As you can see, MontanaGoTo (MTGO2) is in its infancy stage. We're back, continuously adding more content!
About the Owner
Hello, and thanks for checking out Montanagoto! I hope you're doing well today! I'm Shawn Baune, the owner, operator, and designer of Montanagoto.com (well, I have to give a lot of the design credit to SBI!).
I want to share with you my love of the state so that you can enjoy whatever you experience in Montana. And I'll also provide a little more backup for why Montanagoto can be a great resource to help plan out your Montana experience!
That's me in the middle there, enjoying some of what Montana has to offer with my parents, Mark and Denice Baune. This was in July of 2016 when we "hiked" to St. Mary waterfall off of the Going to the Sun Road in Glacier National Park. But, back to my background...
Living in Montana
I was home-grown, born and raised in Montana. I grew up in the small town in Montana from kindergarten to the time I graduated high school. Now there wasn't a whole lot to do in there growing up. I mean, yeah, I did your typical small-town stuff. I played basketball - all the time - golfed, and all that fun stuff. But often what we did for fun was to drive somewhere else. In my case it was either toward Glacier Park and Kalispell or it was to Great Falls, the closest "big city" to us.
I remember being parked at a scenic turn-out and being out just looking at the scenery and some mountain goats somehow clinging to an almost vertical rock wall. A very nice couple was out taking pictures and began talking to me and a great friend of mine, saying how lucky we were to live in Montana and be so close to this scenery. I didn't understand it then, because it was something I saw often, but after leaving the state I understand just how much I was taking for granted.
After I graduated high school, I did leave the state for a little while, attending multiple colleges out of the state. I eventually made my way back home though, moving back to Montana and finishing up my last 2.5 years of undergrad at Carroll College in Helena, MT.
I absolutely loved it at Carroll and in Helena in general. It's unfortunate that Carroll College didn't have a graduate program, because I definitely would have stayed longer. I won't go into too much about Helena here, but I loved the mix of things you could do there. In the city you had everything at Carroll, including one of the nation's top NAIA football teams in the nation, great places to go out, and just good people and a great environment overall. It was also very close to many surrounding areas, to, with lakes, rivers, hiking, and all kinds of outdoor activities available.
I admit, I didn't get to enjoy some of what Helena and other areas in Montana had to offer, stretching myself fairly thin between work and school...but always making time for family, it was awesome living so close to all of them. I unfortunately ended up moving a little further away for grad school and different work opportunites.
But this brings me to...
Often Visiting Montana
I've probably explored more of Montana and explored it more closely now that I don't live there anymore. As I said, I either took it for granted, or just kept myself way too busy. Knowing I hadn't experienced everything, I continue to go back to
Montana multiple times a year to become a "Montana Tourist" myself. Thankfully my family and friends indulge me.
In fairness, my whole family still lives up in Montana, so I'd be going back regardless. But now I get to go while I'm on vacation, and really enjoy it even more. I live in a large city right now, and work in corporate America. It's always nice to get away, especially up in Montana to recharge in nature. My favorite escape is usually around naturally running waters - a nice waterfall or stream, something like that.
And, as to not bore you with my life's story...
Friends & Family in Montana
I am really the only one that has ventured out of Montana to live in my family, plus I still have many friends from college or growing up that are still in areas of the state. I mention this because I want you to know you're getting multiple experts and insider views...not just mine. I'm the first to admit that I, personally, am not the "go-to" for everything...but I know the right people to help make this site your go-to for Montana adventures and information.
Well, that's the Montanagoto relevant portion of my life and an idea of who else is helping out. Now get exploring the site and hopefully, Montana!