Wally Byam Caravan Club International
Published in the Bozeman Chronicle, July, 2008.
As recently reported in the Chronicle, the Wally Byam Caravan Club International (best known and easily identified as “the aluminum airstream campers”) are in to town for their annual rally. Bozeman is fortunate enough to be the only destination to host this international rally on five different occasions. The club is estimated to bring 2,000 people and $3 to $5 million to our area in a one week period. Club members, with the average age of 60 years old, are very active and love the cool weather, the beautiful setting, and the abundance of outdoor activities found in Bozeman.
This event brings up an interesting concept of luxury RVs as a second home. While many people purchase second or multiple homes in areas they chose to vacation and spend time in, there are a growing number of people who are deciding that their second home should be mobile with a new view every day.
Manufacturers such as Prevost and Newell dominate the highest end of this market which is the $1 million+ price range. Superior technology, attention to details and interior design features makes these RVs truly an “estate on wheels”. There are about 325 RVs sold in this price range on an annual basis which shows that it is a viable market segment. And although the price tag seems high, it can certainly compete with condos or homes in resort communities and also offers the versatility of choosing a new vacation destination each trip.
Certain trends are also emerging in the high-end RV market. Fractional ownership of models that range in price from $250,000 to over a million dollars is now possible with the services of delivery, pickup, repair/maintenance, storage/cleaning, and roadside assistance coming standard. This type of RV arrangement can fit the lifestyles of those who want the luxuries such as large plasma TVs, fine leather, top of the line linens, and Italian marble flooring for a few weeks of the year without tying up a large amount of capital. Shares can range from a few weeks to half of a year of annual usage depending on how much time is desired each year.
Another concept that goes hand in hand with the high end RVs is Luxury RV resorts that go above and beyond basic hook-up features. Some amenities include spas, heated swimming pools, boat rentals, golf courses, tennis courts, and much more. A one week stay at many of these resorts can cost about the same as one night at a traditional resort hotel, further adding to the appeal of this type of lifestyle. Some of the most opulent of these gated RV resorts are located in Palm Springs, CA , Hilton Head, SC, and Naples , FL.
Financing an RV as a second home involves the same weighing of options as the purchase of a traditional second home. Self-financing by “borrowing from yourself” is one choice to consider. Bank financing is of course a popular option with different loan programs available depending on how much you are willing to put forth as a down payment (10-20% down for a new vehicle is the norm) and length of the loan (maturation generally runs 10-15 years). Used RV loans usually require a larger down payment and shorter loan term. One additional point of interest in this area is using a Second Home tax deduction on the loan interest when applicable. To qualify, the RV must simply meet the criteria of a second home which includes being equipped for sleeping, living, bathing, food preparation, and dining activities which are all standard features on any RV.
Wally Byam’s simple philosophy of showing people that they could essentially bring “home” with them as they traveled near or far appears to still be going strong. The ability to find out what’s over the next hill while feeling at home in the process is a timeless feeling.
Robyn Erlenbush is owner of ERA Landmark Real Estate (with offices in Bozeman, Big Sky, Livingston and Clyde Park) and Intermountain Property Management. She can be reached at robyn@eralandmark.com.
Visit our website http://www.stuartandsally.com and http://www.eralandmark.com
Catering to the rich, literally!
Suzie Bowles and Laurie Rolsma work hard. During the week, the owners of Venus Catering feed lunch to the middle-schoolers at Headwaters Academy and provide dinner to a nearby fraternity house. They also cater special events.
But about half of their business comes from the nation’s financial elite, the passengers of private jets at Gallatin Field, along with their pilots and crews.
Unlike commercial jet travelers, those people don’t have to content themselves with a bag of peanuts or some stale crackers, thanks to the jolly ladies of Venus.
Standard fare includes platters of chilled lobster, scallops and shrimp, top-quality steaks, or sandwiches packed with crab salad, fresh avocadoes or Cajun turkey with a basil-pesto mayonnaise and Jarlsberg cheese.
The sandwiches cost $16 each, freshly built and delivered to the tarmac, and the two women are on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week, catering to discriminating tastes. Their ability to deliver quality food on short notice, and do it consistently, is what keeps them in business.
Read more here.
“Western Tradition” – The Home of Sally Uhlmann & Family
“One of the joys of building your own home is that if you pay attention, you
can get all the details right,” says Sally Uhlmann of Bozeman, Montana. Her
family’s home is a testament to that philosophy; from a custom fireplace built
to exacting specifications for displaying an oil painting to a living room
designed to accommodate a large heirloom rug, the traditionally-styled home is
classic and elegant, yet perfectly at home in its Western setting.
A Place for Everything
Behind the scenes, the Uhlmanns’ home is
outfitted with functional rooms and hidden
spaces that serve a variety of practical
purposes:
- A spacious laundry room—with a
view “We generate a lot of
laundry, and since I spend a lot of time
there it’s essential to me to have a
beautiful room with a drop-dead gorgeous
view,” Sally says.
Click here to read more in the July/August issue of Mountain Living Magazine
Here’s how Blixseth did it
Early in 1992, The Nature Conservancy, with $10 million in backing from CNN founder Ted Turner, was trying to buy 165,000 acres from Plum Creek Timber Co., most of it inside the Gallatin National Forest.
The Nature Conservancy planned to trade some of that land with the U.S. Forest Service and launch an experiment in sustainable logging and recreational development. Negotiations dragged on for months, but fell apart after the news became public.
Within a few weeks, Tim Blixseth, along with partners Mel and Norm McDougal, announced they had bought the Plum Creek property. They paid $27.5 million for the land and a sawmill in Belgrade that employed scores of people. But before the papers were signed, they had arranged to sell some big chunks.
“We went to work and found buyers,” Blixseth said in an interview.
He and his partners, calling themselves Big Sky Lumber Co., arranged for other investors to take a 25,000 acre parcel west of Big Sky, the Jack Creek property, for $6.5 million. Today, it has become the ski and golf resort called Moonlight Basin, a place where 20-acre lots are listed for $3 million.
At the same time, timber giant Louisiana Pacific bought the Belgrade sawmill and a multi-year timber contract with BSL for $9 million, Blixseth said. The mill shut down after the lumber contract was complete, and the property became bustling retail space on the west end of Belgrade.
The sawmill and Moonlight sales reduced BSL’s overall price to $12 million, or about $86 an acre for the remaining 140,000 acres. The partners borrowed half of the purchase price.
Blixseth put up “about $3 million” in cash, he said. Today, condos at the Yellowstone Club cost more than that.
LOGGER FIRST
But it took a lot of work to make the Yellowstone Club happen.
Most of the Plum Creek land was in a checkerboard land pattern that stretched from Yellowstone National Park to the north end of the Bridger Mountains. Plum Creek had tried for decades to arrange land swaps that would allow it and the Forest Service to consolidate their holdings.
Some of the property was pristine, untouched and unroaded, while much of it had been heavily logged.
The Plum Creek swaps had a lot of support, but never made it past Congress.
Enter Blixseth.
He told the Chronicle in 1992 that he had come to saw logs and make money and wasn’t worried about battles with environmentalists.
“Maybe someplace in this United States of America, somebody needs to draw a line and protect private property rights,” he said at the time. “Maybe I’m the guy and that’s the place.”
He referred to the property as a “tree farm” and once said he was “tired of people saying clear-cutting is a bad word.”
Statements like that got people’s attention.
Meanwhile, he worked behind the scenes with members of Congress, the Forest Service and environmental groups to hammer out a deal.
By 1993, Congress had approved the first of two land swaps. BSL gave up 38,000 acres, mostly roadless land along the crest of the Gallatin Range, and got 16,300 acres of prime timberland scattered across western Montana. That property, lower in elevation and easier to reach, was logged and/or sold quickly.
