KOA Campground Missoula Montana

Missoula KOA, cabins, sites, and rain clouds

But they have Rabbits!

Rain.  It rained pretty much all night. 

Yesterday evening we walked to WallyWorld looking for a few things for Li’l Beast and for some cough drops for me.  We passed a few steak and BBQ houses on our way out and chose to stop at Kobe as we returned.  We wanted steak. The hostess said, “Then you want Teppanyaki and the tables to your left.” 

I had never experienced this style of Japanese cooking.  First was a demonstration of our chef’s prowess with spatula and knife.  Clanging the spatula on the grill, he flipped first the spatula then the knife and caught both in the air a number of times.  He flipped the spatula over his head and caught it behind his back. Next,, out came an egg.  With his spatula placed flat on the grill, he placed the egg on the spatula and spun it.  With the egg spinning on the spatula, he flipped the egg in the air, catching it on the spatula.  By shuffling the spatula, he kept the egg spinning as he flipped it in the air a number of times.  He flipped the spatula, sending the egg high in the air and caught it in his hat.

The chef produced two other eggs, took the one from his hat, and scrambled them on the grill.  He then separated a portion and cut it into bite sized pieces. The rest he mixed in with rice and oil.  He then selected one bite sized piece and flipped it at the first guest to his right.  The fellow caught the egg in his mouth and ate it.  Another piece went to his wife, another two to the couple to Ellen’s left.  Ellen’s turn.  She was game, but missed both.  The chef was willing to go for three, but Ellen declined.  I got lucky on my second try.

The chef then sliced up and grilled vegetables, produced steaks and chicken as ordered and sliced and grilled that too.  Dinner of fried rice, vegetables, and Kobe beef was very tasty.  The chef’s performance was remarkable.

The weather projected another day of rain tomorrow then clearing through the week.  I had thought we’d stay here at the KOA for another day before pushing on.  Ellen thought it better to get to Coeur d’Alene and stay there waiting for better weather.  With the cold weather we were slow getting going.  We left the campground around 11 AM.  The Missoula KOA is clean and well setup, but it is a “city parking lot with trees” campground.  They have done what they can to make it feel like camping.  Even so, it lacks appeal.  Ellen’s suggestion that we push on made sense to me.

Fall Colors Are At Their Peak

We Missed Most State Line Signs, Got This One!

We’re Close!

Arrived!

Coeur d’Alene Campground

The drive from the Missoula KOA to Coeur d’Alene is on I 90.  It goes over a pass with a  7% downgrade.  I kept Li’l Beast in a low gear and tooled down the grade at a moderate speed.

Coeur d’Alene Campground is across a marsh from i90.  The campground is well outside the city limits.  It’s country here. We heard no highway sounds overnight.  Compression brakes are outlawed on that stretch of highway.

The campground is located on a hillside. The camp sites are cut into the hill and are quite level.  Most have a small log cabin which can be rented separately.  Rhonda and Jim (I think) welcomed us.  “There is free firewood.  You are welcome to use the paddleboats or the canoe on the lake.”  As cool as it was, paddling on the “lake” was not happening.  A fire though, that we cold do.  Our campsite was low on the hill with electric and water.  The men’s and women’s room was heated, though just barely.  Showers would have to wait.  I selected some small pieces from the firewood stack for a fire later in the evening.

Evenings CDA Sets A Welcoming Gas Fire

We had Michelangelo’s Vegetarian Lasagna piping hot from the microwave for dinner.  These frozen dinners are a step above anything else on the market.

Our First Campsite Fire Ever!

Li’l Beast

In Yellowstone we effectively boon docked with no water or electric hookups.  We kept an eye on our propane consumption and tank levels.  I would often refill the propane when the level dropped below 3/4 “just in case”.  I have come to realized that we can do much longer between fills. Our tank holds 33 gallons.  When the propane level reads 1/4, we could have just under 15 Gallons of propane left.  Further on a propane fill, the tank typically fills to 80% and the gauge reads 3/4 until the cool liquid reaches ambient temp.  I had also been overly concerned about freezing temperatures.  Thermal inertia will prevent a water tank from freezing overnight should temperatures drop into the low 20’s provided temperatures rise well above freezing during daylight.  We have been in temperatures into the teens with no trouble, though we did bring in the water hose a few times.  I do not want to learn the hard way where the limit is on water tanks freezing.  Reading articles on the web has shed some light on the issue while creating more questions than answers.  Our propane sits at 1/4 this evening.  Our water tank is at 2/3.  Both gray and black are empty.  I prefer to keep the water tank at 2/3 for “thermal inertia” while not keeping it full.  We don’t use that much water.

The issues we had with the refrigerator in Middleton Idaho were fixed the day we stayed over at Jeff’ & Beth’s.  The fridge has been rock solid on 12V, propane, and 110.  We’re using the heat pump more than the propane heater when we have electric hookup, even though it is loud.  It moves more air creating more warmth, provided the outside air temp is moderate. Our water heater has been rock solid.

The only issue we have is with the retractable stairs. Sometimes they refuse to extend.  I’ve found that if give the actuating motor a few swift raps with a rubber mallet, they heal themselves.  I’ve mentioned this to a Winnebago Dealer who said, “We could replace the motor, but it might not fix the problem.  The new one could be just as bad.”  Oh well.  I keep a rubber mallet handy.

Gas mileage has been all over the place.  Uphill with a head wind?  13 mpg.  Downhill?  30-40 is possible.  We average about 15 mpg; sometimes 16.2 sometimes 14.4.  I don’t take mileage seriously, there are far too many variables to state flatly we get X.Y mpg.

We have found our packing in the motorhome is becoming more efficient over time.  When we need a bit more room, we find it.  Often that leads to better organization with easier access to or ability to find “things”.  Luckily the “garage” (the outside storage) is “mine”, though from time to time a thing gets exiled to the “garage”.

We’re travelling well together, as usual.  We’re very happy we have the space our 24J View provides.  I hadn’t realized before that this model has more storage outside than other View models.  That’s worked out well for me. 

We had planned to sell our View in 2019.  We’re thinking we will keep this rig for a number of years more.