It was a cool night with rain off and on early and then clear.

We all slept well and woke to a beautiful morning. There is grass all around the perimeter so Emmett and I can get in a long walk and not be close to other RVs. There is also a nice large area in the middle and and easy access on the west end right near where we are parked.

I enjoyed every moment outside looking at the mountains, the sky and clouds. I got out my chair to enjoy a morning coffee outside and then did some RV chores.

By 2:00, it was mid-70’s outside and warmer inside … time for A/C for Emmett and me … the heat wimps.

I was back and forth between working on trip logs and puttering in the kitchen.

Holy Cow … lots of memories surfaced on the drive today from Missoula to Dillon.

One thing that keeps surprising me is that in the Winnebago, driving mode with slides in was different than parked mode with slides out.  In the Bigfoot with no slides, all is the same with the exception of things being stowed for travel:  Oscar’s litter box, some kitchen counter items and my dinette charging station.

And then the RV park:  Countryside RV Park.  There is another park close to town and I spoke with 2 couples at Missoula who always stay there and say it is nice.  It looks to have trees and “town” is walkable.  Countryside is rural … kind of semi-rural now, but still.  It is “Big Sky”!! even with a few more houses around. 

I was at first thinking that I should have booked at Southside (town adjacent) but now that I am here, I am so happy to be here. It is 4 miles to town on a “frontage road” which is a 2 lane 60 mph state highway.  I drove it from a lovely grocery:  Town and Country Foods.  They had some great breads including locally made bagels.  Also some local made tortilla chips … tortillas also, but I bought a lot of tortillas in Missoula.

If I can make the trip on my e-bike I might try to stay longer.  Right now, I am due to leave Monday the 6th.

Photos and more tomorrow.

And bonus … Oscar only howled briefly before moving from the little sofa to his cabover bed.  Progress!!

I had walked Emmett, taken a rinse off shower and was so tired but realized gray tank was full as shower did not fully drain.

?Put on some clothes and went out to empty, berating myself for not keeping track because I just wanted to crawl into bed.  The tank takes a bit over 5 minutes to drain and I was impatient.

BUT … walking around the RV when it was done and looking at dark clouds to the south-south east …

June 29

Rained almost all day and is wonderfully cool.  I have even run the furnace off and on. 

Good news is that a site opened up on the 30th AND I can stay in my current site.  On the 1st, I move to Dillon for 5 nights.

I’m missing having a car and rain is a bit heavy for the eBike.  BUT Walmart delivers so I was able to order some things I was running low on and they brought them to my site.  I need to do laundry (clothes, not bedding) but tomorrow is supposed to be cloudy but not all day rain so hopefully get in done in a dry spell.

Otherwise, another low key day working on setting up logs for travel and catching up the blog.  Bought a template for Notion to try.  I’ve tried to learn Notion twice before.  I’m hoping that without work pressure and the template, I can make better progress.  

Made myself good food, several walks around the park with Emmett and a few rv chores.

June 30

Mostly overcast but a few sun breaks so got laundry done which was a chore … 2 full loads and my trolley is a bit too light duty.  Will put something else on my list … maybe a collapsible wagon or ??  But for the moment and if I stick to doing one load at a time, it is fine.  I had 2 loads mostly because of wet towels from 2 days of rain and wet dog!

I cleaned up my Quicken for RV Expenses … mostly.  Need to review Checking and Chase Amazon but have categories and a method.

Giving Notion another shot … spent too much time on it today instead of video.  Tomorrow is a travel day, but then 4 days in Dillon so should have some time.

Cleaned Dyson … yech but it REALLY needed it as I somehow sucked up liquid stuff – not sure what.

Tried to fix/stabilize bedroom sliding door.  I’d like to remove it but need to do that when in Bigfork so can take it to storage.

Dog walks without getting rained on which was first time since leaving Columbia Falls on Friday!

Took some 360 video of gardeners working on the lovely garden area on my site.  Off to look at it now.

Sleeping well but needed a nap after laundry and breakfast which I had at noon.

I was so happy to wake up at Jim n Mary’s RV park in Missoula … a good night’s sleep with off and on rain, nice and cool and 100% more pleasant than Nugget RV Park in St. Regis.  I am happy I made the decision to leave after finding a spot here.  It wasn’t horrible, it just wasn’t me.  AND … I got an end spot here with lovely garden and grassy area.  AND against policy, Nugget RV park refunded me 5 of my 10 day prepaid stay.  

I am not unhappy that I headed for St. Regis as the drive was even more beautiful than I remembered.  Also, it was a good reminder to me that it is ok to make a mistake and move on in a way best for me, Emmett and Oscar.

When I went to bed at Nugget (night before last), after taking a rinse off shower having gotten sweaty setting up, I discovered that Oscar had peed in the bed … probably when we started as he was under the covers and I left quickly as soon as a package I was waiting for arrived.  I was exhausted but had to strip the bed.  Fortunately, it was just one comforter and duvet, bottom sheet and moisture cover.  I threw all in the door well, put on clean sheet and used the top comforter.  For whatever reason I only slept a bit over 4 hours!  

So a tough start to Saturday (6/27).  When I went to scout the laundry room:  small machines, signs that said no bulky items AND it was $3.00 wash load and only 2 dryers.  Kind of last straw.  I went back and thankfully found space at Jim n Mary’s … unhooked and rolled out of there.  I thought I would go back after a 3 day respite and taking care of laundry, but once here decided I didn’t want to go back.  Found 5 nights in Dillon at Countryside RV Park which I know well.  It left me 1 night … found a Harvest Host.  So, I have spots through the July 4th holiday.  

There are some big fires as well as high fire danger in Colorado and Utah so not sure what after the holiday weekend.  But I will and am enjoying my current situation(s) and that is another lesson … remembering to enjoy the moment.

Even though I slept very well last night, today was a relax day:  rainy walks, some bookkeeping, some cooking (brunch, air fryer granola, chicken … bacon is on the list) and small rv chores.

My heart, thoughts and prayers go out to 3 firefighters killed and 2 burned in an incident in a fire on the border of Colorado and Utah.

Leaving Flathead Valley for the 2nd time in Wild Thing II.  This time with a lot more experience in the Bigfoot than last launch:  passenger seat removed so Emmett can enter easily, cupboards and basement organized well, extra stuff back to storage.

?It was hard to store the Yukon again.  I was spoiled having it in Columbia Falls for errands, grocery runs, etc.  We’ll see.  

Saw the most colorful rooster in Paradise, MT at a small park:

Drive was beautiful.  The Clark Fork River valley is as beautiful as I remember … more so.  It was rainy, foggy, cloudy but Paradise to St. Regis was stunning even so.  St. Regis a bit disappointing as it just gave off a vibe not unlike Anaconda as in “not much joy”.  

The RV park … nice person in office but it reminded me of the east U.S. campgrounds which were weekend “camp” retreats vs the RV trip spirit.  Campfires, messy outdoor setups, kids, ATVs … blech!  My site was narrow but with bushes and terraced sites gave more privacy than I expected.  Still, I got wet and hot setting up.  Off leash dog area and trails but wet, tall grass and weeds.  

After being so tired, I then had a hard time going to sleep.  I paid for 10 days and was not feeling happy about it but kept telling myself it was supposed to be rainy and I could just hunker down, walk with Emmett, get a video(s) out, i.e. plenty to do.