Good news! My camper was in great shape when I finally got back to Livingston, MT. It has a spot of water damage near the kitchen sink. I left that window open just a crack, but it was enough to let some water squeeze through. I am waiting for the RV dealership in Missoula to open this morning so I can have a bunch of things checked out, including that.
After picking up the camper, Blue Moon, Tango and I headed towards the Crazy Mountains, north of Livingston. It is in the greater Yellowstone area but separated from all the crowds by I-90.
Crazies are near the lower center of the map, the first mountain range rising up from the Great Plains.
I drove north from the interstate, about 25 miles then another 25 off the main road into Forest Service land. Tango and I ended up in a free dispersed site on the Shields River, really a creek at that point. However, there are no utilities. Of course, in my eagerness to get into the mountains after all summer in the city, I didn’t stop to think about filling/emptying tanks or getting gas for the generator. I had some jugs of water and a 3-gallon container – not enough so I had to go back to the small town, Wilsall, two times for more water. In the meantime. Tango and I lived just fine without any electricity, Internet, and news. Propane powers the stove and the toilet works no matter what, so I was set.The weather was perfect so I did not miss the heater.
We stayed in the “Crazies” for 10 days! My furry friend and I needed that time to decompress in the wilderness. We met a few bow hunters in the other sites; otherwise, our company was a small group of cows who grazed their way through my site. The mamas called to the youngsters starting with a soft, low bellow then rising sharply in sound and intensity – a misplaced crescendo of the plains, not the forest. After trespassing into my site, the bovine crew climbed into the ankle-deep, rocky river bed for a drink. On the way back from the water, they stopped at my fire pit and licked the ashes, leaving long white stains on the metal from their slobbery tongues. What is it with big animals licking picnic tables and fire pits?
So what did I do for the 10 days besides sleep a great deal? I had many undefined book ideas floating around and I wanted to have the time and space to narrow in and rough out something– I created my own, personal writing retreat by the river’s edge. I have only done this once before, along the Missouri River. Then and now, I let everything go and one dominant idea did bubble through. In the meantime, while I wait for baby Silas, I will start writing. Another writing retreat while I wait! This is turning out to be the great joy of my retirement: time to write.
The bad news? I am at ground zero for all the western wildfires. Missoula, MT is surrounded by active fires and downwind from the Washington and Idaho fires. I cannot see the mountains at all and am tired of breathing and tasting the wretched smoke. Yesterday I drove through it all day, and Tango is now hacking and coughing. The Crazies were smokey too, but this is dense. Over 1 million acres have burned just in Montana forests, generally, in the region where I am at this moment. Spokane, my ultimate destination, is in the smoke path as well. So, I spent some time last night figuring out where the fires are (inciweb.com) and what the wind direction will be the next few days. The only way I can get out of the smoke in the short-term is by crossing Lolo Pass and hiding out in Idaho for a while. That is a new route for me, so I am excited! Experts say rain is coming; I join millions of others in hoping that the rain arrives soon and deliver the end to an awful fire year.
I am so happy to be back to my regular, nomadic lifestyle and to have Internet access, at least for awhile. Last year I spent a good amount of my time in quaint RV parks but this year I am going to spend much more time out in the boonies!
