Travel from Missoula to Livingston, Montana

We drove our coach 237 miles, about 4 hour of driving, from Missoula, Montana to Livingston, Montana.

The map route for this leg, heading south:

Map route

Leaving the RV park:

Leaving the RV park

Fuel up behind another motorhome:

Fuel up

Lots of roadworks on this journey, as they were rebuilding pretty much all of the bridges, one side at a time:

Roadworks

More roadworks:

More roadworks

Snack delivery:

Snack delivery

Smoky trees:

Smoky trees

Smoky roadworks:

Smoky roadworks

Interesting building and roadworks:

Interesting building and roadworks

Rest stop:

Rest stop

Quite a nice-looking building:

Quite a nice-looking building

Lunch:

Lunch

Paladin in a box:

Paladin in a box

More roadworks:

More roadworks

More roadworks

More roadworks

More roadworks

Paladin on the theater seating:

Paladin on theater seating

Paladin on theater seating

Oversize load:

Large load

Continental Divide, elevation 6393:

Continental Divide, elevation 6393

Another rest stop:

Rest stop

We had the hazard blinkers on going up a hill; the cameras change to show 4-up in this mode:

Cameras

Smoky:

Smoky

Yet more roadworks:

More roadworks

A rather narrow and bumpy road leading to the destination:

Narrow road

The RV park entrance:

Entrance

Enter:

Enter

Office:

Office

Guided to our site:

Guided to site

Travel from West Glacier to Missoula, Montana

We drove our coach 124 miles, about 3 hour of driving, from West Glacier, Montana to Missoula, Montana. Beginning our trek from the top of the country to the bottom — we’ll be spending the winter in Texas this year.

The map route for this leg, heading south:

Map route

Smoky US-2:

Smoky US-2

US-2 next to the Flathead River:

US-2 next to the Flathead River

Roadworks on MT-206:

Roadworks on US-206

We stopped at Woody’s Country Store for lunch again:

Woody's Country Store

Woody's Country Store

Our coach

Woody's Country Store

Woody's Country Store

Woody's Country Store

Woody's Country Store

Woody's Country Store

Very tasty fries and burger:

Food

Paladin sitting on the dash as we returned to our coach:

Paladin

Some sights along MT-35 next to Flathead Lake:

MT-35

MT-35

MT-35

MT-35

MT-35

MT-35

Flathead Lake:

Flathead Lake

Oops, a dining chair fell over; we might want to think about securing it with a bungee or something:

Dining chair fell over

US-93

Several places in Ronan had decorated hay bales:

Decorated hay bales

Decorated hay

US-93

US-93

In the Flathead Reservation, the signs were bilingual:

Flathead signs

Flathead signs

Flathead signs

A wildlife bridge:

Flathead signs

US-93

Our destination, Jim and Mary’s RV Park:

Jim and Mary's RV Park

Jim and Mary's RV Park

Our site before occupation:

Our site

Our coach:

Our coach

Jenn and Paladin looking out the driver window:

Jenn and Paladin

Travel from Marion to West Glacier, Montana

We drove our coach 64 miles, about 1 hour of driving, from Marion, Montana to West Glacier, Montana.

The map route, heading northeast:

Map route

Leaving the McGregor Lakes RV campground:

Leaving campground

US-2:

US-2

A barn:

Barn

An interesting building:

Interesting building

Crossing Flathead River:

Flathead River

We stopped at Woody’s Country Store for lunch; unusual in our coach, but I noticed that they have parking available for big rigs:

Coach parked at Woody's

Reserved parking

Woody's

Woody's

Woody's

Tasty BLT and excellent fries:

Lunch

Back to our coach:

Our coach

Paladin in the steps:

Paladin in the steps

Flathead River again:

Flathead River

Bridge

Hungry Horse; a place name that reminds me of a Hungry Horse restaurant I went to as a kid in New Zealand:

Hungry Horse

The Huckleberry Patch, where Jenn later got a huckleberry pie, pancake mix, etc:

The Huckleberry Patch

Our destination, Moose Creek RV Resort and B&B:

Moose Creek RV Resort

Approaching the office (a little narrow for a big coach):

Office

Jenn checking in:

Checking in

We unhooked our truck out front:

Unhooked truck

I drove the truck to our site, while Jenn drove our coach around a longer route, to avoid a sharp corner:

Coach approaching

Coach approaching

Travel from Athol, Idaho to Marion, Montana

We drove our coach 170 miles, about 3 hours of driving, from Athol, Idaho to Marion, Montana.

The map route, heading northeast then southeast:

Map route

Our coach:

Our coach

Our coach

Getting ready to hook up our truck:

Our coach

We used the dump station on the way out of the campground, since we didn’t have a sewer:

Dump station

Dump station

Entering US-95:

US-95

Roadworks:

Roadworks

A barn:

Barn

Paladin not overly concerned:

Paladin

Jenn changed the settings on the TV, and now the mirrored GPS is in color instead of grayscale. Yay!

