Samantha Brown's Places to Love

-I'm in a destination where, on average, 400 inches of powder falls on close to 6,000 skiable acres, all under a colossal peak that soars to 11,000 feet.

It's a place where mountain water flows, inspiring a skill, a sport, and an art where ranches have been welcoming people for a hundred years, and a museum takes us further back than that.

It's a destination where open space and fresh air is plenty, where people come to enjoy a lot of action... or a chance to be very still.

I'm in Big Sky, Montana.

[ Upbeat tune plays ] I'm Samantha Brown, and I've traveled all over this world.

And I'm always looking to find the destinations, the experiences, and, most importantly, the people who make us feel like we're really a part of a place.

That's why I have a love of travel and why these are my places to love.

Samantha Brown's "Places to Love" is made possible by... -Exploring the world for over 150 years.

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-The world is full of breathtaking destinations and experiences.

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-It's 7:00 a.m., and there is already a massive effort in place to make certain that these ski slopes are fun-filled.

And that effort is seasoned, well-trained, and adorable!

-Teela's 4 years old, and she's been working her whole life up here so far.

Yeah, she's an avalanche search-and-rescue dog.

So what these dogs are trained to do is they're trained to smell out human scent underneath the snow so, in the event of an avalanche, they can actually pinpoint where that human is buried, give us a dig alert, start barking, and alert us to where a person is potentially buried.

-Dan Skilling has been a member of the ski patrol for 14 years and is the training coordinator of their dog program.

And like all ski-patrol personnel, he is a trained EMT.

So, Dan, on its busiest day, how many people are on this mountain?

-On a really busy day in Big Sky, there could be thousands of people up on the hill.

-Thousands!

-Yeah.

-And you and your team are responsible for every single one of them.

-Yeah, we sure are.

I have a lot of help from a lot of different folks, too, as well.

Before anybody even steps foot on the mountain, we come up super early, we arm up our avalanche explosives, and then we go out on the mountain and hunt for avalanches, really.

So our main job is to create avalanches so that our guests don't create them themselves.

-My -- My whole brain stopped after you said, "We hunt for avalanches."

-Yeah.

-So how do you know?

Is the whole mountain possibly prone to sort of an avalanche?

-We go to specific zones that are known to avalanche, and we place explosives or throw them by hand.

Creates a big blast, and that makes all the snow kind of go down and go away.

-You throw the explosives by hand?!

-That's just to get the mountain open and make sure it's safe.

-Okay, so you start your own avalanche so they don't cause harm to anybody.

-Yep.

-That doesn't work, a real avalanche happens and people are under the snow.

That's where Teela comes in.

-That's where we come into play, yeah.

-Teela is part of a team of nine avalanche dogs and puppies in training.

I'm helping with the very fundamentals of sniffing people out under the snow.

Why does she want to save people?

What makes her want to do that?

-So it's just like a high prey drive.

This is her toy.

-Okay.

-When she comes in, she's gonna come right for it.

Teela, grab!

She's gonna grab it, and you're gonna go -- Good girl!

Good girl!

Good girl!

Good girl!

Good girl!

Yes, yes!

Good girl!

Yeah!

And that's her reward, is this tug, and she'll actually pull you right out of the hole like this.

So they're hunting and looking for that prey.

And their reward by tugging is that simulation of tearing meat off the bone.

-[ Chuckles ] -So it sounds a little morbid, but that's why they're looking for you.

-I did not sign up for this!

-Yeah.

-I thought they were happy that I was gonna be alive.

Now they get a treat.

Like, I had this totally wrong.

I'm dead and I'm prey, and that dog gets to eat.

-Yeah, her kind of primal instincts.

-Her primal instincts.

-Yeah.

-Oh, my gosh!

Being under there, even though it's totally controlled, you do start to wonder what it would be like to be buried underneath the snow, and that fear starts to set in.

Well, here's to helping keep the primal instincts fresh.

-Search!

Oh, oh!

Oh, oh!

-I'm 125 pounds of dead weight, and feeling Teela's forceful pull brings even more respect for this noble job.

[ Laughs ] Still, after all of this -- all the technology we have, no one can say -- -Yeah, we have beacons, avalanche transceivers.

These dogs are faster than any sort of technology.

-Wow!

-Teela, come here!

-It's really hard to really get a clear picture of how massive this mountain is.

