehne, manager of Bighorn Divers in Kalispell. “Most people who think about scuba, think about going to the tropics, but we have some of the best fresh-water diving in the country...here with Flathead Lake, Lake McGregor, Lake McDonald. They have really good visibility, which isn’t common in a lot of lakes.”

Dive Montana Divers Suit up
Photo by Carolyn Baker

Kuehne speaks of exploring dive walls, wrecks, and debris fields. “There are lots of interesting things to see. Lots of fish. You don’t see what you see out in the ocean, but we have divers who want to dive year round.”

Typically, the Montana season lasts from Memorial to Labor Day, says Mandy Glover of Adventure Scuba in Billings, but there are also folks who like winter or ice diving. A member of the 80-member High Country Dive Club, Glover warns, “All dives in Montana are high-altitude dives and proper training...is recommended.” She also notes that boats are needed to reach the best dive sites. One of her favorites in the Billings area is Yellowtail, about an hour south of Hardin.

Most local dive shops offer regular, sometimes weekly outings, during the season. And instructors say that you can learn the basics in a weekend and that divers can become certified by the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) as young as 10 and “as old as they’re healthy.”

Some Montana shops:
BILLINGS: Adventure Scuba; Billings Scuba Center. KALISPELL: Big Horn Divers; The Salty Dog.
GREAT FALLS: Great Northern Scuba Adventure. BOZEMAN: Sports Cove.
MISSOULA: Gull Sports.

WING DING 29 – July 4-7 - Billings

There’ll be parades, concerts, and carriage rides in early July when a large flock of Gold Wing motorcycles wheels into the MetraPark Convention Center in Billings. The Wednesday through Saturday (July 4-7) gathering highlights the 30th anniversary of the Gold Wing Road Rider’s Association—an international organization of 82,000 Honda owners based out of Phoenix, Arizona. The trip to Billings is their 29th migration.

Event organizers anticipate the arrival of some 12,000 Gold Wing owners from the United States and Canada. At their opening parade last year, the group may have set a world record for the longest string of motorcycles ever to ride together.

This year, the triple-platinum-selling, country band Lonestar will perform with comedian Brad Upton on Friday night (July 6); ticket prices are $39.50. A local destination-management company, Total Transportation, is also offering packaged tours of the area. These trips include a trolley ride through historic downtown Billings, a carriage ride along Riverfront Park, and guided trips to the Pryor Indian Museum or Huntley, an antique-filled farming town.

With such a big influx of visitors expected, organizers warn that lodging will be at a premium—so much so that Montana State University and private homeowners are renting out rooms. Contact the Billings Convention and Visitors Bureau at 1-800-711-2630. They also have information on local campsites.

For more information, log onto www.wing-ding.org. Or call 1-800-843-9460; email info@gwrra.org.

NATIVE AMERICAN INDIAN DAYS – July 12-15 - Browning

Tourists are definitely welcome at “the biggest powwow in northwestern Montana,” says William White Grass, Sr., chairman of the 56th Annual North American Indian Days, held the second weekend of July on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation in Browning.

In fact, whether you’ve got a tipi, trailer, or pup tent, White Grass says you should feel free to join him and his tribal members and guests—they’re coming from every region of the United States and Canada—on the powwow grounds. There’s no charge. There is also a KOA campground nearby as well as hotel rooms in Browning and the surrounding communities, including Glacier National Park, which borders the reservation on the west.

Celebrating North American Indian Days
photo by Donnie Sexton/Travel Montana

Last year, this four-day gathering attracted around 20,000 people. It can feature as many as 700 Native American dancers and more than 30 drummers. White Grass explains that “the country’s best” follow a competitive circuit and that the Blackfeet tribal gathering offers significant prize money. It also offers a parade and rodeo, including Indian relay races and tipi-pitching contests, Indian crafts and novelty items, and food: A perennial favorite is the Indian Taco.

Although there are no entry fees, White Grass explains there is a $15 daily fee to take photos of the dancers and drummers. “You’re not limited to how many pictures you can take,” he says, “but you have to have a pass to take pictures in the Dance Arbor. There are also certain ceremonies that you cannot record.” If you want to take a picture of “an elder,” he says, “it’s only polite to ask” first.

