One summer. A lot of Montana. Even more miles. And somehow, a Prom Queen.

Another Montana summer is almost in the books.

Which doesn't seem possible, because we swear we were just waiting for winter to be over.

Summer around Intrigue Ink is always a little bit chaotic. It’s our busy season, our get-outside season, and the few glorious months when Montana collectively decides nobody needs to be inside.

So, we took full advantage.

We ate burgers. We drank on patios. We went to Art Walks. We hit the road in search of giant roadside attractions. We wandered around Yellowstone. We floated rivers. We went camping. We crossed state lines, country borders, and apparently an entire state on a bicycle.

Some of these adventures happened together.

Some happened hundreds or thousands of miles apart.

But they all became part of one very weird, very wonderful Summer of ’26.

So before we start talking about sweaters, snow, and whatever we're getting ourselves into next, we cracked open the camera rolls.

Here are the memories that made the summer.

THE ONES WHERE WE STAYED CLOSE TO HOME

We make a lot of Montana stuff around here.

So occasionally, for research purposes, we have to go out and experience Montana.

It's a sacrifice we're willing to make.

This summer we took our very important investigative journalism to the streets of Bozeman to answer some of life's biggest questions.

Like:

Where is the best patio in Bozeman?

Obviously, there was only one responsible way to find out.

A full on Patio crawl.

We started at Bozeman Taproom, climbed up to the rooftop, ordered Huckleberry Haze and curry fries, and spent the rest of the day bouncing around town in the name of research.

It was hot.

Very hot.

But journalism is not always glamorous.

Then came another pressing local issue:

Who has the best burger in Bozeman?

For that one, we called in lunch from Best Burger in Four Corners, threw picnic blankets behind the warehouse, gathered the crew, and got to work.

And by work, we mean eating burgers and arguing about other burgers.

Best Burger made a pretty convincing case for itself, but naturally everyone had opinions. Backcountry Burger Bar, Liberty Burger, Cholms, Hideaway, Haufbrau, Low Brow, Frugals and plenty of others entered the conversation.

We even gave some love outside Bozeman to Mint in Belgrade and Mark's In & Out in Livingston.

Did we ever definitively determine Bozeman's best burger?

No.

Did we eat lunch outside together?

Yes.

Good enough.

THE ONES WHERE WE WENT LOOKING FOR MONTANA

At some point this summer, we also decided that normal road trips weren't enough.

We wanted the weird stuff.

The giant stuff.

The stuff that makes you slam on the brakes and yell, “WAIT. WHAT WAS THAT?”

So we started collecting some of Montana's best roadside attractions and built ourselves one wonderfully strange Great Montana Road Trip.

Giant penguins.

Dinosaurs in Glendive.

A giant rainbow-trout-painted bison.

Roadside oddities.

Small towns.

Historic stops.

And the kind of places that make absolutely no sense until you pull over, take a picture, and suddenly they're one of your favorite parts of the trip.

We also spent plenty of time dreaming up where everyone should go next.

Montana rodeos.

Farmers markets.

Dive bars.

Fishing holes.

Patios.

Rivers.

If there was somewhere to wander this summer, chances are we found an excuse to talk about it.

THE ONES WHERE YELLOWSTONE CALLED

Of course, you can't really have an Intrigue Ink summer without Yellowstone showing up somewhere.

And this year, we weren't content with just driving through.

We went full scrapbook & Junk Journal mode.

Maps, Wildlife pamphlets, Postcards, National Park Passport stamps, Receipts, stickers, Polaroids, road trip snack wrappers and whatever other tiny pieces of a Yellowstone day could reasonably be flattened onto a journal page?

Souvenirs.

Turns out one of our favorite ways to remember Yellowstone isn't necessarily buying something.

Sometimes it's keeping all the weird little pieces of the day.

Although, to be clear, we still support buying the T-shirt.

We know a place.

THE ONES WHERE EVERYONE DISAPPEARED INTO THE WOODS

While Intrigue Ink was busy roaming Montana together, the crew was doing plenty of wandering on their own.

Hank spent six hours on Rock Creek without food or water and caught the biggest fish of his life.

Was that responsible outdoor recreation?

Debatable.

A great summer memory?

Absolutely.

Maddy headed into the backcountry on horseback with her family.

Lexie floated the Madison with friends and followed it up by heading to Ennis for some bridge jumping.

Allie packed hiking, camping, friends, and live music into a trip to Pine Creek.

Tatum filled her summer with camping, backpacking and biking.

And Tyler got some Georgetown Lake time in.

Basically, if you tried to locate the Intrigue Ink staff on any given weekend this summer, checking near a body of water would've been a pretty good start.

Which makes sense considering the crew overwhelmingly chose river when forced to declare their summer allegiance.

We're Montana people.

What did you expect?

THE ONES WHERE WE LEFT MONTANA

Apparently spending all day making Montana souvenirs occasionally gives you the urge to leave Montana.

