October 1, 2025 • 16 mins
Big sky can change your heartbeat. We head to Ennis, Montana—where the Madison River braids through a valley of ranchland, trout runs, and stories that outlast winter—and follow the thread from Native seasonal hunting to homesteads, gold dust, and a town that learned to thrive quietly. Along the way, we chase the Ringdokus, the so‑called Rocky Mountain hyena, into museum glass and older lore that echoes the shunka warak’in, asking why communities keep monsters and what those myths protect.
Our time on the ground is a study in simple abundance: prime steaks sealed with balsamic and black pepper, black garlic finishing salt, and Samuel Smith ales easing into mountain dusk; pronghorn families treating the driveway like a trail; Peter Tosh on the stereo shifting the room to a kinder tempo. We slip from river access to gallery walls filled with fish, landscape, and Native motifs, then to a brewery where the pizza wait nudges us toward a very Montana surprise—a bistro on one side and bowling on the other. It’s not perfection so much as permission to improvise, to let the day be shaped by what’s actually there.
The deeper pull is pace. Ennis isn’t chasing spectacle; it’s offering presence. Fly fishing on the Madison, rainbow and brown trout schooling your patience; Main Street humming without hurry; a view that quiets your inner noise. We connect the town’s history to that modern stillness and talk about how legends, museums, and small rituals hold communities together. If you’re craving a reset—the kind that trades notifications for river light—press play, subscribe, and leave us a note with your favorite small-town gem. And if the Ringdokus crossed your path, we definitely want to hear that story, too.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
Uh hoy hoy.
Oh, hello there, my friend fromuh oh wait, east of me out there
in Montana.
I hope it's uh sorry.
I was trying to think of what tosay there, my friend.
It's been a minute.
We've been a sorry.
SPEAKER_01 (00:16):
No, let me go full disclosure.
I was chewing on a watermelontaffy and knew I wasn't finished
in time to answer, so the dogand hair didn't already
partially chewed a watermelontaffy.
Oh I'm sorry, that's disgusting,but we're all about keeping it
(00:39):
real here at ITF.
SPEAKER_00 (00:41):
Indeed.
Yeah, uh the the easternheadquarters out there in the
middle of Montana, middle of themap Montana.
And I'm glad Boogie got a piece,alright?
That that's what this is allabout.
Peace, loving dogs, okay?
You know, our friend here owingthe McMichael Podcast Land, you
have people out there in thisworld.
(01:02):
He just took a trip to a smalllittle town in Montana uh by the
name of Ennis.
SPEAKER_02 (01:06):
Huh?
SPEAKER_00 (01:07):
He you know, he he definitely explored it a little
bit.
I don't know how many people outthere have actually heard of
Ennis.
And as a fun fact out there too,I like totally did not have my
notes open right now, and Ithought I did.
So we're on the same page.
SPEAKER_01 (01:25):
Must be.
Yeah, well, before Whiteysettled in the Madison Valley,
uh, Flathead, Spanish, andShoshone natives hunted the
land, and the harsh winters madeit uninhabitable during you
know, during the winter, butevery spring they'd come back
and it's just lush and and thenfast-forwarding Lewis and Clark
(01:45):
actually passed through there in1805, but that was uh many years
before any settlements were outthere.
SPEAKER_00 (01:52):
Yeah.
Uh you know, there's severaltowns named Ennis that are
similarly interesting, but not.
There's an Ennis in Ireland.
I just wanted to point this outreal quick.
Uh there's an Ennis, Texas, ofcourse.
And then Ennis, Montana, yeah,for sure.
Uh the early inhabitants thatcame after what Owen was talking
about there uh werehomesteaders.
(02:15):
Uh now, you know, the theShoshone, the Flathead, the
Bannock.
I don't know how to say thateither.
Um, the town itself was foundedin the 1860s by William Ennis,
an Irishman.
All right, who homesteaded thesite along the Madison River.
So, you know, it that that'sinitially how this all how this
all started in 1860, but itactually wasn't even really a
(02:38):
town until the gold rush kind ofcame.
And that that's it wasn't evenincorporated, sorry, until 1956.
