The Nomadic Butler Clan

Blog Post #50 - Written February 20, 2026 Stay: August 16, 2025 When I booked our Harvest Host stay (one night pitstop) in Whitehall, I never would have guessed how dear this little town would become to us.   We pulled into town and our first thought was, "Wow! I feel like we've been here before!"  Turns out, we had.  When we left our campground in Dillon for Special K Ranch, we drove right through the little downtown area of Whitehall.   Our camp spot for the night was in an alley behind one of the local churches.  Only felt a little bit sketchy... But we maneuvered ourselves and only stuck out a little bit into the alley.  We saw some locals riding their horses past our trailer as they went to and from the bar around the corner. Good 'ole western towns. Since we had some daylight left, we checked out the Western Legacy Museum, a cool spot that displayed fossils found by locals, gems and rocks, and other historical finds.  The kids all got t...

Blog Post #49 - Written February 17, 2026 Stay: August 13-15, 2025 After Craters of the Moon, we stayed one night in Dillon, MT and then started our long drive to Special K Ranch, about 30 miles west of Billings.  In order to break up the long, monotonous drive, we decided to stop at the Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman. Apparently, Montana didn't appreciate us calling it boring, since while we were driving, something flew in through my open window and hit me on the neck.  I thought it was just a rock until my neck started burning.  Then something started wriggling inside my shirt.  After a brief freak out, I found a bee had blown in the window, stung me, and fell down my neckline.  It didn't make it... We made it to the Museum, which was full of exhibits of dinosaurs, old cars, and all sorts of critters you'd expect to find in the Rockies.  Fun fact: Juvenile Triceratops horns face down as they mature, then they shift upwards as they become adults. ...

Blog Post #48 - Written February 13, 2026 Stay: August 11, 2025 After leaving Boise, we trekked back across Idaho to make our next appointment in Montana.  But, we had a pretty cool pitstop along the way.  Although, to be honest, our thermometer said it was anything but 'cool' and we had no A/C since we were boondocking at a farm. Our excitement started as we passed an accident on the side of the road.  It must have just happened because a few moments later a low-flying helicopter flew right past us. Based on the huge dust cloud in the rearview mirror, we think he landed to help out at the crash.  We pulled into a dry and dusty Harvest Host site just outside of Arco, ID.  And who should greet us but a very thick maned farm dog and a few reindeer.   The reindeer farm was small, but we were there in time to watch the bucks scraping their velvet off their racks.  The antlers looked pink, since the velvet is alive and scraping it gets a bit bloody....

Blog Post #47 - Written February 10, 2026 Stay: August 8-10, 2025     Our travels took an exciting turn as we took a surprise trip to my sister, Abbey, and her new digs in Caldwell, ID.  What a nice change to sleep in a house! And a real shower!  The kids loved building bedtime forts for a cousin sleepover.  And there was even some space leftover for the kids to sleep after all the stuffed animals came out.  Sort of.  The kids were very excited to play with their cousins. They brought out the mini pool, axe throwing, wiggle cars, and nerf darts.   D especially liked chasing the dog and cat, who were not necessarily the most willing playmates for this ambitious toddler. The boys went out back to enjoy many epic Orbeez shootouts.  Cousin Z was relentless!                                      But when Uncle Jay brought out the ...