I often feel like spirituality is something other people experience. I’ve never felt connected to a greater being, and I wonder if my feelings about the land and nature aren’t a little forced. And when I get emotional while witnessing indigenous ceremonies, my tears are probably a whole lot of racial guilt. Some places are […]
Author: Shelly
Leaving the Bath at Sleeping Buffalo
I feel silly posting again from Nelson Reservoir in northern Montana, because we were there for only a few days and we’re headed into Canada where I’ll have tons of photos I’ll want to save here. Still, what a beautiful spot we were in. Banjo got to be outside all day long every day, lying […]
Nature Bathing at Sleeping Buffalo
We’re in northern Montana, having driven the Hi-Line (US Highway 2) west from Ironwood, Wisconsin, through Minnesota and North Dakota, until we hit this water reclamation area near the tiny town of Sleeping Buffalo. Man did Tracy’s boondocking skills pay off here. We all three sighed in relief when we drove down the dirt road […]
Tilted Bookcase Tiny Coffee Shop
There’s a new tiny house kit style out that’s in the shape of a book; you build the street scene inside the book with it open, and then you close it and put the book on your shelf so the scene’s viewable only when you peer into the spine. Clearly, this is not one of […]
Surprising City Parks
In anticipation of me learning how to use my new camera and of our upcoming trip to Alaska, I’ve changed the layout of the blog to span the full screen so that photos will be larger. The downside is that previous posts now look wonky, with small images that aren’t centered. If you’re looking at […]
Long Travel Days to Bois Brule
We have been booking it lately, and, inexplicably, I feel like we’ve finally arrived. Maybe because this campsite feels like a destination we’d choose, a real camping spot, as opposed to somewhere to meet people or have an appointment or get from Point A to Point B. It took a while to get here, though. […]
Can’t Believe I Cussed at My Son
I had just set up the board game, Sequence, and was explaining to Finn how to play. As I was pointing out that the order of the cards on the board seems kind of random, he popped in with, “I see it. They go in a spiral.” Good grief, I’ve been playing this game for […]
The $1k Shower Door
I remember clearly the travel day last fall when we stopped at a strip mall so I could get more Tiny House glue at a Michael’s. We ate lunch in the trailer while we were parked, so I quickly threw the glue in the shower because that’s where my Tiny House bin lives. The Oversight […]
Gearing Up (and Down) for Alaska
We’ve got two weeks before we cross into Canada and start our journey north, which means that our stops these days are all about last-minute Alaska provisions. Aka: buying stuff! For people who don’t even live in a house, we sure do buy a lot of household goods. Seriously, this is the haul waiting for […]
Warm Friends in Cold Places
We’d just pulled into a casino parking lot in Altoona, Iowa, and were setting up inside when a security guard knocked on the trailer door. We brace for trouble: After having driven around the huge casino several times, we’d chosen a quiet lot over by the horse track instead of the designated (and full) RV […]

