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Old 02-26-2009, 01:32 PM   #1
wild willy
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Heade back to Portland

Due to illness in the family [Karen's brother has advanced panchreatic cancer] we are leaving St. Augustine FL. in the morning for Portland OR. Plan on taking I-10 across to CA. then I-5 up to Portland. Any suggestions for night stops along the way would be greatly apreceated. We plan on maybe 4-500 miles/day.
 
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Old 02-26-2009, 05:06 PM   #2
HamRad
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Wild Willy,

Sorry to hear of yet another health problem from a MOC member. You have a long trip. If you would like to avoid the L.A. traffic hassle I can suggest a viable alternate. Would be at least as fast if not faster. Drop me an email or a PM and I'll route it out for you.

And you are welcome to overnight at our house in Bakersfield if the timing works out. Again just drop me a note if you would like more info.

Travel safely.

Dennis and Mary Kay
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Old 02-28-2009, 01:22 PM   #3
wild willy
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Thanks HamRad for the response. We made it to north of New Orleans last night and now are about 30 miles west of San Antonio, so are putting on the miles. We appreciate the offer of overnight, just don't know how far or when we will be anywhere. I would like to look at the alternate route you talked about, so would you send that? Thanks
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Old 02-28-2009, 02:48 PM   #4
HamRad
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Wild Willy,

Like I said if the timing works out for you.

The route we use to avoid the Los Angeles area is as follows:

As you are headed west on I-10 at exit 45 take the Vicksburg Rd. north. About 10 miles later you will intersect hwy 60. There is a nice "family" type restaurant there. It is the KOFA Cafe. Big parking lot if you're pulling a trailer.

Keep going north until you come to hwy 72. Turn left (West). This road will change to hwys 72 and 95. This will take you to Parker, AZ. Parker is the border crossing into CA. Keep headed west on this road. When you cross into CA it changes to hwy 62. At the CA Agricultural check station at highway 95 head north. This is Vidal Junction. About 50 miles north you will come to Needles, CA. and I-40. Take I-40 west.

At Barstow take Hwy 58. This will take you to Mojave then Tehachapi and finally into Bakersfield. From Bakersfield you can continue west an hit I-5. Or you can just continue north on hwy 99.

We normally go north on hwy 99 to hwy 46 and cross over to I-5.

All the routes I've indicated are at least good two lane highways or are Interstate Freeways. Probably the section with most dips is the section of hwy 95 between Vidal Junction and Needles. And that section of road can have a bit of traffic on it. But even so it moves along at a good clip.

The biggest grade you'll have going up is at Tehachapi and it is not nearly as steep as the Grapevine! Then you've got a lot of downhill into Bakersfield.

The overall traffic on the route I've outlined is significantly less than taking I-10 to I-5.

Good luck and again let us know if you need the overnight in Bakersfield. Also if you need any other info or assistance in or general area just let us know. We'll do what we can to help.

Travel safely.

HamRad (Dennis and Mary Kay)
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Old 02-28-2009, 03:35 PM   #5
rogue
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Between Bakersfield and Sacramento there are very few places to stay over night on I-5. Colinga and Santa Nella both have a place. North of Sacramento, Redding has a couple of Rv parks as well, so plan how far you want to travel and adjust based upon what you find. From Redding you should be able to make Portland (about 450 miles). Sorry to hear of the illness, stay save.
Bob
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Old 03-01-2009, 08:16 AM   #6
bigmurf
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HamRad's route is a GOOD one to follow. Stay out of LA traffic.

BTW: Fuel up in Parker.
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Old 03-01-2009, 01:27 PM   #7
wild willy
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thanks for all the info guys. We have taken that route up to Needles before and know that part anyhow. DW's brother has a house in Bullhead city. Thanks again for all your help!
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Old 03-01-2009, 02:15 PM   #8
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sorry to hear about the family illness, please travel safe on your trip back.
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Old 03-01-2009, 07:27 PM   #9
Mynabird
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On I-5 just north of Stockton at Flag City exit, there is a Flying J and an RV resort at this exit. This is about 40 miles south of Sacramento.

Be safe.
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Old 03-01-2009, 11:11 PM   #10
HamRad
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Wild Willy,

I assume you're on I-10 most of the trip. Don't know if you need to go thru Phoenix or not. But if you do not need to then a good way around it is to take I-8 at Casa Grande. This will take you toward the San Diego area. But at Gila Bend take Hwy 85 towards Buckeye. This will route you around the heavy traffic in the Phoenix area. Then take I-10 west and you're on your way.

Where are you now? You may already be past that area. If you are stopping in the Needles area there is a good KOA on the west side of town that is reasonable.

If you make it as far as Harris Ranch, which is about 100 miles from Bakersfield, you can dry camp in their parking lot. Makes a nice place to eat also. Across the road there may be an RV park but I do not remember for sure. There are several places along I-5 that have RV parks. The only ones we've stayed at are the ones in Patterson,(Kit Fox) about 50 miles south of Stockton and the one Mynabird mentioned. Flag City is a nice RV park located on Ave. 12. Technically it is in Lodi. They have a nice setup but they are expensive. The Flying J is just across the road from them. And if you don't mind the truck noise it is a good place to overnight as Mynabird mentioned.

North of Sacramento we like to stay at the Rolling Hills Casino. You can boondock with the trucks or they have a relatively cheap but very nice RV park. The also have a very decent buffet there.

Hope the trip is going as well as can be expected.

Travel safely,

Dennis
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Old 03-02-2009, 03:54 PM   #11
wild willy
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We did take I-8 and 85 which was a breeze. There was about 8 miles of constuction on 85 but no real slow down. Got behind a turtle on 72 which I couldn't get around so it was slow to Parker. Had dinner with Karen's brother & wife at Denney's in Needles then went on to Newberry Springs. Woodalls said to take left over freeway & left on first road which was wrong! thought the road was wide enuf to pull a uuee but in the dark I cut too short and blew out the back window of TV. OOOPS!!!!! Temp repair w/duct tape. No other damage to TV. Tomorrow hope to make Redding or thereabouts so might stay at the casino. Thanks again for all the help!
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