2021-8 The California and Oregon Coast

 

2021-8

California, hwy 101 Pacific Coast Highway
Oregon, hwy 101 Pacific Coast Highway

campground: Red Bluff California, Walmart. Checked in with Manager. Was told they were happy to let me stay in their parking lot overnight. With a caveat that the city police may come by and tell me to leave. I had no problem, no police stopped by. Free.

Campground: Bear River Casino, Loleta California. Free (3 nights max) Must check in with security in casino for Parking pass on window. Also got $10 free play and $10 gas chit for signing up for players card.

Bear River Casino, Loleta California.
Free parking lot camping

Campground: Chinook Rv, Klamath Calif. PPA half off. $18.00 full hookups. Note: Klamath has a couple PPA campgrounds. Casino near by on Indian Reservation land, but was only open a few days. I got hear the week before the season starts, Memorial Day weekend.

Campground: Port Orford Rv Village, Oregon. PPA $22.70 includes tax. Lots of permanent/season Rv’s. Full hookups including cable tv (now that’s an unexpected perk). Very neat and clean campground.

Not a picture of the campground, but a great
view of Port Orford Oregon

Campground: Osprey Point Rv Resort, Lakeside Oregon. $23.00 PPA discount rate. Full hookups including, ta-da Cable Tv.

no pics

Don’t you know, leaving the Sierra’s, I’d take the route less taken by, well just about anyone. Hwy 36 is a two lane, narrow road heading on up and over Coast Ranges to the Pacific coast. It was slow going, often only traveling about 35 to 40 mph max. Still, Zippy performed well and I never felt uncomfortable driving this route. Not that I’d do it again, as there are a few other routes that might be a tad easier to travel.

Hwy 36 is a two lane, narrow road heading on up and
over Coast Ranges to the Pacific coast

I needed a break along hwy 36
two lane, twisting and turns can take a toll

RV NOTE: Hwy 36 between Red Bluff and Fortuna California, definitely not recommended for large Rv’s.

Highway 101 Pacific Coast between California and Oregon

first views of the Pacific on this trip

at an Elk viewing area, one lone Elk
"hay, where is everybody"

Ah, we all walked across the highway
to greener pastures

Sooo well maintained and such thick green grass

traveling hwy 101, even the rest stops are among the giant Redwoods

Zippy looking kind of small 

oceanside wild flowers

ocean side flowers

It’s been years since I traveled the Pacific coast highway and after checking my camping apps, I was pleased to see that I’d be able to use my Passport America card to get half off the campgrounds, since most have black out periods for the summer beginning on Memorial Day. I even found a casino on the way that permitted free overnight parking. You know how I love to save money and this part of my journey is a win-win all around.

Note to Rv-ers. There are virtually no Boone-docking opportunities along hwy 101. All pull-outs, viewing spots/rest stops have signs indicating No Camping Overnight. Well, just call me wrong on that count. I started doing a bit more searching on one of my favorite camping Apps, I-Overlander and discovered there are places to do a bit of urban boondocking, casinos, paring lots, rest areas etc. So my last couple of sections along hwy 101 will be all boondocking. Free camping, Yippee! Helps to do the research.

Up until reaching the Pacific Coast, I’ve never not been able to travel with Zippy just about anywhere. Starting up hwy 101, attempting to take a number of side trips, I was a bit frustrated with numerous signs indicating that the route was limited to cars, absolutely no Rv’s travel Trailers, etc. Many included images of Class C campers as well. Well darn it all. One in particular was Lady Bird Johnson Grove in the National Redwoods Park. Eventually I would get to do a number of walk about s through a number of Redwood groves containing ancient 2,000 year old trees. Growing to a height of 350 feet with diameters of 20 feet. They only grow in elevations below 2,000 ft along the damp foggy coast line in Northern California and southern Oregon. And sections of the highway are flanked by the giant redwood trees. Now that’s pretty cool.

One of my little finds
The New Douglas Memorial Bridge

A view of the New Douglas Memorial Bridge

The Douglas Memorial Bridge
to Klamath (Native Indian land)

Ok, two old bears at the Douglas Memorial Bridge
washed away during an historic 25 inches of rain in
1964

pretty cool place, and almost no graffiti

I also attempted to get into the Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park and Stout Memorial Grove. The Stout Memorial Grove was not open to the public this time of year, but I was able to walk through a number of groves within the boundaries of the State park. By the way, the National and State Parks are all a part of the Redwoods National Park system.

