N and I are once again starting to get ready for a trip out to the Missouri.  We are now in the habit of leaving after work on a Fri and driving about halfway.  That way we can be on the river and drinking a cold beverage by about lunchtime on Saturday.  We've made this drive quite a few times now and fallen into a rhythm. If we're heading east we usually try to leave town with a full load of gas.  That way,if need be, we can make it across Washington without stopping.  Although, we normally fill-up in Ritzville just to insure that there is no reason to stop in Spokane.  I don't know how the Spokane city planners did it but they managed to make every stop take at least 30 minutes.  Even if pulling just off the interstate for gas.  I guess it is some sort of freakish time warp.

Lately, we have been stopping Friday in Ritzville and staying at the La Quinta.  We can sleep, eat, and fill up the truck and have cut our drive in about half.  Orbitz can sometimes have pretty good rates for the La Quinta.  It is nothing fancy but our rooms have always been clean and they do have a bit of a breakfast bar in the morning.  The downside to Ritzville is that your eating choices are limited.  We have tried the Perkins there as well as Zip's.  Both were very disappointing and we will not be going back.  As sad as it may be, your best bet is probably the McDonalds unless you want to drive into town.

This time we are going to drive even further on Fri.  We have reservations at a Howard Johnson's in Post Falls.  You may see a theme here.  I can be a bit frugal when it comes to things like a quick bed on a road trip.  I tend to shop for bargains in these situations.  There are a lot of nicer places to stay in and around Spokane.  I just have a hard time spending $100 when all I need is a bed for eight hours.

Depending on how early we get moving, and if we ate much that morning, we often stop in St. Regis, MT for lunch.  There is a nice drive-in there next to a gas station and small grocery.  You exit the interstate, head into town, and then turn right at the stop sign.  The drive-in is just on your left with the gas pumps & grocery across a large parking lot.  If you are more interested in coffee, go straight at the stop sign and you'll see a coffee drive-through on the right.  The gas can be cheaper down the highway but we often fill in St. Regis just because we can get several things done in one stop.

We will usually stop just outside Missoula if we didn't stop in St. Regis.  We turn off the interstate just east of Missoula and get onto Hwy 200.  There is a big truck stop near the interchange where we can get gas, food, snacks.  If we fill here we can make it through most of a week without worrying about gas.  Once we pull out of the truck stop we know it is just a few hours or so through the mountains and over the Divide.  This is a beautiful part of the drive and always interesting.  We have seen many deer, nearly hit elk, and run into unexpected snowstorms.  Lincoln is a nice little town if you get hungry along this section or need a break from the road.  They also have a coffee drive-though but they are unbelievably slow.  We have been their only customers and still waited 10 or 15 minutes for an espresso.