A trailhead outhouse isn't what you'd typically think as beautiful. However, a local artist is changing that, one outhouse at a time.
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Rilie Zumbrennen has spent years leaving her mark on Billings through murals that locals know well. Now, she's taking that work somewhere unexpected; trailhead outhouses at recreation areas across the region.
"It's always been something that I do that just makes me feel good and escape...and just meditate," Zumbrennen said.
When the Bureau of Land Management came calling, she didn't hesitate.
"They pretty much just gave me a prompt of each bathroom or what the area was known for. And they said go with it," Zumbrennen said.
Eleven bathrooms later, the results are turning heads and opening eyes.
"People will go to the bathrooms and talk...'I stopped there, and I did not expect that when I opened the door,'" Zumbrennen said.
MTN toured three of the painted sites with Zumbrennen, including two in Laurel at Sundance Lodge Recreation Area and one at Four Dances Recreation Area outside of Lockwood. The reaction from parkgoers told the same story.
Lockwood local Julius Ostby says he has been visiting Four Dances Recreation Area his entire life. He knows exactly what public restrooms usually look like.
"Usually these outhouses are kind of dingy and depressing to go into. So it's awesome to have the color and art," Ostby said.
For Ostby, the art is a bonus on top of what already makes the area worth visiting.
"It's wild...the view you can get and the falcons and all that," Ostby said.
The murals are also reaching people who have never been here before. William Shell was visiting Billings as a traveler when he stumbled across one of Zumbrennen's bathrooms.
"You walk into a park bathroom, and you're kind of expecting the worst and then it's this beautiful mural," Shell said.
For Zumbrennen, the reaction is the point. Art doesn't need a gallery; it just needs a wall.
"It feels so much cleaner and just more comfortable," Zumbrennen said.
