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05-22-2015, 08:57 PM
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#1
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Junior Member
Join Date: May 2015
Posts: 11
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Trip from Houston to Seattle
Help! Our first big trip. We just retired, bought TT and are ready to go. Leaving in mid July. From Houston, Texas to Seattle, Washington. I don't know if I take a chance making reservations for campsites. How many miles to drive per day. What route to take. Go north or use I 10 to California then north. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
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05-22-2015, 09:17 PM
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#2
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Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: Coupeville, WA
Posts: 476
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We would meander, assuming you have lots of time. There is a lot to see between your place and ours and the best stuff is not on I-10 or I-5. I am thinking Utah national parks, northern NM, parts of Colorado, Grand Canyon, Yellowstone just to name a few.
We seldom drive more than 300 miles per day and stay at least two nights if we are in an interesting area. Some areas are good for a much longer stay.
We try not to make reservations except in areas where we want to be on a specific date or expect the area to be crowded (holiday weekends or big events). You're retired - be flexible as and have a great adventure.
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05-23-2015, 02:41 AM
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#3
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Site Team
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Goodyear, Arizona
Posts: 33,554
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If you plan on doing any camping in California, you better check and see if anything is still available. Oregon too.
Summertime means reserving 6 months in advance.
__________________
Dan-Retired California Firefighter/EMT
Shawn-Musician/Entrepreneur/Wine Expert
and Zoe the Wonder Dog(R.I.P.)
2016 PrimeTime TracerAIR 255, pushing a 2014 Ford F150 SCREW XTR 4x4 3.5 Ecoboost w/Max Tow Package
4pt Equal-i-zer WDH and 1828lbs of payload capacity
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05-23-2015, 04:49 AM
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#4
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Junior Member
Join Date: May 2015
Posts: 11
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Thanks. Oregon was definitely a state I wanted to visit. I'll start looking for campsites.
The 300 miles is a good idea. We have the time.
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05-23-2015, 12:27 PM
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#5
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Retired Ford Tech
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Full-Timer
Posts: 155
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Seattle trip
X2 to all the advise. Get a Passport America membership, it's 104.00 for 3 years, and they have an app for your iPad. They list a lot of campgrounds and they are 50% off. Most will only let you stay a few nights, but that's all you need.
ENJOY
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05-23-2015, 12:38 PM
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#6
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Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Southeast Texas
Posts: 110
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Road trip through the northwest in 2013
We did a somewhat similar trip in 2013. We went straight north-north east from Houston area up through SD, over to Badlands, on to Grand Tetons, up through Yellowstone, Glacier, into Canada, over to Banff, Vancouver Island, down the West Coast to Yosemite, Grand Canyou, Utah parks, then home. 8,500 miles on our 35' 2013 Windjammer. 14,550 miles on my 2012 F-150 eco-boost (I'm a huge fan!!). Since we were touring popular national parks in high tourist season we did make reservations a year ahead of time. This is not necessarily our normal mode of operation, but we were traveling with a couple who are uber planners and we didn't want to "boon dock" much. This hampers your flexibility since your time is already programmed for you. If you stay away from summer tourist spots you can probably make it okay calling ahead when you set out from your previous spot. We are Good Sam and AAA members, so we had books of potential camping spots. If you use a smart phone there are several apps that are also helpful, like AllStays, Trip Advisor, YP, Yelp, etc.
We are beginning to plan a similar trip for 2017 (our 50th anniversary year) but this time through the eastern half of our country. We are starting the process of mapping our route. We plan on an average 300 miles/day pulling a big trailer. We did a few 400+ days but they were pretty tiring.
My counsel: have good new tires all around, make sure you have insurance and road-side assistance that will cover your RV, service your vehicle at regular intervals on the road. Fuel costs vary a great deal. Do the most conservative estimate and multiply it by 2. Happy trails!
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05-23-2015, 12:42 PM
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#7
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Member
Join Date: Nov 2014
Posts: 89
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Do you belong to the Elks , Moose, AM Legion, VFW, Eagles and as stated PA we
have stayed at some very nice ones over the years???? Also most serve food on some days???
gtony2
f
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05-23-2015, 12:47 PM
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#8
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Junior Member
Join Date: May 2015
Posts: 11
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We did join Passport America. I certainly will look into Good Sam for roadside assistance. Wow, you all are great. I'm learning. Thank you.
