A timelapse of driving our RV, a Tiffin Allegro Bus motorhome, 399 miles from Hardin, Montana to Missoula, Montana.
Author: David
Travel from Hardin to Missoula, Montana
We drove our coach 399 miles, about seven hours of driving, from Hardin, Montana to Missoula, Montana. Having recently been on the east coast at the time, driving seven hours within one state was a bit of a change!
Here’s a map showing our route, heading west:
An interactive map:
Approaching the exit gate from the RV park:
It was supposed to open automatically, but didn’t, so we had to call for help to open it:
Refinery in Billings:
Fuel stop:
Pink truck with Hello Kitty:
Rest area:
“Rattlesnakes have been observed; please stay on sidewalks”:
Paladin asleep in his dash bed while driving down the freeway, for quite a while:
Yellowstone River:
Fun with zoom:
We saw this car spin out; probably lost control going too fast around curves:
Truck parking area:
Road works:
Sunflowers:
Rail bridge over Madison River:
Interesting rocks:
Closed rest area:
“Our Lady of the Rockies” statue in Butte, Montana:
Clark Fork:
Horse in the water:
Arriving at our destination, Jim & Mary’s RV Park:
Using a filter canister to help sanitize the coach water systems
Since we drink the water in our fresh water tank, it is important to keep it clean. In addition to five filters, that we replace every three months, every six months we use bleach to sanitize the tank and pipes in our coach. This involves diluting 12 ounces of bleach in the water tank (about half full), running it through the pipes until we can smell the bleach, then filling the water tank and leaving it overnight, and finally flushing it out with a couple of dump/fill cycles.
Previously, we tried adding the bleach via a small inline container hooked to the hose, but it was too small for the amount of bleach required. We also tried mixing the bleach in a bucket and pouring it in the gravity fill for our tank, but that wasn’t ideal either.
But I came up with another idea: I purchased a filter system with a clear canister, and put the bleach in that, without the filter itself, and connected it to my hoses (with quick connectors, naturally). It’s bigger than needed, but better too big than too small. And is much easier to add the bleach without risking spilling any:
That was much easier!
Custer Battlefield Trading Post & Cafe
After visiting Little Bighorn Battlefield, we stopped by Custer Battlefield Trading Post & Cafe on the Crow Indian reservation.
Swag:
Cafe:
Menu:
We’re big fans of Indian fry bread, so had Indian tacos for dinner:
Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument
We visited Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument in Montana.
Just a quick visit, after a long drive of our coach on a one night stop.
Map:
Temporary visitor center:
Custer National Cemetery:
Battlefield drive:
Battlefield markers show where soldiers fell:
Custer’s monument:
Love’s RV Stop – Hardin, Montana
We stayed at a Love’s RV Stop in Hardin, Montana. (Campground Reviews listing.)
An easy one-night stop; our first stay at a Love’s RV Stop.
Dates:
- Check in: 2024-07-31
- Check out: 2024-08-01
- 1 night
Weather:
- Sunny
- High temp 89°F, low 59°F
- Negligible wind, gusts to 11 MPH
Noise:
- Some road noise
- No train horn noise
- No immediate neighbor noise, but noise from the adjacent Loves truck stop
Site:
- #40, pull-through, gravel
- Didn’t need to disconnect toad, parked behind coach
- Fairly level site; a little high in the back; used air leveling, since only one night
- Gravel driveway about 65 feet long by 10 feet wide
- 14 feet to neighbors on both sides
- Picnic table on grass
- No trees
- Clean site
Utilities:
- 50 amp power, fairly conveniently located
- 65 PSI water, very conveniently located
- Good sewer connection, inconveniently located (3 10-foot pipes needed)
Internet (in usage priority order):
- T-Mobile: 20 Mbps down, 20 Mbps up, 100 ms ping
- AT&T: 50 Mbps down, 14 Mbps up, 160 ms ping
- Verizon: 10 Mbps down, 4 Mbps up, 60 ms ping
- Starlink: not used
- Campground Wi-Fi: not used
Amenities:
- Truck stop next door
Our review on Campground Reviews:
You can check out, but you can never leave
This was our first stay at a Love’s RV Stop, and it will not be our last. It was convenient on/off the interstate and the self-service check-in went without an issue. As some other folks have mentioned, the sewer hookup is a bit far back (we had to use 3x 10-foot hoses, which is more than most people would have), but the other utilities were convenient and worked well. The only issue we had was when we went to leave. The automatic exit gate refused to acknowledge our presence, and since we had our tow vehicle hooked up, we couldn’t back up and try it again unless we unhooked, which is a bit of a hassle. However, I called the help number, and someone came right over to let us out. He also mentioned that they were working on this issue, so it may not still be a concern. We camped at Love’s RV Stop – Hardin MT 679 in a Motorhome.
