Travel from Taos to Albuquerque, New Mexico

We drove our coach 122 miles, about 3 hours of driving, from Taos, New Mexico to Albuquerque, New Mexico, to attend the 50th annual balloon fiesta.

The map route, heading south:

Map route

It had rained, so when we brought the slide-outs in, water poured off. I generally prefer to not be standing under that when that happens:

Water pouring off slide

Leaving the RV park:

Leaving RV park

An interesting round shave ice cart:

Shave ice cart

Adobe buildings:

Adobe buildings

Adobe buildings

NM-68

Rio Grande gorge:

Rio Grande gorge

Another circular shave ice cart:

Another shave ice cart

Mountains:

Mountains

Rockfall fences:

Rockfall fences

Old gas pumps:

Old gas pumps

Rio Grande river:

Rio Grande river

Roadworks:

Roadworks

Camel Rock:

Camel Rock

There was only one rest area on this route, but it was on the opposite side of the freeway:

Rest area on opposite side

So we exited after the rest area, and headed the other way to the rest area:

Round trip sign

Rest area

At the rest area; Paladin on the back of the passenger chair:

Rest area and Paladin

Lunch:

Lunch

Roadworks:

Roadworks

Rain:

Rain

We went past the turnoff to the balloon fiesta to go to a T/A truck stop:

T/A truck stop

A bit over half a tank of diesel:

Fuel

We also filled the DEF (Diesel Exhaust Fluid):

DEF

Then back towards Balloon Fiesta Park:

Balloon Fiesta Park sign

Balloon Fiesta VIP West sign:

Balloon Fiesta VIP West sign

Balloon Fiesta check in:

Balloon Fiesta check in

The truck following the coach, following a golf cart to our site:

Following coach

Travel from Alamosa, Colorado to Taos, New Mexico

We drove our coach 97 miles, about 2 hour of driving, from Alamosa, Colorado to Taos, New Mexico.

The map route, heading south:

Map route

Goodbye sand dunes:

Sand dunes

Passing through Blanca:

Blanca

Blanca

A short skoolie:

Skoolie

San Luis:

San Luis

San Luis

Their claim to fame is the oldest continuously occupied town in Colorado, which they declare on a hillside:

San Luis

This journey was rather rainy:

Windshield wipers

Horses open range:

Horses open range

An interesting trailer:

Interesting trailer

Welcome to New Mexico:

Welcome to New Mexico

A lunch stop in a wide area on the side of the road; I look for such places when planning the trip, if I can’t find proper rest areas (I’ll do a post about trip planning sometime soonish):

Lunch stop

Lunch stop

Paladin on the back of the driver chair during the lunch stop:

Paladin

Paladin

Paladin

Onward in the rain:

Rainy

Our destination was in Taos, an interesting town with lots of adobe-style buildings, founded in 1615. We might want to explore it some more in the future:

Taos

Taos

Taos

Taos

Our destination:

Our destination

The office (looks rather KOA-like):

Office

Our tow bar, with the lights on:

Tow bar

Travel from Colorado Springs to Alamosa, Colorado

We drove our coach 158 miles, about 3 hour of driving, from Colorado Springs, Colorado to Alamosa, Colorado.

The map route, heading south then west:

Map route

Leaving the state park:

Leaving the state park

Leaving the state park

Paladin emerging from behind the couch — travel day again?!

Paladin emerging from behind couch

Fort Carson army base, across the road from the state park:

Fort Carson

Elk and bald eagle artwork:

Elk and bald eagle artwork

Park pond in Pueblo, Colorado:

Park pond in Pueblo, Colorado

Downtown Pueblo, Colorado:

Downtown Pueblo, Colorado

Arkansas River in Pueblo, Colorado:

Arkansas River in Pueblo, Colorado

I-25:

I-25

I-25

Airstream travel trailer:

Airstream

Mountains:

Mountains

Wind turbines:

Wind turbines

Exit towards Alamosa:

Exit towards Alamosa

We didn’t particularly need fuel for our coach, but a T/A truck stop was a convenient place for fuel for us:

Lunch stop at a T/A

Parking

Our coach

They had an A&W restaurant in the back of the convenience store:

A&W in the back of the convenience store

We took it back to our coach to eat:

David with food

Food

We considered getting fuel after lunch, but it was rather busy at the time, so we opted not to bother:

Busy truck stop

I started to close the step cover, but Paladin jumped down there to peek out the window, so I left it open until he went elsewhere:

Paladin on steps

Walsenburg, Colorado:

Walsenburg, Colorado

Walsenburg, Colorado

Snow fences and mountains:

Snow fences

Mountains

Roadworks:

Roadworks

Scenic mountains:

Mountains

Scenic mountains

Scenic mountains

Mountains

Arriving at Alamosa KOA:

Arriving at Alamosa KOA

Arriving at Alamosa KOA

Travel from Longmont to Colorado Springs, Colorado

We drove our coach 121 miles, about 2 hour of driving, from Longmont, Colorado to Colorado Springs, Colorado.

