Big Sky, Meet Small Car

Thanks to the intrepid Lewis and Clark and the creepy, costumed re-enactors who periodically retrace their steps, my fellow Montanans and I understand that crossing our vast and mostly empty state without repeatedly feeding debit and credit cards into the maws of greedy self-service gas pumps is, at least in theory, possible. It's a romantic, enchanting notion: walking and paddling great distances without a bulky wallet in one's back pocket. I doubt I'll ever try it, though. In a state where a visit to the nearest Home Depot can take a whole weekend and require a motel stay, a person wants...