Why Montana? – Majestic Meadows

My husband, Jim and I love to explore beautiful places in the U.S. and around the world. We’ve walked trails in the Grand Canyon, Tetons, North Cascades, and many others in the lower 48. We’ve also explored the mountains in Northern Italy, France, and Switzerland, which reminds me a lot of Montana. We love the mountains, maybe it’s because we’ve spent the vast majority of our lives in South Florida. The sea holds many special memories for us, including family picnics at Phipps Ocean Park, snorkeling in the Keys and scuba diving the reefs off the Florida coast. Many folks dream about moving to South Florida, but we dream about mountains, meadows, crystal clear rivers and lakes. In today’s post, I share my thoughts on Montana, its adventures, wildlife, and culture, as well as a build and design update.

Mountains

The rugged snow-covered peaks draw your eye, while the green, lush forests below remind you of the abundant life contained within them. We’ve spent 20 years exploring these forests and mountain tops during yearly vacations. Whether it’s national parks or forests, there are plenty more trails for us to walk together. Calling this valley home is a dream come true. It’s wide, open valley is filled with farmland and surrounded by the Rocky Mountains to the northeast, the Whitefish Mountains to the north, the Salish Mountains to the west and the Mission Mountains to the south.

Meadows

Our 12.45 acres feature several open meadows, including the one shown in the picture below. Additional rock and native meadow gardens are planned to the east, south and west side of the house. Construction of the house and excavation for the septic, electric and buried propane tank means we’ll need to restore large sections of garden. We’ll start by raking the area then spreading native wildflower and grass seed. It’s cost effective and pretty simple.

Rivers

The Flathead River runs through the valley, the three forks of the river provide various options, whether you want a relaxing float or crave more excitement with ride through class 3 rapids. The water is cold and clear and offers mountain views as you float down the river. Always explore new rivers with a guide, especially in Spring when the waters can be high and dangerous. The valley to the north and south has several additional rivers perfect for an easy float or kayak. There are several great spots to launch a kayak located throughout the valley.

Lakes

Several local lakes allow for a wide range of experiences. Consider kayaking around a lovely, quiet cove while you stay at your lakeside rental on Echo Lake. The lake and Swan Range views in this VRBO are fantastic. Prefer more action? Flathead Lake is stunningly beautiful with it’s crystal blue waters surrounded by mountains. Pick up drinks, snacks and lunch then rent a motorboat in Polson. Ask the rental company where to see Native writings, about the best swimming and Wild Horse Island. Whitefish Lake has great swimming for kids but gets crowded in the summer. You won’t want to miss the iconic Lake McDonald, located in Glacier National Park.

Wildlife

Glacier National Park offers lots of opportunities to see wildlife. We’ve seen Bighorn Sheep and Mountain Goats at Logan Pass on Going-to-the-Sun-Road during several visits. There have been moose, bear, deer, and elk along the trail during our hikes in Glacier. Trails range from easy to strenuous trails in the park, but the farther you get from crowds the more likely you are to see wildlife. Grizzly bear, mountain lion, deer, turkey and more critters have been spotted in our neighborhood. Living in harmony with wild creatures means we’ll need to secure trash and put away bird feeders in the Spring. Leaving trash, food or other attractants can food-condition bears and other animals. If they get food at your house, they’ll be back and that puts you and them in danger. A food conditioned bear is a dead bear.

Outdoor Culture

The vast majority of our new neighbors enjoy the outdoor lifestyle that Montana offers whether they hunt, fish, or hike the national parks or forests. There are also many crystal-clear rivers and lakes to explore while boating or swimming. It is easy to fall in love with these beautiful, wild places but we’ve also learned to respect this land. This means we follow the rules, including Leave No Trace Principles, which includes packing everything you might need in and ALL of it back out. The people in Montana fight for their wild places, most recently making sure their elected representatives voted against selling the people’s public lands. Our new neighbors helped get that piece of legislation removed from the 2025 budget bill. A representative of Utah, Mike Lee (R) has vowed to try again, so we know we can count on our fellow Montanans to fight back if needed again.