By 1995, land prices were still climbing and BSL sold another 8,100 acres to the Forest Service in the Porcupine drainage — prime elk and grizzly bear habitat southeast of Big Sky — for $16.4 million, the appraised value.
Later, it completed another swap with the Forest Service.
By the time it was all said and done, the company traded to the government 101,000 acres in exchange for 47,000 acres, plus $25 million.
Read more here.
Blixseth, Redford helped shoulder state into new economy
Robert Redford and Tim Blixseth don’t have much in common, aside from their big impact on Montana’s landscape.
ERIK PETERSEN/CHRONICLE Yellowstone Club owner Tim Blixseth stands in front of the 120,000-square-foot Warren Miller Lodge at the club. “That’s your basic $100 million lodge,” Blixseth said. One is a Hollywood actor, movie producer and liberal environmental activist. The other is a jet-setting billionaire who wheels and deals in luxury real estate.
But they both changed Montana. Between them, they’ve helped shoulder the state into a new economy, one increasingly based on real estate, construction and recreation. It’s what economists call an “amenity” economy, one that relies on scenic views, pleasing lifestyles and portable money.
Redford, with his beautifully produced and photographed 1992 movie “A River Runs Through It,” made a movie star of both Brad Pitt and Montana’s scenery. The film generated tons of glowing publicity about the state, ignited a new craze for fly fishing and started a population influx and demographic shift that the Montana Department of Commerce has dubbed “A River Runs Through It Syndrome.”
Also in 1992, Blixseth landed in Montana, purchasing 140,000 acres of land, then proceeding with a series of land deals that eventually resulted in The Yellowstone Club, a gated community where only millionaires are allowed.
The club symbolizes wretched excess for some people and King Solomon’s mines for others. But love it or hate it, the club stands as the keystone property in the booming Big Sky resort area, a generator of intense publicity, and a major driver of the region’s economy.
Redford’s movie put Southwestern Montana on the map.
And while he didn’t do it alone, Blixseth put it on the market.
Now, 15 years later, this part of the state is a very different place.
New waves of homesteaders have arrived and they aren’t like the honyockers of the early 20th century, the people lured west by hucksters who promised that rain would follow the plow. The first wave of homesteaders came here for free land and a chance to make a living. Most of them went broke.
The new homesteaders are a different sort. Few of them come here looking to expand their wealth. Instead, they bring their own money. Economically, they make their own rain, and a lot of people are hoisting buckets, trying to catch some.
Gallatin County alone has 828 licensed real estate agents – almost a quarter of the state’s total. Bozeman offers a variety of sushi restaurants, plus Persian rug dealers, cosmetic surgery centers and art galleries of all stripes.
On one block of the sunny side of Bozeman’s Main Street, you can find $2,000 espresso machines, $10,000 sofas and $60,000 home theater systems. Million-dollar McMansions pepper the landscape, designer clothing surrounds the tables in tony restaurants, and just try to count all those Audis and Expeditions and Escalades.
And then there’s the cash money. Federal bank regulators say that Gallatin County banks hold $1.6 billion in cash deposits. That’s $20,000 for every man, woman and child in the county. It’s 30 percent above the state average and the total grew by $1 billion between 2000 and 2007.
And the truly wealthy n Forbes Magazines’s list of the 400 richest Americans names at least 10 people with homes in Montana n tend to do their banking somewhere else. They might have a $10 million property in Montana, but home, and the major bank account, remains elsewhere.
“Lots of people with wealth, whether they’re part-timers or not, don’t necessarily do their banking here,” said Larry Swanson, an economist at the O’Connor Center for the Rocky Mountain West at University of Montana.
Measuring the impact of the new wealth in Montana, Swanson said, is like looking at an iceberg: Most of the bulk is underwater and unseen, but that’s what packs the wallop.
At Blixseth’s Yellowstone Club alone, 340 millionaires have already bought land. And Blixseth says he’s confident he can bring in about 500 more.
