First Trip Plan

As I write this, the first trip in my motorhome is still three and a half months away, but it's all planned out in my head, so why not put it down on paper? That way, I can provide the answer to one of the most common questions I'm asked. The objective of the trip is the wedding of my cousin's son, Tim. The route will go from San Diego to Seattle, most of it running up Highway 395 on the eastern side of the Sierras. I'll be trying out the leisurely pace I intend to keep in my retirement travels: not much more than 4 hours on the road per day. With a couple extra days thrown in to see the sights, it will take me nine days, with six scenic stops along the way, and plenty of time to explore.

Technically, of course, bringing the RV home from Sportsmobile in Fresno will be the first trip that I take. If there's at least a couple weeks until the trip north, and I've got the house all ready to rent, I'll take a day or two east of Fresno in King's Canyon and Sequoia National parks. I'd love to see them again, but more importantly, it would give me a chance to swing back by Fresno if any touch-up adjustments are needed.

When it's time to set out for Seattle, I'll head up I-15 to Highway 395, and end up at Red Rock Canyon State Park on the first day. 

As you can see, the estimated driving time is just about 4 hours. That will leave lots of daylight time to explore the park, which looks quite interesting (I've never been there before).

The next day, I'll head straight up 395 to Mammoth Lakes. 

The time estimate for this drive is 3 hrs 41 min. I've been to this area before, but always felt like I didn't have enough time to really explore it. It's a beautiful area and there's a lot to see, so I'm going to allocate an extra day there. Among the things to see nearby are The Minarets:

The Devil's PostPile:

Rainbow Falls:

and Mono Lake:

Since Mammoth is a ski resort, there are also a number of good restaurants to explore.

My next stop up the road is Lake Tahoe:

I'll want to make reservations early for Tahoe which is, of course, a very scenic and very popular area:

Besides the scenery, I remember from years ago an all-you-can-eat seafood buffet ( lobster! ) in South Lake Tahoe; I need to see if that's still around. I'll also spend most of next day seeing the sights in Tahoe, but head down to a campground near Reno for that night. That will keep my drive to New Pine Creek, Oregon on Goose Lake under 4 hours the next day.

Goose Lake is... uh... austere. But it is rather striking to see this great big lake in the middle of what is otherwise desert:

Honestly, Goose Lake is a stop over because it's midway to my next destination; I think it's an acquired taste that I haven't quite acquired yet.

From here, I start cutting over to the west.

I'm headed toward Fort Rock State Park:

It was featured on a Travel Channel show a while ago, and I've been wanting to visit ever since. It's an ancient volcanic crater about a mile across. Can't stay there, though, there's no camping. When I'm done sightseeing, I'll go a few more miles up the road to La Pine State Park.

My next destination for the next day is Portland:

I'll time my departure from La Pine so that I'm at Bend around lunch time. Bend is the craft beer capital of Oregon, and possibly the entire West Coast, according to some. We shall see. If I find something I particularly like, I may stock up the fridge. I'm expecting some really nice scenery between Bend and Portland, including Mt. Hood.

And, of course, Mt. Hood is visible from Portland itself. 

Somehow, I've never spent any time in Portland, so I'll want to have a look around. It's supposed to have a unique, funky culture, so I'll want to sample that. The more I've thought about it, the more it seems like a good idea to already have my electric bike by the time I start this trip. If that's the case, I could spend some time riding Portland's famous system of bike trails.

I'll spend the next morning in Portland, too, then head out for Seattle, or more precisely, Issaquah, which is 17 miles east of downtown.

 That's where my sister-in-law, Lisa, her husband Rob, and their boys Campbell and Andrew live. It will be almost a year since I've seen them, so it will be good to catch up. 

It will also be great to see my cousin, Tom, again, and his wife, Kathy. In 2010, their son, Will, got married to Emily. It was an outdoor ceremony, and even though it rained a bit, it was very beautiful. The reception was at the top of a building in downtown Seattle, which was also gorgeous, and we all had a great time. Now, their son Tim is getting married to Kellie; the ceremony is in a park overlooking Puget Sound and the reception is in a really eclectic indoor/outdoor space south of downtown. Another great time in store, and I'm looking forward to seeing again all the folks I enjoyed meeting at the last wedding. The day before the wedding, I'll probably scope out those locations to identify potential nearby parking places for my RV. It's easier parking a Sprinter van than other RVs, but it's not the same as a car, and I don't want it to become a hassle the day of the wedding.

Once the wedding is done, I've got several options for how to spend my time before meeting up again in late August with Lisa and Rob at their cabin on Lake Pend Oreille in northern Idaho. Planning those details can wait until the time is closer.

For several months I've managed to keep a schedule for these posts close to one per week. Now, believe it or not, I've pretty much run out of things to say - for the time being. My plans for the motorhome are complete. The van could be delivered to Sportsmobile for conversion as soon as a couple weeks or as late as a couple months. Before or shortly after it's delivered, I'll make a trip up to their factory in Fresno to discuss my conversion plans and pick out materials. When those things happen, I'll have more to blog about. And, of course, I'll have frequent updates during the conversion process, including one or two more trips up to check their progress. In the meantime, I'll be taking a little hiatus from posting. To keep out spam and advertising, I've required registration to leave a comment. As an experiment, I'm going to remove that requirement - I'll be glad to respond to any comments or questions you have.