SPEAKER_01 (02:45):
But yeah, that's when when structures started
going up, and yeah, uh gold wasdiscovered in Halder Gulch in
1863, and then folks startedreally floating the area.
SPEAKER_00 (02:57):
Right, and then the location had access to to water
and it had fertile ran land, soit attracted a lot of ranchers
and farmers in the area too.
So there was like a whole, youknow, network of folks that
could sustain a population of49ers of sorts, you know, after
1849.
Right.
(03:18):
Yeah.
Do you think they were lookinglike a little bit northeast?
Yeah, exactly.
Do you think they looked sort oflike violent business hippies?
But of the old era with the hatand uh that's kind of what I
always imagined.
Remember when we were talkingabout what a violent business
hippie is for all the people outthere that don't know?
SPEAKER_01 (03:35):
They're like rednecks to the hills, I guess,
that Dylan like Yosemite Sam,but a lot bigger, and maybe like
he more heavily armed.
Yeah, that sounds that probablychecks out.
SPEAKER_00 (03:46):
Right.
And these are people who arelike kind of live off the land
type folks, but usually uhinvolved in some sort of illicit
activity, right?
That's a violent businesshippie.
Typically illegal marijuanagrows or you know, stuff of that
nature that you know turns intoother things.
Um fun fun.
I don't know if there's any weedgrown in uh Ennis, Montana
(04:06):
people, so that's not what we'retalking about.
We don't wanna don't wanna, youknow, put any shade on that
city.
So uh Ennis he died in the1880s, I feel, is where I was
at.
Uh dang it, Owen.
We got it, we got a got losthere.
Oh, uh William Ennis died in1898 from a gunshot wound
(04:29):
received during an assault.
The town also had a local legendabout a mystery creature that
preyed on livestock in 1886,around that same same era, and I
think you know what that is.
The ring doch.
Yeah, there is.
There's a vocaler out there,people.
It was known to uh kill cattle.
It's kind of like when I readabout the ring Dokus, it is uh
(04:51):
something that reminded me ofpossibly the Chuka
Chupacabra-ish, sort of.
SPEAKER_01 (04:56):
Oh yeah, kind of.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (04:58):
It was like wolf-like too, right?
Right, yeah.
So like a harrier.
Yeah, harrier chupacabra.
You know, it's like the northerncousin or something.
Uh indigenous folks around thearea actually have a legend that
goes back way, way, back, wayback, further back than maybe
even Peabody could get, okay,people.
But uh they called it the Shunkof Rock Barakin.
(05:19):
I did not say that well.
Please feel free to roll rightoff the target.
It does.
It really does for us honkies.
Uh but yeah, or the ringeddokus.
Uh that it it used to stealtheir dogs from their their
(05:40):
their little encampments andwhatnot, or where they were
staying for the season.
And fun fact, people, did youknow that dogs from dogs are all
bred from European wolves, notour wolves that are native to
the US.
I found that out because theyactually the the domestic dog
actually crossed the land bridgewith humans.
(06:03):
So that means that NativeAmericans had domesticated dogs
for god knows how long.
Isn't that amazing?
I thought it was.
Sorry.
It was unaware.
Yeah, I'm a little more okay.
Good.
I'm glad you like that because Ithought I was like I'm pro
canine for sure.
Yeah, for sure.
Unless they're in the back of acop car.
Yeah, we don't I feel they usethem for the wrong reasons,
(06:25):
that's all.
Anyway.
Uh nothing against good dogsdoing good dog work, like those
bomb sniffing dogs.
We need those guys for sure.
Uh oh yeah.
So this ring Dokus.
Does that insert bomb rip noise?
Yeah, where were we?
I don't know.
Uh there's there's another namefor it.
(06:47):
It's like Gaias de Kutis, and Ithink they're trying to be like
on a roll.
Yeah, I know.
I am fucking banging them outhere, Owen.
We might as well speak inSwedish.
Like, I I'm good at that too.
So uh, but yeah, it's alsocalled the beast uh and the
Rocky Mountain hyena, which Ithought was kind of cool because
when I've seen images of this,which there is one on the
(07:07):
internet if you look it up, fromits time spent in a museum
around Ennis that may still beover there.