GPS on TV

Jenn driving:

Jenn driving

US-95 bridge over Lake Pend Oreille:

US-95 bridge over Lake Pend Oreille

A train station:

Train station

North of Lake Pend Oreille is a town called Ponderay, which is how the lake is pronounced:

Ponderay

A Pringles snack while driving down the road:

Snack

A seaplane:

Seaplane

Canada or Kalispell; hint, not going to Canada (yet; probably in a few years):

Canada or Kalispell

Entering Montana, and Mountain Time Zone:

Entering Montana

A stream:

Stream

Kootenai River:

Kootenai River

Car on a pole in Libby:

Car on a pole

Bird on a pole:

Bird on a pole

Bees!

Bees

Middle Thompson Lake:

Middle Thompson Lake

McGregor Lake:

McGregor Lake

Our destination for one night, McGregor Lakes RV Park:

McGregor Lakes RV Park

Travel from Plymouth, Washington to Athol, Idaho

We drove our coach 217 miles, about 4 hours of driving, from Plymouth, Washington to Athol, Idaho.

The map route, heading northeast:

Map route

Since we didn’t have a sewer hookup at Plymouth Park Campground, we used the campground dump station on the way out:

Dump station

Leaving the campground:

Leaving the campground

A stowaway spider inside:

Spider

Skoolie:

Skoolie

Bikers:

Bikers

Bridge:

Bridge

Exit towards Spokane:

Spokane exit

Paladin:

Paladin

Passing Coyote Run RV Park, where we stayed one night on the way home from Yellowstone last year:

Coyote Run RV Park

Coyote Run RV Park

US-395:

Yellow

Exit to a rest area:

Exit

Rest area:

Rest area

Paladin:

Paladin

Back on US-395:

US-395

I-90:

I-90

Sprague Lake:

Sprague Lake

Petro truck stop:

Petro truck stop

Truck stop

Some interesting (but gloomy) architecture in Spokane, Washington:

Spokane, Washington

Spokane, Washington

Paladin again:

Paladin

Welcome to Idaho:

Welcome to Idaho

Farragut exit:

Farragut exit

Farragut State Park:

Farragut State Park

Checking in:

Checking in

Paladin on the dash, driving to the campground:

Paladin

Travel from Kelso to Plymouth, Washington

We drove our coach 231 miles, about 4 hours of driving, from Kelso, Washington to Plymouth, Washington, with a stop in Woodland to get a new couch and cabinets installed (more on that later).

The first leg map route, heading south:

Map route 1

The second leg map route, heading south then east:

Map route 2

Since the first leg was less than half an hour, and we weren’t sure of the situation on arrival, we drove separately, i.e. without hooking up the truck to the coach:

Driving separately

After the installation, we continued down I-5:

Bridge

A rest area stop:

Rest area

RV passing:

RV passing

The I-205 bridge over the Colombia River:

Bridge

Entering Portland:

Entering Portland

Welcome to Oregon:

Welcome to Oregon

Driving along the Colombia Gorge:

Gorge

Paladin asleep in his safe space:

Paladin

A tunnel… not a huge amount of clearance there:

Tunnel

Tunnel

Gorge:

Gorge

Another rest area:

Rest area

Rest area

Wind turbines and a barge:

Wind turbines and arge

Dam:

Dam

Gorge

Paladin sleeping:

Paladin sleeping

Wind turbines (and dirty window):

Wind turbines

Irrigation:

Irrigation

I-82 bridge, crossing back into Washington:

Bridge

Welcome to Washington:

Welcome to Washington

Rail bridge:

Rail bridge

Plymouth Park entrance:

Plymouth Park entrance

Plymouth Park entrance

Approaching our site:

Our site

Little did we know of what was in store for us!

Travel from Concrete to Kelso, Washington

We drove our coach 215 miles, about 4 hours of driving, from Concrete, Washington to Kelso, Washington.

The map route, heading south:

Map route

Paladin looking a little concerned in the steps:

Paladin looking a little concerned in the steps

Rail bridge:

Rail bridge

Do you think they’d wash a 40-foot motorhome?

Car wash

Historic train:

Historic train

Entering I-5:

Entering I-5

Bridge:

Bridge

Paladin:

Paladin

Rest area exit:

Rest area exit

A nice rest area dump station:

Dump station

Dump station

Pink car:

Pink car

Bridges:

Bridges

Trains:

Trains

Seattle Space Needle:

Seattle Space Needle

Seattle:

Seattle

Seattle

Seattle Convention Center:

Seattle Convention Center

Seaplane:

Seaplane

Paladin on the back of my chair:

Paladin and David

Seattle traffic:

Seattle traffic

Green car:

Green car

Tacoma Dome:

Tacoma Dome

Paladin:

Paladin

Another rest area:

Rest area

Lunch:

Lunch

Paladin:

Paladin

Gee Cee’s Truck Stop, a nice fuel option on I-5:

Gee Cee's Truck Stop

Gee Cee's Truck Stop

Kelso exit:

Kelso exit

Arriving at the RV park:

RV park

RV park

RV park

Travel from Shelton to Concrete, Washington

We drove our coach 187 miles, about 5 hours of driving, from Shelton, Washington to Concrete, Washington.