Build Update

A subcontractor used a Skid Steer to prep for the concrete porches. He is working on the main porch below, but we also have a small porch off the primary suite and entry. The covered porches offer protection from the elements. The trim subcontractor finished up the trim work, including the entry and linen closets. He also got the door hardware installed on the garage door on the west side of the house. Finally, the plumber installed the pump and pressure tank for the well.

We did have some disappointing news on our build this week. J Martin Builders pushed back our move-in date by two weeks. After looking at our options, Jim and I decided to move as planned and rent a VRBO apartment in NW Montana. It’s season, so there was not a lot of options in our price range. I found two RVs and two really nice apartments in Downtown Kalispell that allowed our Westie, Hanna. We booked an apartment that was surrounded by homes, which will be quieter than the other apartment, which was closer to downtown. It’s not fun to have to spend money on a rental, but we’re excited to get to Montana. I can now start the final logistics. Having a place to stay that is already set up with beds, kitchen and internet will make the move a little easier. Jim will be able to work, and I’ll be able to get all the move sorted, including the mail, insurance and financial details.

We booked the VRBO Paintbrush Bliss for our stay while the house is being completed:

If we wanted more affordable and rustic accommodations, we could look for camping or cabin sites at recreation.gov.

Mid-Century Modern Design

In addition to stone and wood, some Mid-Century Modern homes had terrazzo floors. The 24 x 24″ terrazzo tile we are using has a white base mixed with larger brown, gold and black stone pieces. It’s dynamic, organic pattern provides a really nice contrast to the linear walnut cabinets. Terrazzo is beautiful and durable because the material runs all the way through the tile, which means it also makes a great tile baseboard. The large east facing window and smaller south facing awning window provide plenty of light in this bathroom.

MCM architecture and design uses natural materials. The walnut used in the home and the Alluvial quartzite on the island and fireplace adds two natural materials to the MCM inspired home. The walnut paneling will match the DeWils walnut, vertical grain match cabinets in the kitchen, bathrooms and laundry room. Providing an indoor-outdoor feel is a critical MCM design element, and the two 11′ by 7′ Anderson windows on both sides of the living area accomplish that goal. More glass in the 8′ back door and 4′ by 4′ kitchen window ensures a Swan Range view throughout the space. Finally, our large fir front door package featuring three more windows will bring additional light into the space.

Our MCM-inspired home includes wood floors, another natural element important in MCM design. The European 7″ white oak engineered floors in Alswick provide a lovely contrast to the walnut in our home. The Interior Define Sloan sectional in neutral Flax chenille fabric will be comfortable and gorgeous. We added another touch of walnut with the legs on this customizable sectional. The 9′ by 12′ wool rug made by hand in Turkey has a gorgeous pattern and works perfectly with our color palette. The Interior Define Gwen chairs in velvet Rust and walnut provides more seating in the living room. Once we’re in Montana, I’ll visit vintage shops, garage and estate sales, as well as options found through Facebook Marketplace. We need a coffee table, side tables, table lamps, and maybe a piece of art for above the fireplace. I’ve already found a few contenders on Marketplace, but we’ll need to see them in person before we buy them.

We also need to buy three beds, two queen and one king for the bedrooms. Plus, six nightstands and four table lamps. We’ve got wall sconces going into one of the guest bedrooms, so we’ll skip the table lamps in that room. I’ve found several promising options on Facebook Marketplace. I’ve also got my eye on some pieces at Wayfair, but the vintage pieces are much better priced and may be better quality than new furniture.

The movers, International Van Lines are coming this Tuesday, and we’ll leave the next Monday. We plan to take about 7 days to drive, including a stop to see family in Topeka, Kansas. The movers predicted 2 – 2 1/2 weeks for our things to arrive, so we should get to Montana before our stuff gets there. Our new furniture order from Interior Define and Arhaus should arrive a week or two after our arrival. We’ll store all our stuff, both new and existing in the garage, even if the house isn’t finished yet.

I might have one more post before the move, but in any case, be sure to subscribe below to never miss a post: