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 (this was regular laundry not the bedding done on 6/28) 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.
June 1, 2025 I listed my little house in the woods for sale.
January 9, 2026 I accepted an offer.
February 9, 2026 the sale closed. I rented back a month from buyer’s.
March 10, 2026 Emmett, Oscar and I moved into a small (375 square feet) Airbnb cabin in Columbia Falls, MT about 18 miles north of the house.
A short aside: I kept 4 pieces of furniture. Those and wall art/photographs plus what I thought was a minimal amount of personal items went into bins and with the furniture into a 10x8x20 storage unit. That was the smallest unit available at the location I chose. Movers loaded and delivered the above. Left in the house was the minimal amount of stuff I intended to take to the cabin. Holy Cow! I was so wrong. About 2/3 of what I thought I would take to the cabin was taken back to the storage unit. Still, all the contents I chose to keep lined the edge and up the middle so 2 aisles. And the edges and middle were 2 bins high. So, it is NOT a packed to the gills space.
Back to the story.
We settled into the little cabin and adjusted to a new routine.
I had a big dental thing: 2 crowns and 1 cavity. I had cataract surgery. So good to get those both done! Emmett had a dental. Emmett and Oscar got current on everything.
April 27, 2026 I bought a 2003 30 foot Class C motorhome: Bigfoot 30 mh 29 rq to be exact.
April 28-30 I registered at DMV, took possession, had new tires put on, filled with gas and propane and then parked at Columbia Falls RV park to test systems and do some loading from storage locker and cabin.
May 5, 2026 I moved the Bigfoot to the cabin (above photo actually in front of a barn/garage on the property) and put the Yukon (my SUV) into storage.
May 6, 2026 I loaded from the cabin and we moved into the Bigfoot that afternoon … spent the night on the cabin property.
May 7, 2026 we left: a stop at Murdoch’s for some RV items, a stop at Harry Horn park for lunch and a long walk with Emmett and then to Jim n Mary’s RV park in Missoula a long standing “first night out” RV spot.
May 8, 2026 we left Jim n Mary’s, stopped at Target in Missoula for some items … mostly organizational stuff. We then proceeded to Anaconda and paid for 2 nights at an RV park near the town.
…this is where things went sideways. Emmett stumbled twice getting into the motorhome on that Friday (5/8) afternoon and evening. on May 9, after our morning walk he would not even attempt the steps.
7 days to get Emmett loaded. When he would not load before bedtime on 5/9, I ordered a ramp from Amazon and extended our stay until 5/13.
May 12, 2026 the ramp arrived mid-morning. We started training flat, increasing heights and by early afternoon he entered the Bigfoot! That evening he hesitated and I had to grab his collar to coax him in.
May 13, 2026 he would not load via the ramp. We moved to a Best Western across the road because weather was extremely windy and hot.
May 14, 2026 we visited the local vet (hotel and vet in walking distance, thankfully) to talk about boarding. I thought I needed to return to base, collect the Yukon and retrieve Emmett in the Yukon.
May 15, 2026 at the last minute of an arranged late checkout from the hotel, I got Emmett in the Bigfoot: hamburger lure and when he was as far up the steps as I though he’d go, I put my hands under his bottom and lifted/shoved. He was in. I was ready to roll and we headed for “home”.
We arrived at Columbia Falls RV park after hours, picked a spot on an end with our door opening to a little yard. Emmett spent the night outside tethered to the Bigfoot.
May 16, 2026 Retrieved the Yukon from storage. Emmett slept in the Yukon as well as was in it through a few hail storms. I booked a month’s stay at that RV Park.
May 27, 2026 Removed front passenger seat after training on steps failed. It was HOT and I had booked same Airbnb cabin for 3 nights to get Emmett out of heat the day the seat was removed. I didn’t want to deal with cabin, heat and possible failure due to too many changes.
May 29, 2026 Tried passenger door with no seat. Success!! That worked and has been fine since then. A huge relief to me as I had no idea if it was just the door, the steps and door or the entire RV experience. I had gone through various scenarios of having to sell the Bigfoot and finding us a house.
So, not exactly the end, but the end of Part 1 RV Life.
In hindsight, despite the angst and money and other things a bit more personal than I want to share … it was a good thing. I tried to launch too fast with not enough prep for Emmett and Oscar … or me OR the Bigfoot. The month in Columbia Falls allowed me to re-organize (5 times!!!) inside and outside storage. I ended up with only what we need and by mid-June I was comfortable with what I had on board and where it was.
Also, we all had a chance to be “at home” and learn how to move about a small space comforably.
So.
Restart of RV adventures, life on the road … starts 6/26/2026.
Late last Summer, I sold my motorhome and my Jeep … and bought a large SUV (GMC Yukon XL).
My thought was to set the Yukon up to be able to “camp” 1-2 nights on the way to somewhere where I would stay in an Airbnb/VRBO.
I took out all but the driver and passenger seats to accommodate a bed setup as well as battery bank, 12v frig/freezer and a few other mod cons necessary for Emmett, Oscar and me to overnight it!
The mattress is a tri-fold so currently I have it set up as a lounge kind of seat and it makes for a great setup when I am out and about Plein Air painting (see the video below!).
Meanwhile, on nice days, I leave it open and let Oscar and Emmett get used to the setup and going in and out.
It is working very well for me as a day camper … we’ll see about actual camping at some point!
The video … a short look at the day setup and a few painting outings:
