National History Day makes history come alive for participating students. The NHD student competition is the nation’s oldest and most highly regarded history program for students in grades 6-12. This academic challenge engages more than half a million students annually.

National History Day is one of the rare programs that helps students refine critical thinking and research skills used in all subject areas. For more than 25 years, NHD has promoted systemic educational reform related to teaching and learning in America’s schools.

National History Day provides teachers with leading-edge training and curriculum materials to help educators exceed education standards. The NHD program rewards innovation and interdisciplinary approaches in the classroom. Millions of students have participated in NHD and have gone on to careers in business, law, medicine, teaching and countless other disciplines where they are putting into practice the skills and knowledge gained through NHD.

National History Day joined with the White House and the National Archives to create Our Documents, a history, civics and service education initiative. The initiative revolves around 100 milestone documents in American history, from the Lee Resolution of 1776 to the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and it encourages all Americans to participate in our democracy.

The Dude Ranch Lodge located in the park gives special NHRA discounts. The Mission Valley Speedway located in Pablo has been offering racing excitement since for almost 30 years. The track got a facelift in 1997 with a new 3/8 mile track making it the fastest and longest in the northwest. Speeds in excess of 100 mph have been reached on the strip and Super stocks have clocked in the 80′s. The MVS holds weekly races of Stock cars, Super stocks, Noon’s Formula Indy’s, MGD Light Hobby, Budweiser Compacts, Bombers, and dual controlled Krusers. The track also sponsors several special events such as the NSRA 360 Winged Sprints, Northwest Bump and Pass, Flathead Legends and Canadian Old Timers. Admission to general events starts at $8.00 per adult ticket.

Another favorite track in Montana is the Raceway Park in Kalispell. The track is ¼ asphalt features Limited Sportsman, Super Late Models, Hobby Stocks, Bombers, Compact, Cruisers, Flathead Legends, Bandoleros, Thunder Roadsters and Hornets. The Raceway host Canadian Super Truck Racing Series, ARCA West Late Model, NEWALTA Late Model Challenge, Northwest Modifieds, and NW Legends. One of the major events of the season is the Coors Light Montana 200 in July. The three day event is the biggest sporting event in Montana. The season is packed with racing fun the entire family can enjoy with special events throughout the year.

Much of the signaling, foraging and breeding activities of woodpeckers involves the woodpecker’s bill. Woodpeckers have extremely strong bills for drumming and drilling on trees and long sticky tongues to extract food. Although used repeatedly over its lifetime, the woodpecker’s beak never needs sharpening. It can cut into a tree like a steel chisel and never dull. To prevent brain damage, nature had provided a number of adaptations to protect the woodpecker’s brain. The bird’s brain is rather small and is positioned to minimize contact between the brain and the skull. The woodpecker’s eyes are also unusual in that a millisecond before contact with the tree, a thick nictitan membrane closes over the bird’s eye to protect it from flying debris. The slit-like nostrils are also protected by special feathers to cover them from wood dust.

Woodpeckers exhibit a diverse variety of vocal sounds including a strange rattle-like sound that is often vocalized during antagonistic encounters with other birds that encroach on their territory. Woodpeckers also emit a high pitched squeal that sounds like an injured animal. This sound is an unsettling warning to predators and has been known to “run cold chills down the back” of many a hiker. Woodpeckers are monogamous and both sexes share incubation duties and care for the young. They will usually have between 3 and 6 hatchlings and normally mate once a year.

Woodpeckers are quite beneficial as they eat huge quantities of insects. They are especially appreciated for the role they play in controlling the current infestation of Mountain Pine Beetle that plagues the Northwest. When the beetle burrows into the bark and lays its eggs, the larvae feast on the substance of the tree for a year before reaching adulthood. About the size of a grain of rice, millions of these grubs are devoured by woodpeckers. With its barbed, long sticky tongue, a single woodpecker can consume as many as 14,000 grubs in a single season. A woodpecker’s diet also includes seeds, berries, fruit and tree sap. Huckleberries are a favored treat.

In order to meet expenses incurred on its maintenance and upkeep, certain owners opt to rent their Montana vacation homes when not in use. Owners who do not reside in Montana can hire the services of reputed real estate brokers who undertake the responsibility of overlooking vacation home rental activities. These brokers often work with tour operators who help secure overseas bookings. Montana vacation homes are preferred to hotels, resorts, and hostels by many vacationers. This is because tourist groups and large families prefer to hire them for their ability to house an entire group apart from providing privacy. Most homes are equipped with necessary household equipment and rentals are higher if they boast of pools, gardens and sit outs.

Montana vacation homeowners may hire house cleaners, concierges, and chauffeurs to cater to guests. These aspects make Montana vacation homes very similar to service apartments. As such, rentals are equivalent to star-rated vacation properties in Montana. When potential clients contemplate an outright purchase, it is sensible to seek the advice of a reputed estate agent or broker. This reduces the chances of being involved in disputed Maui vacation home transactions.

