Off Grid Cabin B&B LLC - Yaak, Montana

Off Grid Cabin B&B LLC - Yaak, Montana Off Grid Cabin B&B LLC - Yaak, Montana is located in the very northern part of the Yaak Valley.

It's Monday once again ... I missed posting last Thursday because I fell asleep on the couch for three hours that evenin...
05/19/2026

It's Monday once again ... I missed posting last Thursday because I fell asleep on the couch for three hours that evening 😴 ... I got asked if I would be interested in working two days a week for the Yaak School as a teacher's aide until school is out June 10th ... I said yes, and now I am tired a lot 😂 ... I tried posting on FB Friday, but after spending an hour-and-a-half on it ... it disappeared!! I gave up ... 😠

It has rained off and on most of the day ... but, I kept to my "task list" ... got a lot a dishes washed, got my check book balanced, got some computer work done, got some reading done, and alternated two "stand alone propane heaters" to keep the cabin fairly warm. It is that time of year when a fire 🔥 is too much heat all day, but not warm enough outside to let heat in ... I do like these heaters!!!

Last week, there was a beautiful morning sunrise ... so I grabbed by cell phone ... went outside on the porch in my pj's, and took a couple of photos 📸. It is amazing the difference in a 10 minute span of photos!! It was a a perfect morning to look at that view, and capture it ... then have coffee ☕️ with French Vanilla creamer 🥰

The Syringa flowers are starting to bloom and Water Birch are starting to get leaves 🍃 ... it is a challenge to get a great picture of white flowers. Tomorrow, after school I will try photos again if the light and weather cooperate 📸

May you enjoy Springtime 💚🌿💚🍃💚🌿

This song just went through my head ... "Monday, Monday..." 🎶I woke up this morning with blue sky, clouds, and sunshine ...
05/11/2026

This song just went through my head ... "Monday, Monday..." 🎶

I woke up this morning with blue sky, clouds, and sunshine 🌞 ... it was 34° at 8:30 a.m. ... now at almost noon it is 66° ... and I am smiling 😃 I also resuscitated my fire 🔥 in the wood stove so now it is 73° inside the cabin. Hopefully, in a few weeks there won't be a need for a fire.

One thing we learned living in this log cabin is that it stays cold inside all year round, but a fire will heat up the air, logs, flooring, and furniture ... which then radiates heat for several hours ... in the summer opening all the windows creates a warm breeze that heats up the cabin!!! Free heat!!! Also, opening the vents in the cabin crawlspace in the summertime keeps the cabin flooring and solar batteries warm ... cold batteries drain their power ... NOT GOOD!!! Our crawlspace normally keeps a 40-45° temp throughout the year.

On Monday posts, I think about what to share about the Yaak Valley, and about this Off Grid Cabin Bed & Breakfast ... this valley has an area called the "Community" ... and my Cabin is at least 15 miles north off it. The "Community" stretches between Mile Marker 28 and Mile Marker 29 ... no planned development at all ... so I thought I would share about Mile Marker 28 ...

When you head North on Hwy 508 and reach Mile Marker 28 ... look on your LEFT ... you've reached a little bit of civilization!! First, you will see a reality company ... small log cabin ... "Yaak's Real Estate Outpost llc". Shirin Lamp is a Montana and Idaho Broker/Owner ... you will see her business card in my photo section!!! She does a great job!

Next on your LEFT, you will see a very big log sign that is the "Yaak Community Church" entrance which leads to a nice facility ... which accommodates probably around 80 possible attenders. It is a very friendly group ... and they're potlucks the first Sunday of the month are very tasty!!! You will see a few photos below.

Getting to know your "Community" is important in making friendships, and being a part of it ... we have a gun club, volunteer fire department, women's quilt group, Community Hall, Yaak School ... just to name a few ...

I realized that I didn't really have a good picture of my "Off Grid Cabin B&B" in late spring ... so, I went outside today and took a couple photos. The log cabin was built by Meadowlark Log Homes out of Libby, Montana. Building began in September of 2020 and was finished being assembled in early November ... completion of the cabin was done by the end of December 2021.

It was quite a process!!! ... I write each Thursday on that year long process in more detail for those interested in it ... it will cover everything from the ground up to completion. The landscaping is still in process.

Photos of course ...

Wow ... it's another Thursday already!!!This week has been busy ... I have spent two days this week as a fill-in teacher...
05/08/2026

Wow ... it's another Thursday already!!!

This week has been busy ... I have spent two days this week as a fill-in teachers aide for the Yaak School District!!! The Yaak School is a one room log cabin built in 1932 ... and it has been moved a couple of times. It now has an added study room, library, bathrooms (2), and District School Office. The original School was started in 1919 😮 We have 7 students ... K-8 grade ... one principal/teacher and one aide per day.

So ... if you plan to live "off grid" and have children, you will need to investigate what schooling is available ... public or homeschooling is our choices in the Yaak. Children in the Yaak who are in highschool attend school in Troy ... which is 50+ miles one way ... this is when a child rooms in town or the parents move away from the Yaak.

