X-country with Uhaul. Yea...I'm insane!

[rockhopjohn]

Originally Posted by subiesailor

Hey Sea Bass Looking like we might have some vacation time in Mid June. I'm researching the lost coast though I know it could be WAY too wet then and possibly impassable still.

However Did you hit the Humbolt Giant Trees on your trip? I haven't been up that way since I was a kid and that might be a fun place to stay and head home from.

Anything really catch your eye or a place you swung through that you would want to go back and check out or stay for a bit?

My other thought is to try and battle the Yosemite crowds. I've never been there but I stood on a mountain top a few miles east and looked down the valley when I was 12 and on a big back country trip with my Dad and brother.

I messed around a bit out at the lost coast a few years ago around Christmas time when I was taking a trip from N. Cal all the way up the coast to Vancouver island. We drove from Redway down to Shelter Cove. Then we back tracked out, and found a little winding single lane dirt road call the "King's Peak Road", that wound is way along the ridge all the way up to Honeydew, and then we headed out to Petrolia, Mattole Beach, and wound are way on up to Ferndale. It definitely felt like you were somewhere no one else goes (although this was at xmas time, not exactly tourist season). Never did get a chance to hit up the Humboldt Redwoods, but I plan to go back and check that area out somemore.

Here are some pics I took of that area.

Kings Peak Road:





Petrolia Valley:

[IMG]http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4152/4954647467_ba0d5eceee_b.jpg[/IMG
]

Mattole Beach:



First time I'd ever seen cows on the beach

[Seabass]

Originally Posted by lowwill

Glad to see everything worked out for you. How many miles was on you car before the trip? Is it your original turbo? Sad to say but that's was stopping me from really enjoying my rig. Especially long road trips. My 05 obxt has 90k with no previous service records

Sorry a little late in the response...I had about 92k on the clock before I left. I'm STILL on my original turbo. However, I do have an extended powertrain warranty to 105k which did put me at ease through the trip and I did follow the maintenance requirements for frequent towing. I also had all of the service history from carfax which showed oil changed every 4k miles or so. Depending on what you are considering doing, I'd say go for it. Enjoy the car and get AAA just in case. Don't worry about long trips unless you are putting a lot of strain on the car. Just check oil at every fill up to make sure you don't run low and use a good synthetic oil. I burnt a full qt of oil in a day when I was in the hellish hills of roswell GA. If I hadn't checked my oil at every fillup, I would have probably destroyed my engine on the 2nd day of the trip. Other than that day, I used a little over 1 qt over the rest of the trip.

Turbo cars love long trips. It is probably the easiest work they ever see. It is the stop and go that beats the **** out of a turbo.

[Seabass]

Originally Posted by subiesailor

Hey Sea Bass Looking like we might have some vacation time in Mid June. I'm researching the lost coast though I know it could be WAY too wet then and possibly impassable still.

However Did you hit the Humbolt Giant Trees on your trip? I haven't been up that way since I was a kid and that might be a fun place to stay and head home from.

Anything really catch your eye or a place you swung through that you would want to go back and check out or stay for a bit?

My other thought is to try and battle the Yosemite crowds. I've never been there but I stood on a mountain top a few miles east and looked down the valley when I was 12 and on a big back country trip with my Dad and brother.

I drove through humbolt redwoods st park on the 101. Also drove through ave of the giants. Unfortunately, that was when things got extremely twisty. It was fun, but added a lot of time to the trip. Even after adding an extra day to the trip, there wasn't time to stop much. I want to explore that whole area more than anywhere else I drove through on the trip.

I'm considering a trip down to LA this summer...without a trailer...and I'll stick to the 101 and 1 again and possibly stay in state parks along the way. I also have to do the 128 again with decent tires and no trailer. There are tons of coastal st parks. I'm thinking a week each way if possible. I haven't been to yosemite yet, but that's a whole trip in itself. I'll be getting to that one after I'm done exploring Rainier, Mt Baker and Olympic NP.

[subiesailor]

Originally Posted by Seabass

I drove through humbolt redwoods st park on the 101. Also drove through ave of the giants. Unfortunately, that was when things got extremely twisty. It was fun, but added a lot of time to the trip. Even after adding an extra day to the trip, there wasn't time to stop much. I want to explore that whole area more than anywhere else I drove through on the trip.

I'm considering a trip down to LA this summer...without a trailer...and I'll stick to the 101 and 1 again and possibly stay in state parks along the way. I also have to do the 128 again with decent tires and no trailer. There are tons of coastal st parks. I'm thinking a week each way if possible. I haven't been to yosemite yet, but that's a whole trip in itself. I'll be getting to that one after I'm done exploring Rainier, Mt Baker and Olympic NP.

Great picts I remember hearing about kings peak Rd that might be on the list. I did a short but fun dirt road just south of Monterey off 1 it runs up through the hills parallel 1 with a couple of nice views only took about 20 minutes or so I'll see if I can track down directions so you can hit it on your trip.

We'll see what happens I need to round up two plans and submit them to the wife and see which one she likes. Though right now the Yosemite idea is looking like more than we want to chew on for June given all the camping sites are booked in the valley and mid June they will have lots of snow and high water so guessing most of the places just outside of the valley will be closed or very limited.

Lost Coast is closer and seems like a better bet.

[TEXN]

Very cool! I've been to the VLA (very large array) for a project, it's hard siting high-voltage transmission lines in New Mexico.

[subiesailor]

I just caved and bought a three pack CA Coastal byways - sierra and top back country drives on amazon ha

Amazon.com: California Coastal Byways (9780899973593): Tony Huegel: Books

Amazon.com: California Coastal Byways (9780899973593): Tony Huegel: Books

I've come across this guys stuff before and he does a nice job on his books.

[Seabass]

Those sound very useful. I'll have to look into those for the next trip. Much better than using google maps to navigate back roads...

[dancingwolf72]

Thule Sledding near Crater lake......
Elk on the Beach? @ FERN CANYON.

[Seabass]

Originally Posted by dancingwolf72

Thule Sledding near Crater lake......
Elk on the Beach? @ FERN CANYON.

Thanks!...added to the list...

[subiesailor]

Originally Posted by Seabass

Thanks!...added to the list...

Sailing contact just told me about this spot its now at the top of my list to check out
Gold Bluffs Beach Campground, Trinidad/McKinleyville/Orick, Humboldt County, California
Gold Bluffs Beach