And the Intrigue Ink crew scattered this summer.

Ava traveled to Valdez, Alaska, exploring her boyfriend's hometown and coming back describing it as “the most insane place I've ever been. It is breathtaking.”

Ariana traded the mountains for the North Carolina coast and got some much-needed time at home with her family and nieces.

Emmersyn made it to San Diego and Flathead Lake while bouncing around to see friends and family.

Arina took off for Puerto Rico.

Tatum managed British Columbia AND Puerto Rico.

Tim ventured north into Canada and somehow answered the question about his favorite summer memory with:

“All of them I made with my amazing wife.”

BOOOOOOO. 🍅

Fine.

That's adorable.

Gunner headed to Chicago to teach on a Dance Convention.. Uh.. How cool is that? Do we work with a star?

And then...

There was Sable....

THE ONE WHERE SABLE WON SUMMER

Monaco.

London.

Seeing her friend Gabby.

Wandering around London alone in her ✨London Girl✨ era.

Harry Styles at Wembley.

Pretty great summer, right?

Wrong.

Because then she SAW HARRY STYLES ON THE STREET THE NEXT DAY.

At that point, the rest of us stopped competing.

Sable won vacation.

And because she apparently hadn't done enough emotional damage already, Summer of ’26 also marked the end of her four-year Intrigue Ink era.

She left us a very sweet message about growing up here, loving this weird little family, and carrying Intrigue Ink with her wherever she goes.

And then, before things got too emotional, she left us with a picture of Harry Styles' butt.

That's our girl.

XOXO and ily 5ever, Sabie-fresh.

THE ONES THAT DIDN'T NEED A PLANE TICKET

The funny thing about asking everyone for their favorite summer memories is realizing that the best ones aren't necessarily the biggest.

Sarah's was watching her kid see fireworks.

Tyler got a NEW DOG, which frankly should have been disclosed sooner because we need pictures.

Timmy White's were days with his wife.... cuteeeee.

Maddy's summer was filled with concerts.

There were cabin trips.

Lake days.

Live music.

Family weddings.

Friends visiting.

Art Walks downtown.

Book Cons.

Random afternoons behind the warehouse.

And a lot of moments that probably didn't feel important enough to document when they were happening.

Those tend to become the good ones.

THE SUMMER OF ’26 MIXTAPE

Naturally, we also asked everyone for their Song of the Summer.

The playlist was...

Eclectic.

We got Josiah Queen. Ozzy Osbourne. Malcolm Todd. Zac Brown Band. Finger Eleven. Neil Young. Audrey Hobert. Anna Graves. Olivia Rodrigo.

Tatum submitted a song from Puerto Rico she apparently never wants to hear again.

Grace chose “It's Corn!”

And Hank?

Hank answered:

Audiobooks.

Hank, that was not the question.

But somehow it might be our favorite answer.

SIGN MY YEARBOOK

By the end of this little Summer of ’26 experiment, the crew had also left us with some words to remember them by.

And honestly, they deserve to be preserved exactly as they are.

“Thanks for not bullying me too much this year.”
— Hank

“Mentally on backorder. Physically still folding Montana Martini Muscle Tanks.”
— Emmersyn

“Stay funky fresh forever.”
— Lexie

“You owe me $1200 bucks.”
— Tatum

“HAGS.”
— Sarah

And from Gunner:

“Guys... this year has been the best one yet. Can't wait to bully you all again next year!”

Which brings us to one final piece of very important Summer of ’26 business.

YOUR INTRIGUE INK PROM QUEEN IS...

Did this blog need a Prom Queen?

No.

Did we elect one anyway?

Obviously.

The title is prestigious.

The responsibilities are nonexistent.

The crown is metaphorical unless somebody goes to Party City. (Are those still a thing?)

But the votes have been counted, democracy has spoken, and we are pleased to introduce your:

INTRIGUE INK PROM QUEEN

SUMMER OF ’26

👑 ARINA 👑

Whirlwind summer.

Puerto Rico.

Waterparks.

Ozzy Osbourne.

And now royalty.

Please address her accordingly until she becomes unbearable about it.

ONE FOR THE BOOKS

When we started looking back at Summer of ’26, we thought we'd end up with some good photos and a few funny stories.

Instead, we got a pretty accurate picture of what summer around Intrigue Ink actually looks like.

Some of those memories happened because we work together.

Some happened far away from each other.

But eventually, everybody came walking back through the same warehouse/store doors with a few more stories to tell.

And somewhere along the way, Summer of ’26 became one for the yearbook.

Thanks for spending it with us.

Thanks for taking Intrigue Ink along on your adventures.

And thanks to the weird little crew behind it all for giving us plenty to remember.

Stay weird. Stay funky fresh. Never change.

HAGS.

P.S. Congratulations again to Prom Queen Arina. Her reign begins immediately.