Simplicity

With the time change I have found the days to be drastically shorter. I don't know what it is exactly that makes this new place so cozy. Perhaps its the stillness of the night. Maybe it's just being back in my right element. We both agree, that this is definitely one cozy spot.

After the whirlwind of craziness over the past 2 months things are FINALLY settling down. Not a whole lot but something is better then nothing, right? Last week we had the most beautiful of days. Fair weather - I think it reached 70 around the middle of the week. Just when I tossed my hoodie back in the closet we had a lovely gust of a high around 30 the next day blow in. I do love that about winters out west. It seems they give you a break. It's never consistently freezing for months on end. At least not since I've been here. You get little breaks. Though I must admit I do pay close attention to the rumors as they continue to fly...this is supposed to be one bad winter. Lots of snow and lots of cold.

I'm not too worried though, there is always a way. We did experience some serious freezing of the hoses already which was a little inconvenient. Especially since living like this involves a whole lot of pumping fluids into this beast. We've found some great back up plans for these times even if they involve multiple trips to the laundry mat to move enough water for a shower & teeth brushing. Luckily for Brandon, he is with a Wisconsin girl and we know how to defrost things like no other! So I've already stepped into action on the defrosting department & would make you Wisconsin girls proud.

Over the past couple of weeks there has been a lot of monitoring & creating new and innovative ways of doing things. Every night it feels a little more like home as well as every night I am more and more glad to be out of town!

We've arranged for some loggers to come in next month to remove some beetle kill. We still need to get a larger propane tank but for now these smaller ones work very well.

The dogs are getting settled in. We always double check outside after dark before we let them out. It shouldn't be too long before a moose or bear is standing out there poking around the "yard".  Would hate to have an incident. The trauma from it alone would force me to pull this sucker by hand back to civilization.

We've renewed our love for playing the game Mario Brothers and have spent endless hours into the dark night up here in the hills trying to beat Bowser after Bowser. We have fun like kids, feeling young & full of life. We've found that this move has renewed a sense of youth in us. We don't really know why we feel that way but we definitely are enjoying it.

The snow is falling & this week we hope to get a plow out here or it's just a short matter of time before we're snowed in this snow cave (which wouldn't be so bad mind you).

I write this with flakes slowly fumbling their ways to the ground outside my windows. The dogs and I just returned from a walk that was cut short because of an apparent starving old Akita who insisted on running full force back to the camper for her bone without waiting for us.

We hiked along a trail with about an inch of fresh snow. All so fresh, no tracks aside from our own. Birds screech out their sirens as we pass by, informing the entire forest of our presence. To my left I noticed a beautiful wide area in the creek with a crystal clear sheet of ice covering it. Basin was so excited - his first experience with ice! He was a typical malamute - extremely cautious, innately tapping the ice with just the tip of his toe nail before even thinking about putting a foot on it!  It was beautiful. I had to slack for a moment and actually admit how freaking beautiful winter can be and maybe even admit that I can learn to love it.

A family of beavers swam by beneath the crystal layer. I watched in unbelief trying to make sense of these enormous blobs who were on a mission below the waters surface.  They didn't mind that I was there. They knew I meant them no harm. I smiled as Basin and I returned to Kaycee & her gigantic bone. The beauty in the simplest of things is so often the best.

Until  next time - from the camper in the mountains of Montana, take care!