Travel from Missoula, Montana to Quincy, Washington

We drove our coach 338 miles, about six hours of driving, from Missoula, Montana to Quincy, Washington.

Here’s a map showing our route, heading west:

Map route

An interactive map:

Clark Fork:

Clark Fork

45 MPH next 4 miles:

45 MPH next 4 miles

Rest area:

Rest area

Welcome to Idaho; Entering Pacific Time Zone:

Welcome to Idaho; Entering Pacific Time Zone

6% grade:

6& grade

Rest area:

Rest area

Welcome to Washington:

Welcome to Washington

Spokane:

Spokane

Bridges:

Bridges

Truck stop:

Truck stop

Iron Skillet for lunch:

Iron Skillet for lunch

Iron Skillet for lunch

Paladin on the dash:

Paladin on dash

Dust devil:

Dust devil

Rest area:

Rest area

Paladin in his dash bed while leaving the rest area:

Paladin in his dash bed

The farms along I-90 in Quincy had signs on their fences indicating what the crop was; we’ve sometimes not recognized a crop and wondered, so wish everyone would do this. Beans:

Beans

Potatoes:

Potatoes

Sweet corn:

Sweet corn

Timothy:

Timothy

Mural in Quincy:

Mural in Quincy

Heading down into the Columbia River gorge:

Columbia River

Our destination, Thousand Trails Crescent Bar:

Thousand Trails Crescent Bar

Our site:

Our site

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:

Route map

An interactive map:

Approaching the exit gate from the RV park:

Exit gate

It was supposed to open automatically, but didn’t, so we had to call for help to open it:

Exit gate

Refinery in Billings:

Refinery in Billings

Fuel stop:

Fuel stop

Pink truck with Hello Kitty:

Pink truck with Hello Kitty

Rest area:

Rest area

“Rattlesnakes have been observed; please stay on sidewalks”:

Rattlesnakes have been observed; please stay on sidewalks

Paladin asleep in his dash bed while driving down the freeway, for quite a while:

Paladin asleep in his dash bed while driving down the freeway

Yellowstone River:

Yellowstone River

Fun with zoom:

Fun with zoom

We saw this car spin out; probably lost control going too fast around curves:

Car spun out

Truck parking area:

Truck parking area

Road works:

Road works

Sunflowers:

Sunflowers

Rail bridge over Madison River:

Rail bridge over Madison River

Interesting rocks:

Interesting rocks

Closed rest area:

Closed rest area

Our Lady of the Rockies” statue in Butte, Montana:

Statue

Clark Fork:

Clark Fork

Horse in the water:

Horse

Arriving at our destination, Jim & Mary’s RV Park:

Jim & Mary's RV Park

Office

Our site

Travel from Mitchell to Custer, South Dakota

We drove our coach 313 miles, about five hours of driving, from Mitchell, South Dakota to Custer, South Dakota.

Here’s a map showing our route, heading west:

Route map

An interactive map:

Heading west of I-90:

I-90 West

Rest area stop:

Rest area

Sunflower field:

Sunflowers

The Dignity of Earth and Sky sculpture:

Sculpture

A Tiffin Allegro Red motorhome passing us:

Tiffin Allegro Red motorhome

Lunch stop at Hutch’s Cafe:

Hutch's Cafe

Menu:

Menu

Hutch's Cafe

Hutch's Cafe

Back to our coach:

Back to our coach

Entering Mountain Time Zone:

Entering Mountain Time Zone

Passing Badlands National Park:

Badlands National Park

Another rest area:

Rest area

Paladin sat in his dash bed for a while:

Paladin sat in his dash bed for a while

Firehouse Brewery & Winery had several fire trucks along the freeway:

Firehouse Brewery & Winery had several fire trucks along the freeway

Paladin asleep on the floor:

Paladin asleep on the floor

Busts:

Busts

Entering Custer State Park, our favorite state park:

Custer State Park

Curvy road:

Curvy road

Whatever we do, don’t turn onto Needles Highway with our coach! Very narrow and short tunnels:

Needles Highway intersection

Legion Lake campground entrance:

Campground entrance

Our site, with a glimpse of the lake in the background:

Our site

Travel from Maple Grove, Minnesota to Mitchell, South Dakota

We drove our coach 307 miles, about five hours of driving, from Maple Grove, Minnesota to Mitchell, South Dakota.