Another tip: Bring a blanket or a jacket, because hot days often turn to cool evenings. Also check out the Museum of the Plains Indian. Established in 1941, it has a wide collection of tribal arts from the Northern Plains.

MONTANA BAROQUE MUSIC FESTIVAL AT QUINN’S HOT SPRINGS – August 14-16 - Plains

Ever fancied Four Seasons in Paradise? Lovers of the music of Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741) and western Montana’s magnificent St. Regis River corridor will be gathering for a festival of sound and scenery this August, courtesy of a host of sponsors, including the Sanders County Art Council.

Held the third week of August on the rolling grounds of Quinn’s Hot Springs Resort, the 4th Annual Montana Baroque Festival Concert features Monica Huggett, a world-renowned violinist who wandered through the Paradise Valley on a bicycle ride for charity in 2003. As fate would have it, Huggett asked directions from the husband of a local cellist and soon found herself in the creative hands and home of Jean Morrison.

“When I picked her up,” says Morrison, Arts Council Treasurer, “she remarked on how lovely this area was and that it would be so nice to do a concert amongst the trees...and since I bring events into Sanders County, I thought maybe we could collaborate.”

The result is three days (Tuesday through Thursday) of soaking, swimming, golfing, horseback riding, fishing, and eating, topped off by several hours of music once considered awkward or odd: barocco in Italian means bizarre or strange; in Portuguese it means “a distorted or irregularly shaped pearl.” To Jean Morrison, “It’s very lively music” played by “top notch musicians who love to share their music and who just love Montana.”

This year, the program features Baroque oboist Gonzalo X. Ruiz on the first evening (August 14). The Four Seasons will be performed on Wednesday night (August 15) with baroque guitarist Richard Savino. On the final evening, Hugget performs Storm at Sea. Other featured musicians include violinists Victoria Pitch and Greg Ewer and cellist Tanya Tompkins.

Tickets are $12.00 at the door, but if you want to obtain advance tickets, contact Morrison at 406-826-3600; email: mutti@blackfoot.net. Three-day lodging and breakfast packages are available at Quinn’s. Prices range from $362 for one room to $802 for a five-person cabin. Offsite packages, which also include full use of the resort’s recreational facilities, start at $60 a day.

Tip: If you want dinner at the resort, make a reservation, or order a picnic box an hour before the concert.

For more information, log onto www.quinnshotsprings.com.

ANNUAL MONTANA COWBOY POETRY GATHERING – August 17-19 - Lewistown

You’re either a cowboy, or you aren’t. You never have to decide, says Baxter Black, the New York-born and New Mexico-grown star of the 22nd Annual Montana Cowboy Poetry Gathering, happening in Lewistown the third weekend of August.

A former large-animal vet, now a poet and humorist appearing regularly on National Public Radio, Baxter joins Forsyth (MT) rancher and fellow cowboy poet Wally McRae, and Canadian gospel singer and yodeler Miriam Dreher for what organizers call a “three-day cultural event that gives visitors the opportunity to experience a visual and oral history of the West and central Montana” that harkens back to the days of “Charlie Russell, who lived and painted in this area for many years.” Their ultimate goal is “to continue passing the legacy of our western heritage onto future generations.”

Russ and Sarah Baxter entertain on the Charlie Russell Chew-Choo Poetry Train
photo by Holly Jensen

Accordingly, there’ll be poets and musicians performing daily: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday and Saturday (August 17th and 18th), and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday. The entire entry fee is $8, plus you’ll also receive the event program and a collectable pin that gives you free entry to the Friday night “Jam ‘N Dance.” Baxter’s performance begins at 7 p.m. at the Fergus Center for the Performing Arts at Fergus High School. Cost is $25 reserved and $17.50 general seating.

The gathering also features a free Western Art & Gear Show and Cowboy Church on Sunday morning. It starts at 9 a.m. You can decide if you’re going when you wake up from a good-time evening provided by—and most likely with—those still practicing the cowboy life.

For more information, visit www.lewistownartcenter.com. Telephone: 406-535-8278.