The ANTecdote
Don't Eat the Rabbit Stew-Just Listen and Love!
The very talented Rabbit Stew. Our new friends, Tommy and Ryan, happy to sport RAP! Sunday morning we left our friends in Driggs after omelets and coffee and cruised north on I-15 back into Montana to Dillon. Dillon was the next stop on the tour and typically (and most humbly!) Red Ants Pants tends to steal the spotlight when we roll into town, but this time it was the homebrew keg and our party host’s band, Rabbit Stew. Our Dillon hosts, Amie and Dave, did a fine job of rounding up all their wonderful and musically talented friends to attend the backyard RAP party. Our wonderful host, Amie. Amie could take the cake for one of the most talented women we’ve met. Jill of All Trades is a complete understatement. This wildlife biologist not only plays the standup bass, but also is a home renovator, skilled at woodworking, construction, painting and pottery. She and Dave have a very old house in Dillon and have spent many years pouring their efforts into its beautiful and lively remodel. And Amie also owns several pairs of Red Ants Pants that help her lay floors with wood she recovered from her family’s farmhouse in Nebraska. In the mountain sunshine our guests gathered in the backyard, watching the kids run around in the garden, and the dogs wrestling in springtime excitement. The tasty homebrew keg didn’t last all that long with this group of Dillon folks! We moved inside as night fell and kids, husbands, moms, girlfriends, professors, fly-fishing guides, and hard workin’, fun lovin’ folks made their way to slide show portion of the evenings RAP festivities. Many couples in Dillon will now be sporting their matching RAP pants and apparently our pants have now remedied a flagrant plumber’s crack violation with one Dillon citizen. That’s right ladies and gentlemen, RAP is also improving the health and livelihood in your neighborhood. Our night evolved into a live Rabbit Stew concert and it was well into the wee hours that we carried on, swaying and singing to the band’s versions of some of our favorite songs, including “Wagon Wheel”. Of course we’d like to thank Evan for maintaining the high levels of fun–he was a key factor in the night’s progression. It was a most special evening and we’re so thankful for the impromptu jam session! We stayed up late, laughed our hearts out, and we’re moved by how simple and wonderful a community can be. Good food, good beer, and good friends (especially those who play the fiddle, guitar, bass, banjo, and washboard) all culminate into the fine makings of a most memorable evening. Our sincere thanks to the friends of Dillon. We’ll most certainly return to float the beautiful rivers of the Beaverhead Valley and enjoy a breakfast on the front porch of Amie and Dave’s!
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Hot Pants and Frozen Bananas
We traveled to the other side of the Grand Teton to land in Wilson, WY to visit our good friend Jen for a Saturday afternoon party with her bike riding friends. Jen has just relocated to Bozeman so she returned to Wilson to reconnect with her friends and to introduce them to RAP. Host Jen chasing babies up the stairs As much of a hit our pants were with the women of Wilson, many of whom spent the afternoon on their roadbikes now that the snow has cleared from the roads and the sun was shining brilliantly, the other big hit of the party was homemade chocolate-dipped frozen bananas. Jen’s good friend, Martha, makes delicious banana treats and we all enjoyed the frozen decadence while trying on our chocolate-brown pants. Way to match the party treats to the pants, ladies! Watching the RAP slideshow and learning more about the women who inhabit these gorgeous mountains, we traded ski stories and were all abuzz about gardening, getting more bike rides in and waking up our souls to spring. And we were overjoyed that both our parties in the Teton Valley and the Jackson Hole area have been family affairs! Moms brought their kids to both events and not only do we love getting women perfectly fit into their new workpants, but it does us good to chase around two-year olds, making airplane noises and giving tours of the Anthill. Martha & Shannon in RAP We’re creating a new generation of kids who will grow up surrounded by strong moms and a loving community, and we’re proud to know that in these kids’ lifetimes, there will always be workwear for women. And with sad hearts we leave behind our great friends and newly forged friendships in Driggs and Wilson and head back to Montana for a party in Dillon. Thanks again to our party hosts, Cindy and Jen, for two wonderful events. And huge thanks to longtime friends, Emily and Dave, and Rusty and Anna for their hospitality! Maggie modeling her pants for her friends
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Grand Times in the Tetons