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05-23-2015, 01:25 PM
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#9
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Mature Citizen
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Issaquah, WA
Posts: 85
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Trip in Reverse
We did the trip in reverse in 2013 traveling from Seattle, WA to Taylor, TX. We were in a time crunch so went straight southeast from Seattle. We try to not drive more then 5 hours each day. Most of the roads are US highways and for the most part were in good shape. There is lots to see along the way if you have the time. This is especially true in southern Utah. We have also done the North-South trip through California and Utah twice without difficulty. It really just depends upon your time. I wouldn't worry about reservations except in south-eastern Utah and anywhere else that is heavily "touristy." Have a safe trip.
__________________
Darlene, Ralph and Pippin
LTC (USA Retired), W7TLD
2023 - 199 days, 6966 miles
2013 - 2019 - 901 days & 37171 miles
2013 Georgetown XL 378 TS, 2014 Honda CRV
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05-23-2015, 07:43 PM
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#10
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Senior Member
Join Date: May 2014
Location: Haslet Texas
Posts: 774
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First welcome to the adventure, this as the say is much more about the journey than the destination. We did Wyoming last year and had a blast.
One thing to note, you don't have to take everything with you they have stores along the way.
If it were me going in mid-July I would head north for the cooler weather, you'll be able to fry eggs on I-10 all the way to California. Excessive heat and trailers don't like each other.
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05-24-2015, 11:06 AM
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#11
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Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: Dripping Springs, TX
Posts: 101
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If you are CHL or plan to carry along a firearm, ensure you check the laws in different states, plus Canada. With time, meander as much as you can and enjoy. We use the Trip Planner with Good Sams with the button for attractions etc to point to places. Some of the campsites will have local attractions that may not otherwise be known. While in Holbrook AZ we went to the Painted Desert/Petrified Forest but also found another place to visit. Holbrook owns some land that has petroglyphs you can get close up to.
__________________
DrippingDuo
Chappy and Liz
Dripping Springs, TX
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05-24-2015, 11:21 AM
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#12
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Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 395
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If you are 62 or older be sure to get a "Senior Pass" from the US Forest Service or Parks Dept. $10 for a lifetime card that gives you 50% off at five federal agencies -- National Parks, National Forests, etc.. Get info at their website: America the Beautiful - National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass
With the card you can get half price camping at Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service campgrounds -- $12 to $15 a night is a steal. I have a book that lists all the BLM, Forest Service, Fish & Wildlife, etc. campgrounds in the country. You should be able to find one at your local bookstore. If you can plan your trip around these campgrounds you can save a ton of money.
I have never had trouble getting spots except an occasional Friday or Saturday night. Weekends are busy but Sunday night thru Thursday nights you can usually find a spot.
Oregon has great state parks. They raised their rates this year to (avg) $30 per night. (little less without sewer hookup -- little more with) You can download a state parks brochure here:
http://oregonstateparks.org/ckFiles/...20(lowres).pdf
Have fun. We made a similar trip in reverse a few years ago -- Portland, Oregon thru Utah, down to Carlsbad, over to Dallas and Houston, up to Memphis, then Chicago and Indianapolis and finally home. You'll love it.
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05-24-2015, 11:39 AM
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#13
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Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: central arizona
Posts: 191
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whats your trailer and whats you tv
[tow vehicle!]..I had to learn that as a newby! there is so much to see having travelled the west...you can plan going up one way and coming back another. july is going to be hot...get out of the flatlands asap...maybe hit l10 to las crusces nm or straight line it to roswell then make your way to Durango across to moab ut into Wyoming [Yellowstone] drop down into Montana to great falls to Calgary alberta west thru lake Louis to Kamloops bc then south thru Okanagan valley into Washington...if it takes you a couple of weeks before heading home the cal kids might be back in school and you can come down the coast and hit some of those great beach campsites as far as san clemente state beach then east on l15 /l40 thru flagstaff and east home.
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