Now a cautionary note to Rv-ers. Traveling this route just before Memorial Day Weekend, the beginning of summer travel, many shops, stores, restaurants. Also with the Covid 19 still being a factor, some places haven’t fully opened. (May 2021)

But back to the Pacific coast folks. It’s definitely all about the views, the redwoods, the awesome wildflower blooms. The Rhododendrons are in full colorful bloom. Deep reds, pinks, snowy whites. The bright yellow Scotch Broom, so prolific along the highway, seem to cascade along the hillsides. And even though it is considered an invasive species, it is strikingly colorful against the deep rich greens of the thick rows of pines and redwoods. And of course of spectacular coastal ocean, dark sandy beaches and rock monoliths scattered along the ocean shoreline, and enough lighthouses to satiate the photographer and lighthouse explorer.

Port Orford Oregon, painted wood fence

Plenty of old growth Redwood Groves

More photos

California, Redwoods

Klamath, Redwoods

Crescent City California to Oregon Coast (all the pictures) (280 photos)

Port Orford, Oregon

2021-7 Nevada and Northern California

 

2021-7

NEVADA

Carson City

Campground: Topaz Lodge/Rv park and casino. $35.00. Full hookups and a couple coupons for discounts in restaurant/bar, table games. I was given a site on the lower level, very quiet.

Nice Rv park, one three levels

right on the boarder between California and Nevada

campground: Washoe Lake State Park: $30 Electric and Water. Price recently increased, this is for out of state campers. Ramada, picnic tables. Fully paved road and campsite. Overviews of lakefront. Restrooms and showers. Ist come first served, no reservations accepted.

Washoe Lake State Park
out of state now pay $30 for electric/water was $25

lake is a distance from campsites
basically a walk through sage brush and grass

Campground: Reno, on a side street. Market Street, close to Christensen's Auto shop. Free

Reno seems to accept Rv's parked on side streets overnight
had no issues doing so.

Campground: Forest Park Rv. Rvparky advertised $25. Should have called ahead. Cost $40 per night full hookups. Weak wifi, 1 bar Verizon. Note: don’t trust any of the campground apps, always call ahead to verify, price and availability.

Just opened for the season the day I arrived
basically all sights are filled by seasonal campers

fortunately, one of the park employees noticed
this tree on my campsite.  Was able to remove it quickly
before possibly landing on my camper

It’s taken a while over the years to come to terms with the rising prices of campgrounds. Many commercial campgrounds easily run $45-60 a night. I used to be able to get a site for $18 a night. Now I accept $30 as a good price. And of course I can use dispersed and boondocking sites for free whenever it’s convenient to do so, which can reduce my monthly camping fees nicely.

Crossing into Nevada, the first stop along hwy 395 in Topaz and the only place in this small community on a lake is the Topaz Lodge which includes an Rv park and of course a casino. It’s a nice vintage (1960’s vibe) casino/restaurant and I enjoyed my stop here.

just starting to dine in without mask on.
Nice 60's vibe in the restraurant/casino

hwy 395, boarder of Calif/Nevada

Upon leaving, my Sprinter/Mercedes decided to beep and give me one of those mysterious messages for maintenance. A T-tiny wrench symbol and “600mi” message. Using a computer code reader gave no additional information. Hope to get some information on Monday as I’ll be bringing it in for service. I did drop by an Autozone and used they’re code reader being it was probably a better unit than the one I have. No real info from theirs either.

While at Washoe Lake St Pk, I noticed a Fire truck, then an ambulance, and two police cars go to a Class C camper a short ways from my campsite. Couldn’t have been to bad, as they stayed about 20 minutes, then all support vehicles left without picking anyone up.

We are having a couple of days of iffy weather. Overcast, minor sprinkling of rain, cooler for sure and Snow on the surrounding mountain range. So it’s nice to have electric and be cozy comfortable inside the camper.

This morning I watched a dumpster diver, standing inside the dumpster, breaking open all the garbage bags and collecting aluminum cans and other recyclables. Don’t see that too often. The next day, I saw the same guy carry a couple garage bags filled with his recycle treasures off into the sage underbrush behind my campsite. Homeless perhaps, but actually performing a valuable service separating the trash from the recyclables.

Reno

Reno has two sides, the casino section
and the downtown business/residential 
this shot is along the Truckee River walking/bike path

A thirty minute drive from Carson City (Nevada’s State Capital) to Reno (The biggest little city in the World). I’m here to have the computer reset on the Mercedes diesel engine as the mechanics who did the oil/filter change did not reset the computer. So now I have a Service warning message coming on every 5 minutes. I’ve learned that it’s much more complicated than just a quick reset. Seems Mercedes has designed the program requiring multiple layers that need to be burrowed down into the program to do what should be a simple reset.

