Some 4104 Trip Notes
We just arrived home in AR at 8 PM yesterday. The trip was 6400 miles with no problems with the bus. My engine oil leaks continue. They stopped completely for two days after Don Fairchild in Bakersfield, CA changed the valve cover and gasket plus sealing some oil line fittings. I lost a chunk of left rear tire tread (Probably from running over curbs in parking lots!) and the RF air bag appears to be falling apart, but made it home ok.
We traveled through AR, OK, TX, NM, AZ, CA, OR, WA, ID, MT, WY, SD, IA, MO and home to AR. Diesel was most expensive in SD and Southern California (By far the most expensive). Even Northern CA wasn't too bad. WY and Northern Missouri around and south of Kansas City were the cheapest. The most we paid was $3.12 in Wall, SD and the lowest was $2.67 in Thayer, MO.
Good WalMart Locations;
Shawnee, OK - Good location right on the Interstate, good choice of parking spots..
Stockton, CA - Confusing to get to because of highway interchange construction nearby. Right off US99, use the crosstown freeway if on I5.
Hereford, TX - Nice WalMart but there is a free town park with hookups about four blocks east of WM on a nice lake.
Las Cruces, NM - Good location just off I10.
More notes later;
Sounds like a goot trip! Thanks for the report. You can stop all oil leaks on a detroit by drainng all the oil from the engine. Painting them Cat yellow does not work.
Gus,
Congrats on a great trip and sharing with us. If a slight oil leak and diesel prices were the only problems, then it is a fantastic life we have being able to travel as we do.
I long for the days to take an extended trip as you have.
Still working in NJ
Gary
Gus,
Thanks for the report. How many miles a day did you drive?
Bill
Well, ya went right by, and didnt say Hi.. ???
(sticks out tongue)
;D
The most miles in a day was 427 and the least was 164, it all depended on what we wanted to see. We also visited a few friends for 2-4 days each.
pickle,
We left on 4/25 before you registered and since you don't say where you are I didn't know when we passed!!
Continuation of Report;
Ukiah, CA - Good location. Very small, tight parking lot and store. (US101 is a beautiful drive. For a real thrill take the crooked, narrow, scenic drive on US199 from Crescent City, CA to Grants Pass, OR! I don't recommend this for forty footers.)
Wenatchee, WA - Really scenic view in front if you get there early for the choice spots just above the front drive up the hill, a very nice and large parking lot and store.
Gillette, WY - Right on the Interstate, good choice of parking spots.
Sioux Falls, SD - Nice large parking lot next to Sam's Club. We parked in the SC lot because the WM was super busy and SC opens much later in the morning, the lot was empty when we left.
Kansas City, MO - There is a convenient WM location just off I29 but we chose to continue further south on I29/US71 to the Isle of Capri Casino. (Park to the right in the truck parking, don't make the mistake of trying to drive up in front of the casino!!)
The only sour note is that the clueless city fathers and RV park owners of Missoula and Billings, MT seem to think that banning overnight parking at WM will force us to stay in their local RV Parks. Of course just the opposite happens, we made sure not to stay there, buy fuel or otherwise spend any money in either city. These were the only places in all our travels that had this policy and I'm sending critical emails to them explaining the folly of their thinking. Quite a contrast to the free city park hookups in Hereford, TX!
More to follow;
Gus,
If traveling from Billings to Missoula or vice versa if you go through Helena the local
WM lets people stay and it is only 15 minutes more for traveling. Besides I only
live three miles from WM and would have loved to visit with you.
Skip
Skip,
Never thought about Helena. It looks much more out of the way than you say but you should know. I've landed at the airport there a few times and found it to be a friendly place.
With the Missoula and Billings RV unfriendly policies I just assumed this was a MT thing, glad to hear about Helena and will definitely plan on Helena if we pass again. Thanks for the invitation, will take you up on it.
Gus,
It is mostly a Missoula and Billings thing. They think they want to be a big city. We have a lot of
beautiful places with friendly people. It may be a little off the beaten path but in those places if
one arrives with respect they will truly be treated like family. With the way Helena is growing I am
afraid that it will be like the other 2 within five years.