Uh I remember we were actuallydoing some research on the ring
dokus at one point in time.
And yeah, isn't it is it themuseum that it's supposedly in
is very close to Ennis, I think.
I I think it was in the MadisonValley Museum, which I'm not
(07:28):
sure uh where I would think itwould be, but on the fly.
On the fly, I found an articlehere.
Uh and uh it's it's summarized,so it's from the Ennis website
or whatever.
So but uh um whatever they are,uh they are known to attack dogs
and cows and sheep and anythingelse served up on a fence and
(07:50):
platter.
If only we had a carcass, wecould figure out what this
creature is and once and forall.
Oh wait, turns out we do.
It's on display at a museum inMontana.
In 1886, in the Madison Valleyof Montana, a settler named
Israel uh Ayman.
Hey, another Aemon out here.
Uh uh Hutchins had a problem,like Amilcoefin.
What's with these these thesepeople must be from Nordic
ranges, right?
(08:10):
That's the only thing I couldthink of.
So uh something was attackinghis animals and he killed it.
But apparently this is I'm gonnasummarize this a little bit.
So this guy started hunting theringed ocus that was killing his
animals.
And uh on his first attempt atkilling it, he accidentally shot
one of his cows.
So that happened.
And then uh eventually he didkill the ringed okay, and at
some point in time they uhdecided to get somebody to stuff
(08:34):
it, and then over whatever timehere they uh put it in a museum
somewhere there in Montana.
Uh-huh.
And the Madison Valley people.
So there is uh proof of thisringdokus.
I'm very interested in this.
Why has this uh not been uh atopic that Donald Trump wants to
bring up to to disguisewhatever?
SPEAKER_01 (08:55):
Don't ask him about stuffed ring Docus.
SPEAKER_00 (08:57):
You might get an answer you didn't want to hear.
I agree with that statement, myfriend.
I agree, what a creep.
Um, so anyway, uh Lance Foster,uh a historic site
preservationist, uh paranormalenthusiast, and a member of the
Lower tribe, speculated that thebeast could be the shrunk and
wonkin.
Let's again say that chunk ofRukin.
(09:18):
Alright.
Yeah.
So there's actual legitimate,like, Native American uh people
who believe that this is what uhthe the ringokus is, is
something that's been around fora very long time.
Very ancient.
I uh on as far as like EnnisMontana goes, people, I'm sorry.
There's not like a ton of thingsbeyond it's kind of an older uh
(09:40):
touristy town, right?
Like set it's in Montana.
It's really known for itsfishing.
That is a thing.
Uh near Ennis, Montana, theprimary fish species caught are
rainbow trout and brown trout.
So those are pretty uh soughtafter for the fly fishing
community, I feel.
And um yeah, that's that's a bigthe major draw of that area.
SPEAKER_01 (10:03):
Um right, because uh when I I just like to sit by the
river and smoke weed, you know.
But that's that's me.
SPEAKER_00 (10:10):
Yeah, the other big draws for Ennis Montana are the
Fourth of July parade and rodeo.
And that's about it, guys.
So if you're not gonna go thereto go fishing or hunting ring
dokus or and smoke weed byrivers, then uh this may not be
the place for you.
But if you enjoy all thesethings that we just spoke on,
you may really like EnnisMontana people.
And it does sound like a coolarea.
(10:31):
I did see a picture of whereOwen was staying.
It was beautiful.
You could see the mountains andall sorts of stuff.
SPEAKER_01 (10:36):
I was Yeah, it's worth it just for the views, I
would say.
Like if you enjoy beingoutdoors, it's and it's yeah,
it's just gotta like I don'tknow.
It's got a charm to it.
SPEAKER_00 (10:46):
Yeah, no, there's nothing against Ennisphere
people.
It's just when you go to thesekind of places, a lot of times
you're not gonna, you know,there's no concerts or anything,
okay?
It's all about quiet time andjust kind of chilling, maybe
some small towny hokey fun,whatever you want to do there,
and the views and such.
Uh there's gonna be a lot morethan what we talk about going on
(11:06):
there.
What what exactly let's hearabout I want to hear about your
experience, Mr.
