Author Archives: Sparky
Second Trip East (STE) preview
The Second Trip East (STE) will start in Tillamook OR and will terminate in Naples FL, out home for the winter (if anything is left after Hurricane Irma). It will pass through, among others, the four states that are missing from our map: Utah, Colorado, Nebraska and Kansas. It then drops down to southeast Texas … Continue reading
STW3 Hop 7: Castle Rock WA to Tillamook OR
130 miles via I-5, WA 432, WA 433, US 30 and US 101. Cumulative tow miles: 1095. Truck miles: 212. Cumulative truck miles: 1361. This was a relatively short hop and I thought it would be relatively flat. Wrong. A lot of up-and-down, starting with a steep 500-foot climb as soon as we crossed the … Continue reading
Mt St Helens and Coldwater Lake
I first visited Mt St Helens about 2 weeks after the roads were reopened to the public following the disastrous 1980 blast that blew out the side of the mountain. I think that was probably 1981, about a year after the explosion. I recall a scene of utter devastation – millions of trees blown flat … Continue reading
STW3 Hop 6: Ellensburg WA to Castle Rock WA
206 miles via I-90, WA 18 and I-5. Cumulative tow miles: 965. Truck miles: 214. Cumulative truck miles: 1149. This hop was only slightly more difficult in terms of navigation than the preceding two. Over half the trip was on I-90 and that segment involved some pretty significant climbs, including the Snoqualmie Pass, followed by … Continue reading
STW3 Hop 5: Post Falls ID to Ellensburg WA
202 miles via I-90 and local roads. Cumulative tow miles: 759. Truck miles: 224. Cumulative truck miles: 935. Another very simple hop for the navigator. Pretty much follow I-90 west for 200 miles. The only hard part was finding our destination, which was a bit off the beaten track. But we made it, despite the … Continue reading
“A Wanted Man” by Lee Child
Delacorte Press, New York, 2012. It has been quite a while since I posted my last book review, which is both a statement about how much traveling/driving I have been doing and how this particular book just didn’t demand that I finish it. It wasn’t bad but it wasn’t one of the best in the … Continue reading
STW3 Hop 4: Missoula MT to Post Falls ID
171 miles via I-90 and local roads. Cumulative tow miles: 557. Truck miles: 214. Cumulative truck miles: 711. This was an easy trip for navigation: a couple of turns to get onto I-90, a couple of turns to get off of I-90. Otherwise, just follow I-90. However, the trip was preceded by a trip back … Continue reading
STW3 Hop 3: Ennis MT to Missoula MT
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 … Continue reading
STW3 Hop 2: West Yellowstone MT to Ennis MT
75 miles via US 20, ID 87 and US 287. Cumulative tow miles: 189. Truck miles: 155. Cumulative truck miles: 289. More than any other hop, this one felt like an emergency. It snowed 2″ last night, with the temperature dropping to 30 degrees. The forecast for tonight in West Yellowstone is for a low … Continue reading
Yellowstone National Park – part 2
On Tuesday I made a day trip into Yellowstone National Park (“part 1”) and on Wednesday we traveled east-to-west through the park with an aborted attempt to see Old Faithful. So yesterday – Thursday – I made a second day trip into Yellowstone with the primary purpose being to view Old Faithful. It turned out … Continue reading