BBQ Fun at the Grand Teton Brewery Mountain Sunset on the Anthill Our first stop in Bozeman was a wonderful opportunity to connect over dinner with friends before we hit the road south to the Teton Valley. Surrounded by good friends and making connections with new friends, we slept soundly in the Anthill while the rain fell on the roof of the rig. There’s nothing quite like sleeping out in the mountain air, encased in our trusty Anthill, keeping us warm and dry (well sort of dry; there are a few leaks in the windows) as we slept to the sounds of rainfall. And what a better way to wake up then to our good friend Nick delivering us a pot of coffee in the morning! Nick was a great host and allowed us to park the Anthill in his driveway for the night. Not only is Nick a great host and dear friend but also has a great website for all you anglers out there who are just dying to know what the current river conditions and insect hatches are in Montana. Hatchopedia.com is a free, user-driven, online catalog of Montana fly fishing reports. It’s a great site to get your Montana fly fishing fill! Who's hiding in the pants? From Bozeman, we made the beautiful drive south though Big Sky and West Yellowstone to the small town of Victor, ID. Our first party was hosted by Cindy at her lovely home looking east at the mountains. Cindy is a proud owner of Red Ants Pants from a previous party hosted in the area a year ago and welcomed us back into her home so we could share with her friends the Red Ants Pants goodness. And the successful party wouldn’t have been quite the same without her two beautiful children, Skylar and Declan. We also knew we’d have such a fun party when we saw Cindy’s Airstream parked in her drive. Two Airstreams at the same event? Only in the world of Red Ants Pants. Sarah and Declan. Seriously, how cute is he?!? Thanks to Cindy’s friends who made the event such a great success! Many an educator, farmer, tri-athlete and wonderful mom’s are now proud wearers of Red Ants Pants. We connected over divine tamales and sipped on local brews from the Grand Teton Brewery. After our party at Cindy’s, we then ventured over to the brewery for a BBQ. The second party of the evening was made possible by Emily, Sarah’s dear friend and also tour rep on the first inaugural trips of the Red Ants Pants roadshow. For those of you who’ve attend our house parties, you’ve seen several photos of Emily. And the famous RAP butt shot on our website? Oh that belongs to the one and only Emily! Once again, we were surrounded by good friends and enjoyed more tasty beer while the sun set the Tetons afire in the waning daylight hours. Sincere thanks to both party hosts, Cindy and Emily for introducing us to the amazing women of Driggs and Victor. We’re also quite lucky to have good friends, Rusty and Anna, who also call the Teton Valley home. We feel quite spoiled to have our good friends living in this beautiful area. Both Rusty and Anna are Bucking Horse Sale veterans of our infamous Buckin’ Ant float. After a fun Friday in Victor and Driggs, we’re headed over the Teton Pass to our next house party in Wilson, WY!
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Off to Bozeman!
Nellie’s pacing at the front door of our historic storefront building in White Sulphur Springs (and today the sun in our hometown is glorious!) and the Anthill’s hitched up. We’re hitting the road to launch the spring 2010 edition of Tour de Pants. Our first quick stop is to Bozeman to connect with friends over Thai food and then we’re off to Victor, ID for our first house party of this week-long northern Rockies tour. Tour de Pants hits the road! We’ve been busy all morning packing up pants and all our other wonderful goodies, including bamboo t-shirts, our stellar red hoodies, and our new kickbutt workbelts! Bags and bags of our workpants are loaded into the back of the pickup truck, just waiting for a new home somewhere across the west. Our pants are longing to connect with a hardworking gal like you, so perhaps you’ll be the next proud wearer of our workpants. They like to work, have fun and even make you look beautiful while you plant that garden, buck that bale, build your chicken coop, or hike through the mountains, taking in the newly emerging spring. Won’t you give Red Ants Pants a good home? We’re leaving our shopcat, Magpie, to her own devices this week as we cruise the mountains through Idaho, Wyoming and Montana. No, we wouldn’t actually leave Magpie on her own! She’ll be well taken care of and so will the Red Ants Pants shop during our travels. We’ve got lots of fun things planned this week, including brewery parties and helping build a woman’s Earthship home. Always good fun and good times on the road with Red Ants Pants! Loading up all 70 pants! And all of our other RAP gear. On the road again, just can’t wait to get on the road again! Come back often to check our dispatches from the road…
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RAP Featured in 406 Woman Magazine
We were quite honored this winter when 406 Woman Magazine, based out of Whitefish, Montana asked us if they could feature Red Ants Pants in their Outdoor Woman section. We of course said yes and were even more excited upon learning that our dear friend, Sammi Johnson, who was born and raised in White Sulphur Springs, is the writer for the piece! The article appears in the April/May edition-you can find the free magazine across Northwest Montana. It’s a great story detailing the Red Ants Pants story and highlighting Tour de Pants–which we’re busily preparing for our spring tour this week. You can read the feature in the online edition of 406 by clicking here. And in case you’re not from Montana, 406 is the area code for the entire state!