McMichael, when you went toEnnis, Montana recently on your
summer uh trip.
SPEAKER_01 (11:15):
Okay, yeah, I just kind of summarized it.
So uh situated in the MadisonValley is a charming little town
of Ennis, Montana.
I'm unable to even guess howmany times I've driven through
on the way to or back from mom'scabin in Island Park, I don't
know.
I'd only stopped at a coupleplaces.
Emo's, which is an incrediblebutcher shop, and of course the
Montana Staple Town Punk GasStation.
(11:36):
The views of the MadisonMountain Range and the river,
the same name running along theedge of town, it always made me
want to spend some time there.
Well, on the weekend in mid-July2025, my mom is staying with her
friend Ed outside of Ennis andinvites me to join her.
I figured I can manage to dragmyself away from buildings and
all its magic for a couple days,so Boogie and I hit the road
early Saturday.
A quick stop at Thinks fordelicious sandwiches in the
(11:58):
soulless chasm that was onceposed in Montana and it's off to
Ennis.
We arrive a little before Mahnwalks down to the Madison to
Boogie's will get his firstdrink from this incredible
river.
Ma and I walk to the nearly newshop, and I find some nice old
dishes we'll use for the nexttime Boogie's entertaining at
the shop.
Realizing my platinum bracelethas fallen off, I'm almost ready
to just say fuck it as I hatethe clap on that fucking thing.
(12:19):
I do walk back to the fifthshop, and the nice ladies there
found it and set it aside forme.
Pick up Prime New York stripsteak from Demos and we begin to
follow Maum to Ed.
Apparently she hasn't been tohis place for a while, and we
drive a few miles past his turnoff.
And by the way, she stopped inthe middle of the road to get
out and inform me this.
I was like, Mom, yep.
(12:40):
Making it to the correct road,we arrive at a sign stating,
private road, owners have gunsand backhoes.
Turn around.
Good thing we've been invited.
A mother Pronghorn and her twinbabies are in the driveway as we
pull in, and they don't evenseem disturbed by a presence.
Ed's house is beautiful with agarden in front and back and a
pristine view of the entireMadison range.
With the steak vacuum sealed andbulcamic vinegar and black
(13:03):
pepper, and then the sous videosbath, I feel it's time for a
beverage.
Couple different Samuel Smithales before the steak is ready
to be seared, sprinkled withblack garlic finishing salt and
rested.
Pasta, salad, and Pinot Noir toaccompany the perfectly medium
rare steak.
Sitting outside looking over thevalley at the mountains, the
visual beauty is matched by thetranquil sound of almost
nothing.
An occasional bird chirping, butsuch a different world than the
(13:26):
constant flow of traffic andyapping dogs I'm stuck with in
buildings.
Inside I put on some music andwe discover Ma's a big fan of
Peter Tosh.
It's been a doctor.
It's been a great first day forme in the NFA.
The next morning we have somestrawberries and grapes, and I
have a rhubarb muffin mom madebefore we walk up the road away.
(13:46):
Pronghorn are all over thehillside, and luckily we
encountered none of thegun-toting back owners.
A lazy day around the house,just enjoying the property and
the views and the quiet beforeheading into town late
afternoon.
We stop at Burnt Tree RiverAccess, a gorgeous spot on the
Madison.
A place to forget abouteverything and just enjoy the
sound of the river and thesunlight reflecting off of it.
Making our way to busy MainStreet Dennis, we stop at
(14:08):
Riverstone Gallery.
There are great, mostly fishing,nature, Native American themed
paintings and some lovelypottery and glasswork.
Ready for a drink, we head toBurnt Tree Brewery.
A great little spot with tastybeer and a nice shitty place to
sit and enjoy.
We go for a second round withthe intent to order a pizza and
take it back to Ed's.
A good size line is formed, andI hear the cashier say something
about an hour to an hour andfifteen minutes.
(14:29):
Figuring that to be the waittime for a pizza, we decide to
scrap that plan.
The establishment we wind up atis not remotely similar to any
I've seen or heard of.
Alley Bistro serves bistro-stylemeals on one side of the
building, and on the other side,one can go bowling.