And even on the top, now that I'm here, it's still hard.

It is a very unique resort.

-The peak here, it's a horn peak, which we don't have -- You don't see a lot of ski resorts that are like that.

And you have 360 degrees of skiing.

And so each different aspect of this mountain has its own individual feel.

And that could be when you're up on the peak in the more extreme terrain or it can be on the lower mountain in the more beginner terrain.

Christine Baker is head of Mountain Sports here, but even after 21 years in the business, she's got her work cut out with me.

The first time I had a lesson was in 1981.

That was the last time I've had a lesson.

[ Both laugh ] -Whoo!

-I feel like there's also a style that I have that is in the '80s and '90s.

And, so, the style of skiing has changed, right?

-Some of that style was based on the equipment.

We had these really long skis.

-Super-long skis.

-You would reach your hand up there and make sure that the ski went up there.

And they were narrow and they were straight.

-Yeah.

-Ski design is helping us out a lot more, so we don't need to make quite as dramatic of moves.

We can dial it in.

And so we can just give some pointers to help you have more fun.

We don't need to, you know, change a lot of different things.

[ Glass shatters ] -Feels like I need a few more pointers.

Am I still going to keep my -- going for keeping my knees as tight as they possibly can be?

-You don't have to.

What we most care about is what the skis are doing on the snow.

So, some people can still have their skis real close together.

But we can -- if you, you know -- if we have just a little bit wider, like, a natural hip-width stance, just like a normal athletic stance, we can widen it out just a little bit.

-Okay.

Great.

-Being able to make this my job is just something that is so incredibly special.

And sometimes I'll be out there skiing and I'll just -- You know, like, I'll start laughing.

Like, it's just such an enjoyable feeling that I feel really privileged to be able to experience on such a regular basis.

-After a day spent carving the slopes, I was in a serious mood for food and drink, and I hit the jackpot.

I can tell you that I have been skiing for the first time in a decade.

-Awesome.

-So I would really like protein and booze.

-Okay.

-So however that comes.

-All the liquor and all the beer is from Montana.

-All the liquor is from Montana?

-Yes, ma'am.

-I had no idea.

-I want to say -- I believe we have about 24 distilleries from Montana that are showcased here.

-Wow!

Well, what would you suggest?

-Probably the most popular one is a huckleberry mule.

-A mule?

-Yeah.

-Sure.

I'll do that.

-And it's got huckleberry vodka in it from -- -I would love that.

Huckleberry.

So, do they grow huckleberries here in Montana?

-Oh, yeah.

Huckleberries are all over the place.

-How long have you been here?

-I moved up here in '94 when I was 19, so I've been here for about 28 years, something like that.

-I mean, so you must really know the community here.

-We do, and we love it.

-One thing about being a popular ski resort is just that camaraderie.

And whether you've lived here most of your life or the people who are just visiting for three days, you want to be a part of that.

-Hundred percent.

-If it's just a tourist destination, it's never gonna work.

It really has to be community first.

-Yeah.

I appreciate you saying that.

Absolutely.

That's how we feel.

-Give me a huckleberry mule, and I say the nicest things about anybody.

-Yeah.

Right?

[ Laughs ] -But if I didn't get to eat something soon, I wasn't gonna be nice for much longer.

How's your pho?

-Delicious.

-I will take some pho.

Okay?

Perfect.

Another surprise -- you'll find a traditional Vietnamese dish made Montana-style with bison.

It's expertly prepared by Kara's husband and co-owner, Ben.

Whoa!

-This is a pho with bison.

-Oh, my gosh!

That is bi-- I've never had bison.

What made you want to do a pho?

-It's really, like, one of my favorite things to eat.

You know?

And then we have a really small kitchen, so... -Mmm!

That is wonderful!

-Yeah, people enjoy -- enjoy what we have here.

-Well, I'm enjoying what you have a lot.

And this is the only bowl I will be enjoying while I'm here, as opposed to the ones up on the mountain.

-Ahh!

That was good.

That was good.

Very good.

-This is my bowl of choice.

-Well, you made a good choice.

[ Laughter ] -Montana is a great place to find dinosaurs, because if you want to find a dinosaur, you have to go to rocks of the right age for dinosaurs.

And in Montana, a lot of rock from the right age of dinosaurs is right at the surface.

