TR: A Really Long Trip Report: N.California/ & the PNW
You are going to want to grab a cup of coffee for this one as it is a bit long, hope you enjoy
I have been flying out of town quite a bit and it was wearing on me. I decided to go "old school" pack up the camper and bring the family with me on a 6 week business trip/ Tour of Northern California, and the Pacific Northwest! This was (so far) the trip of a lifetime
Must do mods before our departure:
figure out how to bring our raft along
found a lopro skybox on craigslist
check, was also able to fit some backpacks, lifejackets, and the outdoor shower enclosure in the box
Figure out how to reduce the excessive sway of more weight on the roof
Yes! I was crazy enough to drill through the hardest steel on the planet with a cordless dewalt drill!
thank you Torklift for providing the drill bits. I used all 4!
Installed Torklift lower stable loads to compliment my Uppers
Check: (and yes an instant change was felt to the rig)
I also installed a front hitch receiver to mount 1 bike. I was able to free up a bike in the rear so I did not have to remove the pedals and eliminated the bikes banging together
Our first stop was Manteca, Ca
any money I made this week was quickly spent at the bass pro shop right next door
I always seem to get lucky with last minute Yosemite valley reservations, so that is where we headed; North Pines
we were greeted with lighting, thunder and hail
My bro drove up from San Diego to meet us and we fit 2 trucks and campers right in
Wolf Creek 850 and Lance 845
It poured pretty hard but quickly left so we hit the bike trails :)
we blew up the rafts and enjoyed the rain
The next 2 days we hit the water
We also ended up having to move campsites due to the difficulty in getting reservations at the last minute: again we both just barely fit
I removed the camper off my truck loaded the bike on the front rack. I parked the truck at Sentinel Beach and road the bike back to North Pines campground where we would launch the rafts and float for a couple hours
water shots
such a great float with views of Yosemite falls all along the way
Party train!
My bros 3 year old Princess
Brett floating solo
The mandatory rig and el cap shot :)
My next week of business was in Reno, NV, so we headed over the sierras via HWY 120 to the 395. From Reno we headed up HWY 431 to Lake Tahoe to the west shore.
Setting up camp for the weekend @ Meeks Bay Campground
is there an official color called "Tahoe blue"? If not there should be
the kids couldn't believe their eyes
I am sure glad we made room for the raft!
There is a pretty nice beach along this side of the lake
there is also a nice MTN Bike trail across from the campground
We reluctantly left Tahoe and hit hwy 50 stopping at Sand Flat campground
a few of the sites are right on the river :)
the kids went for a float
and so did dad
nice spot for the hammocks
unfortunately, all good things have to come to an end, and I had to work in Salinas, Ca and South of San Fran for the week. Fortunately we were on the road, the kids were loving it there was no sign of home sickness so we headed further North,
through San Fran
and over the golden gate
since we were zigzagging all over Northern California we decided to stay true to our route and head Northeast to Lassen National Park
sulphur works
some of the views
the kids found the only snow pack left in the sierras :(
Emerald Lake
Of course we have Brett throwing rocks and Brenna admiring the flowers
we set out for Bumpass Hell
This is about as close as our family got for 6 weeks living in a truck camper and hotels :)
this is about the spot were we smelled an odor that we thought was our full black tank sitting for a week with no chemical in 100+ degree heat
there was something however that just kept luring us in
From Lassen we headed up HWY 44 to HWY 89
To HWY 15: Modoc Volcanic Scenic Hwy clicky
This Road is perfect for a truck camper and one of my favorite areas of this trip!
View of Shasta
I thought our route was going to be cut short when we came across this
thanks to the dry rot the log didn't weight all that much
I asked for directions how to get to medicine lake but didn't get that great of advice
this guy didn't know which way to go either
and this gal was nice enough to make room for our high rig: we ended up taking hwy 15 to Usfs 44 N 50
and finally found Medicine lake and had lunch. We should have stayed here as there are several campgrounds and is amazingly serene.
beach at medicine lake
We continued on Usfs 43 N 53, which end up in Lava Beds National Monument: This place is a MUST VISIT :)
From Lava Beds we headed Northwest to Crater Lake NP: for one very long day.
amazing views of the lake
Where next you ask? Will this trip ever end? Nope
We continued North to Newberry Crater National Monument for some more lessons in Volcanoes
we camped at cinder hill cp
water felt like hot springs after tahoe
some nice MTN bike trails around
views aren't bad either
Obsidian Flow is cool place to check out
we headed over to Deschutes River trail to do a little biking and see the class 6 rapids!
Nice Lunch site right off the hwy
From Bend, OR we Headed to Portland for the Week
Our friends live on Lake Oswego and we headed out for some boating
this place is a dream
Family Sturgeon: since there is zero water in so cal, our epic trip was filled with as much water play as possible.
enough play! A guy has to work right? From Portland, we headed to Seattle, and Seattle to Spokane! At times I feel I missed my calling and should have been a truck driver, but a traveling salesman will do I guess. we must have brought the heat with us because as soon as we got to Spokane it was well over 100 degrees. We have a lot of family in Spokane and so we headed to our aunt's river house up near Newport, WA on the Pend Oreille River.
pretty nice backyard eh?
the only place to be during a heat wave
From Spokane we finally started to head south to Salt Lake city
Montana on the way
campsite for the night: finally something free!
surprised to see some local blooms :)
and some fellow TC's
With the heat wave continuing we decided to try a different kind of camping: a place called Cherry Hill
pretty nice rv park with a Water Park!
After Salt lake I had work in Vegas, so we headed toward home, worked in Vegas then tried to beat the 4th of July traffic. We just barely made it :) Hope you enjoyed the tour, and sorry for the long report but this trip was a blast and an amazing work/play adventure....
