Montana’s Glacier Country region encompasses eight counties in the state’s mountainous northwest corner, an area that borders both Canada and Idaho, and includes Glacier National Park. The primary population centers here are the towns of Kalispell, Whitefish and Missoula, where renowned western artist Monte Dolack makes his home.
The 59-year-old grew up in north-central Montana and moved to Glacier Country in the mid-’70s. He and his wife, the artist Mary Beth Percival, own and operate a flourishing gallery in downtown Missoula, and both continue to create
art inspired by the endless bounty of local scenery and wildlife.
Besides painting and printmaking, Dolack has produced countless commissioned posters—and even a few Montana state license plate designs—to help promote a variety of environmental causes.
Although western Montana has seen a sharp uptick in tourism and investment in the past few decades, the area still retains its sense of charm and tranquility.
"There’s more development, and traffic," Dolack says. "But the day-to-day living is good here. It has many of the aspects that one might value in a small-town lifestyle. We have a wonderful downtown with a lot of galleries, restaurants, shops.
"We have the Blackfoot River running right through the area," he adds. "Where it meets up with the Clark Fork River. You know [the book and film] The River Runs Through It? That’s the river. People come from all over just to fish it."
Despite Missoula’s highly educated population, due to the University of Montana, it’s far from pretentious. Residents may have a college degree, but they still live in the shadow of fantastic natural beauty.
Glacier National Park has been federally designated since 1910, and still lives up to its name with 27 glaciers and the famed Going-to-the-Sun Road, which crosses the Continental Divide. Dolack enjoys trekking through the park with friends, and recently returned from an outing to Swiftcurrent Lake, a deep-blue mountain lake supplied with water from nearby glaciers and snowfields.
Dolack likes to take visitors to Rock Creek, 20 miles outside of Missoula. A 50-mile scenic loop passes through the historic mining town of Philipsburg, which is still a prominent source of sapphires and rubies.
"The drive up Rock Creek, you’re liable to see all the big mammals that live in the state in North America," Dolack says. "Bears, moose, elk, mountain sheep, mountain goats. There’s also a nice little cafe there, Ekstrom’s Stage Station, it was an old stagecoach station."
Nearby Flathead Lake stakes the claim as the largest freshwater lake west of the Mississippi.
"It’s a warmer, more Pacific Northwest climate there," says Dolack. "There’s some wineries that have popped up they grow a number of grapes that thrive in colder climates. Ten Spoon vineyards in Missoula makes some really nice wines."
Dolack doesn’t even need to leave his home to enjoy Glacier Country. He lives with his family in Rattlesnake Valley, on the edge of Mt. Jumbo. The Rattlesnake Wilderness Area spans over 32,000 acres of forested lands, and was set aside in 1980 by an act of Congress. No vehicles are allowed, including bicycles, and there are no roads or buildings. It’s as pure as Montana gets.
But don’t let the name fool you.
"I’ve been there 38 years and I’ve never seen a rattlesnake," Dolack laughs. "It does sound rather forbidding!"
