Escaping the Everyday

Escaping the Everday
Diaries

2,968 miles down, 0 miles to go!

April 12, 2024

At 5pm we arrived at our destination in Montana! The drive into Bozeman was absolutely beautiful. You could see the mountains for miles and all the rolling hills. We were getting even more excited the closer we got to the place we were renting.

When we arrived at the place, we were looking around and the place was disgusting. There were stains and dirt all over the floor and countertops. There were even hens living in the house… HENS! It was so bad that Cassie was eating things off the floor. Who knows what she was trying to eat.

Jake and I knew we were not going to be able to stay there, especially with my allergies. We both were trying not to panic but we just drove 42 hours to our new home and we might be homeless. We also didn’t know anyone living in MT to potentially help. Bozeman is such a hot spot right now, that everything was out of our price range, or places are just not available.

Half an hour after googling and calling family, we posted on a Facebook group we joined awhile back about housing/renting in Bozeman.

We got some hits right away but everything people had available was out of our budget. Finally, one gentleman messaged us about a cabin that we could potentially rent for a few months that was slightly over budget but nothing unmanageable.

We talked to him on the phone to get a little more insight on the place and it sounded great, so we decided to go for it. We really didn’t have any other option. When we got to the cabin, it was a little up in the mountains and it was so cute and cozy. Jake and I loved it the second we saw it.

Everything happens for a reason and I truly believe that. Our landlord has been so amazing! He’s a fellow hiker and has been giving us a bunch of recommendations for great trails in the area and just in Bozeman as well. Also tips on making sure we are safe out there as it’s much different than the White Mountains.

I think we finally went to bed at midnight after driving 10 hours and finding our original place was a dump. We did get a full refund from the original place as well.

April 13, 2024

Saturday was pretty much a cleaning and shopping and trying to get our cabin to feel like home. We traveled over to downtown Bozeman which we are about 20 minutes away from. It’s been something we’ve had to adjust to because living in Scarborough/Portland, ME, everything was 5 minutes away.

We hope to do some more exploring downtown in the near future!

April 14, 2024

Today we went on our first hike! It was a smaller hike in Bozeman, but it was great for Cassie and a great hike to start out the season! We can’t get over how different it is out west but it’s BEAUTIFUL!

Last summer Cassie wasn’t able to go hiking with us because… well let’s just say she was too wild and had a terrible recall. She has come such a long way since then and I’m so proud of her!

The hike was called Drinking Horse Mountain Trail in Gallatin Country, MT. This was a fairly easy hike but definitely has some beautiful views. It’s dog friendly which was a huge plus for us.

It was a 2.54 mile hike, 735ft of elevation gain and took us about 1 hour and 2 minutes. Came out to about a 24 minute pace. If you’re ever in Bozeman and looking for an easier trail, this is it!

Talk to you on our next adventure!