Here’s a map showing our route, heading southwest:

Route map

An interactive map:

Roadworks:

Roadworks

Minnesota’s largest candy store:

Minnesota's largest candy store

LeSueur water tower:

LeSueur

When a place catches our interest, I’ll often look it up on Wikipedia (in this case, LeSueur), and read out interesting factoids to Jenn:

LeSueur

Saint Peter:

Saint Peter

Happy Chef Restaurant:

Happy Chef Restaurant

Paladin on the driver chair during a rest stop:

Paladin

A van towing a trailer:

Van towing a trailer

Since 1906:

Since 1906

Ship:

Ship

Train and wind turbine:

Train and wind turbine

Cows:

Cows

Welcome to South Dakota:

Welcome to South Dakota

Roadworks, with everyone on one side of the freeway:

Roadworks

Roadworks

Fuel stop:

Fuel stop

Fuel stop

Winnebago’s all-electric prototype eRV2:

eRV2

Paladin on the dash:

Paladin on the dash

Our destination:

Our destination

Travel from Oakdale, Wisconsin to Maple Grove, Minnesota

We drove our coach 198 miles, about three hours of driving, from Oakdale, Wisconsin to Maple Grove, Minnesota.

Here’s a map showing our route, heading northwest:

Route map

An interactive map:

Checklist:

Checklist

Lunch stop:

Lunch stop

Lunch stop

Lunch stop

Paladin on the dash while leaving the truck stop:

Paladin on dash

Roadworks:

Roadworks

Roadworks

Rest area:

Rest area

I-94:

I-94

Chimney:

Chimney

Minnesota Welcomes You:

Minnesota Welcomes You

Rest area:

Rest area

Crossover:

Crossover

Our destination, another KOA:

KOA

Guided to our site:

Guided to our site

Travel from Rochester, Illinois to Cascade, Iowa

We drove our coach 250 miles, about five hours of driving, from Rochester, Illinois to Cascade, Iowa.

Here’s a map showing our route, heading north:

Route map

An interactive map:

Peoria:

Peoria

A weird trailer:

A weird trailer

Roadworks:

Roadworks

A helicopter dusting corn:

Helicopter

Paladin in his dash bed on the freeway; very unusual for him, though he’s been getting more comfortable staying there for a few minutes before jumping down:

Paladin in his dash bed

Flooded road:

Flooded

Welcome to Iowa:

Welcome to Iowa

Paladin asleep:

Paladin asleep

Iowa 80 truck stop, the world’s largest truck stop:

Iowa 80 truck stop

Iowa 80 truck stop

Iowa 80 truck stop

Iowa 80 truck stop

A very Iowa fun with zoom:

Fun with zoom

Barn:

Barn

Fun with zoom

Wapsipinicon River:

Wapsipinicon River

Oxford Junction:

Oxford Junction

Corn:

Corn

Onslow:

Onslow

We had to do a long detour due to a closed road:

Closed road

Cascade:

Cascade

Travel from Elberfeld, Indiana to Sullivan, Missouri

We drove our coach 255 miles, about five hours of driving, from Elberfeld, Indiana to Sullivan, Missouri.

Here’s a map showing our route, heading west:

Map

An interactive map:

Water lilies:

Water lilies

Heading on to I-69 North:

Heading on to I-69 North

Pulling up a yellow stripe:

Pulling up a yellow stripe

Love’s fuel stop:

Fuel stop

87.122 gallons of diesel for $367.57; we saved $58.42 off that pump price via our fuel discount card:

87.122 gallons for $367.57

Bridge roadworks:

Roadworks

Wabash River:

Wabash River

“Welcome to Illinois”:

Welcome to Illinois

We haven’t seen a pump jack for a while:

Pump jack

More bridge roadworks:

Roadworks

Rest area:

Rest area

Crossover roadworks:

Crossover roadworks

An interestingly shaped trailer (a mobile stage):

An interestingly shaped trailer (a mobile stage)

Another rest area:

Another rest area

A sign that says “After 11 hours driving, you need 10 hours rest”; we prefer to drive only two hours, but will go up to six on interstates, and stay at least one night when “sprinting”, preferably one to two weeks:

After 11 hours driving you need 10 hours rest

Our first glimpse of the Gateway Arch:

Our first glimpse of the Gateway Arch

Gateway Arch

Gateway Arch

Gateway Arch

“Missouri Welcomes You”:

Missouri Welcomes You

Gateway Arch

Gateway Arch

Gateway Arch

Gateway Arch

Six Flags theme park, yep, with six flags out front:

Six Flags

Six Flags

Approaching our destination, Meramec State Park:

Meramec State Park

Meramec State Park

Meramec State Park

Meramec State Park

Our site:

Our site

Travel from Park City, Kentucky to Elberfeld, Indiana

We drove our coach 165 miles, about three hours of driving, from Park City, Kentucky to Elberfeld, Indiana.

