Category Archives: The West

GARRISON JUNCTION by Peter Nolan Smith

In the late summer of 1972 my college friend and I hitchhiked across across Montana. The interstate was under construction. Ptrov and I got stranded in Garrison Junction for a good reason. Twenty miles farther south was the Montana State Prison. A sign warned motorists about escaped convicts. No one was taking a chance on […]

DEER LODGE MONTANA

In the spring of 1994 Ms. Carolina learning to love Montana. She pinned the accelerator of the premiere-class rented Chevy to the floor. We got places fast and left faster. After leaving Garrison Junction she drove down I-90. A roadside billboard announced the State Prison was open for visits. “What you think?” She was already […]

Rolling Rocks Into The Grand Canyon

Back in August 1972 I attempted to reach the bottom of the Grand Canyon. My friend and I left the south rim at 7am. We had two full canteen. Nick and I ran out of water around Skeleton Point. The Colorado looked so inviting, but we were parched by the summer sun and quit our […]

LAST CALL IN BUTTE MONTANA – OCT. 1978 – BAD POETRY

1974 I arrived late in Butte Montana. The bartender at the Cowboy Bar shouted ‘Last Call’. I ordered a whiskey and a beer chaser. Someone put on Gram Parsons I looked around the bar for my wife A man in Billings said Mona might be here He might have been right then, But tonight he […]

BACK AND FORTH by Peter Nolan Smith CHAPTER 4 – UP HIGH

The afternoon sun hovered over the distant mountains and Sean checked the Inferno Bar’s clock. The hands were stuck on 10:24 and the bartender said, “It’s been broke for years. The regulars like that time. Mid-morning or three hours till closing.” Sean held out his hand to the gap between the sun and the shining […]