The map route, heading north (exact start omitted for privacy):

Patial map route

A narrow road:

Narrow road

Paladin on the dash, unusual for him when driving:

Paladin on the dash

On the dash in front of Jenn isn’t acceptable, though:

Paladin on the dash

Freeway:

Freeway

Joining I-5:

Joining I-5

A bridge over I-5 in Olympia, the state capitol:

Olympia bridge

Paladin on the back of my chair:

David and Paladin

On the dash again; he seems to be getting more comfortable with seeing the traffic outside:

Paladin

While driving through Tacoma, a semi truck got too close to us and clipped our mirror with theirs, shattering the upper mirror glass:

Shattered mirror

Tacoma Dome:

Tacoma Dome

We stopped at a rest area for lunch:

Rest area

The SeaTac northbound rest area is rather nice, with a dump station and separate RV parking:

Rest area

I got out to inspect the shattered mirror; more on this in a future post (I should be able to replace just the glass):

Shattered mirror

Lunch for us and my Pokémon buddy:

Lunch with Pokémon

(My trainer code is 5198 7224 2799 if you play; my referral code is BT9H6KRBC, if you don’t but want to start.)

Pokémon trainer code

Paladin on my lap:

Paladin on David's lap

Boeing Field:

Boeing Field

Seattle:

Seattle

Seattle

Seattle

The freeway goes under downtown buildings:

Under buildings

Paladin on my lap:

Paladin

And sleeping on the back of my chair:

Paladin and David

We stopped at another rest area, and used their dump station:

Dump station

RV at dump station

Dump station

There was a handy map of rest areas and dump stations:

Map

Our exit:

Our exit

Paladin on the floor between us:

Paladin

Highway:

Highway

Our destination:

Our destination

Our destination

Travel from Buxton, Oregon to Eatonville, Washington

We drove our coach 163 miles, about 4 hours of driving, from Buxton, Oregon to Eatonville, Washington.

The map route, heading north:

Map route

We pulled into a maintenance area to hook up our tow bar:

Tow bar

Our new Sinclair Trails logo sticker is visible inside with the slide-out in:

Sinclair Trails logo and David

Jenn driving; yes, she drives our coach:

Jenn driving

Enjoying some coffee at a traffic light stop:

Jenn drinking coffee

Sandy:

Sandy

Interesting MAX light rail station:

Interesting MAX light rail station

MAX light rail:

MAX light rail

Heading towards Seattle:

Heading towards Seattle

Paladin on the back of my chair:

Paladin and David

Leaving Portland:

Leaving Portland

Leaving Oregon:

Leaving Oregon

Stopping at a rest area:

Rest area

Rest area

Lunch:

Lunch

The rest area had an RV dump station; nice:

Dump station

Paladin:

Paladin

Bridge:

Bridge

A small plane taking off:

Small plane taking off

Small plane taking off

Driving:

Driving

Another Tiffin joining the freeway:

Tiffin

Paladin passing over my lap:

Paladin

Gee Cee’s Truck Stop; quite nice and not busy:

Gee Cee's Truck Stop

Gee Cee's Truck Stop

Another bridge:

Bridge

We have Sinclair Trails logo Yeti coffee mugs:

Sinclair Trails coffee mug

Sinclair Trails coffee mug

Sleeping Paladin:

Sleeping Paladin

Mayfield Lake:

Mayfield Lake

Mayfield Lake

Jenn driving:

Jenn driving

Paladin asleep:

Paladin asleep

Highway 12:

Highway 12

Hey look, another bridge:

Bridge

Hobo Inn, staying in train cars:

Hobo Inn in train cars

Day use area at Alder Lake:

Day use area

Our destination, Rocky Point campground:

Rocky Point campground

A rather narrow road within the campground:

Narrow road

CLAM screen tent

Another useful addition to our campsites: we purchased a 9×9 CLAM pop-up screen tent, to provide shade and/or protection from bugs.

It’s pretty compact folded up in its bag:

Bag

It pops up quickly by pulling tabs in the center of each wall:

Popping up

Popped up, with wind and sun panels attached, and tie-down ropes attached, sitting on a new outdoor mat:

Popped up

With our chairs and small table inside:

With our chairs

Chairs and table

We also got a combo light and fan that can hang from the ceiling, or sit on the table:

Light and fan

On our site:

On our site

We brought Paladin outside in his harness and leash; only the second time he’s been outside, so he was a bit unsure about it:

Paladin

Paladin

Jenn and Paladin

Paladin

Paladin

Paladin

Paladin

Eating dinner in the tent:

Dinner