The Trail Less Traveled

Discover how a small Montana city became a thriving hub of culture, entrepreneurship, and community connection. From the iconic Big Dipper Ice Cream celebrating its 30th anniversary to the bustling Caras Park hosting over 100 community events annually, downtown Missoula exemplifies the perfect blend of historical preservation and modern vibrancy.Linda McCarthy, Executive Director of the Downtown Missoula Partnership, shares how Missoula has evolved into a pedestrian-friendly destination where strangers still greet each other on the street. The city's commitment to inclusivity shines through initiatives like zero-fare public transportation and free community events.The "hip strip" showcases the entrepreneurial spirit of local businesses, while the University of Montana adds a dynamic educational dimension. Whether it's exploring the farmers markets, enjoying outdoor recreation, or sampling unique local flavors at Big Dipper Ice Cream, Missoula offers what Teresa Cox describes as "not just a place to make a living, but a place to make a life."Listen to this episode to experience the authentic charm of a city where community connection and innovation create something truly special.SHOW NOTES:00:02:35 - Revitalizing Downtown Missoula00:05:25 - Exploring Missoula's Rich History and Vibrant Downtown00:07:35 - Missoula's Vibrant Downtown Events and Initiatives00:12:28 - Preserving Missoula's Community Spirit00:14:05 - Celebrating Missoula's Vibrant Arts and Culture00:17:27 - Exploring Missoula's Free and Affordable Attractions00:24:46 - Favorite Ice Cream Flavors and Missoula's Huckleberry00:27:01 - Appreciating Missoula's Unique Outdoors and Music Scene00:30:46 - The Thousand Islands Map and Explorer Maps00:33:18 - Missoula's Carousel Dream Takes Shape00:36:00 - The Missoula Carousel: From Humble Beginnings to Community Treasure00:38:20 - Creating a Magical Playground with Children's Input00:40:57 - Carousel Horses: Personalized Designs and Time Capsules00:43:15 - Pennies for Ponies: Raising Funds for a CarouselYou can support this podcast by donating a few dollars per month on Patreon! We really appreciate any contribution, no matter how small.Follow the adventures and interviews in real time at TrailLessTraveled.net and be sure to check out our visual series on YouTube, Facebook and Instagram.The radio version of the show premieres Sunday nights at 6 MST, streaming live online at Trail1033.com & locally (Missoula) on the Trail 103.3 FMWhy listen to the radio version instead of the podcast? Well, because the radio version includes music selected by the folks we interview!This episode was recorded on location in collaboration with Xplorer Maps. We want to extend boatloads of gratitude to Xplorer Maps for their generous support of this podcast and international outreach programs paired with conservation projects.

Tom Puchlerz is married with two children, two grandchildren, and three English setters. Retired after 38 years with the U.S. Forest Service as a biologist and administrator with assignments in Montana, Wyoming, Oregon, Washington and Alaska, Tom is a member of numerous local and national wildlife and fisheries conservation organizations. He is an avid hunter, angler, and advocate for wild places and wild things. Tom is a past president and current board member for the Montana Wildlife Federation. You can become a member of the Montana Wildlife Federation for $35 per year! Click HERE to become a member today! You can support this podcast by donating a few dollars per month on Patreon! We really appreciate any contribution, no matter how small.Follow the adventures and interviews in real time at TrailLessTraveled.net and be sure to check out our visual series on YouTube, Facebook and Instagram.The radio version of the show premieres Sunday nights at 6 MST, streaming live online at Trail1033.com & locally (Missoula) on the Trail 103.3 FMWhy listen to the radio version instead of the podcast? Well, because the radio version includes music selected by the folks we interview!This episode was recorded on location in collaboration with Xplorer Maps. We want to extend boatloads of gratitude to Xplorer Maps for their generous support of this podcast and international outreach programs paired with conservation projects.

Patrick Farneman is the executive director of Bridges to the Past, the non-profit parent organization that hosts the annual "Between the Rivers" skills gathering near Valley, Washington. Patrick has been published in Survival Quarterly Magazine, and in The Bulletin of Primitive Technology. He has been an instructor at Rabbitstick, Wintercount, Echoes in Time, and Saskatoon Circle Gatherings, and has taught classes in ancestral skills privately and for multiple organizations for over 30 years. Learn more here: https://www.betweentheriversgathering.com/ You can support this podcast by donating a few dollars per month on Patreon! We really appreciate any contribution, no matter how small.Follow the adventures and interviews in real time at TrailLessTraveled.net and be sure to check out our visual series on YouTube, Facebook and Instagram.The radio version of the show premieres Sunday nights at 6 MST, streaming live online at Trail1033.com & locally (Missoula) on the Trail 103.3 FMWhy listen to the radio version instead of the podcast? Well, because the radio version includes music selected by the folks we interview!This episode was recorded on location in collaboration with Xplorer Maps. We want to extend boatloads of gratitude to Xplorer Maps for their generous support of this podcast and international outreach programs paired with conservation projects.#travel #adventure #adventuretravel #travelpodcast #adventurepodcast #adventureradio #traillesstraveled #thetraillesstraveled #missoula #missoulamontana #storytelling #podcast #wildlifeconservation #conservation #conservationpodcast

