A timelapse of driving our RV, a Tiffin Allegro Bus motorhome, 248 miles from Quincy, Washington to Shelton, Washington.
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Posts featuring the coach.
Travel from Quincy to Shelton, Washington
We drove our coach 248 miles, about 4 hours of driving, from Quincy, Washington to Shelton, Washington.
Here’s a map showing our route, heading west (with exact destination omitted, for privacy):
An interactive map:
Columbia River:
Upside-down vehicle:
Eastern Washington hills:
Columbia River:
Vantage Bridge over Columbia River:
Rest area:
Truck with corn:
Wildlife bridge:
I-90 along Keechelus Lake:
Guye Peak:
Fuel stop:
Joining I-5 South:
Tacoma Dome:
Heading into Shelton:
Narrow bridge entering Shelton:
(Probably the last time we go this way; we found an easier route.)
You should vacuum out under the fridge occasionally
Under the fridge in our coach is a vent and some radiator fins. We hadn’t previously cleaned it out, and noticed our fridge making weird noises, so I removed the cover and investigated (a couple of screws and some clips). The fins were chock full of dust and cat fur. Oops! I’ve added a recurring reminder to vacuum that out in the future.
Thousand Trails Crescent Bar
We stayed at Thousand Trails Crescent Bar in Quincy, Washington. (Campground Reviews listing.)
A Thousand Trails campground overlooking the Columbia River.
Dates:
- Check in: 2024-08-02
- Check out: 2024-08-03
- 1 night
- We had booked two nights, but decided to leave after one, since it was so hot, and we just wanted to get home
Weather:
- Partly cloudy
- High temp 102°F, low 71°F
- Little wind, gusts to 17 MPH
Noise:
- No road noise
- No train horn noise
- Little neighbor noise
Site:
- #81, back-in, sandy gravel
- Needed to disconnect toad
- Fairly level site; a little high at the back; used air leveling, since only one night
- Sandy gravel driveway about 55 feet long by 12 feet wide
- 15 feet to neighbors on both sides
- Picnic table
- Fire pit
- A tall tree
- Somewhat clean site (some paper trash)
Utilities:
- 50 amp power, somewhat conveniently located
- 55 PSI water, conveniently located
- Good sewer connection, very conveniently located (1 10-foot pipe needed)
Internet (in usage priority order):
- T-Mobile: 15 Mbps down, 5-12 Mbps up, 108 ms ping
- AT&T: 230 Mbps down, 28 Mbps up, 160 ms ping
- Verizon: 12-18 Mbps down, 3 Mbps up, 45 ms ping
- Starlink: not used
- Campground Wi-Fi: not used
Amenities:
- Garbage dumpsters
- Pool
Our review on Campground Reviews:
Typical older TT, but killer views
This park is typical of an older Thousand Trails park and needs some TLC. As usual, it’s first come, first served, which is not our favorite. We were lucky to find a 50A site that was 1) in working condition, 2) large enough for our 40′ motorhome, and 3) had a peek of the Gorge. All the best sites with views of the Gorge seem to be taken up by seasonals, but it was nice to see what we could between them. All the short-term sites are a bit run down, with sparse landscaping. We camped at Thousand Trails Crescent Bar in a Motorhome.
Campground map:
An interactive map:
Our site:
Utilities:
There’s a clip for the tag, but it’s broken, so they’ve replaced it with shoelaces, rather than replacing the clip; really says something about Thousand Trails maintenance:
Other sites:
Gorge view:
Sunset:
A campground in a nice location, though the access road is rather steep. But we’d be happy to stay here again.
Video: Missoula, Montana to Quincy, Washington motorhome travel timelapse
A timelapse of driving our RV, a Tiffin Allegro Bus motorhome, 338 miles from Missoula, Montana to Quincy, Washington.
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:
An interactive map:
Clark Fork:
45 MPH next 4 miles:
Rest area:
Welcome to Idaho; Entering Pacific Time Zone:
6% grade:
Rest area:
Welcome to Washington:
Spokane:
Bridges:
Truck stop:
Iron Skillet for lunch:
Paladin on the dash:
Dust devil:
Rest area:
Paladin in his dash bed while leaving the rest area:
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:
Potatoes:
Sweet corn:
Timothy:
Mural in Quincy:
Heading down into the Columbia River gorge:
Our destination, Thousand Trails Crescent Bar:
Our site:
Jim & Mary’s RV Park
We stayed at Jim & Mary’s RV Park in Missoula, Montana. (Campground Reviews listing.)
That name may ring a bell, as this is actually our third stay here; our first time with a trailer on our Yellowstone trip, and in our coach the following year.
Dates:
- Check in: 2024-08-01
- Check out: 2024-08-02
- 1 night
Weather:
- Sunny
- High temp 93°F, low 61°F
- Little wind, gusts to 11 MPH
Noise:
- Some road noise
- Nearby train horn noise
- No significant neighbor noise
Site:
- #A8, pull-through, gravel
- Didn’t need to disconnect toad, and didn’t, since only one night
- Perfectly level site; used air leveling, since only one night
- Gravel driveway about 72 feet long by 15 feet wide
- 20 feet to neighbors on both sides
- Picnic table
- One small tree
- Clean site
Utilities:
- 50 amp power, somewhat inconveniently located
- 65 PSI water, somewhat inconveniently located
- Didn’t connect sewer until departure; good sewer connection, a little inconveniently located (2 10-foot pipes needed)
Internet (in usage priority order):
- Campground Wi-Fi: 33-37 Mbps down, 3-13 Mbps up, 10 ms ping
- Verizon: 13-18 Mbps down, 12 Mbps up, 55 ms ping
- AT&T: 55 Mbps down, 1 Mbps up, 150 ms ping
- T-Mobile: 4-5 Mbps down, 1 Mbps up, 60 ms ping, unreliable
- Starlink: not used
Amenities:
- Garbage dumpsters
- Gardens
Our review on Campground Reviews:
Third time, still a charm
This was the third time we’ve stayed here, as it’s convenient along I-90. We’d be happy to drive further afield because it’s so lovely; the landscaping brightens things up after a long day of travel. Our site was on the exit row, so it was easy to get in and out. It was also perfectly level, and the utilities all worked well, but they were a little far back with our tow vehicle attached. We camped at Jim & Mary’s RV Park in a Motorhome.
Campground map:
An interactive map:
Our site:
Utilities:
Other sites:
See our previous visit for more photos. We still like this RV park, and will likely stay here yet again in the future.
Video: Hardin to Missoula, Montana motorhome travel timelapse
A timelapse of driving our RV, a Tiffin Allegro Bus motorhome, 399 miles from Hardin, Montana to Missoula, Montana.
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!