The ANTecdote
We Heart The Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation
I can’t say it better than The Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation says it on their website. So I plagiarized their own words by copying and pasting them here: Our Mission The Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to restoring and preserving the trail system and wilderness values in the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex. We accomplish our mission through cooperation with the US Forest Service, partner groups, individual volunteers and generous donors. How Do We Do This? Working with four different National Forests in the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex, we identify trail system improvements and then create educational, challenging, environmentally minded and scenic trail service projects into “The Bob”. The Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation helps coordinate crew leadership, work itineraries, food menus, tool and equipment needs, pack support and post project reports to the Forest Service for every project. Who We Work With Our partners include the US Forest Service, youth programs, conservation organizations, university groups, volunteer packers, local businesses and thousands of individual volunteers across the country. One of the primary objectives of the Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation is to provide an opportunity for volunteers, especially youth, to develop team building skills, learn new skills including Leave No Trace backcountry ethics, and develop wilderness awareness while participating on volunteer projects. Sarah Kmon’s Perspective “The Bob” is one of the most spectacular places I have ever been. What does that mean coming from a gal who lives in boring old White Sulphur Springs? I’ll tell you: One, White Sulphur Springs is not boring, the Smith River Valley is beautiful. Two, I have seen pristine, gorgeous lanscapes from the top of far off places such as: the Brandberg Massif in Namibia; Mogollon Baldy in the Gila Wilderness, New Mexico; Ben Vorlich, Scotland; Ben Nevis, Scotland; Ben Somethingelse, Scotland; the Organ Mountains, Las Cruces New Mexico; Sacajawea, Bozeman, MT; and some random park above Little Apex in the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex. And the Bob Marshall Wilderness is one of the most spectacular places I have ever been. These are some photos that I took during my time in the Bob. I took this by putting the lens of the camera up to the looking glass of the binoculars. I am an uberprofessional photographer. I strongly recommend a trip to the Bob Marshall Wilderness. Either to volunteer with the Foundation itself and really experience it, or by going for a trip into the backcountry. We are hugely grateful to the Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation for all their support. So yes, we are a little biased. But did you see the pictures? You don’t have to be biased to enjoy such a beautiful place. Go see for yourself. Then come and tell us what you thought. And show us your uberprofessional pictures.
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One Job, One Reason: Spring Planting
by Sarah Kmon Red Ants Pants are great for spring planting because: They have a contoured waistline, which means that when you are bent over, circulation to your torso remains intact but no-one is traumatized-for-life by the site of your plumber’s crack/builder’s bum/whateveryouwanttocallit. It’s a win-win situation.
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This Trip Will Satisfy Boozers and Birdwatchers
by Sarah Kmon We think you should come and visit Red Ants Pants via Great Falls. You may see a view like this if you do. But you must do it in March because Freezout Lake is the stopover point for as many as 300,000 snow geese and 10,000 tundra swans making their way to Canada from Texas. If you don’t like the idea of being a birdwatcher, you can shake that feeling in the evening by heading to the Sip n Dip Lounge – a bar with a window to the subsurface level of a swimming pool. Their claim to fame is that the bar was “‘named the #1 bar on earth worth flying for’ by GQ Magazine”. I guess it’s worth going to. On your way down to White Sulphur Springs the next day, plan a meal at the Lazy Doe in Monarch. When you get to White Sulphur Springs, check in to the All Seasons, and soak in the hotsprings, next door. Mmmmm. The next morning (make sure it isn’t a Sunday) soak again, eat breakfast at Dori’s on main street, then stop by Red Ants Pants for a chat, a hot drink, or the purchase of some durable women’s workpants. On your return to Great Falls from Red Ants Pants, stop in at the Harvest Moon Brewing Company in Belt, but not before you hit the slopes of Showdown for some late season skiing. Have fun!
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We Heart Zone 4 Magazine
by Sarah Kmon Some of us at Red Ants Pants like to garden. Some of us like the idea of gardening. And some of us (me) like looking at other people’s gardens and daydreaming about the one we don’t have. Montana is a very difficult place to garden. The soil is, shall we say, unsoily. The weather must be weathered, whether you want to or not. And plants just don’t like to grow. What is a gardener to do? Zone 4 Magazine is full of inspired solutions, tips and ideas of how to live the gardener’s life in Zone 4. The magazine was started by Andra and Dan Spurr after they moved to Bozeman, MT and made some “costly and frustrating mistakes” with their garden, trees and shrubs. You can read their story here. Zone 4 is “written by experts for real people with real concerns who want to learn more about successful gardening, landscaping, and healthy local foods raised and grown in zone 4”. It has a wide-ranging readership, and Zone 4 celebrates that. One beautiful, spring day, like today, I will dip into my Zone 4 magazine, not just to daydream, but because I need some information about what kind of mulch is the best for planting strawberries in White Sulphur Springs. Check out Zone 4 Magazine. We love it.
