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subscribe to style file blog via RSSBrian Reyes’ Postcard From Montana
July 8, 2010 10:39 am
Most New Yorkers opt for the nearest outpost of sun and sand for the Fourth of July, as anyone who’s tried to get a seat on the Hamptons- and Fire Island-bound Long Island Rail Road can tell you. Designer Brian Reyes goes a little farther afield—to Bigfork, a town of less than 1,500 in northwest Montana, where his boyfriend’s family ranch is. Reyes and his friend and fellow traveler, Nicole Chavez—the L.A.-based stylist who works with Scarlett Johansson, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Rachel Bilson, among others—just returned from their Big Sky idyll. They sent back the following postcard for those of us who aren’t ready to let the holiday spirit go.
Every Fourth of July, I’m all about escaping the heat of New York and heading out to Bigfork, Montana, for a bit of solitude and relaxation. My boyfriend and I invite a group of friends to head up north to his family ranch for a crazy fireworks celebration and a week of relaxing, hiking, antiquing, and horseback riding, and this year Nicole Chavez—whose heart is now firmly planted in the northwest Rockies—came along. We had a rodeo complete with barrel racing, a western-style cutting competition, and horseback-riding lessons for the newbies. The weather was a little cooler this year, so we couldn’t do any whitewater rafting or river floating, but there’s always next year, right?
Nicole thought she’d been caught in a time warp when we climbed into a perfectly restored 1948 Independent pickup truck and rode in Bigfork’s annual Candy Throwing Parade. Hundreds of young kids line the town’s two streets while vintage cars parade down the avenue tossing candy. After the parade, we headed back to the ranch for a good old-fashioned barbecue, before the family’s yearly fireworks display began. The whole town comes out to the ranch to watch it, and this year’s was spectacular.
At the parade.
Cruising around town.
tags: Brian Reyes, Nicole Chavez
