Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 days ago
Well, this trip did not turn out anything like we thought it was going to, and that was probably the best part of it. We spent three days in Billings visiting Rachel's dad, and then we had about five days left to explore Montana. We rented a Jeep with a rooftop tent, had a very loose idea of where we wanted to go, and basically said, "Let's just go see what happens."
We started at Beartooth Pass, which was especially important because it was one of Rachel's dad's favorite drives. Rachel was not exactly thrilled about the whole mountain road situation, but she made it to the top at 10,947 feet and only got mad at me a couple times. So we're calling that a win.
From there, we went through Cooke City and into Yellowstone through the northeast entrance. We ended up spending almost three days in Yellowstone and seeing so many places we'd never seen before. We've been there before and did all the traditional stuff, but this time we wanted to see something different. Lamar Valley, the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, wildlife, mountains, rivers, and just enormous amounts of beautiful country. Honestly, pictures don't do it justice.
We also wanted to talk about the Jeep and rooftop tent rental because a lot of people had questions about it. We rented it through Outdoorsy, and it came with the tent, cooler, bedding, cookware, stove, propane, chairs and basically everything we needed to get out there and go. We bought some food and a few disposable dishes and hit the road. You can check out what they have for rent by using this link (plus you'll get a discount) outdoorsy.com/invite/toddb052035
There were definitely some things we learned. Like don't go to Montana without pants. That would be lesson number one. It got down to 42 degrees and Todd was still wearing shorts. We also learned that a rooftop tent can limit where you can camp in grizzly country, and we learned just how important having our Starlink Mini was because there were stretches of almost three days where we had no cell service.
But the biggest thing we learned is that we really like traveling this way. We don't want to have every minute planned. We want to be able to say, "Hey, let's turn down that road," or "Let's stay here another night," or "Let's see what's over there." And that's exactly what we did.
It was an amazing trip. It was beautiful, it was emotional, we saw way more than we expected, and we're already talking about going back. There is still a whole lot of Montana and Wyoming we haven't seen yet.
So that's our Montana adventure. Now it's back to the homestead, where apparently there are tomatoes, pigs, deer season, salmon season and a van that still needs some work. Retirement is busy, apparently.
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👕 Shop Our Merch: bonfire.com/store/1870smerch
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Our Mailing Address:
That 1870's Homestead
P.O. Box 179
Newport, MI 48166
---------------
✅ Connect with Us 🐐
YouTube: youtube.com/@1870s
Facebook: facebook.com/1870sHomestead
Instagram: instagram.com/that_1870s_homestead
EMAIL: that1870shomestead@gmail.com
---------------
Please note that some of the links above are affiliate links - at no additional cost to you. We will earn a commission if you decide to make a purchase, after clicking through the links. ♥ Todd & Rachel
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00:00 Welcome to Montana
00:35 Camping at Beartooth Pass
01:08 The Reason We Came to Montana
02:41 Saying Goodbye to Dad
03:44 Our First Night of Wild Camping
04:28 Getting Ready for Beartooth Pass
09:02 Climbing Beartooth Pass
09:57 The Views Get Better
11:46 Making It to the Top
12:55 10947 Feet Above Sea Level
14:28 Climbing Even Higher
18:44 How Our Trip Completely Changed
19:34 Three Days in Yellowstone
20:33 Why Yellowstone Has to Be Experienced
22:18 Exploring Yellowstone Beyond the Usual Stops
22:47 Leaving Yellowstone
23:35 Why We Travel Without an Agenda
25:29 Why Shoulder Season Works
26:24 Our Outdoorsy Jeep Rental
28:04 Why We Chose a Rooftop Tent
29:20 What Came With the Rental
30:26 What We Brought With Us
31:01 Was the Rental Worth Nearly $2,000
31:30 The Downsides of Rooftop Tent Camping
32:22 Camping in Grizzly Country
33:28 What We Learned for Our Adventure Van
33:54 Why We Brought Starlink
34:43 No Cell Service in Yellowstone
35:13 Our Favorite Trip Yet
35:39 Yellowstone Costs and Camping
36:31 Camping for $12 on the Yellowstone River
37:23 What We Learned From the Trip
38:45 Heading Home to the Homestead
39:33 Life Is Short So Go Have Fun
Well, this trip did not turn out anything like we thought it was going to, and that was probably the best part of it. We spent three days in Billings visiting Rachel's dad, and then we had about five days left to explore Montana. We rented a Jeep with a rooftop tent, had a very loose idea of where we wanted to go, and basically said, "Let's just go see what happens."
