BAC Forum
General Boards => General Discussion => Topic started by: Michael Rump on June 23, 2015, 02:13:46 PM
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We are traveling from Medford, Or to Michigan in July.
We are considering (OR-140) and US Route 95S to I 80 for the first leg of the trip.
Was wondering if anyone has experience with this route?
Road conditions, places to stay and things to see along the way.
Other considerations and thoughts are appreciated since this is our first trip.
Thank you in advance!
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Mike I have made this trip, this time of the year is OK the first leg 140 to K falls is not a winter route and is going to offer some great views it's a little tight in a few spots but OK 95 is good
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I have driven on 140 from Lakeview to the Sprague River cutoff (west of Beatty). The road was fine.
I would suggest traveling on 140 from north of Lakeview to Adel to near Denio to south of McDermitt may be a long desolate section of road with very few vehicles to wave at, or stop if you have problems. SouthEast Oregon and most of Nevada is pretty sparsely populated desert with only a few small towns and even fewer gas stations. Make sure you have stocked the fridge, and mostly filled the fresh water and diesel tanks. It can get really hot in SouthEast Oregon and Northern Nevada. 95 going South of McDermitt to Winnemucca is a well traveled and fast two-lane road.
Enjoy...
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About 10 miles west of Lakeview is Juniper Reservoir RV Park, and we liked it there when we stayed in 2007. It is unique in that it is a working cattle ranch. In July though, especially this year, the lake may be fairly dried up. http://www.junipersrv.com/
140 and 95 are good highways, but as David mentions, travel them prepared for little civilization or traffic until Winnemucca; i.e. make sure your Coach-Net is paid up and you have plenty of fuel and your coach is in good shape maintenance-wise.
If you have time, take a jaunt off 140 and run north of Adel to dry-camp overnight in the "city park" at Plush, Oregon (see pic below), a town not much bigger than Frenchglen, if you're familiar with that Oregon landmark. Then take the toad 25 miles on gravel north to the Sunstone fields and search the flat, sparkling high desert floor for the State gemstones; steel yourself to ignore zillions of the little translucent yellow feldspar gems at your feet, and only go for the rare large ones. As long as its not in the heat of mid-day it's kinda fun, like hunting for the best beach agates. I had my jeweler make a custom gold pendant out of one pink-inclusioned half-incher for Lee one Xmas. Sure, you can buy them at the Plush General Store/Cafe, but how special and what fun is that?
And as a side note, don't make the mistake we did once and be tempted to take the scenic "short jaunt" from Plush over to Frenchglen and all its attractions. Crossing Hart Mtn. is not something an RV was meant to do. The road isn't steep or significantly winding or narrow, but it is washboard. At anything over 5mph, it will shake your nuts loose :o .
-Joel
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All,
Thanks for your comments and suggestions. Route plans are not finalized to date, but you have gave us some really good advice and things to consider in our planning.
Safe travels,