Places
STE1 Hop 2: Boardman OR to Huntington OR
198 miles via I-84 and US 201. Cumulative tow miles: 437. Truck miles: 211. Cumulative truck miles: 450. We started this hop at an elevation near 500′ and ended at 2100′. But in getting to Huntington we had a couple of heavy climbs, one topping out at over 4500′. It was a more strenuous hop … Continue reading
STE1 Hop 1: Tillamook OR to Boardman OR
239 miles via US 101, OR 6, I-405 and I-5 (in Portland) and I-84 through the Columbia Gorge, with a refueling stop. The drama of this hop is captured in the map above, which is incorrect. Google insisted, up until the moment we left Tillamook, that I-84 was closed through the Columbia Gorge due to … Continue reading
STW3 wrapup
The third and final segment of the Second Trip West ended at Tillamook OR. We spent 5 nights there at the Tillamook Bay City RV Park. This is a basic park that we chose because it was close to Tillamook and it had cable TV. Very good cable TV – like 90 channels. There were … 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
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