Routes
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
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
STW3 Hop 1: Wapiti WY to West Yellowstone MT
134 miles via US 20 and US 191. This was a short and simple (navigation-wise) hop that would have been even shorter and simpler had we not made a detour to see Old Faithful. Which, as it turned out, we didn’t see. Let me explain. We originally planned to see Old Faithful on a day … Continue reading
STW2 Hop 9: Garryowen MT to Wapiti WY
197 miles via I-90, US 212, US 310, MT 72 and US 14/16/20 with stops in Billings MT and Laurel MT. Cumulative tow miles: 1624. Truck miles: 237. Cumulative truck miles: 2166. This hop was unusual in that we made two stops, not for refueling but for shopping. The first stop was at the Cracker … Continue reading
STW2 Hop 8: Medora ND to Garryowen MT
278 miles via I-94, MT 47 and I-90 with a refueling stop in Forsyth MT. Cumulative tow miles: 1427. Truck miles: 351. Cumulative truck miles: 1929. This was an easy hop in terms of navigation, a fast hop in terms of average speed and a long trip in terms of clock time (almost 4.5 hours). … Continue reading
STW Hop 7: Spearfish SD to Medora ND
212 miles via US 85 and I-94. Cumulative tow miles: 1149. Truck miles: 316. Cumulative truck miles: 1578. This was a straight shot north through some very desolate landscape. If it wasn’t for one construction site where we were stopped for a minute, we would have made the trip non-stop. The purpose of the hop … Continue reading