Sparky Needs A Hair Cut

July 28-30, 2019

Choteau RV Camp, Choteau, Montana

Day 44-46

Another beautiful, sunny and hot day. The drive to Choteau (Sho-toe) took about 4 hours with 3 stops. Most of the drive, I was the only car for miles. Sometimes I wouldn’t see anyone for 20 minutes. Route was almost all rural state roads with no shoulder. These roads are a little bumpier and not really safe to be driving over 65 mph. I truck along at 55-60 mph for most of the way, even though the limit is 70 mph. One of my biggest fears, on these types of roads, is deer! They come out all times of day now, and they are so swift. I drive with both hands on the wheel, though not white knuckling it, and staying as alert as possible. The consequences are real. This is why I only drive about 4 hours when pulling the trailer. Anything more is too draining.

The scenery is still fantastic! Blue skies, green plains and rolled hay. Perfect color hues. There are cattle grazing, rolling hills and prairie. I see the same landscape for miles, it doesn’t get boring.

There is a forest fire north of Helena, which I am now driving thru on I5. Helena, the state capital, is sprawling with businesses and homes. There’s a lot of construction on the highway that eventually is a crawl thru barriers. The speed limit is now 25 mpg and it’s very, very narrow for the next few miles. Stressful, but fortunately it's only for a few miles.

I finally arrive around 2pm, and I am greeted by a really nice family that owns the camp. They put me near one of the few trees (great!). After unhitching and grabbing a bite, we go downtown to the city park and play ball. There are lots of trees and a creek. It’s really a perfect city park. There are no dog signs, so I take my chances. Everyone is nice and no one says anything. We play ball for a long time. He’s happy and exhausted.

Back to camp, I do laundry – what a deal at $1.25 a load! Machines are old and only take coin. Owner says it would cost her too much to get newer machines with credit card. Just easier to keep these old ones at this price. Ok😊.

Choteau is a big small town with only about 1700 people. There's a lot of farming business done in this town which keeps it going. It also has a nice family feel. You can buy a house here for less than $100K or as much as $5M.

Day 2 – Computer catch-up day then off to the town museum. Admission is just $2! It has everything from dinosaur bones, to how the town was settled and the last public hanging. I definitely feel like I am in the old West. Everyone I meet here is genuinely nice. They tell me the weather is not that bad in the winter, and I could grow a rose garden here (one of my requirements for a place to live). Not sure about the rose garden, I will need to check on that.

By a chance conversation, I find out that there is a dog groomer in town. I call and get an appointment for Sparky immediately!!! He is looking a little disheveled and needs grooming. I drop him off and get a call two hours later that he is ready…for $40 😊. During my little vacation from him, I go to the store and try and pick up some groceries. It’s so hard to find non-commodity produce around here. Drove around town to see some of the historical homes. Nothing extraordinary or grandiose but it feels like a nice town to live in.

Once back at camp, I see two other Airstreams!! I go over and introduce myself to Steve & Renee and Scott & Patty. We make plans visit over wine tonight. Turns out that Scott & Patty live in the outer Richmond in SF, just a few miles from where I lived. They also had a second home in Lake County that Patty was in during the fires two years ago. Devastating. Both couples have been on the road for a while. Steve & Renee will continue traveling and Scott & Patty need to get back to SF within a few weeks. We talk about the Airstream Customer Council and a little bit about each of our journeys. Turns out that Scott applied for a spot too. It’s nice to connect with other Airstreamers! Look forward to keeping in touch with them.