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Come Join Us on Tour!
Sarah, Maggie, and Nellie are gearing up for the open road. We’re doing a MT/ID/WY tour these next two weeks with lots of great house parties planned. Party patrons showing off dance moves in their new pants. Missoula, MT party guests Here is April’s Tour Schedule: Friday April 23rd, Victor, ID Saturday April 24th, Jackson, WY Sunday April 25th, Dillon, MT Monday April 26th, Jefferson City, MT Tuesday April 27th, Stevensville, MT For more info email Sarah at sarah@redantspants.com or call 406.600.3986. Come join us, the more the merrier!
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New Video Release!
2010 Models pre show Happy Spring to you all! It’s snowing like crazy here in White Sulphur Springs…gotta love Springtime in the Rockies! We have finally released our Hellroaring Saloon Fashion Show. This was a hilarious event we did both these past 2 winters up in Whitefish, MT at the Hellroaring Saloon on Big Mountain. The video is from the ’09 “fashion show”, and yes…we use this term loosely! Eight gals from all over Montana stepped into their Red Ants Pants and took to dancing on the bar. youtube down . It was family friendly of course and a very good time was had by all. Enjoy this video! www.redantspants.wpengine.com/commercials Huge thanks go out to Cindy Stillwell at Hybrid Media in Bozeman. She is our BRILLIANT filmmaker who makes all this magic happen. Check her out at http://www.hybridmediafilms.com. Stillwell’s film; High Plains Winter is being featured on the Telluride Mountain Film tour coming to Bozeman this Saturday the 17th! This tour is a fundraiser for the Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation www.bmwf.org and Red Ants Pants is a proud sponsor. Come check it out.
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RAP supports "The Bob"
The beautiful Bob We like wilderness. A lot. And we really like organizations that support wilderness. So, we’re good friends with the folks at the Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation. The Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation (BMWF) is a non-profit organization dedicated to restoring and preserving the trail system and wilderness values in the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex, commonly referred to as “The Bob”. list of domains And the BMWF is bringing Telluride MountainFilm On Tour, an independent documentary film festival to cities across Montana next week. We wanted to get involved and we’re donating our wonderful long sleeve yellow t’s featuring the bucking ant for their door prizes. So, if you live in Whitefish, Great Falls, Bozeman or Helena you should get your tickets for this incredible event! Not only do you get an opportunity to view some incredible films, but you’re also supporting wilderness! And if you’re really lucky, you just may end your fabulous evening by scoring a RAP t-shirt. We also heard that there’s a lot of other wonderful door prizes and raffle items from other Montana businesses. Sounds like good fun to us! Here are the dates for the film fest: Whitefish 4/15, Great Falls 4/16, Bozeman 4/17, and Helena 4/18. Go check out the BMWF’s website to learn more! Hard Workin' Pants in the Bob We’re really proud of the efforts of the BMWF and we’re honored that some of the trail crew leaders work pants of choice are Red Ants Pants! These gals are tough and their pants are tough enough to handle season after season of trail crew work–we’re talking cross cut saws and pulaskis, folks. Both Sarah and Maggie will be at the Bozeman show-we hope to see you there!
Learn moreWelcome to the ANTecdote!
We’re happy to announce our latest blog, the ANTecdote! This is the place to find our Tour de Pants dates and locations, check out great photos of our travels and new friends, and to learn more about Red Ants Pants and our amazing pants. So, we hope you visit often!
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