You can see the rocks all around you, and a lot of it isn't covered up in roads and parking lots and malls as it might be elsewhere.

I'm Dr. John Scannella, and I've loved dinosaurs since I was really a little kid, about 2 or 3 years old.

I'm the John R. Horner Curator of Paleontology at Museum of the Rockies, Montana State University.

And that basically means that I determine the scope of research and collections insofar as paleontology at the museum.

-The Museum of the Rockies is about an hour from Big Sky in Bozeman, and its wide variety of unique exhibits includes an extensive collection of dinosaur artifacts.

-There's a large number of dinosaur growth series on display at the museum, so having examples of one dinosaur, say, Tyrannosaurus or Triceratops, from little juvenile examples all the way up to really, really big examples of that dinosaur.

And so we can see how this animal was changing as it grew up from a baby to an adult.

If we look at Triceratops, for example, with the different growth stages, we can see how the horns on top of the head were changing shape as it got bigger and how the frill at the back of the skull was changing.

And there aren't many museums around the world where you can see as many growth stages of as many dinosaurs as you can see here at Museum of the Rockies.

-Within the museum's walls is one of the largest collections of North American dinosaurs in the world.

This viewing lab is where visitors can see tedious removal of rock encased in fossils so that these specimens can then be studied.

And all the fossils that you have here, were they all found in Montana?

-Almost all the fossils in the museum are from Montana or just around the edges.

This is a tibia of a big duckbill dinosaur.

-[ Gasps ] Those are favorites, right?

Everyone loves the duckbill.

-I like 'em, too.

-Yeah.

How long ago did this dinosaur roam the earth?

-Oh, this one is about 76 million years ago or so.

-So, what can something that roamed the earth 76 million years ago really tell us as human beings today?

-Oh, well, we've only, you know, been roaming the earth for quite a -- quite a thin slice of time.

And so if we dive down through the layers of time, we can actually kind of see what were dinosaurs doing over long per-- millions of years.

And if the environment changed in a certain way, how did that impact what was going on with the dinosaurs?

So in a way, we can look back at what was happening with the dinosaurs and perhaps get some insights into what might be happening with us and the environment or what could happen if it was to change in a certain way.

So, I mean, there's a lot we can learn by seeing what the dinosaurs did and what happened to them.

-Do you still have dinosaur pajamas?

Come on.

Say yes!

-I-I think I do.

[ Laughter ] -You have dinosaur pajamas?

-I have several.

Several sets.

-I'm pretty sure I do.

-Returning back to Big Sky, I learned that the Montana landscape provided inspiration for many different people in many different ways.

-This gemstone is called Montana agate, and it is from the banks of the Yellowstone River, which originates in Yellowstone National Park and flows through Montana.

-Is that a little diamond?

-That is a little diamond, a little playful diamond.

-Is that your signature?

-It's one of them, yeah.

Something that, like, puts it off kilter a little bit that you wouldn't see everywhere.

-And what always surprises me about jewelry is when you look at it, they're so delicate and light, and, yet, how you make them, you're almost like a construction worker.

-Mm-hmm.

-You've got your sanders.

You got your saws.

You've got your visors in there.

Like, it's a real, I think, contrast.

-That's what I like about jewelry, is that it has my hands on it, that it's made by a human that you meet.

-Mm-hmm.

-And I do a lot of thought and heart into it.

-You've got quite the view out your gallery/studio space.

And so I would imagine that Montana just inspires you and you really take from that.

-Mm-hmm.

-Could you really do this anywhere other than Big Sky, Montana?

Or is this where you really want to be?

-I met my husband here.

We're raising two kids here and watch this community grow and know everybody in the community.

So our roots are deep, and we can't think of being anywhere else.

-The Gallatin River starts in Yellowstone Park and flows 50 miles, picking up pristine mountain water along the way.

This is one of the purest water sources in the world and one of the most famous rivers for fly fishing.

-This river holds rainbow trout and brown trout and our mountain whitefish.

And the current is going to bring bugs off of the rocks or out of the sand, take those bugs down, and these trout are just hanging out in a lane, and they're gonna see it coming.

"Mmm.

I think I might want that one."

And they're gonna eat it then go right back into the seam.

-Okay.

-So what we want to do is we want to present our flies upriver.

