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Old 03-22-2018, 08:14 PM   #1
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Route suggestions water front pacific to Sedona

Hi all,
We are currently in Yachats Oregon thru Saturday am. Plan to head west over to Eugene Oregon for a stop at TJ Max Homegoods to pick up a few more things for our new 21. Any suggestions for route as well as overnight stops to Sedona/ Williams Arizona area. Would like to work over to route 395 as I have heard this is a scenic route. If you more experienced travelers think this is not a good choice let me know. I also thought of I-5 down to I-40 then east towards Sedona. Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. First time out this far west by vehicle.
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Old 03-22-2018, 08:29 PM   #2
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If you're taking I-40 east without stopping until Sedona you'll have passed up a chance to turn north off I-40 at Williams for a reasonably short drive up to The Grand Canyon. It's a big state and there's just too many jaw dropping sights to see in Arizona.

Congrats on the new 21.
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Old 03-22-2018, 09:02 PM   #3
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Congratulations, no suggestions but we are in Yachats on vacation if you would like to give us a tour. We have never seen a 21
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Old 03-22-2018, 09:14 PM   #4
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Your timing looks good for doing 395 south for a Sedona destination. Weather is calming down and it will be pretty spectacular going doing the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada. How much time do you have?
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Old 03-22-2018, 09:52 PM   #5
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Time is not an issue. Thinking three days to get to Williams/Sedona area and take the GCRailway to the south rim. Take a couple of days to explore the area before heading east towards home (N.C)
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Old 03-22-2018, 10:01 PM   #6
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Three days from Yachats means I-5 to Bakersfield then over unless you're like CPA dude. With five days I would say go I-5 to Sacramento then over I-80 to 395. If you have a couple more days then you can spend a night in Bishop then Lone Pine(Alabama Hills) then maybe Death Valley if you've never been.
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Old 03-22-2018, 10:27 PM   #7
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Before you head east from Sacramento check road conditions on 80 or 50 and down 395. They've had a lot of snow in the past couple weeks. Those are major routes that they try to keep cleared but if there's a storm I'd wait until the weather cleared and no icy conditions. The scenery down the eastern side is pretty spectacular this time of year but it's high elevation so it will be cold at night. Mono lake visitor center is worth a stop. And famous schaats bakery right on the hwy in bishop. . Alternatively The I 5 corridor is boring but fast and clear.
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Old 03-23-2018, 01:19 PM   #8
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we've had like 3" of rain on the California Central Coast in the last couple days, so right now, the whole sierra is probably getting slammed with buckets of snow, and 395 is likely super cold the whole way from Reno to the Mojave. Be wary of black ice!!
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Old 03-23-2018, 01:47 PM   #9
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The storm has passed for now; no road closures either on I-80 or 395. Distance from Sacramento to Bishop is 279 miles and weather in Bishop is forecast by National Weather Service to be sunny & clear through next Thursday. I wouldn't hestitate at all and the scenery will be awesome!
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Old 03-23-2018, 03:48 PM   #10
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This picture was taken this morning, north of Grants Pass, OR I-5 between mile post 66 and 71. Mt. Sexton.
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Old 03-23-2018, 04:21 PM   #11
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Hi oldsalt,
I got back from some of the route you are planning.... about 3 weeks ago. Yachats is a great little town and I really liked the brewery there ... I forget its name but its on the 'uphill' side of the road. Their micro beers were delicious but I found their "sour" beers a bit too much. You can order a flight and sample a half dozen of their brews selecting from, I'd guess, 20 brews all on tap. What was especially good is their food. Highly recommend a meal there!!!!

I was driving just about the opposite direction from you. Leaving San Diego - San Bernadino - and then northward up HWY 395. Sadly, very sadly my calendar wouldn't allow me the time to visit Joshua Tree National Park, a second visit to Anza Borrego Desert State Park, and Death Valley National Park. Southern California has sooo many wonderful and varied places to visit .... a lifetimes worth
I think. I'll be back.

My favorite place was the Alabama Hills area immediately west of the little town called "Lone Pine". I arrived in the middle of the night, found a semi flat spot to spend the night and admire the clear very dark night sky. In the morning, I was startled to find the Eastern Sierras towering above me ... I was already at 8000', I had parked in BIG boulder country where there are piles of house and car sized boulders with dusty single lane gravel roads / trails between .... stunning! Even though there wasn't a cloud in the sky, the weather service was forecasting storm warnings with 5' of snow and wind gusts to 95 mph at my elevation within the next 12 hours. I decided to leave.

Continued northward on 395 to Reno where it was snowing like crazy, dropped elevation by driving down I-80 to Sacramento. I wanted the snow to turn to rain as this was an exceptionally large and fierce storm. No luck there as it was still snowing in Sacramento. Continuing up I-5 (very boring route)was a no go as I would have to cross the Siskiyou Mts - see Donna's picture ... and worried about having to put on chains.