Some people, particularly those with marketable skills, benefit from the influx of wealth.
“It means an electrician can drive a $40,000 vehicle and live in a $400,000 house,” said Clark Wheeler, a veteran land appraiser in Bozeman. “Twenty years ago, they were living pretty sparse.”
And while a lot of people are putting a lot of money in the bank, the averages don’t tell the whole story. Some people stash a lot of green. Others can’t find much at all.
Poverty remains high in the Gallatin Valley, though it’s largely out of sight.
Read more here.
Lewis & Clark In Montana: The Expedition Begins
The Expedition Begins
In 1804 a hopeful Thomas Jefferson sent Captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to find the fabled River of the West. From the time of Columbus, explorers and statesmen had dreamed of a Northwest Passage, an all-water route connecting the trade routes of the Pacific to the Old World of the Atlantic. As president of a still-young nation, Jefferson had pressed for the Louisiana Purchase to strengthen American trade and settlement. The final $15 million-dollar agreement with France doubled America’s size overnight.
Lewis & Clark in Montana
On April 25, 1805, the Corps of Discovery camped by the riverside near the future site of Fort Union. Lewis and Clark hoped they were only weeks away from the Pacific via an all-water route, the mythical Northwest Passage. The group rested and celebrated their arrival at the confluence of the Yellowstone and Missouri rivers. The expedition journals noted the spot’s potential as a trade location between two navigable rivers, the early highways of commerce. Entering what would be Montana led the expedition into the land of the Blackfeet. Their first contact with this tribe had been less than promising.
The Northwest Passage was not Jefferson’s only priority. In fact, of the tasks assigned them, Lewis and Clark accomplished the most within the modern borders of Montana. Contact and negotiations with native tribes, the reconnaissance of suitable sites for trading posts and forts, and scientific accounts of the land’s plants, animals, and scenic resources were all in keeping with Jefferson’s hopes for the expedition.
Montana Unspoiled Adventure
Today, much of the Montana landscape that Lewis & Clark crossed remains unchanged. From solitary sandstone through river canyons to mountain meadows, Montana’s rivers and highways flow past scores of landmarks related to the expedition. This site is a guide to these landmarks and the many opportunities to enjoy Montana’s beauty and recreation.
Please click here to learn more and plan YOUR Montana adventure!
History of John Bozeman
John Bozeman was born in Pickens County, Georgia, in 1835. Like so many men of the Civil War era, he was struck with gold fever and headed west in 1858, abandoning his wife and three children. Bozeman came to Montana from Colorado in 1862 after his lust for gold fizzled when his claims failed to pan out. Seeing a need to supply the mining camps of Bannack and Virginia City, he realized it would be more profitable to “mine the miners” than to mine gold. In 1863, he and John Jacobs blazed the Bozeman Trail, a cutoff route from the Oregon Trail, and guided miners to Virginia City through the Gallatin Valley.
Bozeman saw the fertile Gallatin Valley as a most desirable place to live. He chose the site “standing right in the gate of the mountains ready to swallow up all tenderfeet that would reach the territory from the east, with their golden fleeces to be taken care of” to make his fortune. In 1864, Bozeman, along with Daniel Rouse and William Beall, platted the town which would bear his name. The Bozeman Trail passed directly through the Gallatin Valley and was used by travellers until 1868 when it was closed because of the Indian Wars. It served its purpose; emigrants who saw the lush valley settled in Bozeman’s fledgling town.
John Bozeman was murdered under mysterious circumstances along the Yellowstone River, east of present-day Livingston, in April, 1867, three years after establishing his town. His partner on the trip, Tom Cover, reported they had been attacked by a band of Blackfeet Indians. Inconsistencies in Cover’s story have led historians to suspect Bozeman was murdered, either by Cover, or possibly by a jealous husband of one of the few women in town.
Local hysteria over a possible Indian attack so close to town led to the establishment of Fort Ellis, three miles east of Bozeman. Fort Ellis kept the tiny settlement afloat by providing protection and a market for local farmers and merchants.
