The Story Behind the "M"

The "M" is 620 feet above the Missoula Valley floor. It is 125' feet long and 100' feet wide. University of Montana forestry students cut the switchbacks into the side of the hill in the early 1900's. The first "M" was assembled out of whitewashed rocks in 1909, and given a fresh coat of paint by freshmen every year, until 1968, when all those rocks were cemented together with concrete.

Photo by Nelson Kenter, kenterphotography.com

Archive for the ‘Active Moms Missoula’ Category

Summer Feet

By ELKE GOVERTSEN. Say it ain’t so… summer is, gulp, over? But I don’t have my summer feet yet.... more

Earth, Wind, and Fire – Bonner Fire

By JEN SLAYDEN. If it takes an act of God to fill up the usually vacant church parking lots on my side of the mountain, I think he has spoken. For in a brief period of twelve hours we felt an earthquake and our... more

Camp Elke

By ELKE GOVERTSEN. When I was in college, my dream job was to be a camp director. Perhaps it still is. I was MADE for camp. One thing I never thought of was the fact that somewhere other than camp, there was ma... more

Get Outta Town…

By ELKE GOVERTSEN. Sometimes the very best way to love a place is to get the heck outta there. This is consistently the case for me with Missoula.... more

Norman’s Got Nothing on Missoula

By ELKE GOVERTSEN. The nostalgia of our town is also its future. The ability to take people back to their childhoods, to a time when the grasses were hip-height and adventure called from right outside your door... more

Getting Schooled

By ELKE GOVERTSEN. About this time every year I start getting calls. Worried calls. Trying to make the right choice calls. Trying to not make the wrong choice calls. Calls from terrified, about to start kinderg... more

Penguins: “Adult-Onset Athletes” Who Run Slowly

By PAM GARDINER. I'm a Penguin. Penguins are “adult-onset athletes” who run slowly. We waddle. We are, nevertheless, passionate about our sport—at whatever pace.... more

When Do You Run?

By ANDERS BROOKER. My life is running. I don’t know how else to put it. And although it’s my passion, I still struggle to fit in my own runs everyday. Whether you are the runner who is out the door ever... more

Buttercups of My Spring

By VERINA PALMER MARTIN. It seems like a lifetime since I’ve seen Montana during the renewal of spring, which may be because you never really know when spring is going to arrive. It takes Montana a little lo... more

I Love That My Son Loves Running

By EVA DUNN-FROEBIG. ALL NEW RUN/WALK IT BLOG. We hope our kids will find something in the world that they are passionate about, but when we can share that “thing” with them it’s like winning an Olympic... more

Creating Crafty Crayons

By LISA HENSLEY. You’ve probably accumulated assorted crayons that still have some life left, but aren’t necessarily in their prime. Why throw them away? You can repurpose them into new crayons that frankl... more

This is the Ride I’m On

By ELKE GOVERTSEN. I sometimes get it right, but sometimes I get it very wrong. That pretty much sums up my career as a mother.... more

Bedtime

By ELKE GOVERTSEN. I am usually out of gas at bedtime. I am ready to quit. I don’t know how I will make it through the next hour of showers, towels, flushing and brushing. But once we hit the bedroom I am go... more

F*#%ing Mittens

By ELKE GOVERTSEN. Like mittens. This time of the year I can hardly think of them without calling them F*#%ing Mittens. At my house they are either missing, mismatched, wet or lost. Always.... more