BlackJack is on the road....

[NW Cat Owner]

Originally Posted by ice-breaker

With all those miles per day, there is not much time for stopping. (snip)

And has a REALLY big, strong bladder! Holy Cow! I could not imagine doing that many miles in one stretch, regardless of how many different drivers there were. I gotta eat and pee more than once per day. I guess you could time your pee breaks for when you get gas. One person hits the restroom while the other pumps the gas.

But still!

PS, loved the photos of San Antonio posted by someone else. Never been there, but might after seeing those photos.

[reetired]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

Made it to Seligman, Az last night after a 9 hour day. Total 2200 miles in 3.5 days. Trailer and truck operating flawlessly. The Flagstaff Pass is 7000 feet and both the highway and trains use the same pass.
Our cg is right next to the BNSF mainline and we fell asleep to the sounds of the trains. The stars at night were uinbelievable and was only outdone by the magnificent sunrise . We are 450 miles from Los Angeles, Ca but we now are heding northwest up the California central San Jaquuin Valley. The only issue we have run into is the cold weather and my typing on this minikeyboard. When I get back home I will see about new glasses,
The refer , due to the weather has been fine on #4 and propane, with turning back to #3 on electric. My mileage improved to 13.5 mpg for the entire trip. I admit I was going 70 to 75 mph which was the limit earlier in this trip but slowed to 65 yesterday and saw a dramatic increase in mpg from previous 12 to 15 mpg, thus bring the overall average up also.

Heed the trailer mph limits in CA. Trailers must always be in the right lane.

[jamman]

Originally Posted by reetired

Heed the trailer mph limits in CA. Trailers must always be in the right lane.

Why? No one else does. Especially not boat trailers.

[Andrea]

Jim, Have a great time and a safe trip! Hope to visit BlackJack when you return home. Working on build sheet and want to see all the options etc on yours.
Andrea

[reetired]

Originally Posted by jamman

Why? No one else does. Especially not boat trailers.

Cuz he's got out of state plates! More moolah for da state...being that 9 times out of 10 he won't contest the ticket!

[Vermilye]

I suspect you are already past it, but if you (or anyone) get a chance to stay at Red Rock Canyon State Park east of Bakersfield, do it. While dry camping, the background behind each site is impressive:

[BCnomad]

Noted Jon. Thanks.

[cpaharley2008]

Made it to Visalia, Ca last night, our destination for awhile. We have some family gatherings to handle for the holiday weekend, that and the need to get thru tornado alley was the stimulus to arrive here quickly. Now we can rest for 3 days before heading to Osoyoos. The weather is finally "shorts" weather as the trip across was cold from Amarillo west, had to wear sweats. Even yesterday coming thru Tehachapi pass it was 44 degrees. Got to see the Union Pacific Tehachapi Spiral, a helix track layout for traversing the pass. Quite different from the switchbacks normally seen.See here Tehachapi Loop - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Now for some R and R for awhile, Franklin and Hershey are also happy campers.
Saw one Escape 17 heading east on I40 in California, otherwise 4 Casitas. A couple chased us down at a rest stop, said they were following me for last 3 hours in order to see the trailer. They were interested in an Airstream until they saw the Escape. Hopefully we will be getting some new members here.
Planning on heading to Mt.Shasta on Monday and Leavenworth, Wa on Tuesday and arriving in Osoyoos on Wednesday, a more leisurely trip and hoping the weather warms up, we only have one set of long sleeve tops between the two of us.Hope everyone has a safe trip to the rally and Happy Memorial Day.

[Bruce Wray]

Jim- If you like trains, check out staying at Railroad Park Motel/Campground in Dunsmuir near Mt. Shasta as a place to stay. The "motel" is a series of upscale converted old cabooses, with old train stuff around. I like the rustic campground, it has full hookups if desired (get site # 26 or 28!). There is a lot to see and do in the area. If the Upper Sacramento River wasn't low due to the drought, I'd be camping and kayaking there now. If you fish, the river in that area is a blue ribbon trout fishery. The McCloud river, one half hour away, has great waterfalls, and is the original home of the rainbow trout. Enjoy the area.

Bruce

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

Got to see the Union Pacific Tehachapi Spiral, a helix track layout for traversing the pass. Quite different from the switchbacks normally seen.See here Tehachapi Loop - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

If you haven't seen them yet, you might want to check out the CP Rail Spiral Tunnels east of Field, British Columbia. The loops are smaller than the Tehachapi Spiral, but there are two of them. The rail line is shown in Google Maps, and the above-ground line is visible in satellite view. There is a pull-out on the TransCanada Highway at a viewpoint where at least one tunnel's openings are visible (I haven't stopped there for years).

[rbryan4]

Originally Posted by Brian B-P

If you haven't seen them yet, you might want to check out the CP Rail Spiral Tunnels east of Field, British Columbia. The loops are smaller than the Tehachapi Spiral, but there are two of them. The rail line is shown in Google Maps, and the above-ground line is visible in satellite view. There is a pull-out on the TransCanada Highway at a viewpoint where at least one tunnel's openings are visible (I haven't stopped there for years).

Fascinating link on the spiral tunnels. Now that's one huge engineering achievement.

[cpaharley2008]

We left California this am and arrived in Redmond, Or at a beautiful KOA ion the valley, this place is so green and lush compared to burned out southern Califonia. Did see an Escape 17 heading south on I5 today. Tomorrow, Osoyoos.

[Ron in BC]

Ah, that's only 442 miles, what are you going to do for any afternoon drive.

Ron

[gbaglo]

At this point, I would be a puddle of mush in the foot well.
I was even thinking of maybe camping overnight in Manning on the way to Osoyoos from North Van.

[float5]

Originally Posted by gbaglo

At this point, I would be a puddle of mush in the foot well.
I was even thinking of maybe camping overnight in Manning on the way to Osoyoos from North Van.

You're just my speed.

[Ron in BC]

Originally Posted by gbaglo

At this point, I would be a puddle of mush in the foot well.
I was even thinking of maybe camping overnight in Manning on the way to Osoyoos from North Van.

I am stopping at Manning. Makes for an earlier in the day arrival at Osoyoss.

Ron

[BCnomad]

Tho shalt not check in before noon.

[Ron in BC]

Earlier is a relative term. Despite out best intentions, having the trailer packed and ready to roll out of driveway first thing in the morning, it never happens. So we don't mind making a more leisurely trip once in a while and arriving the next day earlier than we would have if we'd made a late start.

Ron

[Jim Bennett]

What we almost always do now, is instead of leaving early in the morning, which like Ron says rarely seems to materialize, is that we leave the evening before. For long weekends, it gets usually gets us to our destination, and even if a bit later, we get to start the day there. On longer trips, like the near 10 hours to Osoyoos, driving 4 hours or so makes the next day drive a piece of cake, and we can arrive early.

That is of course IF we had the time to get ready the day before. These IFs are often a big factor to use working folks.

[amirie]

I'm working till 11:15 on Wednesday night--so we are leaving sometime Thursday morning.. About a 5 hour drive for us.

We are going to the pub for supper on Thursday night right??