SEARCH & RESCUE Showed Up at Our Montana RV Boondocking Spot! 

Haha! It's one of the best "drop ins" I've ever done. 😂 -J

She's the best! -J

It's such a small thing. We need more people doing it! -J

Thanks so much for giving our channel a chance! -J

The fires may be pushing us that route. We'll see! -J

It is!!! And sometimes comes with a free air show! 🚁 -J

It is hard to hold a grudge against Montana. I, however, got my chip in Idaho....so... 😂 -J

Getting a window chipped in Montana/ along I-90 is part for the course in states where rocks are a part of life ... beeper I replaced mine this year it looked like prequel to 'starry night' lol... research replacements ahead of time j.i.c. esp if you're gonna be in the boonies.

@@ChiarianWanderer Yep! Gonna get this one fixed this week. -J

I so appreciated this comment this morning. We're actually on a little bit of a "Struggle bus" right now because we upgraded some of our equipment and the learning curve has been steep and we have both felt like it's affecting every aspect of the process, including our ability to story tell. So this comment coming in on this video was very encouraging, thank you. 🤗 I hear you on the "sooooo much footage" (extra o's added by me 😂) I'll give you some info on our process that may let you know where you're doing it better than us or maybe you'll see something that's like "Hey...we should try that." - We usually end up with somewhere around 300 clips (although sometimes we have more - we try to shoot for 300ish. It's funny...we go in spurts where we look back and we're like "we didn't shoot enough broll!" and then on the next video "we didn't talk enough and shot too much broll!" 😂) - We TRY to keep it to a max of 3 shooting days. If we go more - we only shoot portions of the days. We rarely do a "full day" of shooting (sunup to sundown). Instead we try to be very intentional of what we are shooting. Quick example of this in this video - we did the hike to Glacier View peak one day and we decided "Let's just find a way to mention this in the video and just get 5 or 6 broll clips of it." Those clips are at 13:10ish. But those 5 or 6 clips were all we shot that day. - Single day videos are amazing. Whenever we manage to shoot an entire video in a single day AND have it be interesting.... we are both like "We need to do this more!" But it's tough because we always try to keep individual "Segments" short. If a hike lasts more than 5 youtube minutes, it's probably too long for our channel. - We cut.... a lot. We'd like to get better at being more intentional on our shooting, knowing what is going to work and what's not....but so far we still end up erring more on the side of shooting too much. In this video we eliminated a whole section where we were searching for a huckleberry smoothie after our bike ride, an entire unboxing segment, AND a "Joe Project" segment at the end because it really felt like it interrupted the flow. - It usually takes me a minimum of 20 hours to edit our videos. I thought by now I would be faster....I am not. And usually when I'm uploading I'm wishing I could have gone through it 2 more times to fine tune some more things. I hope this is helpful. We by far are not experts at this. We're learning every day and don't take anything I wrote as the gospel of vlogging. I'm sure other people have better workflows but this, so far, is how it's been working for us! -J

Disney land. 😂 Yeah - shoulder season is pretty nice when it comes to the crowds, or lack of them! -J

Haha! Veve has been down for a bit but we just got her all fixed up and she's ready for some Alaskan adventures! -J

Thanks! Hoping to buy and try a DIY fix on the chip tomorrow! -J

A decent fill will be a good thing in the interim. Even if you had to go to Safelite or a glass shop ..... peace of mind. And worth the wierd weather lately... more rocks will happen

Haha! Unfortunately, we had to re-upload the video due to audio issues that were very distracting for people who listen with headphones. 🤦‍♀️ -K

@@OpenRoading I was wondering what happened! You know Safelite does mobile chip repair for windshields. It is an excellent service.

