West Coast "Coastal Cruisin"

Oregon Caves is a very nifty place....even if you don't like caves (that would be me).

Wendy

Marsha,

Your psots are giving me lots of ideas for future trips.  It is especially helpful when you mention the  name of park and the size of  RV they will accomodate and of course  having  that compass in hand trick. I 've been doing that very direction finding myself lately !  Thing is though if you are seeing snow, you best be going south!!!!
Betty

Marsha, The Reiters showed me a very useful satellite compas. I got mine at a marine store for about $15.00. It is designed for boats and is handheld, with a handle base and transparent plastic outrigger brackets that you sight along. Very easy to use while checking out camp sites.

That compass is the Davis Hand Bearing Compass (see here) and is available from most marine supply stores.

Thanks guys for the compass suggestion; but I have this handy-dandy little $.29 "ages old" plastic compass that works just fine..... ;D

However, Tim did have to show me how to use it.  I usually do my "well, the sun is setting over here, so that-a-way is close to southeast."  I also remember my boys doing something with a needle and a magnet to figure out directions during their boy scout days.

Ned, I must admit, your compass looks very nice and easy to use.

Marsha~

Russ, looks like you got a steal of a deal.

Marsha:Thanks guys for the compass suggestion; but I have this handy-dandy little $.29 "ages old" plastic compass that works just fine.....

You just don't get the concept: She who dies with the most toys, wins!

Tom-or I can't remember what I paid for it!

Ned,

Thanks for the link to Davis Marine.  We've had one of those hand held compasses for years and one of the plastic pieces has broken off.  Now we can replace it!

Marsha, we use it when selecting a camp site so we'll know what direction we need to be and whether the satellite will encounter tree trunk problems.  It's much easier to use than the other kind!

ArdraF

Tom, Ardra, Russ and Ned,

If I could get that fancy compass at Russ's price, I'd snap it up in a minute.

Russ, Tim is beating me in the "(S)He who dies with the most toys wins....a gal just doesn't have a chance around here."  ;D

Marsha~

Marsha/CA said:

Russ, Tim is beating me in the "(S)He who dies with the most toys wins....a gal just doesn't have a chance around here."   

Click to expand...

Marsha,
You have no idea how far behind I  am in the "toys  winning" category.

Betty

Marsha,

When I bought that one back in the late 70's I probably paid what Russ thought he paid for his.  When I started sailing on Lake Michigan we didn't have a GPS and used that to help chart our course when cruising.

We looked on the internet and the price is now closer to $40.

ArdraF

The price of a compass goes up and the price of a GPS goes down   And the compass doesn't even need a battery.

Ashland, Or to San Luis Obispo, CA

We arrived in Ashland midday on Monday, getting settled in at ?Emigrant? Regional County Campground, which is about 6 miles directly east of Ashland.  This is a very nice small park with full hookups and all sites are satellite friendly.  They are closing the middle of October and will reopen in April, but it would be a nice campground just for an overnighter traveling through.

Late afternoon we drove into Ashland and walked around the town.  It was much different that we expected.  We did find the heart of the Shakespeare theaters, but Monday is ?dark?, with no performances.  We did "take in"  a very good Italian restaurant. 

On Tuesday we began the trek to San Luis Obispo going down #5 toward Sacramento.  I had done some scouting on the internet for campgrounds along the interstate near Willows and/or Williams.  With this new ?free spirit-no plans? attitude, we pulled into a campground and immediately pulled out.  It wasn?t somewhere we wanted to stay and we moved onto the next campground down the road.  It was in Dunning and called ?Almond RV Resort and Golf?.  It was OK, but they wanted $30.00 a night.  It was a bit of an older run down place.  We plugged in the coach and left the car hooked up.  I?m not sure a Wal Mart wouldn?t have been just as good; and we are not fans of Wal Marts.

Wednesday we drove to San Juan Bautista and stayed at Betabel RV Park which was very nice.  Our original thinking was to stay near Monterey or Carmel, so we could get an early start down Highway 1; but after doing some quick checking, we found most campsites to be close to $60.00 per night, so we passed on those and stayed at Betabel. 