For that they call it progress.
Catch you next time.
Skip
I used to, at one time, live in Billings, Bozeman, Livingston, West Yellowstone, and a few other places in that section of Montana.
My favorite place to stop was west of Billings about 40 miles, Columbus. There is a free campground there, or there was, by driving all the way through town and heading toward the river. Also, there is a "Towne Pump" Truckstop/convenience center right by the freeway.
Another Excellent place to stop is another 20 miles or so farther at Grey Cliff. Not much there but a prairie dog town that is a protected place and fun to watch the critters, and a bar/restaurant that serves some of the best food in 100 miles. They don't mind if you park your bus/rv on their lot for a day or two.
Again, I haven't been there for a few years, but those are fond memories. especially the bar! ;)
When we travel, we try to stay away from large population centers because they aren't bus/rv friendly any more, and part of it is because as Skip says, "They think they want to be a big city." Besides, we have a lot more fun poking around in little towns and out of the way places.
I'm sorry you had such a difficult time in Montana, Most of the people are friendly, is somewhat reserved. they wait to see how you are going to act before they'll open up to you.
Dallas
GO BUSSING!
We had the same problems with Missoula and more. They have a permit system downtown that is geared to benefit locals and drive vistors out. Not for me. Our policy is to support those who support us.
You can ad Grants Pass, OR, to the list. Their attitude was just about the same. A car rental outfit worked us over, and I watched them do it to others.
So, we go elsewhere.
Tom Caffrey
I hope this doesn't hijack the thread but its really amusing to me how many communities just don't get it. Take my own hometown for instance. Agriculture and tourism are the only two industries in town. We are on the trans Canada snowmobile route and we have several fish derbies in the summer. 20 years ago my partner was in charge of one of the larger derbies. He couldn't get the gas stations and restaurants to open before 8:00 AM for 3 days during the derby to serve the fishermen. We're talking about 160 teams competing for well over $100,000 in prizes and the local merchants couldn't see that it was in their own self interest to make it work. That has changed but it took a long time and a lot of work.
Dallas,
That is good info on Columbus and Grey Cliff. I used to land at the small Columbus airport in my small plane, very friendly place. I had no other problems in MT other than Missoula and Billings and I am still composing by email to those ill-advised city fathers.
Good to know about Grants Pass also, we went right through there but didn't stop.
More Trip Report;
Miscellaneous
For 'touristy" stuff the Redwoods in CA on US101 and the Smith River along US199 in CA/OR, the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument in MT and The Badlands National Park on I90 in SD were definitely the highlights of the trip.
RV park info;
Good RV Parks
San Diego, CA - Santa Fe RV Park. Very friendly, nice park. Right off I5 close to everything except a restaurant. Tight quarters but lots of nice trees. Good Sam. We used it mostly because it was near a friend we were visiting. Good Sam.
Cresent City, CA - Hiouchi RV Resort. This is anything but a resort! Fair condition but not really appealing. No hot water and showers didn't work, low water pressure. Won't go there again.
Albany, OR - Blue Ox RV Park. Beautiful, very friendly folks, just off I5. Short distance to "Lum Yuen's" excellent Chinese Restaurant. Still our number one RV park. I just hope they don't decide to become a "Resort"! Good Sam.
Clinton, MT - Ekstrom's Stage Station. Very isolated and quiet, right on a nice river. Medium quality grass parking spots. Excellent on-site restaurant. Very very friendly and laid back. Most expensive of the trip, $30. I was obvious later that I could have gotten this priced reduced when I called if I had tried.
Hardin, MT - Grandview Camp & RV Park. Never did find the grand view but good access and very friendly owners; near the Interstate, restaurants and fuel. Small town near the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument. Good Sam
Cedar Pass Campground , SD - This nice campground is inside the Badlands National Park on the east end not too far off I90. No hookups but a fantastic view and a nearby restaurant.
