Mountain Lane Homesteaders

How we got there and what happened next....

Montana here we come!  Oh yeah.  The gas, hotel, and food............

I don't remember exactly how it came about (many things about those days have become foggy because so much was happening so quickly) but upon hearing about our interview in Montana, one of our family members who understood the call of the west promptly mailed us an unexpected gift of $600 which we determined was enough for gas there, a one night stay once there, a bit of food, and MAYBE enough to get back to Iowa.  So............we went to the library and checked out 100 library books to keep the 3 kids (ages 10, 8, and 6) occupied in the van, loaded up and took off.  The red engine light?  Still on.  Only prayer kept me sane over this one.  I had to force myself not to think about the "what if's" of vehicle breakdown somewhere in South Dakota or Wyoming in the middle of the night.

We knew that $600 was only going to last so long for a 3000 mile journey so we saved everywhere we could.  We packed food to take along rather than eating out and we also planned to drive as long as we could into the night and then pull over to a rest stop to sleep.  I can't remember how far we made it during that first part of the drive but I know that by the time we actually made it to our destination we had been in the van traveling in the same clothes and with little sleep, WITH 3 KIDS, for about 24 hours straight.  Thankfully there were no mechanical breakdowns.

So now we are nearing the little town with the "drool property" I talked about a few days ago where it was advertised "40 acres just 6 miles off a paved road where you can watch bears, mountain lions, and big horn sheep from your living room."  I was looking down at the map to see how close we were getting to where we needed to be when my husband Sam started shouting......"There's a BEAR, there's a BEAR, THERE'S A BEAR IN THE ROAD!"  I looked up from the map just in time to see an adorable little black bear cub waddling across the road.  IT'S a SIGN!  God is indeed blessing this trip.  I will always believe that the bear crossing that road was put there by God just to bless US and let us know that He knew the desires of our hearts.

We went just a few more miles after that moment still high on the thrill of seeing a BEAR........when we stopped and called the realtor to see if she would give us directions to the property.  We still had a couple of hours before the interview was scheduled and wanted to go and look at it.  She hesitated on the phone and said something like "I think I'd better just meet you over there and you can follow me up" indicating that it was not an easy place to find. 

Without going in to every single detail about that excursion I will just tell you that it may have been only 6 miles off the paved road, but it must have taken about 30 minutes to go those 6 miles.  We are talking a real mountain road here folks with ruts and boulders like our poor van had never seen before!  As we were creeping up this moutain I was getting more and more stressed, the kids were beginning to feel car sick, and my husband had a grin on his face like the Cheshire cat!  I don't even know that the run down places we were driving by or the dirt driveway with the keep out sign chained shut by a row of beer cans phased him.  Anyway, by the time we got to the top, let's just say no one was drooling any more!  Sam looked around and asked 1000 questions while the girls looked up at me in fear..."MOM......?????" and Caleb sat in the van looking like he was going to be sick.  After assuring the girls that we would NOT be living up here and getting Sam back into the van we began our 30 minute trip down.  By the time we were at the bottom even Sam had to admit that this place was just a little more "remote" than even he was willing to go!

Unfortunately I am out of blog time for right now as it's time to think about making supper but I'll write more soon about the interview.  Thanks for dropping in with me while I take my trip down memory lane.

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7:46 PM, Thursday, July 13, 2006 .. Posted by candy

Oh how much fun it is reading your adventure. I will be looking for the update! You were a brave soul!

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10:14 PM, Thursday, July 13, 2006 .. Posted by morningsunshine

oh, what a place to stop! cruel, cruel, cruel is what you are. :)
I cannot wait ot hear what happened next

more, more!

8:50 AM, Friday, July 14, 2006 .. Posted by deedee06

Darcy, you're a very gifted writer. I can see a book written by you in some of our local stores. The tourists would snap it up!....................Denise