Author: Jackie Marie Beyer

I grew up on Long Island about 20 miles from NYC. When I was in 4th grade I read Sasha, My Friend by Barbara Corcoran which is a story about a little girl who moves to her dad’s Christmas tree farm in northwest Montana. From that day on I was determined to move there and when I was 21 I entered the University of Montana in Missoula. During my junior year I met my husband on a mountainside and we have been happily married for over 25 years now! I have had such an exciting life, traveling all around the United States, mostly in the Northwest corner and back and forth between Montana and NYC. When I am not in the classroom, I spend most of my time in Montana’s National Forests, collecting firewood, picking wildflowers, gathering mushrooms, searching for antlers, or just sighting a majestic mountain view! I love to hike with my friends and family and paint the things that I see and find, creating stories to share!