City of Missoula | 3
In an acclaimed and controversial travelogue published shortly before his
death, America’s Nobel Prize Laureate in Literature John Steinbeck wrote, “I’m
in love with Montana. For other states I have admiration, respect, recognition,
even some affection. But with Montana it is love… and it’s difficult to analyze
love when you’re in it.” Though much has changed in the fifty years that have
followed since those words were written, Montana has never lost its allure
among those who love the outdoors, but with respect to those who love life in
the Montana community of Missoula, it really isn’t so difficult to analyze why.
Emerging from an idyllic expanse of earth encompassed by five mountain
ranges that converge near the confluence of the Clark Fork and Bitterroot
Rivers, the City of Missoula is gorgeously graced beneath the beautiful “Big
Sky” of what is commonly (and quite understandably) referred to as “God’s
Country” in Western Montana. While it is known as “the Hub of Five Val-
leys,” Missoula also demands distinction as a hub of human activity, but not
just due to the fact that it has grown to become Montana’s second-most pop-
ulated metro area. Missoula is also regarded as the cultural mecca of Mon-
tana. From the museums and art galleries to the concerts and cultural festi-
vals, this is a community that has as much to explore today as it did in 1805
when Lewis and Clark arrived in search of their fabled northwest passage.
