the trail from Blaine, WA to Santa Monica, CA

[Jon]

--- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, "Don Bradner"
wrote:
>
> From Blaine to Jantzen Beach is 277 miles. From Jantzen Beach to
Malibu is 960 miles.
>
> Everyone has different ideas about how far they are willing to push
things; for us, two ~480 mile days would be unthinkable, but I can't
answer for you.
>
> Probably if I were crazy enough to do it I would overnight at
Dunnigan, Happy Times RV park. Not because it is great (it isn't),
but because it is the only convenient spot on that stretch. I've
overnighted there a couple of dozen times for that reason alone. That
would make it 277, 552, and 429 miles.
>
> If it was me, I would do 4 nights on the road. Jantzen Beach, then
Seven Feathers in Canyonville, JGW RV Park south of Redding, and Kit
Fox RV Park in Patterson. Gives you days of 277, 210, 224, 241 and
308 miles.
>
> 3 nights is a bit tougher to space out - hard to find the right
park for the second night without a bad split on the distance, but
Kit Fox would still be good for the third night.
>
> I stay out of Metro SoCal as much as I can, so can't help on the
Malibu park thing, but certainly reservations would be a good idea.
>
> The Grapevine should not be a winter problem. Just watch your temps
and keep the speed/gearing down if necessary.
>
> On 11/16/2007 at 8:29 PM Jo-Ski wrote:
>
> >Greetings, folks--
> >
> >Well, we may just be spontaneous this year and head south towards
Santa
> >Monica, CA in December--probably around the Christmas holiday, of
course!
> >It's my old teen-age stomping grounds, and we've got some long-
time family
> >friends there. Though the scenic route (Hwy. 101) would be lovely
to
> >consider, time constrains us to take the I-5 route.
> >
> >Some questions, please:
> > a.. Any suggestions for pleasant campgrounds once you get south,
past
> >Portland, OR please? From our great experience this past summer at
Jantzen
> >Beach campground (just outside of Portland), we'd stop there for
sure for
> >the first night--was lovely. Was wondering if folks had
suggestions for
> >good campgrounds/logical overnight stops for the rest of the legs
of the
> >trip to the LA/Santa Monica area, please. We were figuring 3 days'
travel
> >from Blaine, WA to Santa Monica (does that sound reasonable from
anyone
> >else's experience?).
> >-------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------
> >
> > b.. We've heard of two campgrounds near Santa Monica--Malibu RV
Park and
> >the Dockweiler RV Park in Playa Del Rey. Is anyone familiar with
those
> >campgrounds, please, or does anyone have other recommendations?
> >-------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------
> >
> > c.. Also, what can we expect at this time of year down in that
> >neck-o'-the-woods, please? Are the RV parks likely to be booked and
> >jam-packed full? In other words, are we kidding ourselves to even
be able
> >to camp at these places? Being still relatively new to the RV
world, we
> >don't have a feel for how big this really gets in that area in the
winter
> >months.
> >-------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------
> >
> > d.. And, what about the notorious stretch of I-5 known as "the
> >grapevine" at this time of year? I remember from driving through
there in
> >my teens that just about every service station along the way had
20 stalls
> >to accommodate cars whose radiators had blown from the heat. Is it
gonna
> >be a stinker to deal with in a Blue Bird at this time of year, por
favor?
> >Many, many thanks in advance for any suggestions and advice!
> >
> >Best regards,
> >
> >Jo-Ski (and Stew)
> >"The Bird Abides"
> >'83-FC 35 RB
> >Blaine, WA



As Don stated that one place to stop at would be the 7 Feathers
casino and I agree with that. They have either dry camping or full
service and both are nice. But the main thing to me is the traffic
deal you can get on the food service there. We have stopped there
for breakfast and it was great and another time we stopped for dinner
and it was Prime rib and it was all you could eat! Cost all of about
12.00 per person. And here is a hint if you are not into gambling
and you haft to wait to get into the restaurant just take a short
stroll over to the hotel lobby and relax in an overstuffed chair and
enjoy a free new paper while waiting for them to ring you up. Jon
>