Montana Bucket List

2. Drive over the Fort Peck Dam.

3. Connect with points from the Lewis and Clark trail across the state, such as Pompey's Pillar near Billings.

4. Follow the Yellowstone River to its confluence with the mighty Missouri.

5. Visit all Montana's tiny corner towns: Yaak, Alzada, Westby and Sula.

6. Take a roadtrip where you stop at every historical highway sign.

8. Experience Yellowstone National Park in every season.

7. Hike in the Bob Marshall Wilderness Area.

9. Float the wild and scenic stretch of the Missouri River.

10. Follow the Montana Dinosaur Trail to at least a few of the 14 dinosaur museums and field stations that sprinkle the state.

11. Watch snow goose and tundra swans take off from Freezout Lake between Choteau and Fairfield during spring migration.

12. Get to know all of Montana's seven Indian reservations.

13. Make music at the Ringing Rocks of Pipestone.

14. Read "The Last Best Place: A Montana Anthology," Ivan Doig's "This House of Sky," A.B. Guthrie's "The Big Sky," James Welch's "Fools Crow" and Norman Maclean's "A River Runs Through It."

15. Watch the mermaids swim at the Sip 'N Dip Lounge in the O'Haire Motor Inn.

16. See layers of time and history at Havre's Wahkpa Chu'gn Buffalo Jump.

17. Drape yourself in green, pour a Guinness and join the revelry on St. Patrick's Day in Butte.

18. Feel haunted at the Big Hole National Battlefield west of Wisdom and the Bear Paw Battlefield south of Chinook.

19. Explore the Lewis and Clark Caverns near Whitehall.

20. Eat huckleberry pie in five different Glacier National Park area restaurants. For comparison purposes.

21. Support a favorite Montana musician.

22. Dance at the Red Ants Pants Music Festival in White Sulphur Springs.

23. Take part in branding day on a ranch.

24. Wander through the Ross Creek Giant Cedars Grove in a rainforest atmosphere near Troy.

25. Drive into the Elkhorn Mountains near Boulder to see Elkhorn Ghost Town. Don't miss the cemetery.

26. Shop for art at the annual Western Art Week in Great Falls.

27. Drive across the Koocanusa Bridge north of Libby. It's the tallest and longest bridge in Montana.

28. Skydive at Lost Prairie near Kalispell.

29. Wander through the Charles M. Bair Family Museum in Martinsdale.

30. Hike along the Garden Wall in Glacier National Park.

31. Grab a hot chocolate and cheer on competitors in the Race to the Sky, a 350-mile sled dog race that ends in Lincoln.

32. Find a blooming bitterroot, the state flower (but don't pick it!).

33. Cheer, tailgate and revel in the rivalry at a Montana/Montana State Cat-Griz football game.

34. Listen to water surge over the largest undammed waterfall in Montana, Kootenai Falls between Troy and Libby.

35. Take in the view from a fire lookout.

36. Hoot, holler, whistle and hiss at a Virginia City Players vaudeville show at the historic Virginia City Opera House.

37. Sample the tasty treats of the Parrot Confectionery on Helena's Last Chance Gulch.

38. Explore Missouri Headwaters State Park near Three Forks to see where the mighty river is born.

39. Watch the Montana Legislature in session.

40. Spend the night in Montana's oldest continuously operating hotel, the 112-year-old Kempton Hotel of Terry.

41. Take in the sights of the Miles City Bucking Horse Sale, a legendary wild weekend every year in May.

42. Whoop it up at an old-fashioned, small-town community dance.

43. See the alpenglow as daybreak briefly colors the mountains of Glacier National Park.

44. Stop at the intersection of Montana highways 1 and 569 and decide if you want to turn south for Wisdom or north for Opportunity.

45. Find a fossil.

46. Memorize the John Steinbeck quote: "I'm in love with Montana. For other states I have admiration, respect, recognition, even some affection. But with Montana it is love. And it's difficult to analyze love when you're in it."

47. Learn how to identify five Montana wildflowers.

48. Cross the border into Waterton Lakes National Park, on the Canadian side of the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park.

49. Spot the ancient petroglyphs at Pictograph Cave State Park in Billings.

50. Stand on a ridge above the Little Bighorn River and listen to the wind blow while you ponder the Lakota and Cheyenne and US Cavalry companies that clashed at the Battle of the Little Bighorn in late June 1876. Follow the walking tour, listen to an interpretive ranger and wander through the visitors center south of Crow Agency.