Here’s a map showing our route, heading northwest:

Route map

An interactive map:

Toading up:

Toading up

I-65 South:

I-65 South

Bridge:

Bridge

Fun with zoom:

Fun with zoom

Exit to a service area:

Exit to service area

Huck’s service plaza:

Huck's service plaza

Huck's service plaza

Lunch:

Lunch

“The Journey is My Home”; that could be our motto:

The Journey is My Home

Back to our coach:

Back to our coach

I-165 North:

I-165 North

We had a fun new issue: we turned on our generator while driving, so we could run our air conditioners, it being rather hot. But when we tried to turn it off via the switch on the dash, it didn’t turn off. I also tried using the Coach Proxy web app, which also failed, and reported an error:

Coach Proxy screenshot

This has been a problem since; we’ll probably get it looked at when we go back to Red Bay in December. In the meantime, I have to open the generator compartment (once we stop, of course) and turn it off via the switch on the generator itself. A bit of a pain.

Owensboro water tower:

Owensboro water tower

Rusty twin bridges over the Ohio River:

Rusty twin bridges over Ohio River

Rusty twin bridges over Ohio River

Ohio River:

Ohio River

“More to Discover in Indiana”:

More to Discover in Indiana

I-69 North:

I-69 North

Road to the campground:

Road to campground

The GPS alleged that the road had a 10 ton weight limit, but it didn’t (I knew about that ahead of time from reviews of the campground):

GPS

Pond with water lilies:

Pond with water lilies

Entering the campground; no human interaction required:

Entering the campground

We just headed to our site:

Approaching our site

Approaching our site

Travel from Pigeon Forge, Tennessee to Park City, Kentucky

We drove our coach 227 miles, about four hours of driving, from Pigeon Forge, Tennessee to Park City, Kentucky.

Here’s a map showing our route, heading northwest:

Route map

An interactive map:

Dollywood:

Dollywood

Gocart track:

Gocart track

MagiQuest:

MagiQuest

Leaning building:

Leaning building

Crossover intersection:

Crossover intersection

I-40 West:

I-40 West

Knoxville:

Knoxville

Knoxville

Fun with zoom:

I-40 West

Fuel stop:

Fuel stop

A tank or something on a truck:

Tank

Our coach:

Our coach

We went to the Iron Skillet restaurant at the truck stop for lunch:

Iron Skillet restaurant

Menu

Breakfast for lunch

Truckers chapel:

Truckers chapel

“Enter Central Time”:

Enter Central Time

Fun with zoom:

Fun with zoom

Rest area:

Rest area

Monterey:

Monterey

Livingston Highway:

Livingston Highway

Paladin asleep:

Paladin asleep

Fun with zoom:

Fun with zoom

Celina Highway:

Celina Highway

Celina:

Celina

Celina

Horses sign:

Horses

Bathroom stop at a gas station:

Bathroom stop at gas station

“Welcome to Kentucky”:

Welcome to Kentucky

A pond:

Pond

A horse and buggy sign:

Horse and buggy

Fun with zoom:

Fun with zoom

Paladin asleep:

Paladin asleep

Entering Mammoth Cave National Park:

Entering Mammoth Cave National Park

The RV park’s office is across the road from the campground, at the Diamond Caverns attraction:

Diamond Caverns

Diamond Caverns

RV office

Our coach

Paladin sat on the dash for the drive from the office to the campground:

Paladin on dash

Welcome:

Welcome

We untoaded here:

We untoaded here

Following the coach:

Following coach

Our site:

Our site

Travel from College Park, Maryland to Beaver, West Virginia

We drove our coach 314 miles, about five hours of driving, from College Park, Maryland to Beaver, West Virginia. The beginning of our westward migration, heading towards our home base in Washington state.

Here’s a map showing our route, heading west:

Route

An interactive map:

Toading up:

Toading up

I-495:

I-495

Church

I-495

Welcome to Virginia:

Welcome to Virginia

Paladin in his high place:

Paladin in his high place

I-64:

I-64

I-66:

I-66

Fuel stop:

Fuel stop

Fuel stop

Tiffin Phaeton motorhome:

Tiffin Phaeton motorhome

Apples on water tower:

Apples on water tower

We were going to park and have lunch at the fuel stop, but there wasn’t any parking that would work for us, so we continued on. There wasn’t any room at the next rest area either:

Rest area

So I made lunch on the road:

Lunch

A later rest area:

Rest area

Rest area

I-64:

I-64

I-64

I-64

Welcome to West Virginia:

Welcome to West Virginia

Of course, we had to play John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads” while entering the state:

Take Me Home, Country Roads

Rest area:

Rest area

Rest area

I-64 hill:

I-64 hill

I-64

7% grade:

7% grade

Sandstone Mountain elevation 2,765 feet:

Sandstone Mountain elevation 2765 feet

Little Beaver State Park:

Little Beaver State Park

Narrow sloping curve:

Narrow sloping curve

Little Beaver State Park

Narrow entrance:

Narrow entrance

Lake:

Lake overflow

Lake

Very narrow road to campground:

Narrow road to campground

Narrow curvy road

Campground office:

Check-in office

Guided to our site:

Guided to our site