La Roche Jaune: A Priceless Montana Watersource

Ken Walcheck

On a sandstone bluff just west of the town of Miles City, a gnarled Mountain Rocky Juniper patriarch stands firmly entrenched in the rocky soil. The juniper has been standing for more than three centuries. To the unperceptive eye, the juniper equates…

A Comparison Of Two Historical Timeframes: The Silent and Alpha Generations

Ken Walcheck

I’m a member of the Silent Generation, (1927-1945), a slice of history sandwiched between the Great Generation (1901-1926), and the Baby Boomers, (1946-1964).A 1951 essay in Time magazine coined people in the 1927-1945 age group as the Silent…

Touring Yellowstone National Park in a Tin Lizzie

Ken Walcheck

Touring Yellowstone National Park in the 1920’s by automobile was a spirited adventure in itself, especially if your touring vehicle was a 1920’s Model T Ford. The Model T was colloquially known by many during this era as a “Tin…

What's Your Beef?: CLIMATE CHANGE On The Geological Time Scale, This Is Your Planet Suffering A Stroke

Ken Walcheck

As a retired wildlife biologist, I am quite concerned with the extent and magnitude of  the world-wide shift of a changing and warming climate and collapse of biodiversity and pervasive pollution now occurring. I am also concerned that a segment…

Planet Earth a Multitasker for Seasonal Weather and Daylight Hours

Ken Walcheck

The month of June is named for the Roman goddess Juno, patroness of marriage and the well-being of women. Thursday, June 20, 2024 is when the summer solstice will occur at the same instant for all of us, everywhere on Earth, only our clocks will…

Fiddler Music and Ardent “Spirits” on the Lewis and Clark Trail

Ken Walcheck

In its scope and achievement, the Lewis and Clark Expedition of 1804-1806 stands as a giant among other major expeditions of the North American continent. The expedition carried a destiny as well as the flag of a young and vibrant nation. Travelling…

Remembering Brave Service Members Who Have Died In Past Wars

Ken Walcheck

May is the month when we Americans celebrate Memorial Day, a federal holiday – a day where we honor and celebrate the brave service of those who died in or as a result of any war. Despite what is commonly believed, the United States does not…

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Ken Walcheck

This year, St. Patrick’s Day will be observed on Sunday, March 17. Starting as a special Christian feast day in the 17th century celebrating the life of St. Patrick and the spreading of Christianity to Ireland, St. Patrick’s Day has evolved into…

The Many Splendors of Dogs

Ken Walcheck

Most of us miss out on life’s big prizes: The Pulitzer. The Nobel. An Oscar. An Olympic gold medal. Nevertheless, we’re all eligible for life’s small pleasures: A pat on the back for a job well done. Viewing a glorious sunset…

Fond Memories of a Norwegian Wool Hat

Ken Walcheck

Christmas morning, 1947. Something about the shape of that package under the Yule tree caught my eye. Call it intuition if you wish, but I had a feeling this gift was going to be a little bit special. Even though I was nearly sixteen, I unwrapped it…

United States Thanksgiving Bird Almost Became Our National Emblem

Ken Walcheck

Despite the turkey’s lofty stature of approval with most Americans, especially on Thanksgiving day, many of us are not aware that Benjamin Franklin campaigned vigorously to make the wild turkey our national bird. He didn’t succeed, but he…

Nature’s Opulent Display Of Fall Colors

Ken Walcheck

A warm October sun bathes my face as I sit in a seasoned wicker chair on my patio, sipping hot apple cider, admiring Montana’s brilliant fall colors, displayed by the maple, willow, mountain ash and cottonwood trees in my backyard. The…

Don't Tread On Me

Ken Walcheck

Lewis and Clark's Encounters with Montana's Pit Viper, The Prairie Rattlesnake

The Missouri River Breaks A Land of Visionary Enchantment

Ken Walcheck

To Meriwether Lewis, Esquire…. “The object of your mission is to explore the Missouri river, and such principle streams of it, as, by its course and communication with the waters of the Pacific ocean, whether the Columbia, Oregan (sic)…

Montana’s Scented Sharpshooter The Striped Skunk

Ken Walcheck

More than a past number of decades that I can remember, I was bamboozled by some slick-talking older cousins into a venture, a snipe hunt, “guaranteed” to earn me a few dollars and an exciting event to store away in my memory banks. They…

Lewis and Clark’s Encounters With the “Turrible” White Bear

Ken Walcheck

The Missouri River, viewed by The Corps of Discovery as their flotilla entered Montana on April 27, 1805, was truly pristine and colorful, a great snag-toothed, twisting ribbon of water running free and wild as it surged through game-rich, verdant…

Barbed Wire’s Impact On The History Of The West

Ken Walcheck

It  was a crisp late October morning, many decades ago, as I followed a faint deer trail blanketed with smoky gold cottonwood leaves in a remote part of southeastern Montana bordering the Powder River. Further up the trail, I encountered a…