RV travel of more than a week isn’t a “vacation” per se. It’s just doing what you do at home, but in a series of new and interesting locations. Call it “regular life … but elevated!” Here are some examples from Whitefish and Bigfork, Montana, which are about 35 miles apart from each other, and where we spent 10 collective days.

We “eat local”!

At home in Arizona, eating local would primarily be tacos and prickly-pear margaritas, maybe with a side of dates. Here on Flathead Lake during the short harvest season of late July and early August, eating local means CHERRIES, one of the highlights of summer, with roadside stands lining the lake from Bigfork south to Polson.

Pick your own, or have somebody else do it, and be sure to check the mirror for that sweet red juice running down yo face.

Also local to Montana? HUCKLEBERRY everything. They have elevated this humble wild fruit to cult status, putting huckleberry into literally everything. Huckleberry salsa, BBQ sauce, burger glaze, mustard, popcorn, smoothies, vodka, potato chips, you name it, it’s got huckleberry in it.

We hang out with friends!

Of course, we miss our friends back home. But getting together with friends on the road is elevated when it has been many, many years since we’ve seen each other. The gatherings are also elevated with cool, outdoor, scenic locations!

Bonsai Brewing Company in Whitefish: Great beers, delicious food, fun outdoor setting, dog-friendly.

Lakeside Tiki Bar @ The Lodge at Whitefish Lake: Cool resort, fabulous lakeside setting, mediocre food, terrible service.

DeSoto Grill in Kalispell (15 mi south of Whitefish). Really great BBQ in a funky, car-themed old blacksmith forge.

We entertain the dog!

Finn’s life is definitely elevated on the road, but especially in Whitefish, where one of the country’s best dog parks exists! We’re talking FIVE ACRES of immaculately groomed grass, agility games, shady covered pavilions, walking paths for humans, and even a splash lake!

Since we don’t have grandkids to read to, Finn has to step in and fill the bill. She was able to elevate her I.Q. on the Storybook Stroll at Bigfork’s Flathead Lake State Park, where local librarians have posted pages from kids’ books along the trail.

We try to act cultured!

Sure, we go to concerts and plays at home, but here, it’s elevated with tons of fun outdoor venues, surprisingly talented artists, and fine art galleries and shows. In fact, Bigfork has been designated as “One of the 100 Best Small Art Towns of the Nation.”

Theater in these small towns is surprisingly elevated with long-running professional troupes, like at Bigfork’s Playhouse Theater, one of the best small-town theaters in the U.S., counting Dallas star Patrick Duffy and veritable actor J.K. Simmons amongst their alumni.

The lobby walls are decorated with programs since their very first season in 1960, when the hit plays of the season were Blythe Spirit, Papa Is All, and Sabrina Fair. (Never heard of them!). This year: Newsies, Frankenstein the Musical, Mean Girls, and Music Man.

We go to the doctor!

We were on the way to elevate ourselves high over Whitefish with a gondola ride and cold beer at Whitefish Mountain Resort. That plan was derailed by the necessity of an emergency appointment to remove Philip’s left big toenail! That day, we finally heard back from a doctor in Kalispell who was willing to come in on his day off and remove the pesky thing, which had been lifting after some steep hiking and was infected underneath. A little numbing, a sharp scalpel and he went from 10 nails to 9.

We work out!

At our ages, regular workouts have to happen no matter where we are, especially as part of Philip’s back surgery recovery. At home in summer, it’s indoor and treadmill only. On the road, workouts get elevated practically to party-time status! We can be outdoors. We can smell the pine trees. The gentle breezes cool our sweaty brow. And we can start with stretches with friends performed on the outside of the RV! (Finn declined to participate.)

And of course, outdoor recreation and an elevated heart rate are just (literally) footsteps away, with hiking, biking and kayaking galore here in beautiful Montana.

We salute the flag!

Sure, we have an American flag hung on our house in Phoenix, but whose patriotism isn’t elevated with a visit to a Montana rodeo? There’s one north of Whitefish in Eureka, and we went to Brash Rodeo in Columbia Falls, 12 mi east of Whitefish. Here, expect the start of the rodeo to be delayed by the Pledge of Allegiance, a crowd rendition of America the Beautiful and the Star-Spangled Banner, and a (not-kidding) 10-minute-long prayer thanking God for country, cowboys, military members, family, sweet corn, firefighters, church, BBQ and so much more.

If you prefer your patriotism on the quiet side, launch your kayak into Bigfork’s Swan River and paddle under the Swan River Bridge, a rare single-lane crossing where users must elevate their manners and take turns passing over the flag-draped span. Swan River flows into Flathead Lake (the largest freshwater lake by surface in the western U.S.), where you can continue your easy float and ogle the cabins and mansions lining the shore. Which leads us to our next category ….

We creep on the neighbors via Zillow!

Montana is wayyyy trendy these days, especially with the popularity of TV shows like Yellowstone and The Madison and 1923. Meaning, real estate prices have elevated substantially in recent years, especially in Whitefish. But don’t worry! I have found a waterfront property that can be yours for less than $750,000, some work required.

Here’s the place we would reallllly want. You know it’s gonna be a lot when it has a name: “Bear Dance.” Zillow tells us it’s actually 4 or 5 individual units under that expansive roof, with each at least $2.2 million and $850/month HOA. Still, so gorgeous.

We do chores!

Yes, RV life isn’t all glamour. Still, chores are elevated to speed-racer status when your home is only 200 square feet. We carry a full fleet of tools and spare parts for more complicated chores, like flushing the tanks or replacing the toilet seal ring. Nope, RV travel doesn’t get you away from gross tasks, it actually brings you closer.

We watch the Arizona Cardinals lose!

At home, we either endure a slow slog through crawling traffic to Cardinals Stadium on the other side of Metro Phoenix, or are pinned to the couch inside our house by unrelenting heat. The elevated version has us taking three steps outside, surrounded by trees and soft whispers of cool wind, cheap drinks, burgers on the RV grill, and no porta-pottie lines. It definitely makes our support of the world’s worst football team (ok, except maybe the Dolphins) a little more bearable!

What’s Also Elevated … Wildfire Smoke Numbers.

Ughhhh — **shakes fist at the sky** — the west is burning. We’ve been in smoke from surrounding (and we do mean SURROUNDING) wildfires for much of the past two weeks — and that’s not likely to change anytime soon. Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana — everyone is battling this summer. What can we do, but continue to sample local beers and imagine the scenery behind the smoke veil. Oh well!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yep, long-term RV travel is all about elevating daily life, keeping the things we love (each other, Finn, adventure, music, nature) but doing it differently! We’re halfway through this summer’s trip and hope you’ve been enjoying the ride along with us!