At one time Montana was called the Land of the Shining Mountains. Traveling west in the Great Plains, the glistening white peaks of the Rockies are visible for a hundred miles out. Here on the West side of the mountains, in the Flathead Valley (named for the Salish-speaking Flathead Indians) the mountains are often hidden in the winter overcast. Recently, however, the blue skies returned briefly and so we ventured out on a photo run.