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Published: September 2nd 2020
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On our Montana trip, things got so confusing and overwhelming that I began to make lists, just to help keep things straight. In the interests of completeness, and to keep a record of "what happened," I shall post them here, with a few stray bits of additional verbiage.
Properties We Saw Lavina – Dean Creek Road – with Jake
Victor – Bitterroot Valley, Eagle Feather Lane – with Kari
Charlo – National Bison Range – with Kari
Anaconda – Gunsmoke Lane - with Kari
Absarokee – Fish Camp – with Tim
Bridger – Clark’s Fork River – with Sarah
Columbus – with Sarah
Joliet – The Pick Ranch – with Logan
Whitehall, Jefferson County – VVV Ranch – with Kari
White Sulphur Springs – Grassy Mtn – with Scott
Gold Creek – Weller Ranch – with Scott and Kari
Nye – Schwenneker Homestead – with Tim
Lewistown – Big Spring Sporting Ranch – with Scott
Lewistown – Aspen Bend Ranch – with Scott
Deer Lodge – 154 acres Off Grid
Whitehall, Jefferson County – VVV Ranch – Second showing with Tara
We also
saw a jackalope in a window, an elk wearing a mask, and a man with what seemed to be a sanitary napkin hanging from his ear. We saw mooses, bison, whitetails, mule deers, antelopes, chipmunks, herons, meadowlarks, and millions of grasshoppers. We saw the Beartooths, the Absarokas, The Tobacco Roots, the Ginormous Tetons and Lake Yellowstone. We saw an unusual number of three-wheeler motorcycles, the kind with the two wheels up front. We saw more RVs than we knew existed. We saw cattle and horses, horses and cattle, cattle, and horses. We saw endless expanses of sagebrush, pasture, wheat, and forests. And we met open, welcoming people who seemed glad we were there.
Possibles We Didn’t End Up Seeing Grassy Mtn – high elevation, restrictive covenants
Emigrant – Rock Creek house – restrictive covenants
Columbus – on Yellowstone River – too close to Interstate and Railway
Wise River – Bear Mountain Ranch – too remote
Roundup – Big House w/ Greenhouse – not enough land or trees
McLeod – 106 acres – under contract
McLeod – 87 acres – under contract
Whitehall, Silver Bow County – too remote
Helmville –
2 houses and pond - too remote
Darby – multiple living spaces in Nat’l park - too remote
Whitehall – The Dome – too many peope, too close to town
Manhattan – The Saloon Property – too remote
Helena 42 acres – no water feature
Anaconda – Montana Sky Lodge – way too remote
Wolf Creek – farm on 40 acres – too many close neighbors
Livinston – Black Mtn Ranch – too spendy
Bridger – 60 acre organic farm – not interested
Ryegate – 2 houess on 360 – too arid, no trees, and remote
Hoodoo Creek – 2 cabins on 40 acres surrounded by Nat’l Forest – too remote
Plains – 84 acres on Clark Fork – too far away
Ennis – too little land
East Glacier Park – too expensive, too remote
Belfry – 42 acres – too arid, ugly valley
Roundup – Bender Road – under contract, too arid
Hysham – Brites Pitchfork Ranch – too arid, too far east
Bridger – CH Ranch – all about the house
Frenchtown – sold
Musselshell – Fishel Creek – sold
Arlee – Sod Farm Rd – off market
Hobson - Circle Bar Ranch – too pricey, too much work
Big Timber – Jones Ranch – sold
Belgrade – McGinley Homestead – sold
White Sulphur Springs – Panorama Dr – too remote
Libby – 40 acres – too remote
Trout Creek – Moose Meadow – too far away
Medora, ND – too remote
Marion – 40 acres – too remote
We also didn’t see the four places in Wyoming we had scoped out before leaving.
We did not see a bear, or a wolf, or a coyote, or a puma. We did stop at Old Faithful, and sat there waiting for it to give us its sign of fidelity, but gave up after twenty minutes or so, with so many hours yet to drive to get to Dubois, and with so much geyser porn available on YouTube. Interestingly, there was no signage at OF whatsoever which explained how long one had to wait between faithful spewages, most sign space being now taken up with COVID warnings and instructions. So, part of our decision to leave was that we had no idea how long we had to wait, and we had no cell service, so couldn't even look it up.
Places We Stayed 9th – On the Road
10th – Medora, ND – campground on river
11th – Lavina – Stinkwater Air BnB – didn’t stay
11th – Billings – Extended Stay America
12th – Missoula - KOA
13th – Anaconda – strange little campground
14th – Big Timber – KOA
15th – Big Timber – KOA
16th – Big Timber – KOA
17th – Big Timber – KOA
18th – Bozeman - hotel
19th – Townsend - KOA
20th – Lewistown – Yogo Inn
21st – Lewistown – Calvert Hotel
22nd – Big Timber – KOA
23rd – Big Timber – KOA
24th – Big Timber – KOA
25th – Deer Lodge – Big Western Sky Inn
26th – Cardwell – RV Park
27th – Cardwell – RV Park
28th – Dubois, WY – KOA
29th – On the Road
30th – North Carolina Home
We ended up spending many more nights in Empedocles, the caRV, than we did in either hotels or Air BnBs. We had thought we'd split it about half and half, but ended up sleeping better on the nice, firm, and chemical free bed in the car than we did in the rooms for rent, one of which left Sally feeling quite poisoned the whole next day, most of which had soft, mushy mattresses designed to create back pain. This despite the contortions we had to go through to crawl into said bed, to get our clothes off, to keep it from getting stuffy, etc. As a rule, the KOA campgrounds were clean and neat, with good bathrooms and showers, even though they did not actually provide much of a "camping in nature" experience, due to the abundance of closely-spaced RVs, annoying lights, and nearby railways and Interstates.
Wi-Fi was hit or miss. Mostly miss. Especially in restaurants, few of which actually advertise it as an amenity. That made for some difficult times, when we really needed to do research. We ended up using our phone hot spots far more than I would have predicted. Where we had cell service. Which was also hit or miss. The best place ended up being the KOA in Dubois (it's Doo-Boyce, dammit!!!) Wyoming. It was a full park with lots of RVs, yet we were able to stream video there. That hadn't happened anywhere else we'd been. We had good wifi and really sweet mornings in a coffee shop in Big Timber, a small town between Billings and Bozeman. School was just starting up, and both mornings a bunch of older students stopped in for coffee, and talked with locals, and laughed and smiled. Turns out the owners have been hiring students and raising them into contributing, belonging members of the community for years now.
As regards driving 30 to 35 hours straight, I'll just say this: it can be done. My trip back to NC was similar to the one going out. I dozed maybe an hour or two, when all was said and done, with no real experience of having slept. The problem is two-fold. First, I find it difficult to ride in any car driven by another person. Second, in order to stay awake and alert and hydrated, I drink caffeinated concoctions. More than might be advisable in ordinary times. Then, in the middle of the night, the caffeine comes back to haunt me. Not a particularly unusual or interesting story, to be sure, but there is is. A bit of a double bind. One I've yet to figure out. Perhaps the addition of a bottle of some strong spirit would do the trick. In any event, lying in the car in a highway rest stop at 2 in the morning not sleeping makes little sense, so I just get up and start driving more. Until the dawn. At which time Sally, having slept far better than I, can take over driving for a bit. By then I'm so exhausted that I just give up and put my life in her hands.
Enough for now. We've received a counter offer and now have to figure out our next move. I'll check back in when and if something gets finalized.
Until then, pax. T
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