51. Tour the Montana Historical Society in Helena.

52. Chow down on chicken-fried steak and pie at the historic Crazy Mountain Inn in Martinsdale.

53. Know how to react in a bear encounter.

54. Make your way to Wolf Point for the Wadopana Celebration, the oldest traditional pow-wow in Montana.

55. Golf, play tennis, fish, ride horses, bike, raft, ride a zip line, ski or snowboard: Whatever your sport is, use it as an excuse to play at Big Sky Resort in the Gallatin National Forest.

56. Catch a trout.

57. Ride in a combine during harvest in Montana's Golden Triangle.

58. Learn the words to our state song, "Montana" by Charles Cohan: "Montana, Montana, Glory of the West. Of all the states from coast to coast, you're easily the best..."

59. Shake the hand of the sorehead in Rudyard, pop: "596 nice people and one old sorehead." At the very least, have a cup of coffee in the Sorehead Cafe.

60. Pick cherries along Flathead Lake.

61. Listen to an old timer speak of Montana as it was long ago.

62. Stand in silence at the Sleeping Buffalo Rock near Saco.

63. Step out of the car during a night drive over Roger's Pass near Lincoln to watch the stars far from city lights.

64. Spot a wolf in the Lamar Valley in Yellowstone National Park's northeast corner.

65. Steep in cowboy culture at the legendary Augusta American Legion Rodeo.

66. Eat a Viking ? a fried, battered meatball on a stick ? at the Montana State Fair.

67. Know enough about C.M. Russell to have a favorite among his paintings. Bone up at the C.M. Museum.

68. Pan for gold.

69. Circumnavigate Canyon Ferry Lake, with a burger break in York.

70. Spend the night at a historic Glacier National Park lodge or chalet.

71. Wander through the Sporting Eagle Saloon, opium den, a Chinese laundry, bordello and other historical spots on the Havre Beneath The Streets Underground Tour.

72. Belly up to the bar for beans or beer at the Jersey Lilly Saloon in Ingomar.

73. Throw an atlatl, an 8,000-year-old weapon once used in Montana.

74. Hike through the capstone formations of Makoshika State Park in Glendive.

75. Drive US Highway 2 from Idaho to North Dakota.

76. Eat Rocky Mountain oysters. At least one bite.

77. Talk to 4-Hers and admire their animals and other projects at a county fair.

78. Indulge your sweet tooth at the Sweet Palace in Philipsburg.

79. Dine and dip at Chico Hot Springs just north of Yellowstone National Park.

80. Take in the sights and sounds of a threshing bee.

81. Chuckle and marvel at the Montana Bale Trail around Hobson and Utica every September.

82. Smell the grass of the Sweet Grass Hills near Sunburst on a warm summer day.

83. Walk the boardwalk of Bannack State Park and learn about life in the first Montana Territory capital.

84. Visit Virgelle.

85. Whether in winter or summer, ride the chairlift at Whitefish Mountain Resort for spectacular views of the Flathead Valley and access to recreation opportunities by ski, board, foot, zip line or bike.

86. Check out the fort in Fort Benton.

87. Feed the fish at the Giant Springs Heritage State Park and Fish Hatchery.

88. Watch changing light illuminate the colorful cliffs of the Bighorn Canyon on the Montana/Wyoming border.

89. Spend the 4th of July in Choteau, with a parade, rodeo, community lunch and fireworks on a day full of small-town fun.

90. Listen to elk bugle and defend harems at the Slippery Ann Elk Viewing Area in the Charles M. Russell Wildlife Refuge in late September and early October.

91. Attend North American Indian Days in Browning.

92. Ride a train, across the Hi-Line, through Glacier National Park or near Lewistown.

93. See the mounted white wolf at the Basin Trading Post in Stanford.

94. Watch a planetarium show at the Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman.

95. Wander through the Daly Mansion and arboretum in Hamilton.

96. Stop for a burger at the Two Dot Bar.

97. Visit with period actors at the Nevada City Living History Museum, open every summer.

98. Pose for a picture with Cut Bank's 27-foot-tall penguin.

99. Look at the colors of the Berkeley Pit in Butte from the observation tunnel or above the city at the Our Lady of the Rockies statue.