Last part of Report tomorrow;
Quote from: gus on June 03, 2007, 04:25:03 PM
Dallas,
That is good info on Columbus and Grey Cliff. I used to land at the small Columbus airport in my small plane, very friendly place. I had no other problems in MT other than Missoula and Billings and I am still composing by email to those ill-advised city fathers.
Last part of Report tomorrow;
If you landed at Columbus, then you probably ate lunch at the end of the runway at the local bowling alley.
I lived half way down the runway across the street from the airplane hangers.
Another good stopping place is Reeds Point, MT. Not much there, but it's quiet and you can get a good nights sleep without anyone bothering you. Except maybe a curious coyote or jack rabbit.
Then, if your anywhere West of Missoula headed eastbound, there is an exit at MM72 that takes you to a glorius place to park right on the Clark Fork River. It's about 10 miles east of the state rest areas and looks like a little wide spot on the side of the freeway. Once you pull off there, it will open up and you'll see a road that goes down to the riverside. Cat and I use to stop there on our way back from Seattle just to sleep for the night, or to dig the fishing poles out of the truck and feed the fish. The state cop stops in about once per shift, but he won't bother you. He's just making sure there are no ne'er do wells lurking about. Sometimes he gets his pole out too.
There are lots of places to stop and enjoy the scenery in Montana, and the farther away you are from the tourist areas, the more you'll see.
Dallas
Dallas,
Thanks, that MM72 spot sounds great.
Once, about ten years ago, when I landed at Columbus for fuel the place was deserted. I was about ready to go to another airport when another small plane landed. The pilot showed me how to turn on the fuel pump and I left a note with my address. I got a bill and sent a check, pretty common for really small airports around the country. I later on got another plane with a much longer range and never did stop there again but I missed it.
Here is the last part of my trip report; however, I may have some good news concerning the "No overnight parking at WalMart" in Missoula, MT in a day or two.
Highway Stuff
There is a relatively new bypass at I44 exit 69 around the south side of Springfield, MO that connects to US60 without going through the traffic mess on US65 east of Springfield. Watch out for the RR crossing at the bottom of a long hill almost at the end of the bypass just before it connects to US 65. Pay attention to the signs warning of the possibility of a sudden stop.
Bus Stuff
We saw one 4104 and one 4106 on the whole trip. Saw a few MCIs, mostly MC8-9.
There was a lot of interest at most of our stops and I got a lot of questions. At one rest stop in WY some older gents from a bus load of Spanish tourists took a great interest in the bus so, naturally, I invited them in for a tour and they were very surprised to see that it was a motorhome inside, they thought it was a passenger bus.
At the National Park Campground at Cedar Pass, SD inside the Badlands National Park, one fellow camper who is full timing in a large fifth wheel trailer with a nice two ton tow truck said he was selling his rig and getting a bus conversion. He was not happy with the trailer and said that his father-in-law originally had told him to get a bus conversion. I gave him this and another bus forum address as the best sources of information.
Update on Missoula, MT and WalMart parking. I received four emails from Missoula City Council members, all positive except one. I also received one from the Mayor of Billings and two from Sgt. Richardson of the Missoula Police Dept.
Below is the second one from Sgt. Richardson which I received today;
"Subject Camping in the City of Missoula
Mr. Causbie,
I just spoke with the city attorney and he confirmed that the ordinance is not intended to address private parking lots. He also said he has spoke with folks from Walmart and conveyed to them they did not have any concerns (from the ordinance stand point) with allowing folks to park their campers and spend the night. I am not sure why they have placed the signs there, maybe a call to them from a concerned RV'er might shed some light on the subject. Thanks, Casey"
This pretty much clarifies the issue to me; that overnight arking at WalMart in Missoula is legal. The email from the Billings Mayor also says parking for ten hours has always been allowed so Billings is no longer an issue either the way I see it.
I'll be glad to post any of the emails including my original if anyone is interested.
Thanks for the good work, Gus. I didn't think that those buggers would pay any attention to that sort of thing. I believe that I'll make more of an effort in the future when one of these situations crops up.