We started at Beartooth Pass, which was especially important because it was one of Rachel's dad's favorite drives. Rachel was not exactly thrilled about the whole mountain road situation, but she made it to the top at 10,947 feet and only got mad at me a couple times. So we're calling that a win.
From there, we went through Cooke City and into Yellowstone through the northeast entrance. We ended up spending almost three days in Yellowstone and seeing so many places we'd never seen before. We've been there before and did all the traditional stuff, but this time we wanted to see something different. Lamar Valley, the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, wildlife, mountains, rivers, and just enormous amounts of beautiful country. Honestly, pictures don't do it justice.
We also wanted to talk about the Jeep and rooftop tent rental because a lot of people had questions about it. We rented it through Outdoorsy, and it came with the tent, cooler, bedding, cookware, stove, propane, chairs and basically everything we needed to get out there and go. We bought some food and a few disposable dishes and hit the road. You can check out what they have for rent by using this link (plus you'll get a discount) outdoorsy.com/invite/toddb052035
There were definitely some things we learned. Like don't go to Montana without pants. That would be lesson number one. It got down to 42 degrees and Todd was still wearing shorts. We also learned that a rooftop tent can limit where you can camp in grizzly country, and we learned just how important having our Starlink Mini was because there were stretches of almost three days where we had no cell service.
But the biggest thing we learned is that we really like traveling this way. We don't want to have every minute planned. We want to be able to say, "Hey, let's turn down that road," or "Let's stay here another night," or "Let's see what's over there." And that's exactly what we did.
It was an amazing trip. It was beautiful, it was emotional, we saw way more than we expected, and we're already talking about going back. There is still a whole lot of Montana and Wyoming we haven't seen yet.
So that's our Montana adventure. Now it's back to the homestead, where apparently there are tomatoes, pigs, deer season, salmon season and a van that still needs some work. Retirement is busy, apparently.
---------------
👕 Shop Our Merch: bonfire.com/store/1870smerch
🛒 Our Favorite AMAZON Products: amzn.to/3ihSgZP
---------------
Our Mailing Address:
That 1870's Homestead
P.O. Box 179
Newport, MI 48166
---------------
✅ Connect with Us 🐐
YouTube: youtube.com/@1870s
Facebook: facebook.com/1870sHomestead
Instagram: instagram.com/that_1870s_homestead
EMAIL: that1870shomestead@gmail.com
---------------
Please note that some of the links above are affiliate links - at no additional cost to you. We will earn a commission if you decide to make a purchase, after clicking through the links. ♥ Todd & Rachel
---------------
00:00 Welcome to Montana
00:35 Camping at Beartooth Pass
01:08 The Reason We Came to Montana
02:41 Saying Goodbye to Dad
03:44 Our First Night of Wild Camping
04:28 Getting Ready for Beartooth Pass
09:02 Climbing Beartooth Pass
09:57 The Views Get Better
11:46 Making It to the Top
12:55 10947 Feet Above Sea Level
14:28 Climbing Even Higher
18:44 How Our Trip Completely Changed
19:34 Three Days in Yellowstone
20:33 Why Yellowstone Has to Be Experienced
22:18 Exploring Yellowstone Beyond the Usual Stops
22:47 Leaving Yellowstone
23:35 Why We Travel Without an Agenda
25:29 Why Shoulder Season Works
26:24 Our Outdoorsy Jeep Rental
28:04 Why We Chose a Rooftop Tent
29:20 What Came With the Rental
30:26 What We Brought With Us
31:01 Was the Rental Worth Nearly $2,000
31:30 The Downsides of Rooftop Tent Camping
32:22 Camping in Grizzly Country
33:28 What We Learned for Our Adventure Van
33:54 Why We Brought Starlink
34:43 No Cell Service in Yellowstone
35:13 Our Favorite Trip Yet
35:39 Yellowstone Costs and Camping
36:31 Camping for $12 on the Yellowstone River
37:23 What We Learned From the Trip
38:45 Heading Home to the Homestead
39:33 Life Is Short So Go Have Fun
