Travel Route Suggestions

[Norm Green]

My wife and I will be heading for Bend Or and BCS for some service work on our coach in the near future and we will probably not be leaving Bend until about the 24th of October.  From Bend we are traveling to Mesa AZ.  I am trying to decide which route to take once I leave Bend.  I appreciate that weather is always a consideration and my final decision may change at the last minute.  I have traveled I5 south from Seattle a couple of times so I'm somewhat familiar with this route.  When plugging my destinations into the Good Sam trip planner, it routes me on hi-way 20 out of Bend, then #78 to #95, eventually going through Las Vegas (sounds like a good rest stop).  Once in the Vegas area I don't think I should have any weather concerns.  

I would like recommendations regarding the suggested Good Sam route, in particular road conditions and pass issues, fuel stops and RV parks.

[LarryNCarolynShirk]

Norm,

Those are all good roads.  You gain some altitude around Tonopah.  There is a Flying J at Winnemucca.

Enjoy the trip and watch the weather reports.  You can get uptates on road conditions in Oregon at:

http://www.tripcheck.com/pages/camerasentry.asp

And in Nevada at:

http://nvroads.com/

Larry

[Dick Simonis]

Norm, I've driven that route several times and the roads are fine.  When we head S. on Monday I like to avoid RV parks in LV and schedule such that we stay Kingman instead.  Makes for a nice modest last day on the road.  If you want an interesting stop in the LV area, you might look at a small detour to Pahrumph and stay at Terribles Lakeside.

Dick

[Joel Ashley]

Have gone that route to relatives at Elko several times in early May and October/November, Norm.  Can't speak to RV parks as we park at the relative's house.  I think I saw RV parks in Winnemucca and would expect them in Tonapah also.

As Larry suggests, don't leave Bend if significant eastern Oregon snow is predicted, and not too late in the day.  Expect some wide open country with good mostly straight, wide, and smooth two-lane roads but relatively few other vehicles, esp. south of Burns.  So if you have trouble, help may be a ways off.  Cell service can be spotty.  I usually leave BCS topped off at one of the area Pioneer Fuel/Pacific Pride outlets (we are cardlock members) or top up at the truck stop in Hines/Burns while the wife grabs McDonald's takeout across the street (their burgers are better than most McD's), then stop at the Pacific Pride a short ways west of Winnemucca off I-80 (I disdain Flying J, but that's a choice).  There is supposed to be another Pacific Pride in Tonapah, if you are a member.

Joel

[Bill Brown]

As all have said the roads out of Bend heading south/east all seem to be good.  We have gone down hwy 97 to Klamath Falls, then over to Alturus, CA to Hwy 395 and followed it south to Reno.  Also normally just a day's drive.  There are two passes you will need to cross, however, if you watch the weather and take advantage of the DOT TV CAMs available for the route, both in OR & CA, you can see the high ground prior to leaving Bend.   Last winter, we got a late start out of Bend, BCS had our coach ready for the road early, and I felt we needed to move rather then wait another night.  By the time we reached Alturus, CA, it was getting dark, and I don't like driving on dark roads with deer.  We wound up staying at the "most unlikey place".  We stayed at the Likely Place Golf and RV Resort in Likely, CA.  530-233-4466.  It was darker then night, and cold.  But they had full hook-ups, 50AMP power, sewer, and I believe cable.  Their WEB page is LikelyPlace.com if you care to look them up online.  Anyway, from Reno, head East on I-40 to Fernly, NV, Loves, and Pilot/Flying J at the Fernly Exit, then we head south on highway 95 thru  Hawthorne, Tonopah, etc.  Road is usually very good, occasionally a little snow around Tonopah, but usually not a problem.    It's all good two lane highway except for the 8-10 miles north of Reno and going east on I-40.  BorderTown RV a few miles north of Reno is also another place we stay, and good power, cable, casino/cafe there, or the casinos of Reno.  

Enjoy your trip south.
Bill & Nova Brown,
06 Monterey. Laguna IV 40"
CAT C-9
09 GMC Denali