Having the opportunity to see what sort of renewable energy works well in the Flathead Valley has been a major asset for Beth McDonald in her quests to both simplify her life and live off the grid.

As someone with experience working in renewable energy on the East Coast, she is aware of the many ways she can live without electricity. However, she’s discovered some are not suitable for Northwest Montana.

“You realize solar’s not a great thing in this valley,” she said. “The wind is also variable. I’m looking for land near a stream so I can have a constant flow for micro-hydro.”

It won’t be too difficult for her to move to the most energy-friendly site she can find because her house is so portable. Since January, McDonald has been living in her newly purchased yurt, currently located on a friend’s property a few miles out of Kalispell.

She said the yurt has been freeing in more than one way.

“I like the fact that you can pick it up and move it,” she said of her yurt, “and in downsizing and paying cash for it and not having a mortgage — I love that.”

She purchased her yurt from Shelter Designs of Troy. She said the final yurt package was $22,500, which included some extras such as vinyl windows, an attractive French door and a floor with insulated panels.  

She added numerous upgrades, such as extra insulation, a kitchen with an island, a bathroom with a shower and a composting toilet, and carpeting in the main room, which is 30 by 15 feet. She has a propane tank with a water heater that doesn’t require electricity to fire. Her heating wood stove also doubles as a kitchen stove, with a cooktop and wood-fired oven.   

McDonald said Shelter Designs’ yurts had a good reputation for quality, but she also wanted to patronize as many Montana businesses as she could. She spent her money equipping the yurt at as many local businesses as possible she said, including Western Building, RBM Lumber in Columbia Falls, and Bud Block’s Service & Appliance in Kalispell, from who she purchased a renovated and working 1930s Maytag washing machine.

She volunteers at the local Habitat for Humanity ReStore, giving her more money savings in a 20 percent discount on the purchase of building materials people donate to the store.

She had a yurt-raising party to erect the kit once it arrived, and hired Shelter Designs owner Hays Daniel to direct the crew of friends.

“This is so structurally sound, the wind just rolls right around it,” she said. “There’s no flat surface for it to slam up against. There’s no painting, no scraping, there are just so many pluses to it.”

She said if she decides she wants to move out of the Flathead Valley, then “I can just take it apart, pack it up and ship it wherever I want to go.

“I couldn’t think of anything simpler than living in the round and getting rid of extra stuff, but still having all the comforts of home.”