Montana.
(14:52):
The smoked out gravioli mom getswas delicious, but could have
been more plentiful and warmer.
The pork shop I ordered was verygood, though the green beans
were beneath substandard.
Overall, an amusing experiencethat my husband would never
speak of again.
She seriously did say that.
Another peaceful evening atEdge, enjoying the views of the
valley of the mountains, and thepronghorn and the hills.
(15:12):
This simple trip has been goodfor me, and it's a great
reminder to go somewhere you'venever really been before.
It strikes me what an effectthese small towns like NF have
on me.
Being a suburban kid with a citymindset mindset constantly on
the go, they remind me it's okayto slow down so fast.
They allow me to momentarilystop being consumed by what's
next and fully enjoy what's now.
Much love, everybody.
Uh hoy hoy.
Oh, hello there, my friend fromuh oh wait, east of me out there
in Montana.
I hope it's uh sorry.
I was trying to think of what tosay there, my friend.
It's been a minute.
We've been a sorry.
SPEAKER_01 (00:16):
No, let me go full disclosure.
I was chewing on a watermelontaffy and knew I wasn't finished
in time to answer, so the dogand hair didn't already
partially chewed a watermelontaffy.
Oh I'm sorry, that's disgusting,but we're all about keeping it
(00:39):
real here at ITF.
SPEAKER_00 (00:41):
Indeed.
Yeah, uh the the easternheadquarters out there in the
middle of Montana, middle of themap Montana.
And I'm glad Boogie got a piece,alright?
That that's what this is allabout.
Peace, loving dogs, okay?
You know, our friend here owingthe McMichael Podcast Land, you
have people out there in thisworld.
(01:02):
He just took a trip to a smalllittle town in Montana uh by the
name of Ennis.
SPEAKER_02 (01:06):
Huh?
SPEAKER_00 (01:07):
He you know, he he definitely explored it a little
bit.
I don't know how many people outthere have actually heard of
Ennis.
And as a fun fact out there too,I like totally did not have my
notes open right now, and Ithought I did.
So we're on the same page.
SPEAKER_01 (01:25):
Must be.
Yeah, well, before Whiteysettled in the Madison Valley,
uh, Flathead, Spanish, andShoshone natives hunted the
land, and the harsh winters madeit uninhabitable during you
know, during the winter, butevery spring they'd come back
and it's just lush and and thenfast-forwarding Lewis and Clark
(01:45):
actually passed through there in1805, but that was uh many years
before any settlements were outthere.
SPEAKER_00 (01:52):
Yeah.
Uh you know, there's severaltowns named Ennis that are
similarly interesting, but not.
There's an Ennis in Ireland.
I just wanted to point this outreal quick.
Uh there's an Ennis, Texas, ofcourse.
And then Ennis, Montana, yeah,for sure.
Uh the early inhabitants thatcame after what Owen was talking
about there uh werehomesteaders.
(02:15):
Uh now, you know, the theShoshone, the Flathead, the
Bannock.
I don't know how to say thateither.
Um, the town itself was foundedin the 1860s by William Ennis,
an Irishman.
All right, who homesteaded thesite along the Madison River.
So, you know, it that that'sinitially how this all how this
all started in 1860, but itactually wasn't even really a
(02:38):
town until the gold rush kind ofcame.
And that that's it wasn't evenincorporated, sorry, until 1956.
SPEAKER_01 (02:45):
But yeah, that's when when structures started
going up, and yeah, uh gold wasdiscovered in Halder Gulch in
1863, and then folks startedreally floating the area.
SPEAKER_00 (02:57):
Right, and then the location had access to to water
and it had fertile ran land, soit attracted a lot of ranchers
and farmers in the area too.
So there was like a whole, youknow, network of folks that
could sustain a population of49ers of sorts, you know, after
1849.
Right.
(03:18):
Yeah.
Do you think they were lookinglike a little bit northeast?
Yeah, exactly.
Do you think they looked sort oflike violent business hippies?
But of the old era with the hatand uh that's kind of what I
always imagined.
Remember when we were talkingabout what a violent business
hippie is for all the people outthere that don't know?