My name is Carly Loft, and I've been fishing since I was about 4 years old.

-Carly is a veteran and Purple Heart recipient, and during her recovery, she found that the pastime she had loved as a child offered a perfect, holistic path to healing.

-Fly fishing has been a way for me to reconnect with myself, to reconnect with nature, and to express myself artistically.

-I'm a total newbie to fly fishing but have always wanted to try it, even in the winter.

Gallatin River Guides outfit you with all the gear and a really great guide.

-I remember, like, being a little girl when I first saw flies and fishing lures.

I walked into my grandpa's garage, and he had tackle boxes everywhere, and I opened it up.

When I saw flies and lures for the first time, that was like jewelry to me.

It was just so pretty and shiny and there's all these different colors.

In the guiding industry, we always want the mom.

The mom is the best.

The mom catches all the fish.

And I think a part of that is 'cause she listens.

So what you're gonna do is, here, point... and just extend that elbow.

See how you're in a current now?

-Yeah.

-Like things to be easy in fly fishing.

-Yeah, okay.

-Let the river do the work.

There you go.

I used to treat people in naturopathic medicine, and a large obstacle to healing that I would find in my practice was stress.

People were under a lot of stress and they needed to find a way to calm down and relax.

And my way of dealing with stress and decompressing has always been through fishing.

-Eagle.

Look at that.

Wow!

-Yeah.

[ Chuckles ] That just right there made this whole trip worth it.

-Yeah.

-You know, to be in the middle of nature, fishing, and then seeing an eagle?

Oh, my gosh.

This is why people come.

-Yeah.

-To experience that.

-When you are in nature and you hear the water and you reconnect, once we reconnect to that environment, so quickly, our stress goes down.

We can focus on something with mindfulness.

We can be patient and just get away from it all.

I find that that's just a huge, huge factor in fly fishing, is at the end of the day, even if you didn't catch a fish, you feel like you did something and you went out in nature.

It just feels amazing.

-I always love visiting local businesses, but today I'm helping to open a brand-new one.

So, with the macaron, you have to have this, like, crispy outside... -Mm-hmm.

-...and this soft inside.

-Fluffy inside.

Yep.

-How do you do that with high altitude?

-As long as the meringue's whipped really well at the perfect temperature... -Mm-hmm.

-...then it should work perfectly.

-Then it should work perfectly.

-Should work perfectly.

I'm Christine Lugo-Yergensen, and I'm opening up my first-ever bakery here in Big Sky, Montana.

-Right now it's really cold.

Does that affect how...?

-Okay, so, I had croissants that were made beautifully.

They're right on the speed rack.

They would not puff up.

They would not proof.

Because it's too cold.

-So even though we're in a bakery and you're in a proofing machine... -Yep, and I have the heat on.

-...it still senses the cold outside?

-Yep.

Yep.

-And the croissants -- -Yep.

-These are very sensitive pastries.

-It has a mind of its own.

I don't know what to tell ya.

So, being born in Brooklyn, New York, being raised in Florida, you know, I never thought I'd be opening up a bakery here in Big Sky, Montana.

I thought it was, like, mountain men or something and you're, like, living in the wilderness and, like -- -There are bears!

-But there are bears.

There are bears.

But then you find a really beautiful community where everybody supports each other, where you can let your kids just kind of run free.

And it sounds ridiculous, it sounds crazy, but literally that's Montana.

-And you have -- you've brought your mom here, too.

-Um, temporarily, yes, but I feel like she lives here more than she does live in Florida.

[ Laughs ] -How do you like it here?

-I love it.

It's different from New York, from Florida.

-Yeah.

-The people.

The people here are more like a community.

-Mm-hmm.

-They take care of each other.

-Sweet Buns is doing a soft opening with friends coming out to sample the baked goods, tea, and coffee.

Christine's new business in Big Sky gets rousing support.

-Double-chocolate cupcakes.

These are my favorite.

And then we have apple turnovers and our chocolate-chip cookies.

They're a little gooey in the middle, so... -To have my business open up here is absolutely amazing because of the support of the community and everything else that we have here.

So you know what?

Who wants Sweet Buns for breakfast?

Everybody.

[ Cheers and applause ] -And even some mountain men can like a pink room.

- Home is where Montana is, Montana is my home From mountain peaks to prairie lands Places I have known -At the Lone Mountain Ranch, a sleigh ride and dinner at the lodge complete a perfect day.

