The Story Behind the "M"

The "M" is 620 feet above the Missoula Valley floor. It is 125' feet long and 100' feet wide. University of Montana forestry students cut the switchbacks into the side of the hill in the early 1900's. The first "M" was assembled out of whitewashed rocks in 1909, and given a fresh coat of paint by freshmen every year, until 1968, when all those rocks were cemented together with concrete.

Photo by Nelson Kenter, kenterphotography.com

Posts Tagged ‘frugal living’

Save Money by Knowing Your Usage Patterns

By ERIN TURNER - It seems one of the most frequent questions I get is: “How do you know how much to stock up on an item?” It's pretty simple: know how much you use of that item.... more

Family-Friendly, Frugal Camping

By ERIN TURNER - Every year for the last 6 years, we have gone on a camping trip with our kids when school gets out. We stayed a variety of campgrounds during the week. Every one had its pros and cons. ... more

Frugal and Natural Weed Killer

By ERIN TURNER - On our farm weeds are the bane of our existence. Here are some tips for making your own natural weed killer that won't break the bank.... more

Easy German Chocolate Frosting

By ERIN TURNER - Here's a super yummy and super easy German Chocolate Cake Frosting recipe using coconut milk for the German Chocolate Cake lover in your family!... more

Being Frugal Versus Cheap: There’s a Difference

By ERIN TURNER - I astounded some folks when I paid $80 for a gallon of maple syrup. "What happened to the "Coupon Queen” you ask? My response: there's a difference between being frugal and being cheap.... more

Beans, Beans the Frugal Fruit

By ERIN TURNER - I admit I am a canned bean user and lover, but I've discovered they're not that frugal. I was stunned to do the math on the cost of canned versus dried beans.... more

The Secrets to Growing Healthy Hair Fast and Naturally

By ERIN TURNER - I'm trying to grow my hair out. After much research, I've discovered some tips and recipes that are alternatives to shampooing--oh and I'm saving money too! ... more

Homemade Pizza: It’s Yummy, Healthy and Frugal

By ERIN TURNER - Here's a Healthy, inexpensive and YUMMY recipe for homemade pizza. Not only is the clean-up a breeze, but it makes me a hero in the eyes of my kids!... more

Frugal, Healthy, DIY Air Fresheners

By ERIN TURNER - Our homes are places where good memories are created and smells play an important role in that. Here is a frugal, healthy and DIY idea for creating air fresheners.... more

Polishing Silver the Modern, Frugal Way

By ERIN TURNER - Here's a quick, easy and frugal way to polish tarnished silver using a sink, tinfoil, hot tap water and 1/4 cup of salt. Viola! The Silver lining!... more

Homemade Household Cleaners

By ERIN TURNER -In preparation for spring cleaning, I've come up with three different recipes for a natural and inexpensive glass and household cleaner. It's Green Cleaning at its best!... more

Preserving Your Greens

By ERIN TURNER - Do you hate when lettuce goes bad? Here's a tip on avoiding a bag full of stinky, blackish-green slime, and preserving lettuce using a food sealer and mason jars. ... more

Homemade Nutella

By ERIN TURNER - Nutella, a yummy chocolate spread, is sweeping the nation. Here's my yummy recipe for Nutella--without the sugar and "iffy" artificial flavors--and at a fraction of the cost of store-bought Nut... more

Spare Change for Milk Money

By ERIN TURNER - Milk money. Remember it? Usually taped inside your lunchbox or tucked carefully into your backpack so you could buy one of those little cardboard cartons of white or chocolate milk in the ca... more

A Successful 2013 Pantry Challenge

By ERIN TURNER - How much did we spend this month during our Annual Pantry Challenge? Drum roll please!....our family of five spent at total of $94.43 this month on grocery and drug store items! ... more

Thrifty Recycled Gift Holder

By ERIN TURNER - Our family is into our 3rd week of our Pantry Challenge and next week’s blog post will recap the entire month and I’ll reveal our savings! But this week I’m sharing a super cute and thri... more

Thinking Outside the Food Box for the Pantry Challenge

By ERIN TURNER - A month-long Pantry Challenge really forces a person to be creative. It's pushed me to think outside of the box and break food habits I'd fallen into. ... more

Tips For NOT Eating Out

By ERIN TURNER - Eating out is expensive! Here are some tips for how to avoid the "eating out trap" and why a little planning can pay big dividends with your household budget.... more

Are You Up for the Annual Pantry Challenge?

By ERIN TURNER - On February 1, we'll start a month of trying to use what we have on hand and not buy groceries. It's called the Pantry Challenge. Are you up for it?... more

How to Use Coupons to Create a Wad of Pseudo-Cash

By ERIN TURNER - Once the clerk rang in all the coupons and Extra Bucks, I heard the words that make any couponer jump for joy…”Oh, maam your total is negative 14 cents, so you need to buy something else.... more

Homemade Cream of Chicken Soup

By ERIN TURNER - Homemade Cream of Chicken Soup...it's not only food for the soul, it's cheap and it's a whole lot healthier for you and your family.... more

A New Year, a Fresh, Frugal Start

By ERIN TURNER - 2013 is here, the resolutions have been written, and it's time put those resolutions into action! Here’s my plan to accomplish my frugal yearly goals.... more

Last-Minute Christmas Gift: Homemade Coffee Creamer

By ERIN TURNER - Need a last-minute Christmas gift idea? I have the perfect thing: Homemade coffee creamer! It's an easy, inexpensive gift for your favorite gourmand.... more

The Frugal Cure-All: Homemade Chicken Broth

By ERIN TURNER - Grandma was right to chase away colds with chicken soup! Here's my recipe for homemade chicken bone broth, Nature’s All-Purpose Medicine.... more

