Under that Blue Montana Sky

Those of you who have conversed with us in the past year know about the trials and tribulations we've been going through over the sticker shock of trying to build a new home on the lot that we own just north of Bozeman, MT.  In the interests of finances and sanity, we went house shopping in the area in late June 2001.  We found a place that was astonishingly similar to what we had planned to build, and it should be ours by the end of July.  It's 2.2 fenced acres located in the Bear Creek subdivision a few miles south of Gallatin Gateway and about 15 miles SW of Bozeman.  The Gallatin River is less than a mile away.  That info is for any of you who want to try to look it up on a map.  Here are some photos and details.  The main floor is 1472 square feet with two bedrooms, two baths, utility room, kitchen, and vaulted living room/dining room.  The loft area is 736 square feet with bedroom, bath, and family room/office.  As you may notice, a lot of the ceiling is tongue and groove, and a lot of the floors are solid hickory.  The entry, kitchen and master bath are tiled.  The covered porch is on the east side, and the 3-stall garage is insulated.  (Click on any photo for a larger version.)  We're not sure when we'll move, but I'm ready to start packing!  I can hardly wait to start planting trees, shrubs and wildflowers.  The dogs ought to love it there: there are supposed to be pheasants and partridge in the area.

These are the views from the property...north, east, south and west

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east.jpg (21152 bytes)

south.jpg (25287 bytes)

west.jpg (23695 bytes)

Exterior views: cedar siding, south windows arranged for passive solar heating in winter

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from_s.jpg (22387 bytes)

garage.jpg (21348 bytes)

porch.jpg (29098 bytes)

Interior views:

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wood stove

dining.jpg (27765 bytes)
dining/kitchen

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stairs to loft

entry.jpg (23671 bytes)
entryway

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stairs, and patio doors to porch

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kitchen from dining room

These photos at least give you a feel for what it's like inside.  I think of it as a posh cabin.  We looked at a lot of homes.  Funny thing.  We fell in love with the last one that we looked at!

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the loft

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view from loft

We're definitely going to like it here!

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dogs on the porch
No environment is perfect, however.  We aren't in danger of floods, hurricanes or earthquakes, but Montana's dry summers do bring fire danger.  The Fridley fire (right) burned over 15,000 acres in the Paradise Valley in August 2001.  Another fire in September came much closer to us.

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Smoke from Day 1 of the Fridley fire

Home & Hobbies

Bison research near Medora, ND | Bison harvest on the Flying D | Butterfly garden |
Golden retrievers | Hunting and fishing | NEW !  Jigsaw Puzzles | Montana trips | Montana (the house and property) | Montana wildflowers page 1 Page 2  Page 3 | Golden Plover Research | Plover update 1998 | Purdy Forest Fire | Wildflowers

Travels
 Alaska | Australia/ New Zealand | Belize 1985    2000   2002 | Caribbean dive trips (above water) |   Tropical Reef  Life) | Hawaii | Kenya photo safari | Kenya  (with journal) | Peru | Switzerland and Ireland

Updated 8 Julne 03 by Aleen Kienholz

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