SPEAKER_01 (03:35):
They're like rednecks to the hills, I guess,
that Dylan like Yosemite Sam,but a lot bigger, and maybe like
he more heavily armed.
Yeah, that sounds that probablychecks out.
SPEAKER_00 (03:46):
Right.
And these are people who arelike kind of live off the land
type folks, but usually uhinvolved in some sort of illicit
activity, right?
That's a violent businesshippie.
Typically illegal marijuanagrows or you know, stuff of that
nature that you know turns intoother things.
Um fun fun.
I don't know if there's any weedgrown in uh Ennis, Montana
(04:06):
people, so that's not what we'retalking about.
We don't wanna don't wanna, youknow, put any shade on that
city.
So uh Ennis he died in the1880s, I feel, is where I was
at.
Uh dang it, Owen.
We got it, we got a got losthere.
Oh, uh William Ennis died in1898 from a gunshot wound
(04:29):
received during an assault.
The town also had a local legendabout a mystery creature that
preyed on livestock in 1886,around that same same era, and I
think you know what that is.
The ring doch.
Yeah, there is.
There's a vocaler out there,people.
It was known to uh kill cattle.
It's kind of like when I readabout the ring Dokus, it is uh
(04:51):
something that reminded me ofpossibly the Chuka
Chupacabra-ish, sort of.
SPEAKER_01 (04:56):
Oh yeah, kind of.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (04:58):
It was like wolf-like too, right?
Right, yeah.
So like a harrier.
Yeah, harrier chupacabra.
You know, it's like the northerncousin or something.
Uh indigenous folks around thearea actually have a legend that
goes back way, way, back, wayback, further back than maybe
even Peabody could get, okay,people.
But uh they called it the Shunkof Rock Barakin.
(05:19):
I did not say that well.
Please feel free to roll rightoff the target.
It does.
It really does for us honkies.
Uh but yeah, or the ringeddokus.
Uh that it it used to stealtheir dogs from their their
(05:40):
their little encampments andwhatnot, or where they were
staying for the season.
And fun fact, people, did youknow that dogs from dogs are all
bred from European wolves, notour wolves that are native to
the US.
I found that out because theyactually the the domestic dog
actually crossed the land bridgewith humans.
(06:03):
So that means that NativeAmericans had domesticated dogs
for god knows how long.
Isn't that amazing?
I thought it was.
Sorry.
It was unaware.
Yeah, I'm a little more okay.
Good.
I'm glad you like that because Ithought I was like I'm pro
canine for sure.
Yeah, for sure.
Unless they're in the back of acop car.
Yeah, we don't I feel they usethem for the wrong reasons,
(06:25):
that's all.
Anyway.
Uh nothing against good dogsdoing good dog work, like those
bomb sniffing dogs.
We need those guys for sure.
Uh oh yeah.
So this ring Dokus.
Does that insert bomb rip noise?
Yeah, where were we?
I don't know.
Uh there's there's another namefor it.
(06:47):
It's like Gaias de Kutis, and Ithink they're trying to be like
on a roll.
Yeah, I know.
I am fucking banging them outhere, Owen.
We might as well speak inSwedish.
Like, I I'm good at that too.
So uh, but yeah, it's alsocalled the beast uh and the
Rocky Mountain hyena, which Ithought was kind of cool because
when I've seen images of this,which there is one on the
(07:07):
internet if you look it up, fromits time spent in a museum
around Ennis that may still beover there.
Uh I remember we were actuallydoing some research on the ring
dokus at one point in time.
And yeah, isn't it is it themuseum that it's supposedly in
is very close to Ennis, I think.
I I think it was in the MadisonValley Museum, which I'm not
(07:28):
sure uh where I would think itwould be, but on the fly.
On the fly, I found an articlehere.
Uh and uh it's it's summarized,so it's from the Ennis website
or whatever.
So but uh um whatever they are,uh they are known to attack dogs
and cows and sheep and anythingelse served up on a fence and
(07:50):
platter.
If only we had a carcass, wecould figure out what this
creature is and once and forall.
Oh wait, turns out we do.
It's on display at a museum inMontana.
In 1886, in the Madison Valleyof Montana, a settler named
Israel uh Ayman.