Discovering Thred Up–A New Online Thrift Store

By ERIN TURNER - If your kids have gone through a growth spurt and need new digs or you are cleaning out their closets in preparation for new clothing at Christmas, check out Thred UP--an online consignment sto... more

Fantastically Festive Pinterest Christmas Projects

By ERIN TURNER - It’s Christmas season and Pinterest is alive with an endless world of ideas, inspirations, recipes, and whatever else you can imagine for the holidays. ... more

Tips for Smart, Thrifty Holiday Shopping

By ERIN TURNER - Just because Black Friday's over doesn’t mean you missed all the deals! They may not be as obvious, but if you do your homework you'll find them.... more

Eleven Tricks to Keep Holiday Guests Happy

By ERIN TURNER - This week marks the beginning of holiday guest season. Here are a few of my favorite tips to make guests happy and keep your stress to a minimum.... more

Save Money with Seven Savvy Shopping Strategies

By ERIN TURNER - If you don’t adopt new attitudes towards shopping, you’ll never see any couponing success. Here are my Seven Savvy Shopping Strategies to save money.... more

Homemade Hot Sauce

By ERIN TURNER - Some like it hot and our family is no exception. When it comes to hot sauce we love it hot and use it on everything! Here's a homemade recipe for hot sauce. ... more

Save Money by Reducing Wasted Food

By ERIN TURNER - Since October is National Unprocessed Food month, it may be helpful for you to explore how to save money by reducing the food waste in your house.... more

Take the No-Processed-Foods Challenge

By ERIN TURNER - October is national “Unprocessed Food” month. Take the Challenge: consume less processed/packaged food and more whole/real food. ... more

Frugal Living: Super Easy, Super Cheap Carpet Stain Remover

By ERIN TURNER - Last week, I found the "Miracle Carpet Stain Remover” technique on Pinterest. I'm happy to say that it definitely lives up to its name!... more

Frugal Living: Figuring Out Walgreens’ New Coupon Rewards Program

By ERIN TURNER - I've done some footwork to figure out Walgreens' new customer rewards program. It may seem confusing, but the Coupon Queen is here to help!... more

What To Do with All Those Tomatoes? Make Homemade Ketchup!

By ERIN TURNER - With the abundance of tomatoes this year, I’ve explored some new ways to use them, including homemade ketchup. Here's my recipe!... more

Quality is the Key When Couponing

By ERIN TURNER - Does buying off-brand items always pays off? My answer is usually--you just have to be careful. Quality is the key when couponing.... more

Save Money with Easy School Night Dinners

By ERIN TURNER - With school starting up soon, I'm getting organized for fall. Making freezable meals in advance saves money and makes life easier on school nights.... more

4-H Kids Go for Gold (and Blue) at the Western Montana Fair

By ERIN TURNER - The Western Montana Fair opens this Tuesday, but for 4-H kids, the fair started months ago. Stop by to congratulate them on their hard work!... more

Save Big As We Say Goodbye to Missoula’s Kmart

By ERIN TURNER - On September 30, the Missoula Kmart will close its doors for good. It is sad to see the end of an era, but the silver lining is that everything's on sale!... more

Kale Chips and More Easy, Healthy, Homegrown Summer Veggie Chips

By ERIN TURNER - Each week at the Farmers’ Market, I am asked two questions: 1) Do you have kale? and 2) Do you know how to make kale chips? Yes and yes!... more

Frugal Living: Save Money with an Old-Fashioned Remedy

By ERIN TURNER - I love economical, old-fashioned remedies and natural ways of curing minor ailments, so I was thrilled when I discovered all the benefits of Epsom salt.... more

Frugal Living: 10 Summertime Money-Saving Tips

By ERIN TURNER - With warmer temperatures and longer days, summer offers us a lot of easy, smart opportunities to save money. Some are delicious, too!... more

A Time to Preserve Summer’s Harvest

By ERIN TURNER - Despite the slow start to the growing season, crops are finally popping up. These are the days filled with fresh food straight from the garden (or from the markets) and it's time to stock up.... more

A Pinterest Project: Organize Kids’ Art Projects & School Papers

By ERIN TURNER - Now that school's out, I'm facing tons of my kids' school papers, art projects, and stories. Fortunately, I found a Pinterest project to get it organized.... more

Frugal Living: Healthy, Easy, Cheap Breakfasts for Everyone

By ERIN TURNER - If you're like me, it's a challenge to come up with breakfasts that are cheap, healthy, and easy. Here are some ideas that everyone in my family loves.... more

Frugal Living: 25 Frugal Uses for the Humble Coffee Filter

By ERIN TURNER - In my quest to keep household costs down, I found a huge variety of tips and ideas for saving money using coffee filters. It's amazing what you can do!... more

A Pinterest Project: Get Organized with DIY Spice Jars

By ERIN TURNER - My kitchen was being overrun by all my spices until I stumbled on a great project I saw on Pinterest: Recycle old bottles into DIY spice containers. ... more

Eat Local and Eat Well with Community Supported Agriculture

By ERIN TURNER - Community Supported Agriculture farms have started to become popular in Missoula. They're a great way to eat healthy, local, economical food.... more

Frugal Living: Eat Tapas, Cut Your Grocery Bill

By ERIN TURNER - Serving tapas-style food, a traditional Spanish small-plates meal, is a delicious, easy way to cut your grocery budget significantly.... more

Frugal Living: Go Green and Grow Your Own Food

By ERIN TURNER - Growing your own food is making a huge comeback. Not only are homegrown fruits and veggies healthier, but you can save a ton of money, too.... more