Back to Bozeman

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We left Des Moines for Bozeman on Sunday morning around 8:00 a.m. and drove straight through until about 11:30 p.m. It was a LONG day! But driving in the RV as opposed to a car is like night and day. It’s still such a novelty to be able to get up and go to the restroom without stopping…and being able to make meals on the go is a big time saver. We headed across Iowa and into South Dakota. In Murdo, SD, we stopped to look for some grease and found LOTS of it at a little diner there. While Matt was filling up, I was able to snag a wi-fi connection and catch up on some emails. While I was sitting there, I noticed that there was a gentleman looking at our rig intently and also at Matt. I wandered over there with Bella because he had two small children…and we started to chat. Turns out that he was curious about using veggie oil as fuel, because he has a horse trailer that he pulls with a diesel semi. We chatted for quite a while and told gave him a card…directing him to check out Golden Fuel Systems’ website…because they are one of the few companies doing larger vehicle conversions.

Back on the road again, we hit a big storm…complete with a little hail. We heard one of our awnings flapping in the wind, so we pulled off on a scenic outlook. It was there that we met a friendly couple from Ann Arbor who just happened to be heading to Montana…near Bozeman to be exact! Small world. I have a feeling there will be a lot of small world moments during our travels. We talked to them at length about our tour and about veggie oil. It’s always fun to spread the love :). It was super windy, but the sky was gorgeous. Bella loved running around the prairie with her hair blowing in the wind. There was even a rainbow! It was a wonderful blessing to stop and experience God’s creation in that way.

We ended up hitting Rapid City at 10:00 p.m. We were getting pretty tired at that point and decided to stop for coffee. Betty told us where to go for a cup of joe…but what we didn’t know was that it was the city-wide fireworks show that night, and we drove right into the middle of it. Oops. But we got our coffee and made it out ok…despite the thousands of people milling about and celebrating. We headed to Gillette, WY, where we parked for the night in the Wal-Mart parking lot. I don’t like Wal-Mart or their practices, but if they want to loan their slab of cement to me for FREE so I sleep…it’s ok with me.

At around 6 a.m. the next morning, we woke up and hit the road. We located some more coffee and while I was ordering, Matt went to find some grease. We found some at a little Mexican restaurant next door (why they were there before 7 a.m. is beyond me). While Matt pumped, I made some scrambled eggs for everyone.

It was another long day on the road, but we finally pulled into Bozeman around 5:00 p.m. and we were greeted by Mindy, Matt’s sister, as soon as we pulled in. She works just a block away from our place, and she was just getting done for the day. It was great to see her smiling face and to be “home” again after 2 months. We were a little worried about parking the RV, because we only have street parking available. Luckily, our neighbor offered to move his car and that created the perfect place for us to park.

We were so excited to get back so we could begin all the renovations on the RV and wrap up all the loose ends. It’s been wonderful seeing our friends and connecting again. We’ll be checking out of our apartment this week and we’ll head up into the mountains to stay with Mindy and her husband, Ryan at Lion’s Ridge. More about their camp here. We’re looking forward to helping out at camp and also enjoying the gorgeous scenery. We LOVE Montana…and will miss it dearly. Our time here, although short, has been wonderful. It’s pristine waters and majestic mountains…be sure to add it to your list of places to visit!

Check out more photos of our trip back to Bozeman here.

15 Comments »

  1. Gorgeous picture, Sara.

    Comment by Andrea — July 10, 2007 @ 1:19 pm

  2. Submit that one to a contest or something. That photo is AMAZING! Dang you are good, girl!

    Comment by Heth — July 10, 2007 @ 1:52 pm

  3. my hubby is so entranced now by the thought of getting a diesel truck and converting it…he looks for them “for sale” every time we are out and about….
    love the renovations! know that it will be just darlin’!

    Comment by Aimee — July 10, 2007 @ 8:30 pm

  4. Sara~

    All of us here at the shop LOVE reading your blog and about your adventures!

    Your pictures are fantastic…I can’t wait to see the updates!

    Jeanne

    Comment by Jeanne — July 11, 2007 @ 2:06 pm

  5. Sara – I hope this isn’t a really dumb question – but how do you guys get power on the go? LIke, how were you cooking scrambled eggs? Do you have to plug into someones electric – or do you have mini solar panels or???

    I’m jur curious…I’ve never traveled by RV! You’re year long trip sounds like it’s going to be a BLAST :D

    Comment by Desiree — July 11, 2007 @ 3:37 pm

  6. Desiree…there is no dumb question :) We have a gas stove, so it can run anytime. We do have solar panels, but they only run auxiliary power (small lights, etc) at this time. We’ll be getting a bigger battery/inverter so we can run more off of it soon.
    The fridge runs on gas or electric…and we have a generator that we can run at anytime…even traveling down the road if necessary.

    Comment by livelightly — July 11, 2007 @ 3:59 pm

  7. Is there a special type of paint you will be using on the walls? What are you going to do to the cupboards? I can’t wait to see how it turns out. I know it will be something special.

    Comment by B — July 11, 2007 @ 11:40 pm

  8. Love that picture!! Just got on the tour and see Indy and Boise are two destinations. You have places to stay at both! Jennifer Anacker is here visiting and lives in Boise. She definitely wants you to let her know when you’re coming through. I’ll send you Jenn’s contact info. Love ya!

    Comment by Melanie Green — July 12, 2007 @ 8:37 pm

  9. Did you hear about this?

    http://www.greenoptions.com/2007/07/12/shutdown_getting_busted_for_straight_vegetable_oil_svo

    Could this happen to you?

    Comment by Megan — July 13, 2007 @ 3:06 am

  10. Aimee…that is so great that your husband has caught the veggie oil bug :) There is a Golden Fuel Systems installation center in N.C. Not too far from you. If he has questions before we get to your place, I’m sure Matt would love to talk to him.

    B…we used AFM Safecoat paint, and painted all the walls and cupboards. We love it! I’ll post pics soon.

    Melanie…we’re coming to Indy just to see you my friend!

    Megan…yes, it’s been in the news for awhile now. I added response to it in the new FAQ section on the homepage.

    Comment by livelightly — July 14, 2007 @ 4:00 am

  11. What an incredible photo!!!

    Comment by Jenny — July 16, 2007 @ 7:44 am

  12. Wow, Sara. Just when I catch up to you, you’re on your way to somewhere new… literally and figuratively! I’m glad I’ve gotten to listen in on your journey from the time when you were still in the house. (Actually, it’s hard to believe that it’s already been that long.)

    Blessings on your journey. Or should I say journeys?

    Comment by L.L. Barkat — July 16, 2007 @ 8:23 pm

  13. Just had to comment on that pic. Wow, is the best I can do!

    Comment by Zayannee — July 18, 2007 @ 1:48 pm

  14. Sara, you are a really gifted photographer! Absolutely beautiful. What kind of camera are you using?

    Hey, regarding the solar system; check out the solar specs for what Jim and my BIL put on our RV. So far it’s really been great. The system has enough power for our dish, laptops and gadgetry. Even while boondocking for 4+ days, we rarely have to run our super quiet generator.

    Comment by Rene — July 18, 2007 @ 4:24 pm

  15. family fun rv center montana…

    How does the rss feed work so I can get updated on your blog?…

    Trackback by family fun rv center montana — July 7, 2008 @ 7:07 am

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