The Bed & Breakfast with a Few Ghosts in the Closet
Two hours south of Polson, Montana lies the most picturesque land, the kind of place you see on screensaver photos or calendars. It’s called The Bitterroot Valley. Imagine rigid mountains, rolling hills, quaint main streets, flannel & cowboy hats, and what felt like a whole lotta’ Jesus!
We fell in love without delay as we enjoyed small town shops in Corvallis, a delicious lunch at NAP’s in Hamilton, dollar ice cream cones in Darby, and at the request of a dear friend, even got to pull in the driveway of the famous St Joseph Ranch, currently known as the Yellowstone Ranch of the popular Netflix series.
One major goal of this two month excursion is to ‘try on’ other places, if you will. To explore possibilities of small town America, and see if there may be a better fit, more aligned with our family values and a simpler life, moving forward. The word that God has placed on my heart for this journey is WHOLESOME.
Wholesome as defined by Webster Dictionary: Good health and physical well-being of mind and spirit. Promoting moral well-being, safety, charm.
Ahhh. It sounds lovely doesn’t, a whole lot more wholesome in this world?
Wholesomeness: is it out there, somewhere to be found on the back roads of Montana? Is it already within us and we just need to be removed from the noise to expose it? Two weeks into our trip, and I’m discovering that both hold true, and something about the Bitterroot Valley certainly felt wholesome.
So naturally, we explored deeper. We walked the tree lined residential streets, played at the local park, drove by the hospital, checked out the charming schools, and peeked at some local real estate.
Not a bad backdrop for Hamilton Highschool
When we looked at real estate, what we found was too good to be true! A 10,000 sq ft historic home sitting on a full city block, within walking distance of the sweetest little bustling western town. 10,000 sq ft!!! The property was currently under construction and being sold as is: including blue prints to finish the job…. at a KILLER deal!! Something we could even pay cash for if we sold our house! Living debt free with an income generating property. Genius, right? As we often do, We quickly got to dreaming!
You see, Adam and I have held the vision of running a bed and breakfast since our college days, when we both earned bachelors degrees in hospitality. Our retirement plan has always included a small inn on lush grounds with farm-to-table breakfast served pipping hot daily. What if THIS was our bed and breakfast!? Smack in the middle of God’s Country, Montana! We envisioned splitting the property in three: a wing for our family, a wing for my mother-in-law who spends part of her year in our community with us, and the third wing as our bed and breakfast!!! It couldn’t be more perfect! Are you catching the vision?
We were giddy with possibility the entire two hour drive back. We passed a large herd of buffalo grazing on the side of the highway and took in yet another glorious Montana sunset. Once we got home, I instantly dove into research, and….. realized why it was such a screaming deal. Any guesses?
IT WAS THE FIRST MORTUARY AND CREMATORIUM IN MONTANA!!! And not only that, but it was in operation from 1893 until 2007! EEK!!! I’m not sure how many people die in that period of time, or the number of bodies that went through those doors in the 110 year tenure, but whatever the number, it was one too many for my comfort zone. Would it be for you?
As you can imagine, conversations amongst our family were quite entertaining that evening, as we learned what crematoriums are, what it takes to get a body ready for burial, and if haunted houses are indeed real. What do you think? (We’re just gonna count those discussions as home school science lessons for the win).
Can you even IMAGINE the new family moving into town, buying the creepy old mortuary, and wondering why nobody wants to come over for play dates? We’ve enjoyed a lot of good laughs from this idea over the past few days.
So, takeaways: If you visit Montana, you must head south of Missoula to the Bitterroot Valley and enjoy all the splendor that it has to offer. Drive south until you reach Darby and try your luck at visiting the St Joseph Ranch to spot Kevin Costner filming, before enjoying some huckleberry ice cream at the historic soda fountain in town. And as a friendly reminder, always do your due diligence before purchasing a 130 year old building. You never know what ghosts (literally) may be hiding in the closet. Thanks for following along!
