Our (changing) summer travel plans

Like everyone else, we were super excited for summer to get here.  We were planning to head to Colorado for 5 months, hang out with family and friends, ATV a couple times a month, take in Red Rocks concerts, visit Rocky Mountain National Park, find new restaurants…we could go on and on.

Well, our plans have changed!

Moochdocking in Montana

We’re trying to make the best of the situation and still keep our expenses as low as possible, so we’re in Montana for a few weeks.  Carter’s dad (Pop) lives on several acres in the Bitterroot Valley.  That means it’s the perfect area to continue to isolate ourselves in temperatures that aren’t in the 100s we were already seeing in Arizona.

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  Snowcapped Bitterroot Mountains and green fields!

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  Lilacs blooming everywhere!

Our moochdocking spot in the Bitterroot Valley of Montana is absolutely gorgeous!  What’s moochdocking, you ask?  It’s a combination of boondocking and mooching off friends and family.  😊  The bottom line is that we’ve parked our RV in Pop’s yard for the next few weeks.

Lots of people spend big bucks to visit this area for fly fishing, hunting, hot springs, camping, etc., so we feel very blessed to be able to stay for free!  Well, kinda for free.

Moochdocking etiquette

Yes, it’s basically free to stay in Pop’s yard, but we feel like we need to earn our keep in every way.  That means we:

• Help with laundry and other chores
• Mow the yard
• Feed the horses
• Help with hay season
• Run errands

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Here are some other etiquette rules we try to follow while we’re moochdocking:

Help pay for the utilities we use.  For this summer, that really just means electricity.  Pop’s property is on a well and septic tank, and we bring our own internet and TV.  So, there’s minimal expenses on our end.

Park our RV as out of the way as possible.  The last time we stayed with Pop, we parked our rig right by the horses.  Ick.  Bad idea.  We must have had 8 million flies.  So, we got smart (or, so we thought) and moved our RV right between the house and fishing pond.  Unfortunately, that blocked Pop’s view.  Another bad idea!

Our moochdocking spot for the next few weeks.

This year, we parked our RV on the side of the house.  We still have a great view, can see the pond and mountains, and hook up to the sewer line and electrical outlet.

Don’t try to run the onboard air conditioner!  The last thing we want to do is overheat a circuit, so we don’t ever run the onboard air conditioner.  We use a portable air conditioner that runs on a 110 outlet and is crazy efficient.

Cook and bake for everyone.  Holly loves to cook and bake, so we just plan on feeding Pop and Buddy (the dog) at pretty much every meal.  It’s easy, doesn’t cost a lot and lets us all connect over a home-cooked meal.

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  Banana Bread

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  Something healthy between the sweets!

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  Oatmeal chocolate chippies

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  Even a little BBQ!

We’re still not sure where we’re going to go from here, but this isn’t a bad place to hang out for a few weeks.  We’re hoping to visit places we’re considering for a future summer home.  At the top of our list are towns in Montana, Wyoming, and South Dakota.  After that, we want to be in Colorado for a few weeks too.  We miss our Colorado friends and family for sure.

Stay tuned as we keep moseying on this summer!