Montana On My Mind

Our friends Tim and Jimena raved about their river trip last year telling us we needed to go.  They talked about how much fun and relaxing it was rafting down the river.  Thanks to their advice we had an amazingly exciting and heart-pounding adventure this summer.  We were amped to be able to hang out with our good friends for a week, rafting and camping on the Salmon River in Montana.  I brought my cute little two piece bikinis thinking that I would just be laying out comfortably on the rafts while we glided down the river.  Like many rivers, we knew that there would be some currents and waves but we were about to be surprised for what was to come.  We had no clue.

This is where our adventure began.

When we arrived there were kayaks scattered all over the place and huge rafts in the water.  I soon found out that the rafts were mainly for supplies and the kayaks were for us.  I was a little concerned because we had to wear these spray skirts that attached us to the kayak.  At first, I wasn't bothered by it because the water looked so glassy and I've kayaked many times in the bay.

John on the right being intentionally flipped over.

I was feeling excited about entering the water until I saw the guides intentionally flipping over people in their kayaks.  What the heck?!  For one, I hate being underwater.  Second, I'm attached to a kayak!  I was told that I needed to learn how to do an "emergency release" so I tried it once hoping not to use it much that week.

The current and waves were a much bigger than we anticipated.  My little family practiced the emergency release many times that week!  Although our week started with fear and frustration for this new sport, we ended the week excited to come back on another trip with Tarkio Adventures for these reasons:

1) Montana is breath-taking.  Every day we camped at a different beach, all with such beautiful, unique scenery.  We slept under the brightest stars I've ever seen and surprisingly I wasn't attacked by mosquitoes.

I absolutely loved each of the different beaches we camped on.

I wasn't sure about sleeping outside exposed to the elements but that the best way to do it on this trip.

2) Tarkio Adventures did a great job organizing our trip.  The Lewis and Clark staff did an amazing job with setting up camp, cooking yummy meals (so cool what kinds of healthy, delicious food you can create in a dutch oven!) and most importantly, taking care of the groover (if you don't know what I'm talking about, you don't want to know).

Our favorite guide, "Juice". 

Hard-working, fun-loving staff.

3) The guides were the best-- not only were they expert white-water kayakers and great instructors but they were also a blast to hang out with!

Our guides for the week: PK, Tom and Juice (missing Land and Dave).

4) Quality time with those you love.  Getting rid of technology and immersing yourself in nature is a great way to spend time with the people you care most about.

John, Dakotah and I with our besties Tim and Jimena.

5) There are hidden gems, such as hot springs, historical river homesteads and wildlife that includes giant eagles, mountain goats and a toad that peed in my bed!

The hot springs were a little too hot for me-- five-minutes was enough!

6) Time both on and off the river is fun.  When you get to camp you can enjoy appetizers and cocktails, have great conversations, fish, swim, play games, dress up in costume, have a spa day or  rest quietly on your sleeping pad until dinner was being served like I did (at least for the first couple of days because the paddling wore me out!)

Mani-pedis available upon request by 8-year-old Sierra.

Facials with black charcoal to unclog pores.

7) And if you're really not feeling like paddling a kayak, there are other options: the duckie or the Divorce Duckie.  You'll have to go on the trip to find out what these are.

"K-Tal" let us on the raft with him to relax...

No matter what you choose to do, being on the River of No Return is the type of trip everybody should do at least once in their life.  Especially if you go with the folks that we did who challenged us (Thanks Land for the Accelerated Kayak Program), looked after us and pampered us.  Can't wait to go next year!

Transforming the Tundra to CONKSO

Our Toyota Tundra has undergone so many transformations in the last four years.  We have had many adventures in this Tundra transformed to CONKSO.

This is the Tundra in its original form.  

We needed the 4x4 to take us off-road so traditional campers weren't a consideration.

We were able to carry everything we needed, including surfboards, food, water, clothes and a place to sleep.
Previously we carried that huge cooler for food and beer, constantly having to purchase ice every other day.

We loved our Tundra but it was a lot of work packing and unpacking daily because we
had to store some of our things on top of our sleeping quarters.

This gives you a good perspective on where we slept.  John created a bed with a piece of plywood and a foam mattress.
It was a cozy place to sleep, even on a cold night but it was tough not being able to sit up.  We had to shimmy in and out.

The birth of CONKSO.
The Callen Camper changed our life!

John and I got so excited with the potential for this new camper that
we obsessed with learning about what we could do to it.
One of our first and best discoveries was the ARB refrigerator.  John hooked it up to an additional large car battery that was charged by a solar panel-- no more floating food or having to do ice runs!  

The Callen camper had shelves and such that the original owner installed but we gutted it and made it our own.
John installed a plywood that sat on top of the entire bed like before with a full-sized memory foam that sat on top.  John made it foldable with hinges so that it would be easier to reach down under it to grab the stuff we had stored.  He also included the instant hot water heater and 30-gallon tank that was in the Tundra.  We were also able to store both of our 8'-9' paddle boards inside to keep them safe and were still able to sleep with them hanging from the roof.        

The best part was that the camper was tall enough to stand in.  And most people are amazed when I tell them that John, myself and Dakotah slept comfortably side-by-side (literally) on the bed each winter
during our 3-week adventures in Baja.

Other transformations include the aluminum rack that we were able to sit on top of to watch the sunset or sunrise.  We installed a roll-out canopy shade on the passenger side and the rear side for those hot days in Baja.  The ladder was made and installed by John and his friend.

The last addition to CONKSO was the James Baroud pop-up bed.  We always wanted one but didn't want to pay MSRP.  As luck would have it, we found an amazing deal on Craigslist.  

This is how it looks on the inside.  It sleeps two people comfortably.  Plus, you wake up to amazing views.

So as life goes, things change... and we move on.  CONKSO was retired to John's dad because we found a 4x4 camper that we had to get!

Stay tuned for the Adventures of ELMUCHO.

Missing CONKSO

I knew that John, Dakotah and my first road trip together through Baja would test our compatibility as a family.  It required daily interactions with primarily each other over three-weeks of driving and remote camping.  We're either gonna get along or not.  There would be no technology available to dig our noses into and we had to rely on each other to work as a team if things were going to go well.

Our roles came easy for us.  John is mainly responsible for the vehicle and the driving.  Dakotah helps out with the meals and cleaning.  I am responsible for packing all our necessities, including food, toiletries, bedding, clothes, toys and supplies.  My obsessive-compulsive behavior has led me to be an organization freak, with the ability to maximize the use of space. 

On our long trips we would read books, hang out at the beach swimming, fishing or simply hanging out at camp.  I shouldn’t be surprised that John and Dakotah got along amazingly well.  What I enjoyed most was our daily rituals of spending some time together around the bonfire before we crammed into the back of the Callen camper, lying side-by-side on the tundra bed talking about everything and anything.

We affectionately named our truck CONKSO, a silly name that John and I randomly conjured up one afternoon.  We have traveled five years with CONKSO.  It has been transformed from year to year as we learned through each trip what we needed and didn’t need and found innovative ways to live out of a truck comfortably.  We eventually created a home on wheels that we could literally live out of for weeks.  We were so proud of what CONKSO has become.  But as it is, John and I are always snooping around at the newest and latest in camping, which has led us to a new endeavor-- to create ELMUCHO (which you’ll hear more about soon).  It was tough to part ways with CONKSO.  It was like having a family member move away.  We have had so many good memories with CONKSO.  We’ll especially miss the sounds of laughter from those who read the license plate for the first time—the same reaction we had we when we came up with the name!