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Images from the Store
Have you ever been to a store where clothes hang on deer antlers, and Quaking Aspen trees decorate the floor to ceiling inventory shelves? Oh? You have been to the Red Ants Pants store? Great. Well if you haven’t, here are some photos to give you an idea of what you might see, and if you have, here are some photos from angles I bet you didn’t look from (unless you were four years old at the time). I wasn’t kidding. Floor to ceiling inventory shelves. Getting the pants at the top is superfun. Call me wierd but…ok, call me really wierd, but I have a thing for these coathangers. I think because all the coathangers in my closet are flimsy metal. Not pretty wooden coathangers. Can anyone tell me where this dude is located? And did you look up at the original tin roof? Or lay your head flat on the belt table? Isn’t he cute? We are very proud that Red Ants Pants are made in the USA. What else should I take pictures of?
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Fun-Packed Early March Weekend Getaway in Montana
by Sarah Kmon Fly into Bozeman March 8th, get in the car and drive to White Sulphur Springs. I know you have been sitting in a plane all day, but do it anyway. Check into the Hotpsrings Spa and Motel, where you can soak in the evening and again in the morning. Eat breakfast on the 9th at Dori’s. Then come and see us at Red Ants Pants. We will be so very happy to see you. After you have told us all about yourself, drive south from White Sulphur towards Livingston. Walk around downtown Livingston and stretch your legs. Stop in to Chadz coffee shop. Then drive further south to Chico Hotsprings Resort and Dayspa. Soak in the heavenly waters at Chico, eat a delicious meal in their restaurant, and then dance your new Red Ants Pants off to Montana Rose, who are playing there that night. The next day, drive to Red Lodge. Every year, Red Lodge hosts the Ski-Joring National Finals. Spend the next two nights in Red Lodge and soak up the crazy atmosphere of Ski-Joring. Photo courtesy of Merv Coleman. One place to check out while you are in Red Lodge is Sam’s Tap Room. Drink hot cocoa in the snow, smell the horses’ sweat, experience the brief panic when you realize a skier is sliding full speed towards you unable to stop, before they turn at the last minute and jump an obstacle. Some homework for you – find out why the skiers slide effortlessly over the snowpacked surface, but the horses have traction even though they are wearing metal shoes. Go. Tweet us (@redantspants) or facebook us the answer. But ONLY if you went to Red Lodge to find out. On the 12th, fly home.
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Outside WSS and Red Ants Pants in February
by Sarah Kmon Where the #$%$ have you been? Oh no wait, that’s me. Where have I been? Well, I haven’t been on the computer, nor have I been to town much. At home, every day we have baby cows coming in to the world, and I have spent most all of my time facilitating that. It is calving season, and while the rest of the United States is in a tizzy about climate change and the warmest, dryest winter on record, we are loudly giving thanks that little baby cows aren’t getting their ears and tails frozen off, like they did last year. Another highlight of this years calving season is this little guy. We are bottle feeding him, which makes him think I am his mother. It is a bittersweet task. Because as cute as he is, and as much fun I have watching him make up his own games and chase his shadow around the corral, I wish that he was out in the pasture with a bovine mother, where he would have other friends to play with, like these guys. And although I will do my best, if I don’t get back on here any time soon you will know that it is because I am immersed in soft black cuteness mixed with a little blood, gross gook and calf poop. What are you doing with your February?
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Save the Date for the Red Ants Pants Music Festival!
Calhoun here…holy shitballs how is the festival only FOUR MONTHS AWAY!!!! Stay tuned for line-up and more info soon on www.redantspantsmusicfestival.com Cheers!
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An early-Valentines Montana Mini-Break
Treat your Love, because they deserve it and so do you. Here’s how to get them in the mood… Fly into Bozeman on Thursday, February 9th. If you live in Bozeman it is really important to complete this step. On Friday, spend the day cross-country skiing at Bohart Ranch. It is inexpensive and breathtakingly beautiful. The excercise and the fresh air will raise your Love’s endorphine levels to perfect Valentines Day counts. Drive on, over the mountains to White Sulphur Springs, and check into the All Seasons. It is the first hotel you come to as you arrive in White Sulphur. You’ll see this… on the way here. Spend the evening and the following morning soaking it the hotsprings. The hot water and chilly air, together with only wearing a bathing suit will relax your Love to Valentines Day levels of warm, mushy tenderness. Then come and visit our store. Buying your high-endorphined, warm, mushy, tender Love a pair of Red Ants Pants, will Seal. The. Deal. Nudge nudge. Wink wink. After that head back to Bozeman and party with Ten Foot Tall and 80 Proof who are playing at the Eagles Lodge in Bozeman. Allowing your Love to dance in your arms is just icing on the cake. Sunday, fly home. Smiling.
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