Montana land for sale can be found all over the state. There is a lot of land down through the middle of the state. The biggest problem that most people find with this land is that it is so far to get to a bigger town where there is a good job. These parcels of land are better for retired people that don’t mind living and hour or so from a shopping center or the other things that are found in the bigger towns. Eastern montana land is very different from the land in the western end of the state. The eastern end of the state is fields and rolling hills with cotton wood trees near the water sources. You have to be careful when you are buying here because there is alkaline in the water in some of the places. Western Montana is mostly mountains and huge pine trees, lot of this land is real hard to do anything with because the mountains are so steep.

Land for sale in Montana is abundant and offers some great smaller lots. Like hunting land for sale. There are a lot of people that can’t afford to buy enough land to have there own hunting land. The best alternative for this is to buy a small parcel near a good hunting area and put a cabin or small house on it, or just keep it for setting up camp. You can find this kind of land anywhere there is a national forest area. One really good place that offers this and a good fishing lake is near the small town of Troutcreek Montana on highway 200. The lake is part of the Clark fork river and the lots that for sale are just on the other side of the road from it. There is a boat dock in Troutcreek. This land could also fall under the recreational land category because of the nice lake. The land is near Glacier National Park so the snow cap peaks are in view on some of the lots.

Fort Peck Lake Campground is located outside of the Rocky Mountain country Montana is so famous for, but it is still a great camping area. There is plentiful wildlife in the area for campers to view, including buffalo, elk, and antelope. Besides wildlife viewing, campers also have the opportunity to boat in Fort Peck Lake, and fish for trout, smallmouth bass, walleye, and salmon. This is a very remote, beautiful area of Montana. This place is the camping jewel of eastern Montana.

Libby Dam Campground is located at Libby Dam, in Northwestern Montana. Above the dam is Lake Kookanusa, and below the dam is the Kootenai River. Wildlife viewing in the area is possible for elk, bear, and deer. The lake offers boating opportunities as well. Both Lake Kookanusa and the Kootenai River offer good trout fishing, although the angling is generally somewhat better in the river.

Our representative from the central part of the state is Willow Creek Campground. This campground is located on a dammed up portion of Willow Creek, a tributary to the Sun River. The country is beautiful, and offers excellent wildlife viewing opportunities. Trout and salmon fishing are good in Willow Creek Reservoir. As you can see, there are many camping opportunities in the state of Montana. From the Great Plains in the Eastern part of the state, to the mountains of the west, camping opportunities abound.

The biggest problem is though, with so many great fly fishing rivers to choose from in Montana, how do you know which ones are the best? While you really can’t go wrong in Montana when it comes to fly fishing there are three rivers in particular that are known by fly fishermen everywhere and are consistently receiving rave reviews by those who are looking for players and those who simply enjoy to catch and release. These three magnificent Montana rivers are as follows:

1. The Flathead River: The Flathead River in Northwestern Montana is the first river that those in the know will bring up every time. Trout fishing in the South Fork of the Flathead is outstanding for two main reasons. The first is the fact that Montana officials have set limits to the fish that can be kept and many fly fishermen therefore struggle to find trout that are small enough to keep. The second reason for the great fly fishing is the fact that the river is somewhat remote and sometimes getting to that perfect spot is a job in itself. However, the fish are not as pressured as they are in other rivers and therefore are very susceptible to many different types of flies.

2. Clark Fork River: The Clark Fork River is located in Western Montana and is, in one word, exciting when it comes to fly fishing. Because the river is very long running at over 300 miles, the lower parts hold great habitats for fish to thrive in and thus provide a great place for fishermen to fish. Fly fishing and regular fishing will be greatly rewarded when a visit to the Clark Fork River is enjoyed.

3. Yellowstone River: The Yellowstone River is in Southwest Montana and originates of course in Yellowstone National Park. Because the Yellowstone River stretches such a big portion of Montana’s landscape fly fishermen never really struggle with catching trout, but rather where they will begin and which trout they will count towards their limit. Add in the unbelievably beautiful scenery that surrounds the Yellowstone River and it is a true can’t miss combination.

While there are many other rivers in the state of Montana that will produce many strikes to your fly fishing rig, these three will provide fish time and time again. All three also offer a good variety of fishing guides who can be hired by you or your group to ensure that you are led to the perfect trout hot spot. Just as other states are known for certain activities, when it comes to great fly fishing, there is nothing that compares to the wonderful rivers of Montana.

As the bike engines start, the noise is loud and the ground feels like it is vibrating. Bikers tense up and let go, dirt flies and the excitement begins. Racing bikes is for men, women, boys, girls and ranges in age from 80 to 5. Families gather to watch their husbands, wives, children, grandparents and grandchildren race. Dogs of all sizes and shapes attend as well.

The crowd moves with the bikers, going from side to side of the inside and outside track area. Each spectator is following their special rider, watching and anticipating as they race around the track. The track weaves around long and short corners, over large and small hills, bumps and riders go round the track. Crashes occur and a trained staff take over and assist. The white flag comes out when there is one lap remaining. Riders jokey for first place with the end in site and the crowd watching and cheering. The smell of burgers and other food takes over for a short time over the smell of motorcycle exhaust and dirt.