I was wondering about this also

@@joycekleinert5908 Yeah... it was a not-so fun weekend over here. 😂I exported the video incorrectly so we took it down and re-uploaded it. -J

Yeahhh.....we saw that on youtube my last day of editing. That's why I threw the grimace face up there. 😂 I've got to hand it to you though - so far everyone from Montana has let it slide far better than those from Texas when we said Heb instead of H.E.B. 😂 -J

You've seen us make PB&J many times! 😂 I kid I kid. We've tried doing a couple "meal segments" from time to time but the video just never turns out right so we end up cutting it down or out of the video all together. -J

@@OpenRoading I know yall love that pbj special but that’s not a real catch, clean and cook my friend😂have fun 🤗

Paddle Boards are so much fun...till the wind kicks up. 😂 This reminded me...I have a DM from Kyle that I haven't responded to....that he sent a week ago. 👀 I'm a terrible friend! -J

Right!? It's what they are! lol -J

Awe man! We missed out on good pizza! Next time! Thanks so much for watching! -J

100% The only reason we show ourselves picking trash up is hoping that possibly we can be a small part of a trend of starting to clean these places up. It's a drop in the bucket but maybe we can be part of something bigger over time. I think we've lost that generational "passing of the torch" when it comes to common sense like picking up after yourself. -J

Just for headphones or people with non-stereo speakers! -J

Thanks for the heads up! Yeah - we're expecting some bug and potential boondocking issues. Looking forward to how it all shakes out! -J

She's lived a life in her 2.5ish years!

Will check on Monday! -J

Nice! We tightened down the clamp. So far it's holding. If I get a chance i'm going to grab some locktite for that bolt. -J

All fixed! -J

Yeah - She's scared of mud. lol! -J

But...cheap bikes get the job done for us. 😁 We purchased them last summer when we wanted to get some exersize but were living paycheck to paycheck. -J

I don't think it's possible for anyone to be more excited than us. 😂 -J

Thanks so much! -J

Glad you enjoyed it! -J

It was super cool. They kept apologizing to us and we're like "Do your thing! We get a free show!" -J

Thanks so much! -J

That has been our experience so far! -J

Awesome! Will do that tomorrow. -J

Thanks so much! -J

Thanks for giving it a second watch! -J

Thankfully we've traveled the Going to the Sun Road before back in 2019! So it was good to explore a couple of other areas. -J

We've experienced more rain with this RV in the past month than we got in the past year, I'm pretty sure. LOL. Good thing we fixed the roof! -J

Technically it's free for me! But I am a little worried about making 2 glass claims back to back. I may see if there is a DIY option out there. -J

I feel very weird showing us cleaning up campgrounds because I don't want it to be "LOOK AS US!! WE'RE DOING A GOOD THING!" but honestly I feel like more and more people need to literally show this because public lands have gotten worse and worse. 😞 -J

Thanks! -J

Good to know for when we travel there! We've never had issue with anything but these jugs when they are empty and we are towing. I had a 1x4 that I would stick through the handles but now that we have 2 different types of jugs that was no longer effective. -J

@@OpenRoading come on down ! Our National Parks are beautiful in a different way- all so different depending where in Oz you are. But the lovely smell of our Eucalyptus seems to always be around.

@@M.E2429 it's on our bucket list. We're considering joining the millions and coming for the eclipse in 2028 if we can swing it.-J

Haha! We wanted to find a good photo of the one that was actually used but we couldn't find just the right one. 😂 I'm sure we've probably annoyed some people with having the wrong chopper there while the rest of us are like "Yep...that's a helicopter" 😂 -J

@@OpenRoading I found it cool being Canadian. lol

We were so embarrassed that we exported the video incorrectly! -K

How else am I going to get my weekly allotment of squats in?! 😂 -J

You have a gorgeous backyard. 🙂 -J

Thank you. ;) there's alot to it looking forward to your next update... now to head to the lake

I knew she was going to scream about a small frightened rodent. 😊

She loves the cute little guys....but not in our house. -J

We were so embarrassed that we exported the video incorrectly! -K

@@OpenRoading no worries, these things happen. Thanks for all your good work! It's great to follow your adventures!

Considered it. Couldn’t justify the expense right at this time. You know how it is! “Should buy” list is a mile long. 😂 -J

We know the "need" vs "wants" vs budget battle... it's a relative constant. Safe travels!