I have been flying out of town quite a bit and it was wearing on me. I decided to go "old school" pack up the camper and bring the family with me on a 6 week business trip/ Tour of Northern California, and the Pacific Northwest! This was (so far) the trip of a lifetime
Must do mods before our departure:
figure out how to bring our raft along
found a lopro skybox on craigslist
check, was also able to fit some backpacks, lifejackets, and the outdoor shower enclosure in the box
Figure out how to reduce the excessive sway of more weight on the roof
Yes! I was crazy enough to drill through the hardest steel on the planet with a cordless dewalt drill!
thank you Torklift for providing the drill bits. I used all 4!
Installed Torklift lower stable loads to compliment my Uppers
Check: (and yes an instant change was felt to the rig)
I also installed a front hitch receiver to mount 1 bike. I was able to free up a bike in the rear so I did not have to remove the pedals and eliminated the bikes banging together
Our first stop was Manteca, Ca
any money I made this week was quickly spent at the bass pro shop right next door
I always seem to get lucky with last minute Yosemite valley reservations, so that is where we headed; North Pines
we were greeted with lighting, thunder and hail
My bro drove up from San Diego to meet us and we fit 2 trucks and campers right in
Wolf Creek 850 and Lance 845
It poured pretty hard but quickly left so we hit the bike trails :)
we blew up the rafts and enjoyed the rain
The next 2 days we hit the water
We also ended up having to move campsites due to the difficulty in getting reservations at the last minute: again we both just barely fit
I removed the camper off my truck loaded the bike on the front rack. I parked the truck at Sentinel Beach and road the bike back to North Pines campground where we would launch the rafts and float for a couple hours
water shots
such a great float with views of Yosemite falls all along the way
Party train!
My bros 3 year old Princess
Brett floating solo
The mandatory rig and el cap shot :)
My next week of business was in Reno, NV, so we headed over the sierras via HWY 120 to the 395. From Reno we headed up HWY 431 to Lake Tahoe to the west shore.
Setting up camp for the weekend @ Meeks Bay Campground
is there an official color called "Tahoe blue"? If not there should be
the kids couldn't believe their eyes
I am sure glad we made room for the raft!
There is a pretty nice beach along this side of the lake
there is also a nice MTN Bike trail across from the campground
We reluctantly left Tahoe and hit hwy 50 stopping at Sand Flat campground
a few of the sites are right on the river :)
the kids went for a float
and so did dad
nice spot for the hammocks
unfortunately, all good things have to come to an end, and I had to work in Salinas, Ca and South of San Fran for the week. Fortunately we were on the road, the kids were loving it there was no sign of home sickness so we headed further North,
through San Fran
and over the golden gate
since we were zigzagging all over Northern California we decided to stay true to our route and head Northeast to Lassen National Park
sulphur works
some of the views
the kids found the only snow pack left in the sierras :(
Emerald Lake
Of course we have Brett throwing rocks and Brenna admiring the flowers
we set out for Bumpass Hell
This is about as close as our family got for 6 weeks living in a truck camper and hotels :)
this is about the spot were we smelled an odor that we thought was our full black tank sitting for a week with no chemical in 100+ degree heat
there was something however that just kept luring us in
From Lassen we headed up HWY 44 to HWY 89
To HWY 15: Modoc Volcanic Scenic Hwy clicky
This Road is perfect for a truck camper and one of my favorite areas of this trip!
View of Shasta
I thought our route was going to be cut short when we came across this
thanks to the dry rot the log didn't weight all that much
I asked for directions how to get to medicine lake but didn't get that great of advice
this guy didn't know which way to go either
and this gal was nice enough to make room for our high rig: we ended up taking hwy 15 to Usfs 44 N 50
and finally found Medicine lake and had lunch. We should have stayed here as there are several campgrounds and is amazingly serene.
beach at medicine lake
We continued on Usfs 43 N 53, which end up in Lava Beds National Monument: This place is a MUST VISIT :)
From Lava Beds we headed Northwest to Crater Lake NP: for one very long day.
amazing views of the lake
Where next you ask? Will this trip ever end? Nope
We continued North to Newberry Crater National Monument for some more lessons in Volcanoes
we camped at cinder hill cp
water felt like hot springs after tahoe
some nice MTN bike trails around
views aren't bad either
Obsidian Flow is cool place to check out
we headed over to Deschutes River trail to do a little biking and see the class 6 rapids!
Nice Lunch site right off the hwy
From Bend, OR we Headed to Portland for the Week
Our friends live on Lake Oswego and we headed out for some boating
this place is a dream
Family Sturgeon: since there is zero water in so cal, our epic trip was filled with as much water play as possible.
enough play! A guy has to work right? From Portland, we headed to Seattle, and Seattle to Spokane! At times I feel I missed my calling and should have been a truck driver, but a traveling salesman will do I guess. we must have brought the heat with us because as soon as we got to Spokane it was well over 100 degrees. We have a lot of family in Spokane and so we headed to our aunt's river house up near Newport, WA on the Pend Oreille River.
pretty nice backyard eh?
the only place to be during a heat wave
From Spokane we finally started to head south to Salt Lake city
Montana on the way
campsite for the night: finally something free!
surprised to see some local blooms :)
and some fellow TC's
With the heat wave continuing we decided to try a different kind of camping: a place called Cherry Hill
pretty nice rv park with a Water Park!
After Salt lake I had work in Vegas, so we headed toward home, worked in Vegas then tried to beat the 4th of July traffic. We just barely made it :) Hope you enjoyed the tour, and sorry for the long report but this trip was a blast and an amazing work/play adventure....
