reviews

Montana Atlas and Travel Guide

Reviewed by Scott Richmond

The Ultimate Montana Atlas and Travel Encyclopedia, by Michael Dougherty and Heidi Pfeil Dougherty. Published by Ultimate Press. 591 pages in an 8.5 x 11 black-and-white format. $29.95. Available in some stores and online (google the title).

f you're traveling through Montana and a local cowboy tells you to avoid the "gumbo," is he talking about soup or road conditions?

If you have The Ultimate Montana Atlas and Travel Encyclopedia by Michael and Heidi Dougherty, you'd know the answer--and it could save you a pile of grief.

This handy reference is full of useful information for any visitor to the Treasure State. It's divided into fifteen geographic sections. Each section has maps, weather conditions by month (average high, low, precip) for major towns, descriptions of attractions, and, of course, ads.

For example, the Bozeman section tells you everything from fishing guides and outfitters to notable people buried in the cemetery. You can get information on hiking trails, history, bed-and-breakfasts, campgrounds (public and private), and restaurants. There's a street map of Bozeman and other towns. The general map for the section marks fishing locations, although if you're coming to Montana you probably already know that the Madison and the Gallatin hold trout.

The book also covers Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks, even though most of the former is not strictly in Montana.

There's an extensive index in which you'll find--among other things--references to "gumbo" which, the book explains, is the Montana term for the impassable goo that the state's dirt roads turn into when it rains.

This is a useful book that is going with me next week when I venture to the Bighorn and Madison rivers.

Bottom Line: Useful resource for anyone traveling through Montana. Reviewer Rating: 4

Scott Richmond is Westfly's creator and Executive Director. He is the author of eight books on Oregon fly fishing, including Fishing Oregon's Deschutes River (second edition).

Uploaded 09/24/2002.

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