@@CaseyCannady For sure for sure! Everyone has it! (Ok... maybe not Bezos or Musk....but the rest of us do! lol)

Tires are great! Truck is just scared of mud. 😂 Don't tell Craig and Victoria of Wild RV Life but they are my designated "get us out of trouble" people on this Alaska trip! -J

haha! It was mostly cream soda flavor - hint of the Huckle. -J

We did that on this location before we picked it. If you look at 48.652684281041964, -114.18164299383778 on google....no gravel piles to be found. Silly satellite not offering us a live feed this time. LOL 😂 -J

I've been contemplating this comment since i saw it yesterday evening. In our travels we see trash EVERYWHERE. Ultimate responsibility for this problem lies with those leaving it behind. But, I want to encourage people to pick up trash. Because if we see it...and have the time to pick it up, why are we leaving it there? What I don't want to do is generate fear of simply picking something up and putting it in a trash can. I tried to find a single example of someone dying from simply picking up trash. I found people dying who were literally sleeping in dumpsters but they died by getting crushed by the garbage truck compactor when it dumped the dumpster (sorry to be graphic). No results for dying picking up pieces of paper and plastic around a campsite or off the street. Doesn't mean it hasn't happened...but it does mean the chance of it happening is infinitesimally small. Of course, gloves are safer. Also - if you see needles, and other things that make you think this trash could be extra hazardous, then take proper precautions! I'm not mad - I hope this isn't coming across this way - I'd love to have this conversation around a campfire - but I think we have to remove barriers for doing good things and I'd rather praise someone for cleaning up than make them believe that if they are walking down the sidewalk and see a hamburger wrapper on the ground that they are better off leaving it there since they left their box of disposable gloves at home. Just my thoughts. -J

I've always had trouble with a strap because the jugs want to "splay" if I tighten it down enough to hold them, and if I don't , the strap comes loose. If my anchor points were not on the bottom but up on the top that would work great. That's interesting about Washington. We've been through there - how do they enforce that with 5th wheels? There's no way I can cover the load. Is it one of those laws where they aren't going to pull you over for it to check but if they see a jug fly out of your bed they're gonna pull you over and right a ticket? -J

@@OpenRoading The law (RCW 46.61.655) came about due to a very severe injury to Maria Federici. Federkingcounty.gov/en/dept/dnrp/waste-services/garbage-recycling-compost/solid-waste-facilities/secure-your-load#:~:text=Yes%2C%20%22Maria's%20Law%22%20makes,jail%20and%20a%20%245%2C000%20fine. The gist is to have items in the bed of a truck secured for the safety of others on the road. It is not just a fine, but a crime in Washington. Be secure, be safe, happy travels!

Super excited! It's so surreal since this is a trip we've wanted to do since 2021! Thanks for the tip! We're gonna give the self repair kit a shot tomorrow. -J

Well no worries...if you watched last night you would have gotten a lower quality version. 😬 Good week to be late on. 😂 -J

We had to re-upload the video because of audio issues. So sorry for the confusion -K

Hey, twice the views! 😂

Interesting. No audio issues when I viewed it yesterday. Thanks for the great content. ❤️

@@millierader2517 Sadly (and we knew this beforehand) uploading a second time kills the video. The all powerful algorithm pushes content out to broader audiences based on how many of your current audience clicks on it and watches it. Well....4,000 people who watched it the first time aren't going to click on it when it shows up the second time - so youtube sees it as a unpopular video. So.....death to the videos "reach." But we weren't comfortable leaving it not fixed knowing that hundreds of people would be affected by the problem. -J

@@sandranorris6542 Awesome! Yes, it only affected people with headphones or mono-speakers. -J

We've got the trap still under there and I have to keep reminding myself to check it! Last time we used a no-kill trap after we caught a could I took the bait out and just left it underneath. A few weeks later....I found a dead mouse in the trap. Not really a humane trap at that point...... -J

Awesome! Thanks! Clear probably better than red... lol -J

@@OpenRoading 😂😂

All fixed! -J

Oh man! We missed it! I had no idea there was a little town up there! -J

Maybe next time. Lol.