Hey, another Aemon out here.
Uh uh Hutchins had a problem,like Amilcoefin.
What's with these these thesepeople must be from Nordic
ranges, right?
(08:10):
That's the only thing I couldthink of.
So uh something was attackinghis animals and he killed it.
But apparently this is I'm gonnasummarize this a little bit.
So this guy started hunting theringed ocus that was killing his
animals.
And uh on his first attempt atkilling it, he accidentally shot
one of his cows.
So that happened.
And then uh eventually he didkill the ringed okay, and at
some point in time they uhdecided to get somebody to stuff
(08:34):
it, and then over whatever timehere they uh put it in a museum
somewhere there in Montana.
Uh-huh.
And the Madison Valley people.
So there is uh proof of thisringdokus.
I'm very interested in this.
Why has this uh not been uh atopic that Donald Trump wants to
bring up to to disguisewhatever?
SPEAKER_01 (08:55):
Don't ask him about stuffed ring Docus.
SPEAKER_00 (08:57):
You might get an answer you didn't want to hear.
I agree with that statement, myfriend.
I agree, what a creep.
Um, so anyway, uh Lance Foster,uh a historic site
preservationist, uh paranormalenthusiast, and a member of the
Lower tribe, speculated that thebeast could be the shrunk and
wonkin.
Let's again say that chunk ofRukin.
(09:18):
Alright.
Yeah.
So there's actual legitimate,like, Native American uh people
who believe that this is what uhthe the ringokus is, is
something that's been around fora very long time.
Very ancient.
I uh on as far as like EnnisMontana goes, people, I'm sorry.
There's not like a ton of thingsbeyond it's kind of an older uh
(09:40):
touristy town, right?
Like set it's in Montana.
It's really known for itsfishing.
That is a thing.
Uh near Ennis, Montana, theprimary fish species caught are
rainbow trout and brown trout.
So those are pretty uh soughtafter for the fly fishing
community, I feel.
And um yeah, that's that's a bigthe major draw of that area.
SPEAKER_01 (10:03):
Um right, because uh when I I just like to sit by the
river and smoke weed, you know.
But that's that's me.
SPEAKER_00 (10:10):
Yeah, the other big draws for Ennis Montana are the
Fourth of July parade and rodeo.
And that's about it, guys.
So if you're not gonna go thereto go fishing or hunting ring
dokus or and smoke weed byrivers, then uh this may not be
the place for you.
But if you enjoy all thesethings that we just spoke on,
you may really like EnnisMontana people.
And it does sound like a coolarea.
(10:31):
I did see a picture of whereOwen was staying.
It was beautiful.
You could see the mountains andall sorts of stuff.
SPEAKER_01 (10:36):
I was Yeah, it's worth it just for the views, I
would say.
Like if you enjoy beingoutdoors, it's and it's yeah,
it's just gotta like I don'tknow.
It's got a charm to it.
SPEAKER_00 (10:46):
Yeah, no, there's nothing against Ennisphere
people.
It's just when you go to thesekind of places, a lot of times
you're not gonna, you know,there's no concerts or anything,
okay?
It's all about quiet time andjust kind of chilling, maybe
some small towny hokey fun,whatever you want to do there,
and the views and such.
Uh there's gonna be a lot morethan what we talk about going on
(11:06):
there.
What what exactly let's hearabout I want to hear about your
experience, Mr.
McMichael, when you went toEnnis, Montana recently on your
summer uh trip.
SPEAKER_01 (11:15):
Okay, yeah, I just kind of summarized it.
So uh situated in the MadisonValley is a charming little town
of Ennis, Montana.
I'm unable to even guess howmany times I've driven through
on the way to or back from mom'scabin in Island Park, I don't
know.
I'd only stopped at a coupleplaces.
Emo's, which is an incrediblebutcher shop, and of course the
Montana Staple Town Punk GasStation.
(11:36):
The views of the MadisonMountain Range and the river,
the same name running along theedge of town, it always made me
want to spend some time there.
Well, on the weekend in mid-July2025, my mom is staying with her
friend Ed outside of Ennis andinvites me to join her.
