🔨 One Broken Trailer, Two Jobs, and a Whole Lot of Elbow Grease

🔁 A Job Lost and a New Mess Found

Becoming landlords wasn’t part of the plan.

It started after I lost my job as a camp cook up in the Swan. I was bored, broke, and back in Kalispell trying to figure out my next move. Around the same time, Rick was neck-deep in tenant troubles, trying to collect rent from three beat-up trailers that barely held themselves together. Being the helpful person I am, I offered to collect rent for him while he was out of town. I had no idea what I was stepping into.

🚪From Double-Wide to “What Am I Doing?”

After months of chasing rent and arguing with tenants, Rick finally gave them the boot. That left him with an empty trailer.

That’s when I made a choice that still makes me shake my head: I gave up my three-bedroom double-wide and moved into that run-down 10x56 trailer. Why? To avoid driving 52 miles one way. Convenience over comfort, apparently.

Dorothy and I ripped out the disgusting, cat-pee-soaked carpet, and I moved in. Rick wasn’t thrilled about it, but we agreed it’d only be temporary.

🌩️ Then the Tree Hit

One stormy day, while I was cooking, a giant tree limb crashed through the roof and into my living room. Rick was outside enjoying the storm until that happened—then he panicked, thinking I’d been hit or the power line was toast. I was fine, but the trailer wasn’t.

We needed a replacement.

🏘️ Smith Valley and the Search for Trailer #2

We searched everywhere and finally found a trailer in Smith Valley. I moved in with what little I hadn’t shoved into storage, and Rick got busy clearing out the old trailers and prepping the land for new ones.

Meanwhile, I kept looking for a second trailer. One day, I drove through a trailer park and saw a “For Sale by Owner” sign in the window. I peeked inside—and I swear, it looked like a bike garage had exploded. Tools were scattered everywhere, grease was ground into the carpet, and the smell practically shouted, “Don’t open the fridge.”

🚔 Embezzlement and Eau de Dog

After a bunch of back-and-forth phone calls, we got the full story. The previous owner had been in trouble—embezzlement, unpaid rent, and a police investigation for possible drug activity.

When we finally got inside, we realized just how bad it was. The fridge stank to high heaven. One of the bedrooms? The dog had turned it into his own personal bathroom. It was rough.

But we saw potential.

🧼 Scrub It Down and Start Again

We negotiated a good price and got to work. Rick focused on the land, and I rolled up my sleeves and started cleaning. It took a lot of elbow grease, but I started to actually like the place. New paint, clean floors, and that awful smell eventually gave way to something that actually felt like a home.

🎄 A Christmas in Limbo

Once the land was ready, we moved our stuff from the Smith Valley trailer into the one we’d just cleaned up. Then we hauled the Smith Valley trailer out to the land.

We spent that Christmas in the fixed-up trailer—even though it was still stuck in the trailer park. After that, we moved back into the Smith Valley one, now sitting pretty on our land.

🔄 Still With Me? Because the Shuffle’s Not Over

Just as we settled into the Smith Valley model, the trailer park one got moved right next door—and suddenly, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. It had that cozy charm. So yep, we moved again. Just across the yard, but a move’s a move.

By then, most of our stuff still sat in storage. I’d had enough of moving. But when it was all said and done—sometime in 2008—we had a home and a rental.

💬 Wanda-ism

Sometimes life feels like one long game of musical trailers. But if you can laugh through the chaos, you just might land someplace that feels like home.

Pull up a chair I have a story