John Bozeman is buried in Sunset Hills Cemetery.
Thanks to the City of Bozeman website.
Conservation Easements
Montanans – both natives and transplants – all share a love for the rugged grandeur of this magnificent state. Our wide vistas, majestic mountains, rolling farmlands, and wildlife attract visitors from around the world, and nurture the souls of those of us who call Montana home. Recent years have brought an influx of people wishing to develop and carve out sections of land for profit or personal use. This has created valid concern for the future of the state, and with that, growing alarm over disappearing open space.
Montanans are pro-active people and, consequently, many residents of the Big Sky Country are passionate about proper stewardship of the land and are involved in numerous non-profit organizations that are diligently working to preserve and protect all that we so love for our future generations. Montana calls itself “The Last Best Place” and with that in mind, we are committed to permanently protecting what we so enjoy.
Conservation Easements, very favorable and attractive to land owners wishing to preserve their holdings for future generations, are available for enactment by working with and through one of Gallatin Valley’s many non-profit organizations.
Stuart and Sally love the Gallatin Valley and encourage land owners to consider the future of the open lands in this community. As a board member of the Gallatin Valley Land Trust, Stuart is actively working to insure the continued viability of our local eco-system. Many of our closest friends are involved in 501-C3 local organizations fighting to safeguard Montana’s unique environment.
There are many reasons to place land under the umbrella of Conservation Easements: taxes, inheritance, and a desire to insure for perpetuity that the land remains unfettered by future development while allowing you enjoyment of the land. As a legally binding agreement, with specific rules and regulations, a Conservation Easement should be approached with full understanding and knowledge of what you receive in exchange for giving up certain rights on your land.
Below are links to several organizations in the Gallatin Valley with representatives who would be delighted to discuss the personal impact a Conservation Easement will have on you and your land.
Farm & Ranch
In his book, A Sense of Place: Listening to Americans, author David Lamb sums up how many feel about Montana when he writes, “In every true Montanan, there is something that says, ‘I am a last holdout.’ “You see, Montana isn’t just the “Last Best Place,” but unique in the sense that in this modern day and age, it remains primarily a rural land filled with vast ranches, farms, and national forests. Montana is the fourth largest state in the Union, but with a population less than that living on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. In Montana, it’s still very possible to become a cowboy, to ride the range, and to own property as far as the eye can see. There are “Gentleman Ranches” in and around Bozeman that satisfy the craving for a piece of the True West, allow horses, and are relatively easy to maintain. Or, like Ted Turner, Tom Seibel, and Tom Brokaw, you can jump in feet first and rope in a legendary Montana ranch, rich in history.
Stuart and Sally are ready to assist our clients in finding and acquiring the ranch or farm of their dreams. We work closely with specialists in Farm and Ranch properties, knowing many times well in advance that a property will be coming on the market. Pricing for acreage varies wildly, determined by many factors, including proximity to Bozeman or another urban area, existing buildings, water, trees, the make-up of the soil, weather conditions, views, topography, and the desirability of the land.
Many ranches and farms in Montana are owned by out-of state investors. Consequently, a thriving ranch management service industry has sprung up in Montana, specializing in the overseeing of large land holdings. It is possible to hire management and consultants who can address every aspect of being a proper steward of the land while operating an agricultural-based business.
There are many ways to help offset the cost of buying and operating large tracts of Montana land. There is a new trend to “bank" and trade such natural resources as water rights and there are lucrative tax credits for conservation easements. Stuart and Sally know the right professionals for you to consult with regarding ranch and land management. It is important for you to fully appreciate and understand the enormity of undertaking the running of a farm or ranch if you have not previously owned such a property.
In Montana, we consider Ryan Flair of “Fay Ranches” and Dave Johnson of “Hall & Hall” to be the leading listing agents for rural Montana farm and ranches.
We are happy to represent your interests should you wish to purchase one of their listings or any other available property in Montana.
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