Baseball: Tacoma Rainiers vs Reno Aces

We attended a game of the Tacoma Rainiers vs the Reno Aces at Cheney Stadium in Tacoma, along with Jenn’s father, plus her brothers and their significant others.

An interactive map of the stadium and environs; there are two separate entrances and parking lots, and if you go out the wrong exit, it seems that you have to walk around the outfield to get back to your car (ask me how I know):

View from our seats:

View from our seats

Flyover:

Flyover

The mascot, Rhubarb:

Rubarb

Play ball:

Baseball

Exploring the ballpark:

Playground

Mural

Ballpark

Rhubarb:

Rubarb

Baseball

The game didn’t go great for the Rainiers:

Scores

But it was nice to hang out with fam.

Travel from Ephrata to Shelton, Washington

We drove our coach about 250 miles, about four hours of driving, from Ephrata to Shelton, Washington.

Here’s a map showing our route, heading west (with the ultimate destination omitted for privacy):

Route

An interactive map, with potential stops pinned:

There was roadworks on the bridge over the Columbia River, with a 9-foot width restriction, so we considered avoiding that and taking a more scenic route, as follows, but it would have added 1.5 hours to the travel, and been more stressful with curvy highway roads, so we stuck with the above route instead of this alternative:

I-90 West and the aforementioned Vantage Bridge:

I-90 West Vantage Bridge

Narrow, but good enough for trucks, so good enough for us:

I-90 West Vantage Bridge

Thorp Fruit & Antique Mall:

Thorp Fruit & Antique Mall

Rest area:

Rest area

Wildlife bridge:

Wildlife bridge

Keechelus Lake:

Keechelus Lake

Snoqualmie Pass:

Snoqualmie Pass

Crossover intersection:

Crossover intersection

Joining I-5 South:

Joining I-5 South

Fuel stop:

Fuel stop

Tacoma Dome:

Tacoma Dome

Route 101 North:

Route 101 North

We previously took this exit, but it is more difficult getting through Shelton:

We previously took this exit, but it is more difficult

Instead we took this exit, which is much more straightforward:

Instead we took this exit, which is much more straightforward

Downtown Shelton:

Downtown Shelton

Ephrata RV Park & Campground

We stayed at Ephrata RV Park & Campground in Ephrata, Washington. (Campground Reviews listing.)

Our last stop on our way home. Good to be back in Washington!

Dates:

Check in: 2025-09-03
Check out: 2025-09-04
1 night

Weather:

Sunny
High temp 100°F, low 68°F
Little wind, gusts to 10 MPH

Noise:

Some highway noise
Occasional train horn noise (including overnight)
Little neighbor noise

Site:

#P23, pull-through, gravel
Didn’t need to disconnect toad, and didn’t, since only one night
Somewhat level site; a little high in the front; used air leveling, since only one night
Gravel driveway about 60 feet long by 10 feet wide
10 feet to neighbors on both sides
Picnic table
Tall trees
Clean site
Elevation 1,240 feet, front facing SW

Utilities:

50 amp power, conveniently located
60 PSI water, conveniently located
Didn’t connect sewer until departure; good sewer connection, inconveniently located (2 10-foot pipes needed)

Internet (in usage priority order):

Starlink: 111-240 Mbps down, 9 Mbps up, 35 ms ping
RoamLink: 8-13 Mbps down, 1-3 Mbps up, 270 ms ping (RoamLink uses whichever is best of AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile)
AT&T: 3 Mbps down, 0.25 Mbps up, 85-235 ms ping (I have AT&T on my iPhone)
Campground Wi-Fi: not used

Amenities:

Garbage dumpsters
Pool

Our review on Campground Reviews:

Convenient stop off I-90

We stayed for one night on our way through Washington, and it was just fine for that. I don’t think I’d stay any longer, though, between the narrow site and the aroma of cow manure. The internal roads and sites are gravel, making it difficult to distinguish between the site and road edges, and if we were parked within the boundaries of our site. We camped at Ephrata RV Park & Campground in a Motorhome.

Campground map:

Map

An interactive map:

Our site:

Our site

Other sites:

Other sites

A tight site, but a fine place for a brief stay. We’d be happy to stay here again.

Travel from Missoula, Montana to Ephrata, Washington

We drove our coach 334 miles, about six hours of driving, from Missoula, Montana to Ephrata, Washington.

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

Map

This map showing timezones, as we crossed from Mountain to Pacific time (west coast best coast), and the state borders between Montana (right), Idaho (middle), and Washington (left):

Timezones

An interactive map, with potential stops pinned:

Fuel stop:

Fuel stop

I-90 West:

I-90 West

Clark Fork River:

Clark Fork River

Curves ahead:

Curves ahead

Truck stop:

Truck stop

Roadworks:

Roadworks

Rest area closed due to roadworks:

Rest area closed due to roadworks

Trucker info:

Trucker info

Welcome to Idaho and Pacific Time Zone:

Welcome to Idaho and Pacific Time Zone

Roadworks:

Roadworks

Elevation 3,069 feet:

Elevation 3,069 feet

Rest area:

Rest area

Welcome to Washington:

Welcome to Washington

Spokane:

Spokane

Train:

Train

Rest area:

Rest area

Sprague Lake:

Sprague Lake

Train:

Train

Another closed rest area:

Another closed rest area

Exit to Quincy:

Exit to Quincy

Field planting sign:

Field planting sign

Arriving at our campground:

Arriving

And our site:

Our site

Jim & Mary’s RV Park

We stayed at Jim & Mary’s RV Park in Missoula, Montana. (Campground Reviews listing.)

