“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” As we all sit here watching Ferris Bueller’s Day Off four hours before Montana’s shelter in place order takes effect, I can’t help but smile at Ferris’s words of wisdom. We decided to sell our house and take off in our Airstream about nine months ago to stop, travel the country, and take some time to look around. We had hoped to be back on the road by now, but it seems life had different plans for us (all of us).
Just a few weeks ago, our plan was to leave Whitefish on March 17 to spend a week in Banff, Canada. After that, we were going to work our way back to Las Vegas to pick up the Airstream and spend a few months traveling up the California coast into Oregon and Washington. We had plans to visit the national parks of Yosemite, Redwoods, Crater Lake, Olympic, and North Cascades. Our route would take us along huge stretches of the Pacific coast. We could not wait to get back on the road and continue our adventures.
About a week before we were going to leave for Canada, the U.S. banned travel from Europe due to the growing COVID-19 pandemic. If flights from Europe could be canceled, could travel from Canada be canceled as well? We decided it would probably be best to not leave the country. I texted the the owner of house we were renting to ask if we could stay in Whitefish a little longer to figure things out. He said we could extend until March 20, when he would be coming down with his family. The following day, he texted and said they were no longer going to be able to travel from Canada. We could stay longer, if we wanted. That must have been a sign.
We decided to stay in Whitefish a couple more weeks until things blew over and calmed down. Montanans are known for their individualism, self-sufficiency, and willingness to always help a neighbor. Sounds like a pretty good place to be when the whole world is going crazy. Several friends told us that they could not imagine a better place to be than in the Airstream traveling around in the middle of nowhere during these times. While that sounds great in theory, in practice, we longed for a greater sense of security and home. Yes, “home is where you park it” when we are together as a family. However, there is a lot to be said for having new friends, stocked grocery stores, and reasonable people around you. Whitefish provides that sense of home we need in times like these.
When we arrived in Whitefish, Montana in early January, we could have never imagined how much we would end up loving this place. We had no idea then what our plan was going to be after we hit the “end of the road” in Washington. Well, I guess Archer knew. She always said we would end up moving to Whitefish. In our previous blog post, we talked about our decision to stay here and buy a home. At the time, we had no idea how much the world would change. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped nearly 3,000 points the day we signed the papers to close on the house. Were we still making the right decision? Would I ever be able to find a job in a remote corner of Montana in what surely will be a bad recession?
At least we still had skiing. One good thing about staying in Whitefish for another couple of weeks was that we would get to extend our ski season. We love the mountain here and it provided a great escape from the reality of what was going on in the world. However, shortly after we decided to stay, ski resorts started to close. First, the large resorts owned by Vail and Intrawest closed. Big Sky followed suit shortly thereafter but Whitefish was still open.
The kids were able to make it to their final ski lesson on a Sunday. It was great. It was a powder day and they had a cookout with all the kids for lunch. But there was still a sense of sadness in the air. A liftie told us why about 1:00 that afternoon. Whitefish was closing down for the season that afternoon. There was an impromptu party at the summit after last chair before everyone enjoyed that final run of the season. I was able to meet the goal I had set for myself by skiing over 1,000,000 vertical feet in one season that day. I guess I thought that would earn me my official ski bum badge or something? In hindsight, the goal seems kind of silly when I think of all the lifties we had seen and talked to all season losing their jobs that day.
The couple of weeks we decided to stay have passed and nothing has blown over or calmed down. So, we have decided to extend our stay in Whitefish for at least another month, through April. We can’t get into our new house until June 1, so we will need to play May be ear depending on what state the world is in. With parks and campgrounds throughout the country closing, we have accepted the fact that the trip of the Silver Baguette may very well be over, at least for now. There will no doubt be more trips on her as we explore the Northwest, but it may not be as full-timers anymore.
A few weeks ago, I would have never imagined that we would be under a shelter in place order. Luckily, the order in Montana specifically states that you can leave your home to recreate outside (as long as you practice social distancing). I love Montana values. There are few enough people and enough space outside that you can actually pull that off here.
Until the world gains some sense of normalcy again, we will try to spend as much time outside as we safely can. There is a trailhead for the Whitefish Trail less than a mile from the house where we can hike and trail run. I have fallen in love with ski touring where you have to hike up the mountain to ski back down – “earn your turns” as they say. Whitefish is surrounded by beautiful lakes we can explore. We are grateful we are in a place where we can still enjoy the outdoors.
We are all living through some pretty crazy times right now. If nothing else, hopefully times like these force us (allow us) all to stop and look around. Look around and reflect on what is really important in our lives. Yes, our plans have changed, but I don’t feel like we are missing a thing in life right now. We get to continue to spend time together as a family in a beautiful place and life will always be an adventure. So, yes, I still think we are making the right decision. I hope everyone stays safe. Hopefully, we will get to see you all again one day, preferably in Montana.
Hey are you still in Whitefish? What are you up to? I hope you and your family are healthy and doing well. LIOB, Rebecca