No pups! We knew that for sure when she started bleeding all over the RV. 😬😂 She's now spayed and living her best life! If you're here for all things Trinity we created a playlist of videos that have segments that feature her for more than the "Hey Trin" mentions. -J ru-vid.com/group/PL827uf-b204f93hzKQthK-nSBYm1dIIxC&si=eJlbs1JfZxX78swh

I think that storm juuuust missed us. If it's what I'm thinking it was there was a big wind warning for Kalispell but we never saw/felt any of it. I think that was the day before we left. -J

haha yes. Yesterdays version sounded fine if you had stereo speakers...but anyone with headphones was getting Me (Joseph) in their right ear and Kalyn in their left and the music and sound effects on both. Then if someone had a non-stereo speaker...they lost half the dialogue. 🤦🏼‍♂️ It was an export mistake on my part but we didn't want to leave a video up that gave a sub-par viewing experience to a large group of people. Soo...We trashed the original, fixed it, and re-uploaded. It killed the video and our metrics but we wanted everyone who clicked on it to have the best possible viewing experience. -J

Haha! Wet grass is the worst. 😂 My Alaska plan? ✅ Buy a tow strap ✅ Travel Alaska with friends so that if I get in trouble they can tow me out. 😁 -J

Have done it for 5 years. In fact - only time we got stuck WITH the trailer on it was the beach and we got on and off the beach with no problem. Had we not tried to evacuate during the low-pressure system combined with strong onshore winds and high tide....we would have driven off just fine too. She's scared of mud - but she's certainly up to towing a 5th wheel, especially if you're not boondocking all the time. -J

@@OpenRoading If it works for you, that's awesome. It just never occurred to me. For parking lot queens, no problem. I guess we go off road more than normal. Can't wait to see your Alaska adventure. We plan on towing our rig up there in a cpl yrs. I have a 850# street bike I'm considering putting in storage before we cross the border. Your bike is more suited for Alaska than mine. Have fun!!

@@Lapeerphoto Yeah! 850lbs off the front would be rough! 🙂 -J

@@OpenRoading HAHA - no way I could put it on the front. It rides in the back (Toy Hauler) . :)

Planning on getting it fixed tomorrow! So were all fresh for the next chip. 😂 -J

We don’t have bear spray but will for Alaska. We have some basic tools - just didn’t bring them with us on the bike ride! -J

My bike needs new brake pads desperately. It needs train level stopping distance. 😂 -J

Nice! I think I'm going to try a similar DIY solution. Don't want to make 2 glass claims on my insurance back to back. -J

Pretty sure based on everything I've seen that they were indeed mice. They were darker color because they were covered in their own urine from being in the trap for several hours (the probably got into the trap early in the evening and we didn't check the trap until morning). Size, eyes, and tails tell me they are mice. But - I've been wrong before! -J

Normally I had a 1x2 stuck through all the handles and that worked…but we have 2 that are taller than the rest right now. Putting a strap through actually lifts the jugs that are next to the taller ones up and then when they start twisting up a bit the it allows space for the strap to be looser since the anchor point is low. 😟 my solution has been to make sure there’s at least a gallon of water in each when we leave until I can have all the jugs be the same again and then go back to the stick through the handles method. 😂 -J

We’ve always used Campendium…however…roadtrippers bought the site and is slowly making it less functional trying to get people over to their less helpful website. 😭 another one to try is iOverlander - but I don’t feel like it has as much info as campendium did. -J

Thanks for the reply. I did find your video explaining what you use. Safe travels.

@@Mr1011ck Awesome! -J

There are a LOT of factors to this. We know people who conserve a LOT more water than we do and we ask the same question. 😂 Our situation: 2 People 80 Gallon Fresh water tank 2 gray tanks 1 black tank We make it 1 week on our black tank. I usually end up dumping the grays after 5 days. We have a way the ability to dump and transport our waste, and refilling our fresh tank without moving the RV - I showed how we do that in this video ➡️ ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-lqpml_4BWfc.htmlsi=CsQ5dwpsgDdlSx0- Hope that helps! -J