Tip for Other Campers: Excellent Indian Tacos at Custer Battlefield Trading Post & Cafe, across the street from Little Big Horn Battlefield National Monument, which is also worth visiting….
Campground map:
An interactive map:
Our site:
I didn’t hook up the sewer until the next morning. Some reviews complained that it was too far back on the site, and yes, it is a bit; I needed three 10 foot sewer hoses, which is more than the usual one or two (and more than many people would have), but certainly not the worst I’ve ever experienced:
The other utilities; the electric had to be enabled via a link we received via email:
A notice on the faucet:
Other sites:
One major hassle: we exited just fine in our truck, but when we tried to leave with our coach, the exit gate wouldn’t open:
We called the Love’s store (using the number in the text we received to check in), and someone came over on a golf cart to open it for us. He said that the sensor under the concrete is calibrated badly, so if you go too slow it doesn’t trigger. He said they’ll have someone recalibrate it soon. It’s a brand-new park, so I’m willing to cut them some slack for teething issues. Still, super annoying for us, since we can’t reverse to try again with our truck hooked up; we would have had to untoad and re-toad.
An easy one-night stop; we would be happy to stay here again, especially for a one-night stay. And hopefully they’ll fix the exit gate before that!
Video: Custer, South Dakota to Hardin, Montana motorhome travel timelapse
A timelapse of driving our RV, a Tiffin Allegro Bus motorhome, 308 miles from Custer, South Dakota to Hardin, Montana.
Travel from Custer, South Dakota to Hardin, Montana
We drove our coach 308 miles, about five hours of driving, from Custer, South Dakota to Hardin, Montana.
Here’s a map showing our route, heading northwest:
An interactive map:
Our truck was rather dusty from a dirt road in Custer State Park:
Kinda looks like it’s snowing:
Interesting rocks on the highway out of the park:
Bismarck Lake:
An RV park we might stay at next year:
More interesting rocks:
Buffalo art in Custer:
Purple Pie Place in Custer, which we enjoyed on our previous visit:
Narrow Winding Road, No Shoulders:
Bighorn Sheep Crossing:
Entering Jewel Cave National Monument:
Curves:
US-16:
Fuel stop:
59.898 gallons of diesel for $200:
Hills:
Nice overpass:
Rest area:
Welcome to Montana:
Our destination, a Love’s RV Stop:
Shower shelf bar
A handy tweak: to be able to leave bottles on the upper shelf in our shower, even when traveling, we added a self-adhesive shower shelf bar (Amazon link):
A closer look:
It works really well. One less thing to have to worry about on travel days!
Mount Coolidge, Wind Cave National Park, Wildlife Loop in Custer State Park
A scenic drive up Mount Coolidge in Custer State Park, then anti-clockwise through Wind Cave National Park (which is still not available for cave tours), and back through Wildlife Loop in Custer State Park, with lots of bison seen.
A fire lookout at the top of Mount Coolidge, at 6,020 feet elevation:
Views:
Bison in Wind Cave National Park:
Pigtail loop in Wind Cave National Park:
One lane bridge in Wind Cave National Park:
More bison in Wind Cave National Park:
Out of the park, along a dirt road:
To an entrance back into Wind Cave National Park:
Then joining Custer State Park’s Wildlife Loop:
Bison Center:
A map showing where the wildlife was at the time. We told the ranger that the burros were actually in the corrals in front of the Bison Center (the fence was open, so they wandered in to eat the tasty food):
Wild burros and fans:
Following that map, we found a large herd of bison:
Nice.