Well before Covid blew up, we had placed an order for an Overland CampX to be installed on our truck. Initially the Canadian company was going to be visiting the Overland Expo in Flagstaff and we would have had it installed then, but obviously things changed and we would instead need to drive to Bozeman for installation. Norah got a bonus summer month when school was pushed out until after Labor Day, so it was the perfect opportunity for a two week road trip for the installation and some additional camping and hiking.

We had previously spent time in Glacier, Yellowstone, and the Beartooth Mountains and for this trip we decided to visit some new areas (and also wanted to avoid the busier national parks during Covid and reduced services). We had a few days in Helena and Bozeman before our camper was installed, then the rest of the trip we camped and did some great hikes. Mystic Lake was our favorite. We took a different route home through Wyoming and Utah, but the smoke and heat were severe by this point and we didn’t do as much hiking as we had planned. Still neat to see some new places though.

While I was keen on hiking and Norah was a good sport, she was more interested in her latest obsession with thrift stores. Who knew there were so many thrift stores in MT and WY - we managed to find most of them I’m sure! It was also a bonus to meet up with some friends along the way. Really nice to see some friendly faces after the way 2020 has gone!

All in all - it was a fun trip. We loved the new places we got to see (minus the Bozeman ER for 16 stitches in my hand), did some great hikes, and got to break in the new camper, which we loved. Definitely a nice respite from 2020!