I figured I can manage to dragmyself away from buildings and
all its magic for a couple days,so Boogie and I hit the road
early Saturday.
A quick stop at Thinks fordelicious sandwiches in the
(11:58):
soulless chasm that was onceposed in Montana and it's off to
Ennis.
We arrive a little before Mahnwalks down to the Madison to
Boogie's will get his firstdrink from this incredible
river.
Ma and I walk to the nearly newshop, and I find some nice old
dishes we'll use for the nexttime Boogie's entertaining at
the shop.
Realizing my platinum bracelethas fallen off, I'm almost ready
to just say fuck it as I hatethe clap on that fucking thing.
(12:19):
I do walk back to the fifthshop, and the nice ladies there
found it and set it aside forme.
Pick up Prime New York stripsteak from Demos and we begin to
follow Maum to Ed.
Apparently she hasn't been tohis place for a while, and we
drive a few miles past his turnoff.
And by the way, she stopped inthe middle of the road to get
out and inform me this.
I was like, Mom, yep.
(12:40):
Making it to the correct road,we arrive at a sign stating,
private road, owners have gunsand backhoes.
Turn around.
Good thing we've been invited.
A mother Pronghorn and her twinbabies are in the driveway as we
pull in, and they don't evenseem disturbed by a presence.
Ed's house is beautiful with agarden in front and back and a
pristine view of the entireMadison range.
With the steak vacuum sealed andbulcamic vinegar and black
(13:03):
pepper, and then the sous videosbath, I feel it's time for a
beverage.
Couple different Samuel Smithales before the steak is ready
to be seared, sprinkled withblack garlic finishing salt and
rested.
Pasta, salad, and Pinot Noir toaccompany the perfectly medium
rare steak.
Sitting outside looking over thevalley at the mountains, the
visual beauty is matched by thetranquil sound of almost
nothing.
An occasional bird chirping, butsuch a different world than the
(13:26):
constant flow of traffic andyapping dogs I'm stuck with in
buildings.
Inside I put on some music andwe discover Ma's a big fan of
Peter Tosh.
It's been a doctor.
It's been a great first day forme in the NFA.
The next morning we have somestrawberries and grapes, and I
have a rhubarb muffin mom madebefore we walk up the road away.
(13:46):
Pronghorn are all over thehillside, and luckily we
encountered none of thegun-toting back owners.
A lazy day around the house,just enjoying the property and
the views and the quiet beforeheading into town late
afternoon.
We stop at Burnt Tree RiverAccess, a gorgeous spot on the
Madison.
A place to forget abouteverything and just enjoy the
sound of the river and thesunlight reflecting off of it.
Making our way to busy MainStreet Dennis, we stop at
(14:08):
Riverstone Gallery.
There are great, mostly fishing,nature, Native American themed
paintings and some lovelypottery and glasswork.
Ready for a drink, we head toBurnt Tree Brewery.
A great little spot with tastybeer and a nice shitty place to
sit and enjoy.
We go for a second round withthe intent to order a pizza and
take it back to Ed's.
A good size line is formed, andI hear the cashier say something
about an hour to an hour andfifteen minutes.
(14:29):
Figuring that to be the waittime for a pizza, we decide to
scrap that plan.
The establishment we wind up atis not remotely similar to any
I've seen or heard of.
Alley Bistro serves bistro-stylemeals on one side of the
building, and on the other side,one can go bowling.
Montana.
(14:52):
The smoked out gravioli mom getswas delicious, but could have
been more plentiful and warmer.
The pork shop I ordered was verygood, though the green beans
were beneath substandard.
Overall, an amusing experiencethat my husband would never
speak of again.
She seriously did say that.
Another peaceful evening atEdge, enjoying the views of the
valley of the mountains, and thepronghorn and the hills.
(15:12):
This simple trip has been goodfor me, and it's a great
reminder to go somewhere you'venever really been before.
It strikes me what an effectthese small towns like NF have
on me.
Being a suburban kid with a citymindset mindset constantly on
the go, they remind me it's okayto slow down so fast.
They allow me to momentarilystop being consumed by what's
next and fully enjoy what's now.
Much love, everybody.
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