Uncategorized
Greg Brady meets Davy Crockett
Published
11 years agoon
Posted By
Outlaw PartnersBy Steven Brutger Explore Big Sky Contributor
Someone once described my brother Ryan as a combination of Greg Brady
and Davy Crockett. An odd pairing, yes, but in some ways it made a lot of
sense.
under-18 archers in the country. As a chubby-cheeked tween growing up in
Bozeman, his hunting album was the envy of any hunter who was lucky
enough to see it and made my mother wonder what type of child she was
raising.
In college, he came out, which didn’t really surprise anyone. To us it didn’t
make any difference if Ryan was gay. After graduating, he moved to D.C. for
a big job, and when he came home on holidays we hunted just like we always
had.
Therein lies the paradox.
After a morning hunt 10 years ago, my uncle and I were eating sandwiches in
the truck cab, parked beside a gravel road at our family’s ranch in Paradise
Valley. The sun had just crept over Emigrant Peak and was burning off the
crisp morning air. The cab warmed up, and I loosened my scarf, my toes
tingling as they regained feeling inside my boots.
in faded designer jeans, a tight white T-shirt, sunglasses and a pink baseball
cap.
After a quick hug and the usual greetings, the three of us discussed plans for
an evening hunt. Over coffee that morning, my dad had expressed a desire to
all meet at the lower hay meadows a couple hours before sunset, which
sounded fine, Ryan said. There wasn’t need for much talk; we had all hunted
the place since long before we were old enough to carry a rifle.
Ryan asked if we would mind picking him up in 45 minutes, about a quarter
mile down the road. He wanted to shoot a whitetail doe and figured he would
have her gutted and dragged out by then. It sounded a bit cocky, but my
uncle and I agreed.
Ryan pulled an orange vest and a .270 from the back of the Jetta, slung the
rifle over his shoulder and disappeared through the junipers.
My uncle and I looked at each other and shrugged. I couldn’t help but smile:
Ryan’s attire contrasted with the old Browning A-Bolt rifle almost made me
bust out laughing; I felt proud of my brother and who he is.
Forty-five minutes later, he was standing beside the road with his deer, right where he said he would be. Nary a drop of blood was on his jeans or t-shirt.
Still warm to the touch, we loaded the doe into the pickup.
Possessed by some uncanny ability I may never obtain, my brother’s
laser-like focus permeates everything he does, typically leading to mastery.
Later that weekend he shot a symmetrical five-point buck – by far the best of
our season. A decade later, he is finishing his Ph.D. at Princeton in Politics
with a specialty in International Relations and Formal Quantitative
Methodologies, a field I hardly understand. He is recently married, and I got
one heck of a brother-in-law out of the deal.
now makes a trip out to visit me, my wife and kids in Lander, Wyo., each
summer, and mostly we just fish. The ranch sold in 2001, so we split holidays
between our respective in-laws and our parents’ place in Bozeman. Time and
maturity have brought us closer, and we enjoy each other’s company in a
way that was more difficult as teenagers.
Ryan’s hunting album is currently in the closet at our parents’ house,
collecting dust, but he says he hopes to move West again someday and add
another chapter.
Steven Brutger was raised in Paradise Valley and now lives in Lander,
Wyo., where he works for Trout Unlimited, ensuring his children are afforded
the same sporting opportunities we all enjoy today. On the side, he is half the
team at stalkingtheseam.com, a blog dedicated to hunting, angling and
family.
The Outlaw Partners is a creative marketing, media and events company based in Big Sky, Montana.
Upcoming Events
april, 2024
Event Type :
All
All
Arts
Education
Music
Other
Sports
Event Details
Children turning 5 on or before 9/10/2024:
more
Event Details
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
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
more
Event Details
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
Event Details
We all are familiar with using a limited palette, but do you use one? Do you know how to use a
more
Event Details
We all are familiar with using a limited palette, but do you use one? Do you know how to use a limited palette to create different color combinations? Are you tired of carrying around 15-20 different tubes when you paint plein air? Have you ever wanted to create a certain “mood” in a painting but failed? Do you create a lot of mud? Do you struggle to achieve color harmony? All these problems are addressed in John’s workbook in clear and concise language!
Based on the bestselling “Limited Palatte, Unlimited Color” workbook written by John Pototschnik, the workshop is run by Maggie Shane and Annie McCoy, accomplished landscape (acrylic) and plein air (oil) artists,exhibitors at the Big Sky Artists’ Studio & Gallery and members of the Big Sky Artists Collective.
Each student will receive a copy of “Limited Palette, Unlimited Color” to keep and take home to continue your limited palette journey. We will show you how to use the color wheel and mix your own clean mixtures to successfully create a mood for your paintings.
Each day, we will create a different limited palette color chart and paint a version of a simple landscape using John’s directives. You will then be able to go home and paint more schemes using the book for guidance.
Workshop is open to painters (oil or acrylic) of any level although students must have some basic knowledge of the medium he or she uses. Students will be provided the book ($92 value), color wheel, value scale and canvas papers to complete the daily exercises.
Sundays, April 14, 21 and 28, 2024
Noon until 6PM.
$170.
Time
14 (Sunday) 12:00 pm - 28 (Sunday) 6:00 pm
Event Details
Come join us at Cowboy Coffee as we celebrate a fun night of drinks, games, and meeting others within the community. This event is from 6-8 and all are welcome
Event Details
Come join us at Cowboy Coffee as we celebrate a fun night of drinks, games, and meeting others within the community. This event is from 6-8 and all are welcome to come, if you don’t know who to bring come alone this is a great mixer event! This is an event hosted by Big Sky OUT as we work to provide queer safe spaces throughout the community.
Time
(Sunday) 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Location
Cowboy Coffee
25 Town Center Ave. Big Sky, MT 59716