Jim Vashro serves on the board of directors for the Montana Wildlife Federation and worked for 39 years with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks before retiring as the regional fisheries manager in Kalispell where he lives with his wife Sandi. In the last 20 years, he focused on aquatic education and access, still active with Becoming an Outdoors-Woman (BOW), Hooked on Fishing, Casting For Recovery and Bowhunter Education as well as crusading against illegal fish introductions. Currently, he is the president of Flathead Wildlife, Inc. when not fishing, hunting, hiking or paddling somewhere. You can support this podcast by donating a few dollars per month on Patreon! We really appreciate any contribution, no matter how small.Follow the adventures and interviews in real time at TrailLessTraveled.net and be sure to check out our visual series on YouTube, Facebook and Instagram.The radio version of the show premieres Sunday nights at 6 MST, streaming live online at Trail1033.com & locally (Missoula) on the Trail 103.3 FMWhy listen to the radio version instead of the podcast? Well, because the radio version includes music selected by the folks we interview!This episode was recorded on location in collaboration with Xplorer Maps. We want to extend boatloads of gratitude to Xplorer Maps for their generous support of this podcast and international outreach programs paired with conservation projects.#travel #adventure #adventuretravel #travelpodcast #adventurepodcast #adventureradio #traillesstraveled #thetraillesstraveled #missoula #missoulamontana #storytelling #podcast #wildlifeconservation #conservation #conservationpodcast

Russ Lyman grew up in northwest Washington State. He received a B.S. degree in Visual Communications from Western Washington University and then spent a couple of years in Ketchum, Idaho. In 1989 he began his river guiding career in Haines, Alaska, and started guiding on the Tatshenshini and Alsek Rivers in 1990. He has also worked as a river rafting guide in the Arctic, Chile, Indonesia, Nepal and Ethiopia. He lives in Haines, Alaska with his wife Cynthia, where he runs his publishing business, Cloudburst Productions. Russ draws maps and gathers inspiration from the majestic Saint Elias and Coast Range Mountains which surround him. He began his river guiding career in Haines in 1989 and has made over 40 trips down the Tatshenshini and Alsek Rivers since then, as well as guided on rivers in other parts of the world. Russ has been a volunteer DJ at KHNS since 1990, covering a variety of different shows over the years. Russ is one of the coauthors of The Complete Guide to the Tatshenshini River: Including the Upper Alsek River. You can support this podcast by donating a few dollars per month on Patreon! We really appreciate any contribution, no matter how small.Follow the adventures and interviews in real time at TrailLessTraveled.net and be sure to check out our visual series on YouTube!!!The radio version of the show premieres Sunday nights at 6 MST, streaming live online at Trail1033.com & locally (Missoula) on the Trail 103.3 FMThis episode was recorded on location in collaboration with Xplorer Maps. We want to extend boatloads of gratitude to Xplorer Maps for their generous support of this podcast and international outreach programs paired with conservation projects.

The Northern Rockies region is home to the largest collection of pristine free-flowing rivers and native trout fisheries left in the lower 48 states. The headwaters of these pristine rivers originate in three sprawling wilderness complexes – the Crown of the Continent along the US-Canadian border; the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem where the Missouri, Snake, and Green rivers are born; and the Salmon-Selway Ecosystem in central Idaho, where endangered salmon and steelhead still migrate 900 miles from the Pacific Ocean to spawn.These rivers are defined by their WILD, FREE-FLOWING CHARACTER, clean water, intact native fish and wildlife assemblages, and world-class recreation opportunities. All of the native fish species that were present here two centuries ago can still be found here today, including five subspecies of cutthroat trout, bull trout, rainbow trout, steelhead, Chinook salmon, and white sturgeon. Among the iconic wildlife species that call these rivers home are grizzly and black bears, gray wolves, wolverine, river otters, bald eagles, trumpeter swans, moose and elk.Scott Bosse works with local citizens, outdoor recreationists, businesses, elected officials, and Native American tribes to build support for river protection efforts in Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho. Scott joined American Rivers in 2009. Prior to that, he spent eight years as Director of Aquatic Conservation for the Greater Yellowstone Coalition and four years as Conservation Scientist for Idaho Rivers United. He started his professional career as a fisheries biologist for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management in Idaho’s Salmon River drainage and the National Park Service in Olympic National Park, Washington. His proudest achievement was spearheading the successful campaign to permanently protect 415 miles of the Snake River and its tributaries around Jackson Hole, Wyoming. LIFE DEPENDS ON RIVERS: It’s not just that rivers make our lives better. We can’t survive without them.Learn more and support this work at AmericanRivers.org You can support this podcast by donating a few dollars per month on Patreon! We really appreciate any contribution, no matter how small.Follow the adventures and interviews in real time at TrailLessTraveled.net and be sure to check out our visual series on YouTube!!!The radio version of the show premieres Sunday nights at 6 MST, streaming live online at Trail1033.com & locally (Missoula) on the Trail 103.3 FMThis episode was recorded on location in collaboration with Xplorer Maps. We want to extend boatloads of gratitude to Xplorer Maps for their generous support of this podcast and international outreach programs paired with conservation projects.

As the Northwest Regional Director, Sarah Dyrdahl leads the regional team working to protect wild rivers, restore damaged rivers, and conserve clean water for people and nature in Oregon, Washington, and Alaska. This is part one of our two part series featuring the work of American Rivers. Sarah has been working with communities on river conservation and restoration in Alaska and Oregon since 2004, as a staff biologist for a Native Alaskan Tribe and 15 years as a restoration program manager, and then executive director, for Oregon watershed councils. Most recently, Sarah served as the aquatic & riparian specialist and interim deputy division chief for the Oregon Department of Forestry. Before migrating upstream to freshwater ecosystems, Sarah studied nearshore marine ecological communities along the Oregon Coast with the Partnership for Interdisciplinary Studies of Coastal Oceans (PISCO). Sarah grew up in the country, on the banks of the Applegate River in southern Oregon, an experience that she weaves into her dream job of conserving and restoring rivers and landscapes through community building.When not working, Sarah can be found on or near any body of water, scouring mountain meadows for wildflowers, creeping through forest understories for mushrooms, propagating houseplants, or gardening in pursuit of the next delicious meal. Learn more and support this work at AmericanRivers.org You can support this podcast by donating a few dollars per month on Patreon! We really appreciate any contribution, no matter how small.Follow the adventures and interviews in real time at TrailLessTraveled.net and be sure to check out our visual series on YouTube!!!The radio version of the show premieres Sunday nights at 6 MST, streaming live online at Trail1033.com & locally (Missoula) on the Trail 103.3 FMThis episode was recorded on location in collaboration with Xplorer Maps. We want to extend boatloads of gratitude to Xplorer Maps for their generous support of this podcast and international outreach programs paired with conservation projects.#podcast #travel #travelpodcast #adventure #adventurepodcast #thetraillesstraveled #traillesstraveled #missoula #montana

Missoula Housing Authority (“MHA”) is an independent nonprofit public organization with a portfolio of 1,178 rent-restricted apartments and housing choice vouchers, providing affordable housing to more than 4,500 very low-, low and middle-income veterans, families with children, elderly and disabled, foster youth and homeless, as well as working Missoulians. MHA is the second largest public housing authority in Montana and is recognized as a progressive, forward-thinking agency that creatively implements services and uses innovative development financing. Missoula Housing Authority’s mission is to provide quality housing solutions for low and middle-income households in Missoula and the surrounding area through creative partnerships and innovative development. MHA has been creating quality housing solutions since 1978. Since 2005, Missoula Housing Authority (MHA) has operated Valor House, Montana’s first transitional apartments for homeless veterans, in partnership with the Veterans Administration and the Poverello Center. Valor House’s goals are to help homeless Veterans achieve residential stability, increase their skill levels and/or income, and obtain greater self-determination. Program participants live at Valor House for up to 2-years while accessing supportive services addressing the issues that led to homelessness with the goal of transitioning into sustainable permanent housing.Veterans Inc. provides services throughout Montana and North Dakota. Staff are ready to assist Veterans through our Employment and Training Program; and Supportive Services for Veteran Families funded in part by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program.Links:Veteran’s Inc.’s program: https://www.veteransinc.org/services/montana-and-north-dakota/ Missoula Housing Authority: https://www.missoulahousing.org/ You can support this podcast by donating a few dollars per month on Patreon! We really appreciate any contribution, no matter how small.Follow the adventures and interviews in real time at TrailLessTraveled.net and be sure to check out our visual series on YouTube!!!The radio version of the show premieres Sunday nights at 6 MST, streaming live online at Trail1033.com & locally (Missoula) on the Trail 103.3 FMThis episode was recorded on location in collaboration with Xplorer Maps. We want to extend boatloads of gratitude to Xplorer Maps for their generous support of this podcast and international outreach programs paired with conservation projects.#podcast #travel #travelpodcast #adventure #adventurepodcast #thetraillesstraveled #traillesstraveled #missoula #montana #veteran #veterans