They call the lumber harvested from trees killed by mountain pine beetles blue pine. The beetles that burrow into those trees leave their marks in bluish gray, often mixed with greens, pinks and oranges.

NBC Montana traveled to Vaughn to meet a master carpenter who values such wood as prized building material.

Brad Opheim builds caskets and urns from blue pine.

"I love my job," he said. "I remind myself of that everyday. It's a special honor to build the casket for a (family's) loved one."

“Blue pine used to be a throwaway lumber," he said. "It was almost worthless. I just thought it was beautiful.”

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At the Ott-Kimm Conservatory in Three Forks, the senses of sight, sound and smell are magnified.

It's a place where life forms come together in what some have called the Circle of Life.

John Hemighaus built the conservatory to create a Zone 8 growing environment.

It's a zone of warmer climates and longer growing seasons than Montana's.

John grew up in a Pennsylvania family that has operated large greenhouses for generations.

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On a cold, March day in 2021, Montana Moment featured a Wise River ranch family that uses draft horses and sleds to feed their cattle.

This summer, NBC Montana returned to the Kirkpatrick Ranch where the family and its crew were putting up hay for next winter.

Here, old fashioned work ways never went out of fashion.

On the Kirkpatrick Ranch, haying doesn't look much different than it did 100-years ago.

There are no computerized tractors, no swathers, no balers.

“We stack all of our hay loose," said Dennis Kirkpatrick, " just like we have forever.”

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Off the Pioneer Mountains Scenic Byway between Wise River and Polaris is an abandoned mining settlement.

NBC Montana spent time in this ghost town, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, and an important touchstone of Montana history. 

Coolidge was the unfulfilled dream of a former Montana Lieutenant Governor. 

It's found high in the mountains and stands testament to a way of life long gone. 

Nestled in the Beaverhead-Deer Lodge National Forest, you will find crumbling buildings and a town that's slowly sinking back into the earth.

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Molten granite formed the Pioneer Mountain Range in southwest Montana about 72-million years ago.

As the granite cooled, water carried quartz and other minerals through the rocks and deposited them in veins.

With time, the minerals were exposed to air and ground water, leaving a repository of gems.

Few places in the country showcase that more than Crystal Park.

You will find Crystal Park off the Pioneer Mountains Scenic Byway between Wise River and Polaris.

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You've probably seen the 50,000 Silver Dollar billboards on Interstate-90.

They're hard to miss.

The signs advertise what is certainly one of Montana's most extensive collections of silver dollars.

Located about 16-miles from the Idaho border, Lincoln's 50,000 Silver $, has long been a stop off for travelers, tourists and truckers.

There's a motel, RV park, convenience store, casino, fuel stop, restaurant and gift shop.

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Montana Moment is your front row seat to the last best place! NBC Montana reporter Kevin Maki explores the history, stories, people and places that make Montana well, Montana. 

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