How long have you been in love with Bozeman? I’ve lived here for twenty-five years, August will make twenty-six, and I can honestly say my love affair with the town did not start on day one; it had to grow on me a bit. And, that is likely because I moved from a smaller town in Montana where the mountains were bigger and much closer to my home and I wasn’t used to getting so much snow. The first Halloween I was in Bozeman, it snowed two feet and my favorite (and possibly only) shoes were Birkenstock sandals that I wore all year in Northwestern Montana. I was in shock and seriously wondered if I had moved to the right place.

Through the years, I have learned to love winter activities that in turn mean I love winter. I often joke that we live in a snow globe for at least half the year. I don’t think it’s far from the truth. If snow is not your thing, Bozeman won’t be either.

My favorite winter activity is downhill skiing. I’ve written about it several times over the years for the magazine. You can find “Ski MT” from 2018 and “I Ski, You Ski, We All Ski MT” from 2015 on our website; both tell the story of my first downhill skiing experience, which included borrowing skis from a future gold medalist, and offer other MT skiing info. I won’t be skiing much this year but can’t wait to get back to the Cold Smoke.

It may be a little easier to reflect on all the things to love about Bozeman after a year like 2020. Some of the things I love most about Bozeman are the places that make it feel like home, like Bridger Brewing, the Museum of the Rockies and Bridger Bowl, but really the thing to love the most about Bozeman is the people. My people have been awesome this year, checking in on me, answering my calls, meeting up if possible, and having my back. The people here are pure gold.

Each month, for the past 163 months, Bozeman Magazine has been a bit of a love letter to Bozeman. Our local contributing writers create informative and interesting content for us to publish, and for you to read, learn from, and enjoy. We feature the people, places and things that make our area the special place it is and encourage our community to participate as much as possible in the events, activities, educational opportunities, sports, recreation and all-things-Bozeman.

Please continue to look to Bozeman Magazine for what to love about Bozeman; we truly have it covered.