Looking back at my Thursday posts, I realized that hadn't written about the purchase process for our 20 acres in the northern part of the Yaak Valley. So here goes ... 😆

Michael and I found our piece of property through looking at real estate online, and then contacting a realtor in Libby ... she was a lot more professional, and a lot more diligent in working with us. After looking at a few possible properties, we made a trip up the Yaak Valley ... in March ... with some snow and ice still on the roads. We loved that area ... it was what we had been looking for. We found the property with signage, but were unable to access it because of a locked gate (where's the key?) ... we decided to make an offer "sight unseen" fearing it would be sold if we waited ... YES ... it was during 2020 ... and Covid ...

WHAT DID WE OFFER FOR A PROPERTY LISTED AT $165,000??? ... we offered $145,000 and the sellers said "NO"!!! We also had a question that would be crucial for us to proceed further ... "Is there legal access to the property?" Two sides are bordered by the Kootenai National Forest, and two sides bordered by two other property owners. The answer was "YES", but our realtor and the other realtor did their "due diligence" but one property owner never responded ... there was proof of legal access from Lincoln County ... so we then offered $160,000 ... and the offer was accepted by the sellers.

The bonus was that the sellers were willing to hold the contract!!!! Next Thursday, I will write why that was so important!!! I will also write about the unhappy property owner and our legal access!!!

How did it get to be Monday so soon??? 😅It is so nice to see warmer weather for the extended weather forecast!!! That me...
05/04/2026

How did it get to be Monday so soon??? 😅

It is so nice to see warmer weather for the extended weather forecast!!! That means from an "Off Grid" financial viewpoint that I will use much less propane to generate electrical power ... the sunshine is FREE POWER!!!

Wednesday through Sunday was a short visit to see family and friends ... it was a great get-away ... one needs to do that now and again!!! ... even when you live in a paradise!!! 💚 ... My cabin was 54° inside when I got home ... I now have the fireplace warming it up ... it is 64.4° now ... YEAH!!!

The snow has all melted, and now I see a lot of cleaning up the area around the buildings ... raking up dead grass, picking up dead branches from winter (I'm gonna burn 🔥 some in the wood stove). April is a month we can start burning outside ... the month of May you must have a permit to burn outside ... June through October is NO FIRES OF ANY KIND because of the high danger of forest fires.

In late May, I will begin to "lop" (trim up) branches on the Lodgepole Pine trees 🌲 My son was a wild land fire fighter for 5 years, and he said to lop up at least 4' ... because the branches hang so low to the ground, I am lopping 6' high. Lopping branches helps with fire danger, makes for healthier trees, and I can see what wildlife is out there. Before I step off my porches, I look for bears, cats (cougar and lynx), wolves, etc. ... if the deer are at the mineral block, that is a sign no predators are around. I always carry bear spray from March through November just in case it might be needed.

One needs to remember that the wilderness and wildlife has been here for thousands of years. THEY WERE HERE FIRST ... and we have chosen to live among them, and need to respect that. This is their territory, and I have chosen to live here and respect them ... there is no hunting on my property ... it is a 20 acre sanctuary. Two sides of my property are next to the Kootenai National Forest which 2.2 million acres that one can hunt on ... I'm not against hunting ... just not on my property. You will find that in the Yaak that most properties have "NO hunting, No fishing, and No trespassing" signs posted ... and it is to a hunter's safety to respect that.

I have photos of a before and after lopping branches ... that will show you best what I am writing about. My arm 💪 is out of strength before two hours ... I love to see how much healthier the land is!!

Guess what? ... It is already Thursday, and that means I will be sharing about the process of having "a dream turned int...
04/30/2026

Guess what? ... It is already Thursday, and that means I will be sharing about the process of having "a dream turned into a reality" for a log cabin. This is Post #2 ...

Looking at last week's post, I forgot Michael's one other requirement for buying property ... it was having at least one boundary next to a state or national forest. The reason for that was we didn't want to be surrounded by other property owners on all boundaries... we wanted easy access to the wilderness!!! THAT'S A VERY DIFFICULT DREAM REQUIREMENT TO FULFILL!!!

We spent a lot of time looking at realty listings online for property. Our plan was to find at least 5 listing so we could plan a trip in March of 2019 to see the listings. That also meant finding a realtor in the Libby - Troy area that would help us with viewing those properties. We made contact with a realtor, set a date to see possible properties, and met at a local restaurant in Libby.

Guess what???? She did next to nothing in setting up any appointments ... we looked at one property that already had an "offer" on it!!! We took a look at one other property that didn't meet hardly any of our requirements!!!

So after that really disappointing time, we knew she was NOT the realtor for us. We were going to have to look elsewhere.

What we could do was research the livability of living in the Libby - Troy area ... Grocery stores - food prices, banks, credit unions, RV parks, gas stations and gas prices, medical and dental available, post office locations, restaurants, courthouse, etc.

So here is your next questions to think on ...

WHAT ARE THE BUSINESSES THAT YOU WOULD NEED TO DO BUSISNESS WITH??? WHAT IS THE COST OF DOING BUSINESS WITH THEM??? CAN I AFFORD TO LIVE HERE?