This is our fourth stay here; our first time with a trailer on our Yellowstone trip, and in our coach the following year and the year after. It’s a convenient stop on our way home, and a very pretty park.

Dates:

Check in: 2025-09-01
Check out: 2025-09-02
2 nights

Weather:

Sunny
High temp 92°F, low 60-62°F
Little wind, gusts to 10 MPH

Noise:

Some road noise
Nearby train horn noise
No significant neighbor noise

Site:

#A2, pull-through, gravel
Didn’t need to disconnect toad, and didn’t, since only two nights
Somewhat unlevel site; high in the rear, though might have been more level if parked towards the back; used air leveling, since only two nights
Gravel driveway about 72 feet long by 15 feet wide
20 feet to neighbors on both sides
Picnic table
One big tree
Clean site

Utilities:

50 amp power, a little inconveniently located
60 PSI water, a little inconveniently located
Good sewer connection, a conveniently located (1.5 10-foot pipes needed)

Internet (in usage priority order):

Starlink: 56-118 Mbps down, , 50 ms ping
RoamLink: 6-7 Mbps down, 1 Mbps up, 200 ms ping (RoamLink uses whichever is best of AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile)
AT&T: 55-100 Mbps down, 1 Mbps up, 110 ms ping
Campground Wi-Fi: 10-14 Mbps down, 2-10 Mbps up, 13 ms ping

Amenities:

Garbage dumpsters
Gardens

See our previous review on Campground Reviews.

Campground map:

Map

An interactive map:

Our site:

Our site

Utilities:

Utilities

View of the office and entrance from our site:

View of office and entry from our site

Other sites:

Other sites

See our previous visits for more photos. We still like this RV park, and will likely stay here yet again in the future.

Travel from Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming to Missoula, Montana

We drove our coach 329 miles, about five hours of driving, from Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming to Missoula, Montana.

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

Map

An interactive map, with potential stops pinned:

An interesting trailer:

An interesting trailer

Check-out box:

Check-out box

Crowd watching something on the hill; I couldn’t see anything:

Crowd watching something

A lone bison:

Lone bison

Thermal feature:

Thermal feature

Madison River:

Madison River

Leaving the park:

Leaving the park

Welcome to West Yellowstone, Montana:

Welcome to West Yellowstone, Montana

West Yellowstone

Hebgen Lake:

Hebgen Lake

Madison River:

Madison River

Ennis:

Ennis

We had originally planned to stay at Ennis RV Park, but decided to just push on through:

Ennis RV Park

Route 359 North:

Route 359 North

Truck parking closed on I-90 West:

Truck parking closed on I-90 West

… because they diverted traffic through the parking area due to road works:

Truck parking closed on I-90 West

Continental Divide:

Continental Divide

I-90 West:

I-90 West

Rest area:

Rest area

Wildlife escape ramp:

Wildlife escape ramp

Interesting rocks:

Interesting rocks

Arriving at Jim & Mary’s RV Park:

Arriving at Jim & Mary's RV Park

Our site:

Our site

Yellowstone Artists Paintpots area

On our last day in Yellowstone National Park we visited the Artists Paintpots area, then completed the lower loop, with a picnic dinner at a secret picnic area:

A bison swimming across Yellowstone River:

Bison swimming across Yellowstone River

Bison:

Bison

Artusts’ Paintpots:

Artusts' Paintpots

On the way home we had a picnic in a “secret” area that seems to have mostly fallen into Yellowstone Lake:

Picnic area

Grand Teton National Park

On our sixth day in Yellowstone National Park we headed south out of the park, to do a quick scenic drive of the neighboring Grand Teton National Park:

A picnic lunch at Lewis Lake:

Picnic at Lewis Lake

Lewis Lake

Lewis Falls:

Lewis Falls

Grand Teton National Park entrance sign:

Grand Teton National Park entrance sign

Jackson Lake:

Jackson Lake

Signal Mountain Overlook:

Signal Mountain Overlook

Grand Teton peaks:

Grand Teton National Park

Horses:

Horses

Grand Teton National Park

Bison:

Bison

Horses chasing after a bison:

Horses and bison

Horses

Bison

Dinner at Leeks Pizzeria (a very long wait):

Leeks Pizzeria

A bear across the lake:

Bear

Sunset over Yellowstone Lake on the way home:

Sunset over Yellowstone Lake

Yellowstone Lamar Valley area

On our fourth day in Yellowstone National Park we visited the Lamar Valley area, all the way to just before the northeast entrance, then over to Mammoth Hot Springs, and around the upper loop:

Bison:

Bison

Tower Falls:

Tower Falls

Interesting rocks:

Interesting rocks

Bison in Lamar Valley:

Bison in Lamar Valley

NE Entrance Road:

NE Entrance Road

Bison in Lamar Valley:

Bison in Lamar Valley

Elk in Mammoth:

Elk in Mammoth

Mammoth terraces:

Mammoth terraces

Waterfall:

Waterfall

Sheepeater Cliff:

Sheepeater Cliff

Bison strolling on the road:

Bison strolling on the road

Elk:

Elk

Bison:

Bison

Yellowstone Midway area

On our third day in Yellowstone National Park we visited the Midway area, specifically Fountain Paint Pots and Grand Prismatic Spring, with a spot of shopping in Canyon and a picnic dinner at the Firehole River Picnic Area beforehand. Here’s our route, going around the lower loop counter-clockwise:

Bison jam:

Bison jam

Bison

Fountain Paint Pots:

Fountain Paint Pots

We were standing around the junction of the boardwalk when Jenn spotted a bison approaching, grazing the grass, so we retreated to a safe distance (unlike those people, who are a bit too close):

Bison