Hey there, fellow adventurers and of course the non adventurers out there as well!

So, picture this: We’re on an RV adventure, cruising along with three chihuahuas—because nothing screams “road trip” like traveling with 3 dogs that weigh about as much as a sandwich. Things have been pretty smooth, and then we hit the U.S. border. Now, I don’t know if you’ve ever crossed into the U.S. with an RV full of, well, stuff, but we were bracing ourselves for questions like, “Why so many snacks?” and “Do chihuahuas have paperwork?” and “Permission to come aboard”.

But here’s the thing… nothing happened. I mean, nothing. We pull up, the border agent barely glances at the dogs, gives us a nod, and just waves us through. Aside from two apples, some cherry tomatoes and a couple eggs, we came out of that pretty unscathed. We were prepared to hand over our life story, explain the origins of every grocery item in the RV, and perhaps recite the Declaration of Independence—but nope. It was like crossing the street. We didn’t even get to use our “We’re not smuggling anything, honest!” face. – we aren’t smuggling anything, but we felt a little cheated. We look like we could smuggle stuff what the hell?

Blowing into Shelby

So, feeling almost cheated by the lack of drama at the border, we moved on and traveled to our next stop, the lovely, windswept town of Shelby, Montana. Now, I’m using “lovely” loosely, because it turns out the real highlight of Shelby isn’t its charming small-town vibe or rich history, but its wind. And I don’t mean a gentle breeze. No, this is wind that makes you think, “Well, it’s been a nice life, and we were now about to set a new record for low-altitude flight..”

Parked on a cliff

Well to be honest the wind settled when we arrived, probably to give us a false sense of security. The drive there was like riding your bike in Saskatchewan with a sheet of plywood strapped to each side. Lets face it our Raven isn’t built aerodynamically in the least. In fact it probably absorbs more wind than it does gas and thats saying a lot. Greta Thurnberg did not approve this adventure. Any way the wind let up and we carefully set up camp on the side of a hill – I mean , what’s the worst that could happen…

The RV Park is attached to the Shelby Comfort Inn and Suites. Usually I say, if you have to say it, then it’s probably not, but this place did look comfortable and new. As well, when we checked in we were told we had full access to the hotel pool and hot tub. And…. it had a Casino. We were very excited about the night ahead of us. The reality – no hot tub, no pool and no casino! I feel I could have left this part out.

It’s History

So all set up and off to walk the dogs.. First stop was as historic Monument and sitting area that outlined Shelby’s claim to fame, beyond being a railway town.
Now, Shelby has a history that almost outshines the present. The town’s claim to fame came in 1923 when it hosted the heavyweight boxing match between Jack Dempsey and Tommy Gibbons. Shelby, in its infinite wisdom, built a stadium for 40,000 fans… and sold a grand total of 7,000 tickets. The event nearly bankrupted the town, but here it stands today, still standing firm against the elements—though I’m not sure how, considering what we experienced on the ride in.

Not in Kansas anynore

Back to the walk, 5 minutes in heading to the grocery store and I man asked if he could put one of the Chihuahua’s in his grocery bag. We offered him Casey but to our dismay he chuckled and moved on. Casey had’nt had a bite in days. So groceries bought, beer and wine are groceries right? Anyway fast forward, supper ate and thoughts of Casinos, pool and hot tubbing still looming the gale force winds from hell, oops – gale force winds from Shelby begin. We were definitely not in Kansas anymore… though someone was cranky like they were upset the house fell on their sister. Kidding but i’ve been dying to use that joke. Back to the wind, imagine trying to get 3 Chi’s out for a pee when the fence you put up to protect them is blowing 3 feet in the wind. It was truly an adventure!

The departure

Morning came, and wouldn’t you know it—the wind calmed down. Of course it did. You spend all night thinking the RV is going to flip, and the second it’s safe to go outside, the wind’s like, “Oh, you’re leaving? Cool, I’m done here.” I’ve gotta hand it to Shelby—it’s got timing.

So, we packed up and hit the road, with three chihuahuas who now have PTSD, and an RV that’s still somehow in one piece.

Cheers,
Tracy, John, August, Finnegan and Casey