STW3 Hop 3
198 miles on US 287, MT 359, I-90 and US 93. Cumulative tow miles: 386. Truck miles: 208. Cumulative truck miles: 497.
This hop, except for the first 40 miles, was almost exclusively on I-90. We did make two stops: a rest area stop about 150 miles into the trip and an emergency stop a few miles later because I noticed that one of the rear truck tires – the spare put on the night before by AAA – was wobbling. I tightened the lug nuts and made it the final 20 miles to the campground where I tightened them again.
That was WAY too close to disaster. I never, ever want to see my tire wobble again.
Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the trip? Just fine, thanks. Beautiful, in fact, though still chilly, with snow-covered mountains everywhere. There were also a couple of long uphill climbs that surprised me as Missoula is at 3200 feet elevation, a 1700 foot drop from Ennis. In fact at one point we were at 6400 feet, a 1500 foot climb from our starting point. Up and down. But the truck handled it just fine.
Except for almost losing a tire.
Snow-covered mountains nearby
Our one-night stay was at the Ennis RV Village in Ennis MT (population about 900), in the middle of nowhere. As I explained before, the sole reason for being in Ennis was that it was lower – and warmer (low of 32 versus 25) – than West Yellowstone. It was not a good place to look for tire repair, though AAA eventually came through for us. And there was a food store less than a mile away, so we didn’t starve. The site was large and flat. More than adequate for an overnight stop.
Plains and mountains