goat365

White Fish is an expensive ski resort, you get exactly what you expect. We spent some time there, but it was not that memorable.

In Big Fork, downtown, there is are several little restaurants that are worth checking out. It was a surprisingly nice downtown area for such a small town.

We did a trip to Fairbanks in January. We ultimately chose to do an air bnb instead of the base camp experience.

The truth is…most of the time, the naked eye doesn’t see the northern lights, you see them through the pics you take and how the camera processes the lights. While a neat idea, the glass topped igloo style rooms would not give you the glowing green sky while laying in bed as you are probably imagining. Instead, most northern lights look like a hazy sky to the naked eye.

We got amazing pics…but looking out a window is no where near the same as what we see looking back in the pics. So I consider the igloos a bit gimicky. Part of the fun is watching the forecast and being out all night while driving to where you can see them the best.

We rented a car and found them ourselves, but also got amazing pics off the back deck from our air bnb in the mountains.

It has been said a few times...but there really is not that much to do. So, it depends on what you are wanting out of the trip. The wife and I go to the area to literally just get away from everything and do nothing.

There is a lake and state park, but it really isn't all that pretty. You cant get a cabin on the lake, so everyone would have to pile into the vehicles and drive into the park to get to the lake if that is what you want to do. The hiking is dry and dusty. There are just a few restaurants in the area, and a party of 20-25 will probably shut them down! If they can handle your group, it will be a ridiculous wait...there is normally a ridiculous wait for tables of 2 already. It is a really small pool of local residents to pull from for staff, and it seems like there is never a place fully staffed. The nearest grocery store is in Broken Bow proper...which most of the newer cabins are about 20 minutes from. It isn't easy to just run to the store.

All that said...if you plan on dragging a large smoker up there or cooking at the cabins for your group, and enjoying family time, it will be great! Don't expect the kids to be entertained outside of the cattle pen maze and I believe there is a putt putt type place.

I'm not 100% dumping on it, like I said, we go every couple of years for a long weekend, but it seems like renting a large house actually on a lake would be a better option for a large group. Just my 2 cents.

The obligatory stay in Fort Worth recommendation!

Walkable, safe downtown, lots of good restaurant options, and enough fun things to get into.

If she knows Dallas well, it will create a different set of expectations...you will not have to compete with the way she has seen Dallas before.

The best option that you can get for a pool is someone else to take care of it.

Taking care of the pool zaps ALL of the enjoyment out of it.

So just budget in a couple hundred dollars a month for life for the pool guy, and put away a couple hundred more for broken pumps/equipment and the resurface that is necessary every 10-12 years.

I just had a resurface done...$13K. I have had 2 vacuum robots break, so I am on my third...$1400/ea. I have 2 pumps running my pool, they have each been replaced in the last 10 years...$1K/ea.

So just budget $400/mo in pool guy and repair slush fund. On top of the $125K it is going to take to put in a nice pool!

I was really close to just filling it in instead of resurfacing...$400/mo is a lot of fun money going into something that we use 15-20 times a year (twice a week during the Summer).

I am going to ask you to consider this situation:

16 year old daughter had $6K saved for her car. (10 years ago)

She could purchase a 10 year old used vehicle for $6K with unknown history and almost guaranteed maintenance costs and probably a set of tires before she got out of high school.

Or

I could lease a brand new, under warranty, Chevy Equinox for $0/down, $150/mo.

What makes the most financial sense for someone with a fixed income where every dollar matters?

This was a real situation...she made the $150/mo payment and knew EXACTLY what her car was going to cost her every month, and it eliminated any risk that I had to cover any maintenance that she could not afford.

Every situation is different, but in this case, a new Chevy Equinox made more financial sense than a 10 year old VW Passat.

If you have the ability...build your charging station in an out building (workshop or barn) and store in a vented metal box.

I know 2 people who had fires start in their garage due to plugged in tool batteries. One had camera footage of the the thing just sparking and starting to burning out of the blue in the middle of the day.

Do the research...there are TONS of people who keep them on the charger in the garage without incident, but there is also a large number of reported fires that have started as a result.

Bowman Lake was such a cool experience.

Getting there is an adventure, hour to an hour and a half on unpaved forest service roads...feels like the middle of nowhere...I think we passed one truck headed the other way from us.

Polebridge was a cool little place. Two little shops, and two food choices. We rented a canoe from one of the shops there.

Leaving Polebridge to the lake was the bumpiest 40+ minute drive I have ever been on. Potholes that literally swallowed cars. We were in a Wrangler, and it was tossing us back and forth the entire way as we weaved around rough spots.

But, once you get up there, it is so quiet. We were the only canoe on the lake that day, so it was a cool experience. You could see some people hiking the trails, but it was very few when we went. A family of 6 spent about a half hour at the lakefront, other than that, we didn't really see anyone else.

You are remote...if possible bring protection from bears. Especially in June, that is cub season. And I am not talking about bear spray. We saw 3 bears on that trip in the park...some really far away, but at Bowman Lake, you are on your own. Also, the mesquitos and bugs are big enough to drag you away if they wanted!

However...we have some amazing memories and pictures from that day!

Check your rental agreement...it may specifically state you cannot cross the border.

Getting into Red Rock Amphitheater is an intermediate level hike in itself...hahaha

I cant tell you how many people we passed on the way in who had to stop and take a break.