I must admit I was a bit leery of the drive on Hwy 1.  Tim and I have driven some very narrow steep windy mountain roads with our rig, so we both are experienced with that type of driving.  I mentioned to the campground hosts at Betabel that we were going home via Hwy 1 and her eyes got big.  She said she had done that ride on a motorcycle and would never go again.  I didn?t mention to her that I?d be scared just being on a motorcycle on a flat regular road.  Then in a conversation with our son, he mentioned that this summer he had driven Hwy 1 north with a truck and cabover camper and would not do it again either.  However, I clung to the fact that Tim has driven Hwy 1 in a car on numerous occasions and he was very comfortable with the drive and said we?d be fine?and indeed we were.  Because I was in the passenger seat, I had all the views.  The drive is beautiful?I mean beautiful.  Yes, it winds around, yes, there are steep drop offs; but nothing dangerous at all.  There are lots of big pull offs and vista points.  Most everyone on that road is there for one reason--to sightsee; so everyone is pulling off, taking pictures and just breathing in the beauty.  The curvy part of Hwy 1 is south of Lucia, but quickly stretches out to open farm land and the ocean views.

Road crews are working on Hwy 1 in and around Big Sur cleaning up the burned hill sides and gullies in anticipation of the rainy season.  There were a couple of places where they had the road blocked for extended lengths of time while the crews worked.  Some of the burned areas reached all the way to the highway.  I?m certain there will be numerous landslides with winter rains.  So if you are planning on traveling this section of Hwy 1; be sure and check with ?Cal-Trans?  http://www.dot.ca.gov/cgi-bin/roads.cgi

We didn?t stop to see the Elephant sea lions near San Simeon, as we have seen them before.  We did notice a nice campground on the west side of Hwy 1 called Kirk Creek just south of Big Sur.  Here is the website for all campgrounds in the Big Sur area http://www.bigsurcalifornia.org/camping.html

Right now we are camped at El Chorro County Park which has full hookups and is only a few minutes from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo University where Tim is attending the weekend seminar.  The sites are private and it?s very quiet.  They also have flush toilets and hot showers; along with hiking trails and an excellent enclosed Dog Park. We did check out Morro Dunes campground right across the street from Morro Bay/Rock itself.  It looked a bit snug for big rigs and it is older; but if you want the beach experience, it would be fun.  Our youngest son attended school up here so he turned us onto a funky pizza place called ?Pizza Port? on Morro bay blvd in Morro BAy.  They make their own crusts and it was fabulous.

Oh, forgot in Cuyocus is a beach that is dog friendly and off leash.

Because we head inland on Monday heading to Kernville, this will be my last ?report/journal?.  We are pushing to get home.  Our oldest son was mountain bike riding last week and fell.  He separated his shoulder from the clavicle (?) and is having surgery on Tuesday.  They need a babysitter for our granddaughter, so grandma & grandpa are coming to the rescue.  ;D

Also, the pictures of the Hwy1 drive do not do it justice.  Just about the time I would see something fantastic, there would be no place to pull off.  So my suggestion is to do the drive yourself.  It's well worth it.  The picture of the lighthouse was because of everything being up on a flat rock and a tiny little lighthouse light out on the point.  There was no information or anything about the facility.

Thanks for going on this "Coastal Cruisin' " trip with us.

Marsha~

Thanks Marsha for taking us on your cruise.  It is  fun to experience places we don't have to pay for the fuel to get a glimpse of the sights!

Betty

Thanks Marsha!  Good job!  Really enjoyed your taking us on the trip with you. 

Daisy

Nice ride, Cowgirl! 

I really enjoyed all your posts.  And, thanks for making Sutherlin, Oregon one of your stops along the way.  It was so much fun and so nice to finally meet you. 

Margi

Thanks for taking us with you Marsha and Tim (and Charlie, too). It's been great to travel vicariously while waiting to head out (soon) ourselves.

Wendy

Marsha

It was wonderful of you and Tim to take us along on your trip and the pictures.  Thanks so much.  Will miss everyone's posts  since all of you are done traveling or writing.

Marsha,

It was a great trip you provided us with.  Thanks again.