Montana vacation | The Last Best Blog

July 31, 2017July 31, 2017

Meet our Fall Wellness Expert Kristin McGee

Meet AdrenZen: Fall Yoga Expert Kristin McGee

Kristin McGee is a nationally recognized celebrity yoga and Pilates teacher, speaker and “mompreneur.” She is the author of Chair Yoga: Sit, Stretch and Strengthen Your Way to a Happier, Healthier You. Her unparalleled knowledge of fitness and health has established McGee as a sought-after trainer with a continuous roster of high-profile celebrities, including Emilia Clarke, Tina Fey, Bethenny Frankel, Savannah Guthrie, Steve Martin, LeAnn Rimes and Christine Taylor.

Join McGee at The Resort at Paws Up’s event AdrenZen: Fall on October 20–23, 2017. You will flow through many postures and learn simple chair poses to take with you wherever you go, so yoga can be a part of your daily life even if you’re stuck sitting down.

Try these four moves to boost your happiness and lift your spirits.

High Altar Pose: Lift your arms up overhead, interlace the fingers, invert the palms and lift the corners of your mouth in to a smile. You’ll feel your lungs inflate as you lift out of your lower back. Get an immediate rush of energy in to your body and notice how much better your body and brain feel. Hold for 3–5 deep breaths.

Hands Clasped Behind the Back Arch: Backbends are the antidepressants of yoga. When we slouch forward we get depressed. Our posture determines our mood. Use this pose to open your heart and lift yourself up mentally. Sit toward the edge of your seat, clasp your hands behind your back and lift your chest upward toward the ceiling. Hold this pose for 5–8 breaths.

Assisted Neck Stretch: We carry a ton of tension and stress in our neck and shoulders. Use this stretch to release the issues in your tissues. Place one hand over your head on the opposite ear. Gently let the head fall to the side as you stretch the neck and top of shoulder. Hold for 5 breaths and then switch sides.

Forward Fold: Finally, end with a forward fold to bring oxygen to the brain and stretch the entire back body. When you fold forward, you let the spine release and relax. Hold for 5–8 breaths before coming back up to sit and then notice how much happier and refreshed you feel.

A Q&A with Kristin McGee

What is your favorite thing about yoga?

Yoga makes me feel amazing. When I link my mind and body and tap into my breath, I am happier and healthier and I have more energy.

What is your style of teaching?

I teach an alignment-based flow. I also incorporate some of my Pilates background as well.

Why did you decide to write the Chair Yoga book?

Too many of us are stuck in our seats all day, so it’s important to find ways to do yoga anywhere and yoga in a chair.

What are you most looking forward to about coming to Paws Up?

Meeting new people in one of the most beautiful places on Earth. I can’t wait to breathe in the mountain air and do yoga in a peaceful, incredible surrounding.

What advice would you give to someone who has never tried yoga before?

Get on the mat and listen to your breath. Your breath will be your guide and your body and mind will start to open and grow in so many ways. There is no judgment and no rush to do anything. You can just BE and start to move from an organic place inside of you. Honestly you will LOVE it.

June 1, 2017

The Resort at Paws Up Introduces New Cookbook Live Series

We’re all familiar with a book-signing event. But when it comes to cookbooks (particularly those created by world-renowned chefs), doesn’t it feel like something’s… missing? Here at Paws Up we thought so, and that’s how our Cookbook Live series was born. It’s an incredible opportunity to not only meet the authors, but to go beyond the pages and hear their stories, ask them questions and, of course, taste their incredible recipes.

To kick off this new series, we’re bringing you four events packed with demonstrations and lots of opportunities to taste world-class dishes. For the pizza lovers out there (and who isn’t?), our first event takes place August 4–6, 2017. Chef and James Beard Award- winning author Ken Forkish will be on hand to teach you the secrets to pizza perfection from his book, The Elements of Pizza.

To celebrate National S’mores Day, James Beard Award-winning Chef Mindy Segal will be visiting August 10–16. She’ll be making s’mores around the fire and giving you an up-close look at her irresistible cookie creations from her widely hailed book, Cookie Love.

For Labor Day weekend, James Beard Award-winning Chef Tim Byres is joining James Beard Award-winning chef team Greg Denton and Gabrielle Quiñónez-Denton to offer live demonstrations of their respective books, Smoke: New Firewood Cooking and Around the Fire.

On November 3–6, 2017, pie expert Kate McDermott will take you behind the scenes of her James Beard Award-nominated book, Art of the Pie: A Practical Guide to Crusts, Fillings and Life. She’ll teach you how to make various styles of pies and has even promised to share the secrets behind her famous crust. Here’s your chance to learn how to create incredible, unforgettable cuisine from the masters—ready to roll up your sleeves and join?

June 6, 2016June 30, 2023

3 Super Cool Things to do This Summer in Montana

At The Resort at Paws Up, you can experience so much more than a typical Montana dude-ranch vacation. Besides glamping® in luxury, safari-style tents, you can partake in a multitude of outdoor adventures, once in a lifetime experiences and unique activities, which are more than plentiful at The Resort. Check out these three super cool activities ideal for a summer Montana vacation—there are exciting discoveries at every single turn.

1. Garnet Ghost Town

Have you ever visited a real ghost town? Garnet is an historic, 120-year-old mining ghost town located in west central Montana; it sits at an elevation of about 6,000 feet at the head of First Chance Creek. The Resort at Paws Up offers two different ways to visit Garnet from the ranch:

Five-Hour Garnet Ghost Town Tour and ATV:

A ghost town via ATV? Yes! For those looking for a gorgeous, scenic route and adventure, this five-hour trip is a rush. You will leave the property and head to Elevation Peak for lunch. Then, take a tour of the ghost town with your guide before continuing this exciting journey.

