Take Me to the Springs

Current obsession: Hot Springs

These places are glorious, miraculous, healing, pools of joy. Ok, well maybe that’s a little much. They are glorious and make you feel so good. They claim to be healing because of the minerals in them, but I’m a little skeptical of the “healing” side of things. I can say they make you feel amazing. Soreness seems to ease away and your skin feels so smooth after. Maybe they are healing.

While we were in Montana, we were trying to find something else to do since the fires and the smoke from them were really bad near our RV park and Glacier National Park. We found another little place called Symes Hot Springs Hotel and they let you purchase day passes to visit the Springs. While these aren’t your natural, in-the-ground type of hot springs, they pump the water from the ground into the pools – no chemicals, nothing. It is just the mineral water and nothing else. We loved it so much, we went back again the next night. We soaked for several hours. They have various levels of pool temperatures which range from hot to hotter (think hotter than a jacuzzi sometimes).

Full-Time RVers Do Glacier National Park and Going to the Sun Road

Glacier National Park Going to the Sun Road Photo Journal Wildfire Smoke Rocks

Have you ever been wanting to go somewhere for so long that you worry if it will meet your expectations? That’s how I felt about Glacier National Park. I’ve been wanting to visit Lake McDonald for years and years. As we got closer to arriving, I started getting concerned that maybe it wouldn’t live up to my expectations.

Wrong.

It met my expectations and more.

Have you ever seen something so beautiful and breathtaking as these mountains and the lake? You can see so far into the water and the rocks are just so colorful.

We got so lucky that we went the first day we arrived and it was clear. We knew the wildfires were approaching, but at the time, they were mostly under control. By the time we had been at Rollins RV Park for a few days, the fires were threatening Glacier and ended up causing massive devastation. One of their famous lodges ended up burning down in the blink of an eye. We were very lucky to see everything before it was covered in smoke and ash. We drove into the park as far as they would let us on our last day in the area and this is what the very same lake looked like.

The other great part about Glacier National Park is Going to the Sun Road. It takes several hours to drive, but the views are incredible. The glaciers aren’t as prominent anymore, but you can still see a few of them.

Full-Time RVers – Campground / RV Park Review: Rollins Restaurant and RV Park – Rollins, Montana near Flathead Lake and Glacier National Park

Rollins Restaurant and RV Park Campground Review Near Flathead Lake and Glacier National Park Montana

We recently left Montana and Glacier National Park and man, was it beautiful. We got lucky and our first few days in the area were gorgeous, clear days. Then, the wildfires rolled in, the smoke settled, and it just got nasty. Unfortunately, this meant we didn’t get to spend much time outside in this beautiful state. We were thankful for the time we did get to spend outside though as our first day in town we immediately went to Glacier National Park to see Lake McDonald and drive Going to the Sun Road (click here to read about our journey through Glacier).

We stayed at Rollins Restaurant and RV Park and it was such a cute little place! Lots of great features!

This RV park had my favorite amenity so far – a really delicious restaurant that we ate at a few too many times. They claimed the spot for second favorite amenity too! They have a huge rec room that has a full kitchen – as in, I was able to bake brownies in their full-size kitchen stove. Why is this a big deal you ask? Well, I manage to burn EVERYTHING in our RV oven so I quit using it already. Maybe I’ll figure it out one day.

Cuteness factor: The “fence” in the front of the park made from old bicycles=adorable
Not so great: Cell phone service or lack there of=not great working conditions.

Let’s talk about the restaurant for a minute because it clearly steals the show here. They have delicious food both breakfast and lunch/dinner. The burgers are delicious. The salad is even better. The burger with a salad as the side is a total grand slam. If you’re close to me, you know I have a sauce obsession. I dip everything I eat in something. Well just know my heart now belongs to Rollins Restaurant who brought out 5 sauce bottles with my burger. Let’s just say, I put Ranch dressing with BBQ sauce, and fry sauce on my salad. The sauces were so good, I couldn’t eat just one… Let’s also take a minute to appreciate the best part though, at breakfast, they make their own syrup. It is caramel and it very well could be the best thing I’ve ever eaten. By the end of the trip, I was ordering items a la carte so I could get more bacon to dip in they syrup. An order of hashbrowns and a few orders of bacon with a side of caramel syrup are a healthy breakfast, right? Right. Did I mention there’s a meat market on property as well? There is, so all the meat is REALLY fresh.

Unfortunately, from a work-from-home perspective, Rollins RV Park doesn’t make the cut. Cell phone service is very weak and I had trouble on several occasions. I could perform basic functions but when it came time to upload/download files, I had issues. Luckily, we have our WeBoost 4GX-RV which is a total lifesaver in situations like this. I was able to get enough service to transfer files and upload them when needed, but we would have had to leave the park if we didn’t have the booster.

Meet Me Under that Big Montana Sky

Gardiner Montana Yellowstone Full Time RV

A few weeks ago, we made it to Livingston, Montana for the 4th of July holiday. We were only there for a few brief days to enjoy the rodeo and a quick trip to the Northern part of Yellowstone National Park. We ventured to the rest of Yellowstone at our next stopping point, but here’s a few pictures of our brief time in the area. For more pictures, check out this post on the Beartooth Highway and this post on the Livingston Rodeo.

We had our first experience with west coast hail! It was insane and completely unpredictable. We were driving down the road when all of a sudden, golf ball size hail started hitting our car. Now that we’re a few weeks later, we’ve quickly learned that with rain comes hail about 10 minutes later. It still freaks us out every single time. It is terribly loud when it hits a metal RV.

And a few funny ones of the parents below. 🙂

Wheat from a field and an old school telephone booth INSIDE a pharmacy – it is how you talk to the pharmacist!

Round ’em Up

Livingston Montana Rodeo July 4 Full Time RV Campground

When deciding where to go, we searched for “Best 4th of July Fireworks in the West” and stumbled upon the Livingston Roundup Rodeo. Man, I’m glad we did. We love going to the Wrangler NFR in Vegas, but it was really awesome to see a small-town rodeo. It is such a different experience, but it is better in so many ways!

The fireworks show was pretty awesome too (and that means a lot coming from a Disney girl). Video at the end of the full fireworks display that just screamed America thanks to the great music choices!

Bear Teeth are Intimidating

Beartooth Highway Yellowstone National Park Drive and Review Full Time RV

And by bear teeth, I don’t mean the teeth of a bear – I mean, the Beartooth Highway in Montana. This small, winding road right outside of Yellowstone National Park is one of the windiest roads I’ve ever been on – and we’ve visited the mountains a lot. While it had some of the prettiest views we’ve seen so far, it took a lot of time and stressful driving to get there. Check out some of these views!