Kayaking with Killer Whales
One of the stops on my trip next month is to try kayaking with the Killer Whale pod off San Juan Island in Washington. Has anyone here done this? How was it? Where did you launch from? Did the time of day matter? Any information would be helpful. I have my own kayaks so I was not planning on doing one of the "tours" offered.
Portland OR Attractions
I have a day to see the sites in the metro Portland OR area, does anyone have some suggestions on what we should see or do. Nothing turned up in any recent posts.
Looking for Campground in Detroit Oregon
There is nothing in a search on here and RV Park Reviews does not have anything, does anyone have a suggestion as to where to stay in Detroit Oregon. Is there any place with FH.
Mt. St. Helens with a TT?
I am planning on seeing Mt. St. Helens this summer but am only planning on stopping on my way from Portland to Seattle so I will have my TT with me. I thought I remembered a thread but now can't find about someone that left their TT somewhere at the bottom of the hill for the day and only drove their TV to the last stop overlook. Does anyone have any information about where I could leave my TT for a few hours and not take it all the way?
Silver Falls State Park from the South
Is it possible to get into Silver Falls State Park, OR coming from the south of the park along Hwy 22 from Mill City area. I can see on a map that there are little roads but I don't know if they are usable by the public and if they really go to the main road in the park.
Oregon Mountains
Is it possible to tow a 21' TT from Detroit Or, to Estacada via Clackamas River Rd/NF-46 and 224. I can't tell if this is a highway or a small local road not suitable for towing.
Crater Lake Info
Working on my trip plans and wanted to get your opinions on what there is to do and see at Crater Lake, how much time should I dedicate to this stop? Is it mostly just viewing pretty lake scenery or it there more activities.
How Should I do the Oregon Coast?
I am trying to plan my vacation which includes the Oregon coast but I am not sure how best to tackle it. I am mostly used to going to a Nat. park or area and parking the TT and exploring for a couple of days in the truck. Since the coast is a linear track, should I take the TT with me each day and sight see along the way, then find a new camp each night, or do I drive a ways park the TT and sight see with just the truck, back tracking and (fore tracking?) If it is the later, and I am starting in Gold Beach, what would be the best other "base camp" locations. I am really not sure how best to do this since I don't treasure the thought of covering the same road multiple times, pulling the TT and sight seeing both.
RE: Mt. Baldy RV in Southern Calif??
Our camping club camped there a little more then a year ago. The place is OK, some water and electric, rest are no hookups. Has a lot of potential but it is run by the guy that owns the Tungston mine down the dirt road from the campground and he does not necessarily understand what the campground needs are. Nice guy though, will talk your leg off. He was almost done digging a pond hole back then and I was told it still is not complete. They place has enough trees to be fine, but mostly rocky/gravel ground. There is a dump station, though a little hard to get to. When we were there, I was really suprised since we were only 7 miles from the nearest LA freeway (210) and yet there was a BIG bear wandering through the camp in the evening and over night looking for food. No bother, just scared the cr&# out of one of the members when he got up in the middle of the night to put his flag pole down because of the wind and found himself standing in front of the bear. He ended up using his electric awning opening/closing to scare it off. I would probably go back there, it was pretty easy to get to and you really felt like you were away from LA.
RE: slide-out tip-over risk?
Bill3D, the same thing happend to me while checking out a rear slide TT. I now own a rear slide TT and the whole family knows not to put the slide out, out without the jacks down.
RE: Planning our trip for the summer
We will be leaving around 3rd of July and get back on the 26th, so 24 days total. I think we would want to stay west of the Cascades and Sierra.
Planning our trip for the summer
Its time to start planning our family vacation for this July and as always I value the input I get from this forum. I believe we would like to catch the very west coast this year starting with a stop in San Francisco, then head north wandering through Northern California, Oregon, Washington then to Vancover and back home to San Diego. Would everyone please let me know the stops we should make along the way to see the special places this part of the country has to offer. We usually like a mix of natural beauty (mountains & waterfalls stuff) as well as man made places (light houses, historic sights type stuff) Any input you have would be appreciated.
RE: New green colored inverter generator at costco
I am the one Mike is talking about in the last post, and here is my take on the Genny. I certainly liked the price, $220 for a 1300 watt portable generator, the looks of it are pretty good, nice molded outer shell. It is a 3-4 inches taller (19") then the Honda 2000, which made it not fit under the lower bunk in my TT. It is also 3-5 inches wider then the 2000, no big deal considering the price.
I put in oil, some gas, and after finding the hidden choke lever, it fired up in one pull. It was a little noiser then I expected, just a little quiter then my lawn mower. It was borderline to loud for me. Again for the price I did not expect it to be as quiet as a Honda.
There is not econo mode, and I could not tell that it ever changes motor speed (mine was defective)
It has a fuel line shut off valve and a on/off power switch to shut it down. The fuel cap has a vent hole in the middle of it with just a little mess material in it, you could easily see light through it so I guess technically gas could spill out the cap, fumes for sure, If you want to transport or store it inside any of the space of your TT, this is a negative factor.
It is pretty heavy, but carry-able, what you would expect for the money. The wheels and luggage handle worked out well as long as the ground is firm. I did not have it long enough to roll it a lot, but I did notice one of the wheel brackets was already starting to bend a little, I probably rolled it 50-75 feet. Good concept, but maybe a little to cheap of a bracket.
For the price, I think it is an OK unit, I was most soured on it because it seems the unit I got was defective. I hooked it up to my RV to see if I could pop some popcorn in the micro, and it would not even fully light the clock and the fridge would not switch off gas. (the only thing that should try to draw power) I took it to Mike's and he put on his Kill-a-watt and we found it putting out 97-100 volts, not enough to run anything.
I decide to return it rather then exchange it because I wanted to transport/store it under a bunk and it is to tall and smelly without a sealalbe gass cap. It was an easy return since it is Costco. If you know the pros and cons, this could be a pretty good unit for some, just not me, as long as many are not defective.
The Good News and the Bad
The good news is we just got back from a GREAT weekend of camping at the beach in Carlsbad, CA. Mid 70's, shorts & t-shirts, great sunset, large full moon, etc.
The bad news is I just found a 1 inch crack in my tub next to the drain where it can flex a little. Anyone know what will fix this best. Including brand names of products and where I can get them.