Here you go! www.campendium.com/great-northern-flats-river-access-site

Haha. I hear you! So 2 things for this. 1st - you see approximately 20 minutes of up to a weeks worth of time. 😁 Lots of things we do (mostly boring but not always) don't get shot. 2nd - The bike needs a good bit of repair so I've been riding it a lot less until I can get it into a shop, which is always a bit of a challenge on the road. I actually have an appointment for it next week to get: New tires, Valve check, New fork seals. Once we get that all done and I put a new chain on it I'm sure it will make it into some future videos. But yeah - I hear you. I don't think the bike has been used in a video other than showing off our carrier. 😂 -J

Sure it has. You showed a ride you did, I believe up a windy mountain road. Plus you used when the truck was down for repairs.

@@millierader2517 Oh yeah...beet harvest...kinda needed the bike in a big way then! -J

From October - March we saved up $15,000. That money is going toward - Excursions (Like a flight around Denali, a wildlife boat tour etc.) - All Fuel from the Canadian border back to the lower 48 - And some buffer Separate from the money we saved - our typical monthly budget averages around $4,500 (this is ALL our expenses including insurance, repairs, etc - more on that in this video: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-qVHSnw-1jI4.htmlsi=SCHdROCDGTo3rOTQ) So by taking fuel and fun stuff OUT of our normal monthly budget (because they are covered by the $15K) we're hoping that should account for other things being more expensive. I know that's a long answer - but it's a hard question when we live life on the road. Gas is a "normal" expense for us whereas someone else needs to plan that into a specific trip. We'll detail everything out about how much everything cost us once we get back! Kalyn keeps meticulous records! -J

@@OpenRoading Thanks That helps give me a general idea for a trip driving to alaska. I would like to drive to Alaska and spend a summer driving around probably in about 2-3 years from now, so its a good time to start saving

@@karens6053 Stay tuned then! We'll have a full budget breakdown at the end of the trip! -J

I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt I was going to be wrong. -J

It's all good y'all... At least you don't double down like some people who come to visit here... And say things like "I know how to say it." Same people think they can pet the bison :) P.s. be prepared for unusual hours at businesses n necessities a you head up. As you found At the UPS store lol.... In some towns....... Some places hours are as arbitrary as moods lol

@@ChiarianWanderer We are very used to getting city names wrong. 😂 Par for the course for being visitors. -J

While I understand that head injuries can happen at slow speeds, we generally don't wear them on paved paths where we'll be traveling at pretty slow speeds. I actually had a helmet save my life as a kid - tooling down a dirt road showing off my "look ma! No hands!!" method of riding. -J

@@OpenRoading Understood. BTW, Glacier NP is by far my second favorite place on earth. Just such amazing views and incredible wildlife. You really can get "lost" in its beauty and fall in love. Enjoy!!

@@ekulikow It's a truly amazing place! We hiked the Skyline trail in 2019. Really want to explore more of the backcountry at some point! The views of the park from Glacier View Mtn (outside the park) are just breathtaking. -J

Are we talking youtube channels? Kalyn has one on productivity RU-vid.com/@kalynbrookeco And then I just have this one. If that's not what you meant let me know! 🙂 -J

@@OpenRoading I was asking for I had seen there were other channels and thought if it made more of an income for you guys I would join for support .

@@davidgarcia6315 Ah! Like a membership or Patreon! Got it. We don't have any form of ongoing support. At the moment we don't have the bandwidth to manage a separate community on top of everything else. We DO have the Alaska Postcard Club (registration closes for that Tomorrow - openroading.com/postcardclub And we also have a paypal link that we don't publicize all that much: paypal.me/openroading Thanks for asking! If neither of those things are a good option for you no worries! We so appreciate you watching, sharing, and commenting. After doing youtube twice and getting zero traction we are just so encouraged each week when more than 50 people are enjoying what we are putting out there. 🤗 -J

@@OpenRoading can you tell me more about the Alaska post card thing !!

@@davidgarcia6315 Sure! I should have shared a link to our short video we did announcing it 🤦🏼‍♂ - All the info! 👉🏻 ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-t6abPr3wnrQ.htmlsi=58P5GLawWAELaU88