30 years ago, Tom and Kitty purchased 60 acres of land in Western Wyoming. They wanted a private spot in the mountains with lots of trees and wildlife. The property was filled with Douglas and subalpine firs, lodgepole pines, and aspen. What they didn’t realize before purchasing the property was the hundreds of wildflowers, shrubs, and enough raspberries to feed them, the bears, birds and little rodents!

It took nearly 20 years for them to build their first tiny home that they called the “shabin”. With only one room and a loft, it served it’s purpose protecting them from the elements. It was only used during the summer and fall as it wasn’t accessible except by snowmobile in the winter months.

Five years after building their “shabin”, disaster struck. Just as Tom and Kitty were headed into retirement and ready to spend long periods of time at the cabin, a massive forest fire burned not only the entire structure, but all of the surrounding forest. Only one acre of trees survived and looked like a moonscape post fire.

Ankle deep in ash, they looked around unsure of what the future would hold. The fire had destroyed everything about what made the land so attractive 30 years prior.

Three years later, they decided to rebuild and began exploring options. After looking at log cabin kits and custom building, neither seemed like a good fit. The idea of a modular cabin was foreign to them, as the first thing that came to mind was a mobile home park but were pleasantly surprised after doing some research.

Tom and Kitty found Riverside while researching online for modular cabins. The immediate advantages were that RSC was relatively close in proximity, seemingly affordable in comparison to custom building, and the staff were very responsive. They asked to contact past customers to get some reviews first hand. Each customer gave glowing reviews so they took the plunge and put down their deposit.

Still needing some reassurance, they made the trip to Montana to visit the facility, meet the staff, and see the construction process in person. They were very impressed with the construction quality and customization options. Owen, their project manager was helpful in guiding them through all the decisions and was patient as they made some changes from their original plan.

Delivery

Delivery day quickly arrived and though excited, nerves set in. Despite careful measuring, picture taking, and discussions about their road, the fear of it not making it up to the property was looming.

In hindsight, there were a few humorous moments, but the install crew and crane operator were able to get the job done. What a sight to see their cabin lifted up and so accurately placed on their foundation. Two RSC team members, Noah and Travis stayed for the next several days to put the finishing touches on the cabin going above and beyond. They stayed on the roof as a thunderstorm was brewing to get the ridge cap in place so rain didn’t get in. In three days, it was complete and ready to move in.

“We have so thoroughly enjoyed the process and end result of our work with Riverside Cabins. While we will never see the forest as it was before the fire, our new cabin was the perfect replacement for our destroyed “shabin”. We went a little larger so now we have room for guests and to comfortably spend long periods of time there. A big thank you to everyone at Riverside Cabins!”