After viewing the land near Cody, Wyoming, we are keen to keep on heading north. Montana is a state that neither Jake or I have been to, yet falls high on our list of candidates for the new home-base. Though its slightly remote and arid there is a lot of interesting craggy hillsides and unique foliage. Once we came upon Billings, we turned west on I-90 toward Bozeman and Missoula. The landscape changed again showing dense greenery and steadily rising mountain peaks. This is a great sign!

We drove for 2 days, stopping off at a few places between Billings and Missoula. We found some great bootleg campgrounds, which by the way, are not very easy to find anywhere. I happened upon a great phone app that gives great tips for places that one can camp for free, though it comes with some caveats: shady characters and less pretty places. Beggars can’t be choosers and we were just glad to have found places to rest our weary heads.

That said, we were equally happy when we could stay in a hotel for a night or three. Montana is really hot this time of year, with temperatures raising into the mid-90’s. So when we arrived in Missoula, we were stoked to get air conditioning and wifi at the small expense of a hotel room. It feels great to sleep in a bed and our ability to scout for land is made immensely easier.

Jake found us a lot of potential properties to view near Missoula that ranged from 40-acres to 160-acres. In our mind’s eye, the 160 acre lots seemed most appealing, but then we really didn’t grasp how large these parcels are due to giant features that lay on part, most, or all of the properties. This included mountains, canyons or ravines. There were no boundary markers either, so we had to do a fair amount of guessing.

We were always so excited if we could find a parcel of land. Many of them are very remote and old Blue often couldn’t make the drive requiring the hunt on foot. Some of the parcels were so varied with terrain that Jake and I would lose one another. Its funny and scary at the same time. I wasn’t prepared to deal with bears and moose if they happened upon me. Despite the hardships, we really loved the beauty of this area. Our vision for Bosco Station came alive and sealed this area as a primary contender.

A few hours north of Missoula showed some promising land. We found a campground at the northern edge of Flathead Lake to setup basecamp for a few days. The campground is on a sloping mountain but it has trenches dug out and spaced for cars or RV’s to fit perfectly. It also gives nice shade and privacy, so we were really comfortable. It was almost perfect, other than the mosquitos.

Land up here was a lot more difficult to find. Often the roads were impassable which meant our success rate seriously dropped off. Its frustrating after spending so many hours in pursuit with nothing to show for it other than miles on the van and gas money out of our pockets. We had to do something fun to make up for this misery, so we stopped off at silly tourist spots like the Huckleberry Patch, where we ate delicious huckleberry pie and browsed silly knick-knacks.

Another fun detour, which also happens to be the third National Park on our circuit, Glacier National Park. Basecamp is only about an hour south and the roads are very accessible, so its a no-brainer. Glacier is one of those places on Jake’s bucket list so we absolutely HAD TO GO.

Glacier is similar to Yellowstone in that it is super crowded. Its also GIGANTIC, spanning out into Canada. There are probably thousands of backcountry trails that one could get lost on. The access to the park was only hindered by snowy and icy roads to the north, so we limited our touring to the southern end of the park.

We took the main road that winds up into the heart of Glacier Park, stopping off at various pullouts to take photos and walk around. The drive grew steeper and more narrow, and equally more crowded. Sometimes the car would be right at the edge, from which you can see hundreds of feet below. Its freaky for this one who is afraid of heights. I kept yelling at Jake to pull over so I could take photos. I’m sure he hated this, but its just the nature of the beast when traveling with Jill 😉

This is the gorgeous scenic route that goes to the top of the mountain and also has some great park information and trails. Unfortunately it was packed and we couldn’t find parking anywhere, so we skipped it and headed back down to lesser crowded areas. We hiked cedar forests and the valleys of smaller peaks. It was a perfect, warm and sunny day, and the views were spectacular. There was a huge lake that proved a perfect place to wander, watch the ducks and enjoy the fresh, crisp glacial air.

As we made our way toward the exit, a dozen horses (no riders) were being herded by one guy on the other side of the street. It was clear he was struggling to keep them in order, and they kept wandering into the street of oncoming traffic. Eventually traffic had to stop while they moved on toward wherever their final destination is. It was kind of funny to watch the horses and see the crazy long backup they caused. I felt bad for everyone on the other side of the road. We lucked out and had no hangups.

Glacier National Park is absolutely breathtaking. Its wonderful that this area is preserved for people to enjoy, hopefully, for years to come. Its one of those places that needs a lot more exploring from this crew as well!