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

Posts Tagged ‘in Missoula’

New Year for Hunting & Fishing Licenses Begins March 1

March 1 begins the new 2015 license year for Montana hunters and anglers. The new license year is especially important for early-season anglers, and for those who enjoy ice fishing.... more

Inside the Glamorous World of Journalism

By BOB WIRE- Another Friday morning, another tedious story meeting at the newspaper. I had bigger fish to fry. That’s why I smelled like fish...... more

Sandwich Guy

By BOB WIRE- During Grizzly games I've been helping out at Paisano's Sandwich Counter. Oh, don't worry—I'm not actually handling the food. I handle the money and the schmoozing.... more

The Seinfeld of Blog Posts

By BOB WIRE- You think it's a cakewalk, coming up with a new topic to write a thousand words about every week? And not be about farts? Not that Missoula isn't rife with material. ... more

The Bar Gig From Hell Part 2: The Revenge

By BOB WIRE- The bartenders poured stiff drinks. That’s what got us through another night of pop country requests, complaints about the disco balls, and a general absence of love in the room. ... more

The Bar Gig From Hell, Part I

By BOB WIRE- My ego was beaten like a dirty throw rug this weekend, when we played a double-header in a new bar in unfamiliar territory. I overheard someone say, “who the hell is Bob Wire?” ... more

The Guitar that Invented Rock n’ Roll

By BOB WIRE- The Fender Stratocaster is to rock and roll what the basketball is to basketball. Its importance to rock music can’t be overstated.... more

Top Album Picks for 2014

By BOB WIRE- I'm sorry, but if you make beats that doesn't make you a musician or songwriter any more than picking up dog poop makes me a veterinarian.... more

Ten Things To Tell Your Dog Today

By BOB WIRE- My dog Houdini knows fewer English language words than Koko the gorilla. If only for one day, this magnificent beast could understand everything I’m telling him.... more

My Turkey Can Beat Your Turkey

By BOB WIRE- Our Thanksgiving meal was circumvented in a twisted, serpentine, Gordian knot of cooking contortions thanks to the numerous dietary considerations presented by our family.... more

It’s Supposed to Be No Fun. You’re Sick.

By BOB WIRE- The phone rings. "Dad," says a voice that sounds like Louis Armstrong with a sinus infection. "I don't feel good." It's Nurse Dad to the rescue!... more

You Spin Me Right ‘Round, Baby

By BOB WIRE- I enjoy moving at a high rate of speed without really getting anywhere so I was perfectly suited to participate in the second annual Ride-A-Thon, a fund raiser for A Carousel For Missoula.... more

You Can’t Take That On The Plane

By BOB WIRE- I traveled to the Bay Area last week to play some music at a fund raiser. The Delta agent looked at my guitar case like it contained fifty pounds of Ebola-infested squid.... more

40 Ways to Hog the Hot Tub

By BOB WIRE- Like to be by yourself in the hot tub? if you give one of these little conversational nuggets a try, you might be surprised at how quickly you find yourself alone.... more

Phones In Restaurants: Less Welcome Than Cockroaches

By BOB WIRE-If you're sitting with someone in a restaurant, reading this blog on your phone, I hope the waitress spills a pot of scalding coffee all over your naughty bits. And your phone.... more

Student Organizes Haunted House to Benefit Missoula Food Bank

This October, a local student will transform his home and invite the community to enjoy a haunted hallway in hopes of raising awareness about local hunger, and food for Missoula Food Bank.... more

My Bad: I’m the King of Inappropriate

By BOB WIRE- Who among us has not said something extremely inappropriate in a setting full of horrified witnesses? I should have a mantel full of trophies for that shit.... more

Aging Disgracefully With Rock’n Roll

By BOB WIRE- There’s a ton of great music out there, but we elder specimens either can’t hear it or can’t relate to it.... more

Turning Japanese, I Really Think So

By BOB WIRE- The decision to host an exchange student had been a last-minute one. “Should we buy some Japanese food? You know, sushi or, I don’t know, egg rolls? Rice-a-Roni?”... more

A Deed Most Fowl

By BOB WIRE-(VIDEO) When a semi loaded with 35,000 pounds of raw chicken sits in a truck stop parking lot for several days in the heat of Missoula's Indian summer, well, it ain't how they make perfume, brother.... more

Don’t Let Your Gourd Down: The Pumpkin Spice Invasion

By BOB WIRE-It shows up every fall, just after Labor Day, as predictable as foot fungus on a high school football player and as unwanted as teen pregnancy. Pumpkin flavored ale. ... more

Top Ten Debut Albums

By BOB WIRE-What makes a great debut album? I mean, besides a crappy second album. Luck plays a big part, as does talent, chemistry, strong songs and the golden touch of the right producer. ... more

Back to School: That’s Good, Right?

By BOB WIRE-Ah, the lunches have been packed, the driveway mugshots taken, and our kids have officially slammed the screen door on another summer vacation. It's back to school time!... more

Missoula South Side, Your Beer is Here

By BOB WIRE-As a man whose love of beer is well-documented and occasionally used against him, I gotta say I'm tickled with Missoula's newest brewery, Great Burn.... more

Dodging Deer

By ROB BREEDING - Judging by the deer carcasses that line roadways in the Northern Rockies pretty much year round, I’m convinced they rarely look before they cross the road.... more

Turning the Corner

By ROB BREEDING - The signs of change are in the air. Yesterday I wore fleece to work. And the other night when my students had to work late in the lab, I fixed them a pot of soup. ... more