Bruce, how long have you been driving a sleigh?

-I'm up to 32 years.

-And how are these horses?

Are they -- Are they good sleigh horses?

-Oh, yeah.

They're good at sleigh.

We've -- I've run wagons in the summer with them.

We've done horse logging with them, mowed hay with them, and pulled cars out of the ditch.

[ Laughter ] -People coming here are from all over.

What is the reaction you usually get?

-They just kind of sit there and try to soak it up.

At first, it's quiet, and then it's just like, "Wow."

I think it has an effect on a lot of folks, especially if they've not been out west, you know?

-So it's the quiet that they tune in to first.

-I think the quiet and the space and the friendliness.

And I'm bound to ramble Yes, I'm bound to roam But when I'm in off the road, now, boys Montana is my home [ Cheers and applause ] -I'm getting in one last big ski run in Big Sky, and I'm doing it with someone who, shall we say, could really challenge me.

-Aah!

[ Crash! ]

-Hi.

I'm Bode Miller.

I am a five-time Olympian, six-time medalist, four-time world-championship medalist, and a resident of beautiful Spanish Peaks in Big Sky, Montana.

-We both grew up in New Hampshire.

We probably skied the exact same mountains.

We went different paths.

You went more towards triple diamond.

I kept on the bunny slopes.

It's really interesting to me to see someone of your experience in mountain and culture choose one to make your home, and you chose this one.

-You see these mountain towns in Europe that have culture that's hundreds of years in the making.

And the U.S., we just don't have that because we're not that old.

But something about the raw aspects of Big Sky.

And a lot of the people live within, you know, driving distance of here.

It's not a transient lifestyle as some resort towns are where the employees seem almost interchangeable.

Here I think it's got a really natural feel.

It feels like a hometown mountain, but, yet, it's the size of any world-class resort.

-So how do you feel about two New Hampshire kids taking a run together?

-The snow is awesome.

I think we'll find some really good stuff out there.

A traveler coming to Big Sky is gonna find the ultimate outdoor playground.

Some people come for the world-class fly fishing.

The skiing and snowboarding is unbelievable.

And the Nordic skiing and snowshoeing.

It's a buffet of the mountain outdoor lifestyle.

-Montana is a great place to fly fish because you're away from artificial lights, you're away from artificial noise, from music, from your cellphone.

So there's really no distractions, and you get back on this rhythm with nature feeling nice and tired because you've been out all day and just really feeling like you've accomplished something.

-When I got here, one of the things I noticed was beautiful vistas and scenery all around and the exposures of the rocks throughout large parts of the state.

And in those rocks you can really see the deep past of this area, from dinosaurs to other creatures that are all around us here in Montana.

-You guys should not be afraid to come out here.

You guys should come hang out.

We're friends with each other.

We're family.

So you know what?

It's just a safe, beautiful place to be.

-Even more so than a destination, Montana is a state of mind for a lot of people coming here.

What do you think the Montana state of mind is that we're all trying to reach when we come to visit?

-You try to get a little slowing down.

-Slow down.

-A little bit of peace and quiet.

-Mm-hmm.

-And it's important to stop and listen to nothing.

-And that is why Big Sky, Montana, is a place to love.

-For more information about this and other episodes, destination guides, or links to follow me on social media, log on to placestolove.com.

Samantha Brown's "Places to Love" was made possible by... -The world is full of breathtaking destinations and experiences.

AAA wants to help turn vacation dreams into reality.

Wherever you want to go, AAA has services to help you before, during, and after your trip.

Learn more at AAA.com/LIVETV.

-The endless deserts, canyons, and stunning vistas between Denver and Moab deserve to be traveled.

Rocky Mountaineer.

Proud sponsor of "Places to Love."

-Exploring the world for over 150 years.

Guests cruise to nearly 400 ports of call around the globe, exploring over 100 countries.

Live music at sea fills each evening.

Dining venues feature selections from a Culinary Council of chefs.

Offering mid-sized ship experiences with handcrafted itineraries, personal service, and connections to the destinations guests visit.

- Home is where Montana is, Montana is my home From mountain peaks to prairie lands Places I have known And I'm bound to ramble Yes, I'm bound to roam But when I'm in off the road, now, boys Montana is my home