04/27/2026

The Yaak River Falls ... NW Montana ... May 2023

04/27/2026

I wanted to share a 30 second video of the Yaak Falls in May of 2023 ...

It is one of those days where one spends more time on the phone than planned ... so far it has been a nice day ... it's...
04/27/2026

It is one of those days where one spends more time on the phone than planned ... so far it has been a nice day ... it's not snowing!

The beauty of the Yaak Valley is due in part because of the Yaak River that flows through it. This area is the only RAIN FOREST in Montana! The Yaak Valley is a 45+ mile long and narrow valley because of the Purcell Mountains ... part of the Rocky Mountains! Thousands of years ago this was a glacier area where it is thought to have been 1,000 feet thick with ice!!!

The Yaak Valley is located in the very Northwest corner of Montana and borders the Idaho Panhandle and the Canadian border, and is part of the Kootenai National Forest (2.2 million acres). It is a very scenic area for photography, and a sportsman's paradise!!!

This "Off Grid Cabin" is located in the very North part of the Yaak Valley ... it is located about a mile from the Canadian border. There is a trail that one can hike to the border ... be sure and have some kind of authentic identification on you. The Border Patrol officers will ask for it ... be also aware that they have security cameras on the trail and River.

After writing that, I want to say it's pretty peaceful and quiet up here. Montanians are friendly people who respect each other's privacy and property ... but, when you need help they show up to help!

It is a privilege to live in the Yaak ... my days are spent caring for this cabin and property, making herbal soaps, writing my books, taking photos, and now running a Bed and Breakfast ... hoping to make guests feel welcome to the Yaak 👋

Here are a few photos of the Yaak Valley 📸

Guess what it's Thursday!!! ... the day I talk about mine and Michael's adventure of finding property of our dreams, and...
04/23/2026

Guess what it's Thursday!!! ... the day I talk about mine and Michael's adventure of finding property of our dreams, and having a log cabin built on it.

THURSDAYS are the "taking a dream to reality" ... it is a lot of work ... mental, physical, financial, and emotional when you actually DO IT!!!!!

Michael had a dream from childhood onward of being a cowboy, living in a log cabin, in Montana. He talked about it to family, friends, co-workers, and anyone who would listen ... until he was 64 ... 😲 I don't think many thought it was more than a dream????

I met Michael in the summer of 2018, on an online dating website ... Farmer's Only ... Michael called it, "Cowboys are Us" ... 🤠 ... Michael and I met "face to face" in October of 2018. He was from Utah, and I was living in western Oregon. I was 62, and graduating from community college in the spring of 2019. After graduation, I had planned to sell y home, and move back to my hometown in northern Idaho.

Michael came to live on my property for 9 months, and drove his 1992 Ford 250 pickup with his new 1987 Kit Ranger RV. He was NOT fond of western Oregon because of the humidity 😂

We both love old trucks!!!

So ... our first question was ... DO WE WANT TO BE A COUPLE ??❤️?? Obviously, it was a "YES"!!! ...

SO IF YOU ARE SERIOUS ABOUT MAKING A DREAM COME TRUE ... LIVING TOGETHER ... MOVING ... PROPERTY ... CABIN ... AND MONEY ... are all things you must consider!!!

This is an important BEGINNING QUESTION for consideration ... it will help define your goal ... yes, there will be many more questions with this adventure ... 😵‍💫 ... next Thursday will be another Question ... and so on ...

1. WHERE DO YOU WANT TO LIVE? ... AND WHY? ...

Our answer was NW Montana ... in Lincoln County ... off Grid in the wilderness ... on 20 acres on build-able land (flat) ... with a creek.

Michael's dream property was getting out of hand financially!!! Our budget was no more than $100,000 but we ended up spending $160,000!!!
It took 9 months to find our property ... and we now had $60,000 less for building the cabin!

Yesterday, I spent probably an hour on a post that disappeared 🙃... I think it had too many photos. So, I decided to try...
04/22/2026

Yesterday, I spent probably an hour on a post that disappeared 🙃... I think it had too many photos. So, I decided to try to do posting different ...

MONDAY'S, I will share about living with "off grid cabin" adventures and how I never tire of the beauty and peacefulness ... and what keeps me busy all year long!!!

THURSDAY'S, I will post about how Michael and I went about taking on the challenge of making a dream of a log cabin into a realty in NW Montana.
It was a 4 year adventure!!!

My hope is that what I post will encourage guests to come spend some time at this "Off Grid Cabin B&B" in Yaak, Montana. Many people have a dream of living in a log cabin in the forest ... and off grid ... and this is the perfect place to try it out, and ask questions ... sit on the porch at sunrise drinking that cup of coffee ... and watching deer and chipmunks is part of the entertainment!

A couple of photos 📸 from April 15th!! The snow is gone, thankfully!

04/22/2026

Thank you to everyone who now "Follow"
Off Grid Cabin B&B - Yaak MT
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333 Wood Creek Trail
Troy, MT
59935

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