We're Finally Doing It!

Two of our goals in moving to a full-time RV life were to simplify and to travel. It took awhile to get to these goals, much longer than expected. Repairs were needed, a parking spot needed to be found, more repairs were needed, my pregnancy became high-risk, our baby was born, and so on.

Last week, we took a trip to Eugene, OR to get solar installed. After the install, we headed to Waldo Lake, where we got to enjoy a beautiful, quiet lake, warm temps, some mountain biking, and campfires. We also got to test out our new solar system and found it worked great.

throwing rocks

muck monster

on my 6-week post-c-section date, 

I hit the trail for a lakeside jog...

the boys out on the paddle board

testing his mtn biking skills 

Both B and I managed some actual mountain biking on a trail that went along the lake. It was a perfect ride to get back into the groove after a long time off the bike.

More Goodbyes

We couldn't see how it made sense to keep our 4-Wheel camper now that we own an Airstream. We made many good memories in this thing in the 2 short years of owning it. Here, a sampling of good times.

Picking it up at the factory

K's first morning in the camper- 

cozy and warm, despite the white stuff outside

the first night was spent in snow and we stayed plenty warm

near Bishop, CA

still can't believe he fit in that sink...

Toroweap, Grand Canyon

City of Rocks, Idaho

Fruita, CO

chilling somewhere

Yakima River Canyon

Beartooth Pass, MT

our favorite spot in Bozeman, MT

Whitewater ski area, BC

Interestingly, every person that showed interest in the camper also wanted the truck. So, we sold both the truck and camper to a nice couple who are excited about camping and adventuring in the set-up. Of all the material possessions we parted with during the move, the camper was the hardest for me. We had a lot of fun in that thing and I felt rather sentimental about it. I know, we will be making new memories in our Airstream soon.

After a quick and easy sale, we found ourselves needing a new vehicle. So, Brandon & K boarded an airplane to Spokane to head to Dave Smith Motors for a new truck.

The trip there and back didn't go quite as planned (shocking), but they arrived safely home the next day with a new truck. 

Whitewater Wonder

We have wanted to visit Nelson, B.C. for quite some time, but it is typically dumping snow at home and we never want to leave good snow. So, this year was the perfect year to go, with no snow at home.

Whitewater Ski Resort is pretty awesome. With just three, slow, two-seater lifts, it has a nice ma-&-pa ski area feeling. Despite having just those three lifts, there were no lines. The lodge was crowded at lunchtime with rosy-cheeked kids and families enjoying some excellent food.

[Our camping view for the week, in the parking lot of Whitewater]

Whitewater is part of what is called "The Powder Highway"; this year, it wasn't exactly powder, but there was white stuff covering the whole hill, and that's better than our hill, so we were pleased.

Kye and I spent some time one day on the rope tow, while Brandon did a little 'touring' for exercise. At one point, Kye decided it was super fun to go backwards, calling himself 'Tow Mater' (the best backwards driver in Carburetor County, for those unaware). 

[Tow Mater]

The next day, Kye said he was ready for the chairlift, so we enjoyed a few lift runs in the sunshine as a family. Pretty awesome experience.

[His legs didn't reach the edge of the seat.]

[Heather's view: is that blue jacket attached to a person?!?]

Little guy straight-lined the whole ski run unless we forced a turn (manually grabbing his binding). He said, "I'm Lightning McQueen. I want to go FAST!" 

[An evening skin, after lifts closed.]

We spent a day wandering around the town of Nelson, getting groceries and propane. Then, we drove to Ainsworth Hot Springs and set up camp nearby. We enjoyed an evening soak and shower. It's a cool spot, with a warm family pool and some hotter caves.

 [The nice Kootenay Lake campground near Ainsworth]

After cleaning up a bit, we headed back to Whitewater. Brandon got up early and headed out (with plenty of time, phew) to do the Coldsmoke Randonee Race . He felt strong and good during the race, finishing in 3rd place.

[B is far left front with orange pack, 

hidden next to dude in blue skinsuit...the start.]

1st- Philipp Schaedler (center); 2nd place- Ben Parsons (right); 3rd place- Brandon Kern (left)

And one last run for little man, after the race and before we hit the road to head home.

 Somehow he managed to sneak out his sleepy sheep.

The Way Home: Bozeman and Butte

With no open camping in Yellowstone, we loaded Kye up in his carseat after watching Old Faithful and drove to Bozeman, crossing our fingers that our favorite dispersed camping site would be open (on a Friday night, chances were slim). Pulling in around midnight, we were pleased to see our site was completely open!

Kye plays in the creek near our camp

We each got to ride to Emerald Lake, a trail we had to turn-around on a few years back due to snow and incoming lightning. This time, a storm threatened but never really came. It was a fun ride with a pretty lake and beautiful wildflowers.

 Emerald Lake

 I know, it's wrong to pick wildflowers, but I couldn't resist 

and they made a lovely camp arrangement.

 Monster truck & bus take a bath...

 ...and drive some heinous terrain.

We made the short drive from Bozeman to an area called 'White Hall', near Butte, for an overnight and a couple mountain bike rides. 

I rode a loop from Beaver Pond to the Continental Divide trail; it was pretty fun but, for some reason, I was creeped out about bears and cougars and didn't enjoy myself that much as a result. One thing about riding in Montana is that you often go without seeing a soul on the trail. It's pretty great to ride without having to dismount all the time, however, it does give you a sense of vulnerability and wildness, which is both good and scary. 

B left camp early to ride the next day. The second he left the camper, it started to downpour and didn't stop for quite some time. He was hating the ride, but then the rain let up and he got on some awesome single-track and thoroughly enjoyed himself.