Lisa made us the most delicious breakfast bowls this morning… potatoes, fried egg, sautéed mushrooms/onions, avocado, spring onion and sriracha. SO GOOD!!! Jonathan and I searched up the add-ons for our Public Mobile US roaming for the next 10-days. We received confirmation from our very first Harvest Host request - Hymas Family Farm in Bonners Ferry, Idaho. We had sent a request last night and it was great to hear from them this morning - they sounded super nice!
We departed Invermere after hugs with Aunty Lisa and Uncle Owl around noon with the odometer reading of 103067km. Dropped a couple of postcards in the mail and we were on our way south!! Drove Westside Road along the edge of the lake and a little ground squirrel darted out on the road in front of us and very sadly met his demise. USA bound and the first of our unfamiliar adventures ahead. Jonathan set the Garmin for Amelia to follow as navigator and she totally nailed the British accent that the Garmin was sporting.
We stopped in Cranbrook at 1:30pm for a half hour. Jonathan took Oliver into Walmart to buy some cables and a 12v charger to fit in our dash because our USB thingy (official term) was no longer working. Amelia and I went into the Dollarama to buy more 3M Command Hooks for hanging hats and headphones in the rig, and picked up some potholders and a lovely little notepad for future grocery lists.
It was then a short drive to Yahk, and instead of a General Store stop, we pulled over into Yahk Provincial Park and enjoyed the day use/picnic area to make a lunch consisting mostly of any fruits and vegetables we had to consume before crossing the border. Jonathan prepped lunch while the kids took me on a tour of the river’s edge over logs and across a small stream. We saw loads of teensy, newly hatched fish/fry and dipped our feet in the cool water. Left around 3pm and about 20 minutes later we reached the Kingsgate border crossing into the USA. The border guard was super nice and asked us why we decided to drive across Montana. When we mentioned we thought it might be more interesting that driving the whole prairies, he did warn us that much of Montana east of the Idaho/Montana border was farmland. He highly recommend entering Glacier State Park and driving the “Going to the Sun” road, but making sure not to hit it too early in the morning as the sun would be directly in our eyes. Sounded cool, and we took note.
We decided that being a bit early for the farm visit, we’d head into Bonner’s Ferry town and look into filling up our rig propane. The little town centre itself was interesting and quiet. Ollie saw some cool colour tank-like vehicles as we hopped back up on the highway to find a gas station. Drove all the way to the Safeway and stopped for groceries (and beer) and found it to be very friendly. Back along the same highway headed north again, we stopped at the 76 Gas station for propane and chatted with another interesting character, who, when Jonathan hopped out of the rig to ask if they pumped propane (not just cylinders), he told Jonathan to park by the white line beside the tank and he’d be right over. We parked in the right spot and waited. And waited. Finally Jonathan walked back over to the shop and the guy had totally forgotten he told Jonathan to drive over there. Propane got filled for $24.40USD and several truck driving stories from the merchant and we were on our way to our first Harvest Host - The Hymas Family Farm a few minutes up the highway.
We rolled into 307 Heideman Road and into the farm. We followed the directions from the host’s messages… “straight up the driveway past the first barns, pick one of the three spots and make yourself at home and enjoy the farm and views”
There was already a rig a little larger than ours in space number two so we parked beside it closer to the hay barn. Another little fancy little camper van pulled up not too long after into the third space. We met our neighbour, a very friendly guy named Dave, and shortly after, his wife Susie. Super lovely couple maybe 10 years older than us, from Florida. They’ve been travelling for over 6 months and were going to be heading east again soon. We were sat by our RV having a drink with them when the host, Greg, walked over and introduced himself and made us feel very welcome. He told us all about the farm and their regenerative practices. They only started up about two years ago! They have cows, chickens, bunnies, Brookshire hogs and two awesome guardian dogs, King (the shaggy bad haircut dude) and Angel (sweet tall poodle/pyrenese). Ollie and Amelia and I tried to follow Greg’s directions to find the pigs/piglets but were unsuccessful. We did find chickens and baby bunnies and cows. The baby bunnies were adorable and could fit in the palm of your hand.
We walked back to the rig and Greg offered to walk our whole gang over to find the piglets. That’s when Jennifer and her sweet black dog Luna joined us from her camper van. The three sows named Snow White, Porky and Dot. Snow White was the mama with the 10 piglets who were about 2 weeks old. Dot was due any day with her litter, and proud daddy Boris the Boar was wandering around. These guys were large!! We admired them from the other side of hot wire fence. They loved scratches behind the ears and seemed very sweet. Apparently each piglet grows to about 250lbs of meat in 7 months! Yikes. After our tour of the pigs in their shady forest, we bought farm fresh (like mega fresh!) eggs from him and two of the younger of his 10 lovely kiddos, and then walked back to our rig to explore some more and make dinner. The kiddos loved climbing around in the hay bales looking for random chicken eggs and eventually found the two chicks that where tucked in between two big higher up bales. Very fun.
Our first harvest host experience was pretty darn amazing! We learned so much from Greg and it was like being on a mini “Biggest Little Farm” movie with how they move the cows to various pastures each day and let the “egg mobile” follow behind by 3 days to have the hens eat the fly larvae and spread the manure.
*Harvest Host is an app/membership I signed up for a couple months ago… it’s under $100CDN for the year membership and you can stay at any of the registered host sites — farms, wineries, breweries, distilleries, attactions — for free for one night when you book ahead on the app. You are encouraged to purchase something from the proprietor during your stay. I was so excited about it, and our first visit was AMAZING!!! Curious how others pan out.
PHOTOS TO FOLLOW WHEN I GET TO WIFI 😀
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