Downhill Mountain Bike and Garnet Ghost Town Tour:

Looking for a challenge by bike? Approximately four hours, this tour takes guests, by van, to Garnet Ghost Town, where you will have the opportunity to explore this historic site before hopping on mountain bikes to make a 12-mile downhill trek. Get your workout in and explore an historic ghost town all at once.

2. Chuck Wagon Dinner

Looking for the most fun and unique dining experience in Montana? Step aboard Paws Up’s version of an old-fashioned horse-drawn wagon for an evening ride to the Blackfoot River. Sit back, relax and take in Montana’s fresh air and beautiful Big Sky—there’s lots of both!—the backdrop of The Resort at Paws Up.

The Chuck Wagon Dinner begins at the banks of the Blackfoot River, where you will enjoy an authentic dinner prepared before your eyes. From all-natural chicken, Angus prime rib, fresh corn and asparagus grilled over a campfire to summer classic dishes such as baked beans and fresh fruit cobbler cooked over the coals in a Dutch oven, we promise you won’t walk away hungry.

Further enjoy this cowboy-style experience by pitching horseshoes with the kids, listening to a local banjo player or contemplating a few words from a cowboy poet. This is one family dining experience that you will remember for years to come.

3. 3D Archery

At Paws Up, 3D Archery will change your archery experience forever. We call it 3D archery because the targets are actually three-dimensional. There are buffalo, deer, mountain goats and even bears that all are very lifelike. It’s so enjoyable you’ll want to do it more than once. Guests learn the most important techniques of archery shooting, as well as gain an introduction to the sport of big game archery hunting through a walkabout course in the woods with realistic foam animal targets. Learn the fundamentals and see improvement in your skill level on the target range. The best part comes next: Progress to the 10-station, one-mile walk-through course, which features a variety of shots with different scenarios and difficulties. (Guests are provided with compound bows and a quiver full of arrows.)

April 9, 2013April 9, 2013

Commemorate Your Montana Vacation With Your Smartphone

At The Resort at Paws Up, set in picturesque Montana with the Blackfoot River flowing through it and the endless big sky serving as the backdrop, most guests could easily fill up a couple photo albums with all of their snapshots. Who wouldn’t want to commemorate such a memorable Montana vacation? Sometimes though, the images taken from a smartphone leave a lot to be desired. Whether you are taking photos of the landscape or of your child’s first time on a horse, here are some tips to get the most out of your smartphone photographs.

The first things to consider are the resolution and image quality settings. It may seem like a no brainer, but it is advisable to set your camera to take pictures in the highest quality (usually labeled “superfine”) and resolution. Each photograph will take up more memory, but will be of a much better quality. A higher resolution will allow you to have a larger image and if needed, you can always resize the image to a smaller resolution and keep the same image quality. Trying to convert a lower resolution photograph to a larger size will result in poor image quality.

Capturing great photographs of your kids can be an arduous task. Getting them to stand still to pose for a shot or trying to capture that big moment when they catch their first fish can be an exercise in patience. To help make these tasks go a little bit more smoothly, preparation is key. Make sure to have your smartphone ready and all settings adjusted to your liking. One setting in particular to look at would be white balance; this adjusts the image based on the warmth of the lighting. For example, a fluorescent light bulb has a bluish or cool hue which can make anything that is white in the image have a blue tint. For outdoor photos, most camera phones have two white balance settings, one for sunny days and one for cloudy days. Try taking several photographs using different settings to figure out which images come out best before it’s time to take the real shots. To capture action shots, try using your camera’s continuous drive or burst mode. In this mode, the camera will rapidly shoot a series of pictures when you press the shutter button and then you can look through and choose which image came out the best. For those using an iPhone, this functionality is not built in, but, there’s an app for that! Two top apps to try are Photoburst or Quadcamera. Most Android devices do have this functionality built in, but for those that do not, or for a more robust menu of options, try Action Snap or Fast Burst Camera.

For photographing the natural beauty of the landscapes that can only be found at a place like Paws Up, try using the HDR functionality. This functionality is built into the iPhone and Android users can download a free app such as HDR Camera. HDR stands for high dynamic range imaging and works to correct over and under exposure seen on landscape images. This is caused when a shot has a lot of different lighting in it, from shadows to very bright sun light. For instance, a landscape could have the bright sun glaring overhead down on a lake that creates reflections and then deep shadows underneath a group of trees. Typically a camera phone tries to adjust the image based on just one of these light conditions which does not do justice to the other areas of the image where different light conditions are present. With the HDR setting, the phone will actually take multiple shots at different exposures when the shutter button is pressed and then combine the best of the images into one image. This creates a dramatic image with beautiful shadowing and highlights.

When you are back at home after a fun-filled trip to The Resort at Paws Up and it is time to upload your photographs to your computer, keep in mind that even professional photographers do a little bit of post processing to their photos – it’s not cheating! There is an abundance of free programs and websites out there for image editing, ranging from the simple to use like picmonkey.com, to more advanced programs like pixlr.com, to complex programs like GIMP 2. Programs like these allow users to edit out redeye or glare. While photo editing may seem like too much work for your family vacation photo album, it can be a great way to make some of the most special images even more beautiful.