The map route, heading south:

Map route

Leaving the campground:

Leaving the campground

Leaving the campground

Since that campsite didn’t have any sewer (or water), we stopped by the dump station on the way out:

Dump station

A somewhat sharp curve leaving the park:

Sharp curve

Heading towards Denver:

Heading towards Denver

Heading towards Denver

Denver buildings:

Denver building

Denver buildings

Overpass

A somewhat low bridge, but high enough for us (we’re 12’ 7” high); they recommended trucks take the center lanes, though:

Low bridge

A feetball stadium:

Stadium

Denver buildings

Denver building

Passing a Tiffin Phaeton motorhome:

Tiffin Phaeton motorhome

Interesting rock:

Interesting rock

Rocky Mountains:

Mountains

Mountains

The Tiffin Phaeton passed us:

Tiffin Phaeton motorhome

Heading towards the state park:

Heading towards state park

Cheyenne Mountain State Park:

Cheyenne Mountain State Park

Cheyenne Mountain State Park

Cheyenne Mountain State Park

Our site:

Our site

Our site

Our site

Coach changes after a year

A month ago I celebrated the one year anniversary of buying our coach, and mentioned that I’d do an update on it. Here ya go — some pictures of the what our coach looks like now, after a year of modifications.

Here’s the 2017 Tiffin Allegro Bus 40SP floorplan, edited to show our options and modifications:

2017 40SP floorplan with our mods

The outside is much the same, but we now have Sinclair Trails stickers on the side of the slide-out, along with a map showing the states we’ve visited, plus the Magne-Shades on the windscreen and side windows:

Our coach

Looking down a bit, another addition visible there is a foldable wagon, and an extra step:

Our coach

On the other side of the coach, we have National Park stickers for parks we’ve visited on the slide-out:

National Park stickers

Heading inside, the cockpit area has a few changes:

Cockpit

For example, the steering wheel table and plants (the boxes contain our keys etc, to avoid Paladin knocking them off the table):

Steering wheel table

Speaking of the boy, he enjoys his boxes on the dash, and sitting on the carpeted dash cover:

Paladin

Above the entry door is now a small cupboard full of internet devices, with the door removed:

Internet cupboard

We added hooks for hats and bike helmets:

Hooks for hats and bike helmets

On the passenger side, in front of the lift TV is a top-entry cat litter box and waste bin, plus IKEA drawers and cupboards, where there was originally a couch, and later a desk:

Cat litter; IKEA drawers and cupboards

Here’s the main TV active (with Jenn’s video game), and the smaller TV over the windscreen (showing a baseball game):

TVs

Opposite that is new theater seating and cabinets, where there was originally an L-shaped couch, and later recliner chairs:

Theater seating and cabinets

Here’s a view of the living area:

Living room

The dining table and chairs are unchanged, though we have Paladin’s food, water, bed, and a scratcher on the cabinet behind the table, and alcohol storage in the rightmost cupboard below:

Dining table and chairs

Next to the fridge is a framed wooden map and sticker board that we recently added:

Fridge

The kitchen / galley area has modifications like the towel rail, and a drying rack over one of the sinks:

Kitchen

A closer look at the kitchen counter:

Kitchen counter

The two sinks, with a drying rack and bottle rack on the right-hand one:

Sinks

In the sinks are handy strainers, better than the stock ones:

Sink strainers

Continuing back, the half bath:

Half bath

The thermostat and Spyder control panel in the bedroom; upgrading this control panel was a huge improvement:

Controls

In the bedroom, we’ve added hooks for actively worn clothes:

Bedroom

Another cat bed, plus gaming headphones and controllers, a projection clock, and device chargers:

Cat bed and electronics

In the media cupboard, Jenn’s PS5 etc:

PS5 etc

The bed is much the same, just different covers:

Bedroom

The bathroom:

Bathroom

The sink area has necklace hooks and under-cabinet lights:

Bathroom sink

The shower has extra hooks and dispensers, and we added towel rods next to the shower:

Shower

A look at the living area from by the half bath:

Living area

 And a similar view with the slides in — somewhat smaller:

Slides in

Still enough room to get by the couch, though:

Slides in

The bedroom with slides in; can’t really get past the bed without difficulty; we pile the steering wheel table, air cleaner, etc on it for travel:

Slides in

 Heading outside, the basement cooler is the same; we have it unplugged, and just use it to store spare beverages:

Basement cooler

The next basement compartment has houseware supplies, plus a box with the Starlink dish:

Basement storage

The next compartment has my tools:

Basement storage

A small one next to it has bottled water and less-commonly used camping supplies:

Basement storage

Continuing back, next is the air and hydraulic compartment:

Air and hydraulic compartment

The last compartment on the passenger side has chassis batteries and stuff; the only change there is the addition of a tire pressure monitor repeater, to enable sensors on the truck to reach the display in the front of the coach:

Chassis compartment

In the back, the engine compartment, unchanged other than replaced filters etc:

Engine compartment

The DEF (Diesel Exhaust Fluid) compartment; I do have a DEF simulator as insurance against a somewhat common failure:

DEF compartment

The electrical compartment, home to a Power Watchdog smart surge protector when traveling (and a cloth I use to wipe the cord while winding it):

Electrical compartment

The wet bay has the water hose and sewer stuff; here’s what it looks like when in use:

Wet bay

And when packed up:

Wet bay

Next is the Aqua-Hot system, unchanged other than topping up the boiler antifreeze fluid:

Aqua-Hot system

The other side of the basement storage contains the water filters and hoses, plus the Blackstone griddle:

Basement storage

With the griddle and filters in use, you can see less-commonly used stuff behind:

Basement storage

The next storage, which also goes all the way across, contains the fold-up wagon, jack pads, etc:

Basement storage

The battery compartment:

Battery compartment

We did upgrade the batteries to AGMs:

Battery compartment

At the front of the driver side are fuses and such; I hope not to have to access this compartment often:

Fuses etc

In front of the coach is the generator:

Generator

There have of course been lots of other changes, like getting ebikes, a pop-up gazebo, and other stuff. And a couple of extra solar panels on the roof:

Bikes, gazebo, solar

I hope you’ve enjoyed this update. No doubt we’ll continue making improvements to our coach as we continue our adventures.

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