The route that was the most appealing was to head to HWY 101 and the Pacific coast. From Sacramento drove up I-5 about 50 miles or so, turned to the west on HWY 20 - a very nice country drive. It exits at Capella (near Ukiah) onto HWY 101. Then north up the Oregon coast. Had a great drive.

Recommendations:

Get a set of chains for the pass areas .... or be prepared to find a pull out well off the road and wait out any mountain pass storms. Waiting until the road crews can clear the roads might take a couple days. Casinos are a good find ... usually free to camp, have restaurants or food available and entertainment.

Fill your propane tanks before pass areas in case you get held up or stuck. Lay in extra food. My propane heater easily kept me warm - coldest was 20F the night I spent at Alabama Hills.

Listen to weather forecasts. If you have internet coverage, check for Highway conditions for the state you are in. There may be web cams too. Example: Google "driving conditions for HWY 395". A menu will pop up allowing you to choose what portion of 395 you are interested in.

Good luck and enjoy your trip. I'm quite envious as I would like to be off again ... that 395 is special,

Tom
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Old 03-23-2018, 05:03 PM   #12
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Alabama Hills is a favorite boondock site; the old westerns made there are the reason there is such great access. Very cool movie museum in Lone Pine. You are mistaken about the elevation though. It is actually 4500'; Whitney Portal campground way up from there is 8,374'. Weather can change in a hurry in the Sierra Nevada and you were wise to take heed.
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Old 03-23-2018, 05:39 PM   #13
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This picture was taken this morning, north of Grants Pass, OR I-5 between mile post 66 and 71. Mt. Sexton.
To me this does not look too bad, I saw worse driving up through Idaho and Montana a few weeks ago. I did leave my winter tires on for the trip though, and was sure glad I did, even if it was only for 3 or 4 days travel in the 6 weeks.
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Old 03-23-2018, 05:41 PM   #14
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Rossue,
Thank you for the elevation correction ... not sure how I thought I was at 8000' .... must have been the thin air .....

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Old 03-24-2018, 08:05 AM   #15
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This picture was taken this morning, north of Grants Pass, OR I-5 between mile post 66 and 71. Mt. Sexton.
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Originally Posted by Jim Bennett View Post
To me this does not look too bad, I saw worse driving up through Idaho and Montana a few weeks ago. I did leave my winter tires on for the trip though, and was sure glad I did, even if it was only for 3 or 4 days travel in the 6 weeks.
Had friends that left Portland at 5pm yesterday. Took 9 hours to get to Grants Pass. A trip that should have taken less than 5 hours. All due to accidents in the passes.
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Old 03-24-2018, 09:05 AM   #16
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Had friends that left Portland at 5pm yesterday. Took 9 hours to get to Grants Pass. A trip that should have taken less than 5 hours. All due to accidents in the passes.
These extended travel times are a pain for sure, but I guess I am just used to travelling taking twice as long, or even longer with accidents than under dry conditions. Around here, we are now plagued with lots of new adult drivers who are scared driving under bad road conditions and go excessively slow, along with some who drive way beyond what is safe under these conditions, and accidents happen. We also have a bunch of folks around here who still think they can save money not buying winter tires for their vehicles, which is both a fallacy and less safe on the winter roads.

When coming back from Arizona, traffic on much of I-15 from Salt Lake City to Helena was often well less than half the posted speed. It did keep moving along though, and fortunately only on mountain pass to do.
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Old 03-24-2018, 10:21 AM   #17
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Trailer towing in the snowy mountains can be beautiful, romantic fun, if only it wasn't also so risky and dangerous.
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Old 03-24-2018, 06:34 PM   #18
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OldSalt, not sure if you got my reply to your PM but we seem to have missed each other. Have a great trip and hope the snowy roads have cleared.
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Old 03-24-2018, 06:38 PM   #19
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Hi all,
We are currently in Yachats Oregon thru Saturday am. Plan to head west over to Eugene Oregon for a stop at TJ Max Homegoods to pick up a few more things for our new 21. Any suggestions for route as well as overnight stops to Sedona/ Williams Arizona area. Would like to work over to route 395 as I have heard this is a scenic route. If you more experienced travelers think this is not a good choice let me know. I also thought of I-5 down to I-40 then east towards Sedona. Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. First time out this far west by vehicle.
Another route worth considering is the Great Basin Highway Route 93 south from Twin Falls, ID. We have driven that route three times now and its a good way south and avoids any Interstates while also being able to keep up a good speed. There are lots of interesting camping spots we have noticed for the future.
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