So, while rescheduling the appointment a day later, I decided to explore a bit of Reno. It’s odd, the last time I came through this area all I remember are the casinos. This time I’m in other parts of the city and I haven’t seen hardly any casinos except for the small local ones like Dotty’s Casino.

ps:  $65 to reset the computer codes for oil change message, which really doesn't indicate what the warning message is for... Only a Mercedes computer connection/program can reset the code.

Attempting to find a parking spot along the Truckee River park for biking, I ended up seeing their massive homeless encampment along the railroad tracks and the east end of the river. Actually pretty close to the police station. They are opening a 900 capacity homeless shelter while I’m here.

Downtown Reno, along the Truckee River

homeless guy in front of big sign "BELIEVE"

compassion, concern, caring, wondering
how close is the average person to becoming homeless
if they loose a job

my one carb meal every two weeks

the original sign into Reno

I ended up at the National Automobile Museum (the Harrah’s collection) for parking. I’ll get to the museum shortly. It’s right next to a section of the river trail and they said it would be fine if I parked there.

The museum staff gave me a great brochure on the River Walk District and I was off on my biking adventure. And what an adventure it would turn out to be. The river is beautiful this time of year, but the trail was not all that I had hoped for. In Town, I had to stop constantly to cross roads with minimal traffic, but still it was a lot of stop and go. Next to a large outdoor sculpture sign “Believe” a homeless guy was surrounded by all his worldly treasures and lots of them I might add. With a Police lady standing over him. Shortly a patrol car drove up onto the plaza. By then, I had navigated around them and continued on my way. The bike and walking paths merge and diverge constantly. Mostly narrow in nature as well. I didn’t feel comfortable riding my bike as the path narrowed along the river embankment at times. One wrong turn and I’d be going for a swim. The bike path even dumped me onto the road in a couple of sections along the river. Needless to say it was not one of my favorite bike rides. Still glad I went on it as I was able to see more of the town of Reno as well as stop in-town for a quick lunch. The brochure provided lots of options for that including a coffee shop along the bike path

Now, back to the National Automobile Museum. I paid the senior rate, $10.00 thinking I’d enjoy a bit of the museum. Well, a couple of hours later, I was still wandering around looking at some of the best collection of vehicles ever created. From an 1899 Winton, one cylinder on up through a 1903 Cameron originally $650, a 1910 Rolls Royce, including a couple of vehicles owned by the likes of Elvis, Frank Sinatra, and Sam Davis Jr. The exhibits are in 4 large exhibit buildings.

But the exhibit that blew me away was the original 1907 Thomas Flyer. The vehicle that won the race to be the first to travel by car around the world in the 1908 New York to Paris Automobile Race. Click on the link to watch the video. What a story and to be able to stand in front of the vehicle that won the race… well, it just blew me away. Now that’s an Adventure. Notice the passengers sit exposed to all the weather. Which the race started in a blizzard no less.

Side street parking overnight. What an odd experience. After checking with a couple of locals, I understand that many Rv’s can be found parking overnight on a number of side streets. Was told the police don’t bother those parking on streets overnight. I noticed a couple of Rv’s were parked along the side street that Christensen's Auto is on. And decided to park overnight. After settling in around 5pm, after most of the businesses close in this area, I felt pretty comfortable. A few locals walked past the camper in the evening, walking their dogs or with kids learning to ride a scooter. The next morning, driving out to get a little breakfast, I noticed about 6 others had parked on the same street overnight. A different experience for sure. Note: all the Walmarts and the many casinos in the area do not permit campers to park overnight.

first time parking on a side street in-town

Lake Almanor.

Lots of Forest campgrounds along the lake
most require advance reservations online
Lake is quite low

Well after getting the computer reset on the Mercedes, I headed out on 395 into the Sierra Mts. Taking a different route on hwy 70 and 89, with a couple days stop at the Lake Almanor area. The weather is expected to get down to freezing one night, so I opted for a campground with full hookups. Call me spoiled. Was not happy to have to pay $40 a night. But it was my own fault for not calling ahead to verify $$. Most campgrounds have gone up at average of $10-20 from last year. That’s the price we pay staying at an established campground. Even checked on a casino down the road. Used to be a person could park overnight at most all casinos. The one I checked on had added an Rv park, $40 a night and don’t permit dry camping in the parking lots.

Well here I am in the high country of Northern California. Wonderful forests of White pine, Douglas Fir and Cedar surround this region of the Sierra’s. Well worth putting up with a couple cold nights. Nice morning walk along a forest road behind the campground. Those pine trees sure all tall.

along hwy 70/89

Hot Springs, notice how low the river is, springtime

little old cabins in the woods

yup, I'm way down here.  these trees
are really tall

More Photos:

National Auto Museum, Reno and Truckee River walk/bike trail

Nevada - Northern California