On his three-week vacation, Missoula paddleboarder Mike Richardson floated from just north of Gardiner all the way to Terry on the Yellowstone River. He did the roughly 400-mile journey with no outside support, mailing himself food ahead of time to locations along the route. The trip comes as a group of Eastern Montana boosters and Montana State Parks are highlighting the potential of tourism along the Yellowstone from Hysham to Sidney. The little-visited stretch has some big gaps between public access sites that the state is working to shorten. During his float, Richardson said almost everyone he met was friendly and interested in his outing. Doing it solo meant lots of time for reflection, as well as a great way to watch the Yellowstone change from a mountain stream to a prairie river. To read more about the trip, check out my story at https://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/montana-paddleboarder-travels-400-miles-down-yellowstone-river/article_c813f514-433d-11ed-a82e-63f9f4c828c9.html.

Written by Brett French | Outdoors Editor for the Billings Gazette