I'm currently stuck in Terrace, BC, where the flodding has cut surface transportation out for the time being. I happened to notice that the local Walmart has a sign saying that nobody can inhabit an RV overnight unless the RV is in an approved campground.
I might just do some checking up on that.
For what it's worth.
Tom Caffrey
Quote from: gus on June 06, 2007, 06:52:47 PM
Update on Missoula, MT and WalMart parking. I received four emails from Missoula City Council members, all positive except one. I also received one from the Mayor of Billings and two from Sgt. Richardson of the Missoula Police Dept.
Below is the second one from Sgt. Richardson which I received today;
"Subject Camping in the City of Missoula
Mr. Causbie,
I just spoke with the city attorney and he confirmed that the ordinance is not intended to address private parking lots. He also said he has spoke with folks from Walmart and conveyed to them they did not have any concerns (from the ordinance stand point) with allowing folks to park their campers and spend the night. I am not sure why they have placed the signs there, maybe a call to them from a concerned RV'er might shed some light on the subject. Thanks, Casey"
This pretty much clarifies the issue to me; that overnight arking at WalMart in Missoula is legal. The email from the Billings Mayor also says parking for ten hours has always been allowed so Billings is no longer an issue either the way I see it.
I'll be glad to post any of the emails including my original if anyone is interested.
Tom,
Good luck in BC, I hope you have the same good luck I had in Missoula. It turned out that there never was a prohibition against parking in private lots in Missoula in the first place but that the signe at walMart made it appear that way!
I received another very friendly email today from Sgt. Richardson with more good news. It appears that the City Council appointed the Police Dept. the job of dealing with this situation. If so, they picked the right guy.
"Gus,
Glad to share the info. Please pass this on to your fellow RV'rs. In digging a little further, there were some issues brought up a few years ago by a couple of the local rv parks after there was an article in the local paper about folks like yourself who enjoy traveling and frequently stay at Walmart lots because of the convenience of having a grocery/shopping center at your door step and the fact that Walmart is free to stay at and super friendly. I am guessing that Walmart may have gotten some pressure and in order to appease that pressure is was easiest to just throw up some signs.
In digging into the ordinance, there is an actual stipulation that allows on street camping for extended time if there is a sporting event, dog show, horse show, or something of that nature. I agree with you wholeheartedly that spending the night in an RV to catch up on some
rest is NOT camping. Thanks again for your openess and sharing your thoughts.
Happy travels, Casey"
So it appears that the signs could actually have been initiated by WalMart but that they put the blame on the city by quoting the ordinance instead of prohibiting parking, which would have been poor public relations. Or, the whole thing may have been an innocent misunderstanding on WM's part. What is important is that we can now park on private lots in Missoula or Billings with no worry about police action!!
Gus
"innocent misunderstanding on WM's part" in Billings it would also be the rest of the citizens.
We are making plans to pick up my parents in Billings (where they live) and go to Texas.
I suggested parking at WM and drive by to pick them up very early in the morning because
they have no room for the bus..... Dad said oh no they passed an ordanance so you can't
park overnight at WM.
I realize I am rather jaded but...... politicians speak with forked tongue.
Thanks for the info Another little tid bit that most of you know KOA corparate headquarters is in Billings.
There is more to the story but it is probably been through my parents perception.
Skip
"Another little tid bit that most of you know KOA corparate headquarters is in Billings."
No conflict of interest there ... LOL
skipn,
Here is a direct copy of the Billings mayor's email to me;
Subject: RE: Missoula, MT, The RV Unfriendly City
From: tussingr@ci.billings.mt.us
Date: 6/4/2007 9:02 AM
To: egus.c@pokynet.com
"Billings allows RV use for up to ten hours with the permission of the landowner."
I tried to fwd the email to you but your address isn't in your profile. Drop me an email and I'll forward his email to you in case you have any problems parking at WM.
Anyone else going to Missoula or Billings who wants copies of emails from those cities can just drop me an email and I'll send whatever you want.
I don't think Missoula is going to be a problem but not so sure about Billings so a copy of the Billings Mayor's email might come in handy.