"The world is full of bastards, the number increasing rapidly the further one gets from Missoula, Montana" - Norman MacLean

Tidbits about Missoula:

Population is 57,000, making it the second-largest city in Montana. Home of University of Montana and our new house is three block from campus. Located in a deep valley surrounded by mountains and is cut by three major rivers, the Clark Fork, Bitterroot, and Blackfoot.

Liberal: Missoula holds the highest-percentage Democratic voting district in the state, and in 2000 presidential election it had one of the highest percentages of votes in the country for Green Party candidate Ralph Nader. Missoula holds a yearly Hemp Festival.

Additional Facts

• Local ski areas include Montana Snowbowl but within a few hours is Lost Trail, Discovery, Big Mountain, and Big Sky is three hours.
• About half way between Glacier and Yeloowstone National Parks.
• The "Garden City" has won various arbor awards from the National Arbor Day Foundation.
• International Wildlife Film Festival, the largest animal-themed film festival in the world, is held annually in Missoula.
• Missoula and the nearby Blackfoot River are the setting for “A River Runs Through It” by Norman MacLean. In it, he says "The world is full of bastards, the number increasing rapidly the further one gets from Missoula, Montana."
• Local breweries include Bayern Brewing, Kettlehouse Brewing, and Big Sky Brewing, home of Moose Drool beer.
• Missoula is home to the largest Forest Service smokejumper base.
• Missoula is home to a diverse and influential music scene. Members of bands such as Deranged Diction, which formed in Missoula, later moved to Seattle and became key members of groups such as Pearl Jam, Green River, Mother Love Bone, Silkworm and Love Battery -- playing an important role in the birth of the grunge movement.
• Missoula Children's Theatre is an international touring program which visits nearly 1000 communities per year. The Children's Theatre routinely has residencies in all fifty states and many other countries.