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Business profile: Bella Treks
Published
12 years agoon
Felicia Ennis found southern Chile during an opportune moment in that
country’s travel industry. It was the mid-‘90s, Pinochet’s dictatorship was
losing power, and Chile was starting to funnel money into tourism.
The Montana native spent two years in Chilean Patagonia, guiding horseback
riding and hiking for the innovative five-star adventure travel hotel,
Explora, in its early days. Ennis became an expert in the region’s plants,
flowers, animals, history, culture and language, and befriended locals and
guides.
“There was a revitalization of energy and tourism,” she says. She met
Chileans who felt the same way about their country as Ennis did about
Montana. “They loved the wilderness.”
Ennis also became one of the first women to climb the South Tower of
Paine, a serious technical rock climb in the Torres del Paine National Park.
Eventually she missed Montana and returned home, by way of a job at
a travel agency and several years teaching school in Boulder, Colo. She
continued visiting South America almost once a year.
When Ennis started Bella Treks in 2005, she reconnected with old Chilean
guide friends, and brought her first guided trip to the Torres del Paine
National Park. Today, her Livingston-based travel company also offers
custom itineraries to Argentina, Peru, Antarctica, Morocco, the Arctic
and Montana.
The trips use local guides and stay at bed and breakfasts, hotels and
chalets. Excursions are designed for small groups and individuals, and
often include vineyards, hikes, fly fishing, and always, immersion in local
culture.
Ennis sets up private transportation and other services, keeping the trips flexible,
but well organized. Most of the company’s referrals are through word of
mouth.
Closer to home, she’s putting together a birding trip to Medicine Hat National
Wildlife Refuge in northeastern Montana this spring, when thousands of
migrating birds will be nesting.
In November, she’s headed to Chile to reconnect with guides and providers,
and to find new hotels. While there, she hopes to visit a Mapuche Indian
school in Argentina that’s part of an exchange program with students on the
Northern Cheyenne Reservation in Montana.
That visit is part of Ennis’s desire to start giving back to the places she and her
clients visit. On a 2010 Bella Treks trip to Morocco, for example, a group had
the option to donate to a community-based architectural restoration project.
Now, Ennis “is networking in the communities where we travel to see what
needs they have.” E.S.
Megan Paulson is the Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Outlaw Partners.
Upcoming Events
march, 2024
Event Type :
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Arts
Education
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Sports
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Children turning 5 on or before 9/10/2024:
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Children turning 5 on or before
9/10/2024: Kindergarten
enrollment for the 2024-2025 school year can be completed by following the
registration process now.
Children
born on or after September 11, 2019: 4K enrollment is now open for
families that have a 4-year-old they would like to enroll in our program for
the 2023-2024 school year. Please complete the 4K Interest Form to
express your interest. Completing this form does not guarantee enrollment into
the 4K program. Enrollment is capped at twenty 4-year-olds currently
residing within Big Sky School District boundary full time and will be
determined by birth date in calendar order of those born on or after September
11, 2018. Interest form closes on May 30th.
Enrollment now is critical for fall preparations. Thank you!
Time
February 26 (Monday) - April 21 (Sunday)
Event Details
My Barking Dog is a nightmare comedy
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My Barking Dog is a nightmare comedy that tells the story of Toby and Melinda, two lonely people whose lives are forever changed the night they encounter a starving coyote at their apartment building. Over time they grow to expect him, leaving ritual offerings to entice the coyote every night. Toby and Melinda forge a connection over this visitor and share curiosity and concern about his presence in the city. The coyote expands their world–until, one night, their world is shattered. Their lives are pushed suddenly into uncharted territory, sending them on a surreal odyssey that changes their city–and the world–forever.
Directed by LX Miller. Starring Max Schneider and Denise Hergett
Verge Theater is continuing their mission to provide accessible theater to our community. Tickets for My Barking Dog are Pay What You Wish with a suggested price of $35. Audience members are offered the opportunity to select the price point that is comfortable for them when purchasing tickets.
My Barking Dog runs March 15-17, 22-24, 28-30
Performances on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays begin at 7:00 p.m., with Sunday matinees offered at 3:00 p.m.
Suitable for ages 16 . No animals are harmed in the staging of this production.
Tickets are available online at www.vergetheater.com
Time
15 (Friday) 7:00 pm - 30 (Saturday) 8:30 pm
Location
Verge Theater
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Saturday, March 23rd 6:00-8:00pm We will combine the heart-opening powers of cacao with the transcendental powers of breathwork and sound. Together, these practices will give us the opportunity for a deep
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Saturday, March 23rd 6:00-8:00pm
Time
March 23 (Saturday) 6:00 pm - April 23 (Tuesday) 8:00 pm
Location
Santosha Wellness Center
169 Snowy Mountain Circle
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Thursday of the Lord’s Supper Mass St. Joseph Catholic Mission
Event Details
Thursday of the Lord’s Supper Mass
St. Joseph Catholic Mission
Time
(Thursday) 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm