Featured NewWest.Net
Community Blogs
Meet the NewWest.Net Community Bloggers -- writers in the New West that muse on everything from city life to motherhood in the country, yoga to politics. Click on the names below or at right to catch up with the group. And, if you'd like to pitch an idea for a NewWest.Net Community Blog, drop us a line.
Missoula Notebook
by Sutton Stokes
Missoula Notebook: A new arrival’s notes on settling in to Missoula. Missoula Notebook chronicles Sutton's experiences and impressions as he gets to know this strange and wonderful place, with some other other subjects mixed in for variety.
Bob Wire Has a Point (It's Right Under His Hat)
by Bob F. Wire
Bob, a satirist, musician and work-at-home dad is the most popular blogger on NewWest.Net to date. His musings wander tromp confidently across topics like fatherhood, music, the Missoula scene as well as food, religion and often, excrement.
Savagemama
by Jennifer Savage
Jennifer writes each week about being a new Western mama and the insights and challenges that brings to her landscape. Jennifer has an easy, personal essay style that makes her one of the most read on our pages.
The Dog Blog
by Kathryn Socie
Describing both the culture and controversy of dogs in the West, the Dog Blog explores the profound connection many are capable of having with these animals and the often wacky behaviors (in both species) that ensue as a result. In a place where dogs are a bridge to social networks, an emotional crutch, a lucrative business entity and working citizens in the community, therein lies plenty of fodder for tales of the canine crazed. Tossed in the mix are musings on the hefty responsibility of being owned by a dog (or two), the utility of good canine citizenship, essays on the new work of dogs, and a decidedly lacking amount of Cesar Millan-esque wisdom.
BorderWest
by Rebecca Powell
Water. Oil. Rapid growth. Dramatic economic change. Conservation. BorderWest looks at how the big stories of the New West are being lived out forty-five miles from the Mexican Border. After having spent the last six years in the Flathead Valley of Montana, Rebecca was surprised to see the same themes of the New West in Mesilla Valley and Las Cruces, her new home. Las Cruces, New Mexico's second largest city, sits on the edge of the Chihuahuan Desert, between the Rio Grande and the Organ Mountains, the last spurs of the Rocky Mountains. Landscapes and cultures collide; stories abound. The unique stories of Las Cruces, Mesilla, Ruidoso, Deming, etc. are still the stories of a West that once put out a call for settlers that thousands still answer.
ThymeToTravel
by Rochael Teynor
ThymeToTravel is a culinary travel blog by Missoula writer Rochael Teynor about the intersection of food, wine, and travel. Great, authentic food not only nourishes us; it stimulates our palates, comforts us, and enlivens our senses for a truly visceral experience. It provides us with the basis for a lifetime of memories.
Rugged Stuff
by R. Keith Rugg
A big steaming helping of country music, with a side of Western arts and culture written by R. Keith Rugg, a third-generation guide and packer into the wilderness areas of Montana and Idaho.Rugg has a long-standing interest in country music, and he has, over the years, been a country music deejay, worked with the national magazine New Country Music, and earned awards from both the California and Nevada press associations for entertainment coverage. Still a partner in the family-owned Rugg's Outfitting, based out of Superior, Mont., west of Missoula in the I-90 corridor, Keith spends most of his time in front of a computer in warmer climes to the South, leaving the manual labor to his father and brothers.
Scary's Bozeman
by Sarah Meadmore
Scary’s Bozeman chronicles the life of Sarah and her dog Atticus, as they discover the joys of living in the Gallatin Valley.
Off the Reservation
by Troy Doney
Off the Reservation is about Native American news, policy, events and other issues in the Rockies area. It's also about the experiences Troy Doney has while gallivanting around the odd little city of Missoula. Doney is an enrolled Assiniboine from the Fort Belknap Reservation, lackadaisically pursuing truth, justice and a career in journalism.
On Rivers and Ranching
by Bryce Andrews
A blog by a ranch hand working to unite conservation and ranching practices in the middle of the nation's largest Superfund complex -- the upper Clark Fork River in Montana.
The New West Baby
by Kelley Moen
A blog about babies and the honest adventures of parenting as a new mom in the new west.
State of Technolgy
by Sharon Fisher
Sharon, now a candidate for the Idaho legislature herself, was not satisfied with bringing together the disparate worlds of writing and technology and decided government needed to be dragged in, too. Hence, her blog from the Idaho Legislature focuses on politics, technology and the places where those two cross paths.
Missoula's Dish
by Danielle Lattuga
A home cooked blog about service in a little big town. Missoula's Dish, about service in the Garden City, aims to provide helpful tips on customer service and being a customer and inside information on Missoula’s dining scene through the anecdotal lens of a veteran server and the illustrative narrative of a community-loving foodie/wino (who happen to be one in the same).
6 Degrees Astro Blog
by Irwin Horowitz
Irwin relocated out West half a lifetime ago to attend grad school and fell in love with the natural beauty, wide open spaces and mild climate. He writes about astronomy, politics and Idaho life.
Humbug Mountain
by Carol Mell
Follow the dirt road in your soul to Humbug Mountain where you’re danged if you do and danged if you don’t so you might just as well.
Yoga On and Off the Mat
by Brooke Hewes
Yoga On and Off the Mat explores the vast, dynamic practice of Yoga, including Hatha, Pranayama, and among many others, Karma Yoga. Whether or not a sticky mat is even involved, yoga’s spiritual, emotional and physical applications and influences are many. I invite you to reach, stretch your mind and share your thoughts.
