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thatbaldwinlife Samba Member
Joined: August 01, 2011 Posts: 777 Location: Out exploring
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Posted: Wed Feb 19, 2020 9:04 am Post subject: Valentines Day road trip report |
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My wife and I have committed to camping every month this year and with the addition of the Espar gas heater, the winter months are a bit more comfortable. For February we decided that Valentines Day weekend would make a great getaway and with Monday being a holiday, our youngest do not have school so they can sleep in. We do not have to be there to make sure they get off to school. The redwoods in northern Cali are some of our favorite places to visit, particularly the Avenue of the Giants. We made a reservation at Burlington Campground for Friday night and headed south as soon as the twins got off to school.
Day one:
Of course my wife has not been sick for a long time and on Friday morning, she woke up not feeling so good. She wanted to drive the first leg down I5 to get her part done so she could rest and have me take over. Not a lot of pics from the first day just making miles. We knocked out 460 miles in one day which is a record for us in the Westy. We usually only do 250 or so per day traveling as we stop so much to explore.
Coffee stop in Grants Pass
We took I5->199->101 which we have done many, many times. Traffic was pretty light until we got to Eureka during rush hour and hit every red light on 101. We arrived at Burlington around 6:00 that night and set up in the dark which consisted of popping the top and a cold beer. We started to make dinner as we were both pretty hungry from the long drive. After dinner we both read a for a bit then went to bed pretty early as my wife wasn't feeling all that well.
Hopefully tomorrow would be a bit better for her.
Day two:
It was neat to see what the campground looked like in the light of the morning. It was pretty empty overall and surrounding us were redwoods as far as you could see. These were not the giant ones we would see later in the day, but still impressive. We made coffee and ate leftovers from last nights dinner for breakfast. My wife was feeling about the same as yesterday so some of our hiking we planned on doing was out of the question. No problem, gives us a reason to come back (like we needed one). After breakfast, I spent some time adjusting the sliding door as it had popped open a few times on the way down. It would not be the last time on the trip though.
We packed up and left the campground around 9:00am and headed south on Hwy 254 and only made it about 1/2 mile before we pulled over to do a short walk. I will let the pics do the talking here.
Link
We continued on south to Miranda where we would make lunch and get fuel before doing more exploring. It is important to note that we were very lucky to have gotten gas as the route we took after we left 254 was basically without fuel for for some time.
We stopped by the Founders Grove and walked a bit more as this was one place we had actually not stopped in the past because it can be pretty busy during the summer. It was nice being there in February as the road was almost empty. The weather was great as well being sunny and 50 degrees.
I've always wanted to visit the Lost Coast of California. It seemed so hard to get to and so out there. We almost did during a Westy trip in 2015 but the kids (and wife) didn't appreciate the bumpy, steep road leaving Ferndale so we turned around just a few miles in. Now without the kids and my wife who has had 5 years of us dragging the Westy down crappy roads, we had the perfect opportunity . We left 101 and took Bull Creek Flat/Mattole road out towards Honeydew. The road starts out like any other 1 1/2 lane forest road but becomes steeper and less maintained as you head west. We climbed in 2nd gear for a long time on pothole filled roads with the worst repair jobs we have ever seen.
A gravel road would have been welcome over this. Lots of square edged hits, deep pot holes followed by horrible patch jobs resulted in the door popping open so much, my wife had to sit in the back to close it every time. We stopped at an overlook and I adjusted it again which did fix it for the remainder of the trip.
Our goal for the day was the Mattole Campground on the edge of the Lost Coast. More bad roads led us to the turnoff on Lighthouse Road which would lead us to camp. This road also started out ok but turned to mud/gravel about halfway through with one large puddle/mudhole to traverse before we hit the coast. Mattole has no reservations and only 14 sites but we figured in February we would have a good chance of snagging a site. Turns out there were only two other campers there so there was no issue. We arrive kinda early, around 2:00, which as nice as my wife could rest a bit. We did explore a little and walked part of the Lost Coast Trail before returning to make dinner and sit by the fire.
We were treated to one of the best sunsets we have ever seen on a camping trip. This remote, hard to get to campsite was all worth it for these pics right here.
The wind picked up and a light sprinkle started so we retired to the van, turned on the heater and watched some downloaded Netflix before calling it a night.
Day three:
We woke up to a light rain and cloudy skies. We felt bad for the group who had come in late that night in their tents as we drank coffee in our van being warmed by the Espar. We stayed in the van and watched a bit more Netflix while eating breakfast before deciding it was time to head on. We had no real destination for the day besides heading north to be home by Monday evening. Back on the now muddier Lighthouse road for a slow drive back to Mattole road. We went through the small town of Petrolia and along the coast for a bit:
As the road left the coast it began to climb and climb. We were able to maintain second gear but with the roughness of the road, it wasn't easy. Parts of the road were washed away and replaced with gravel which added to the excitement of the climb. We drove through a small valley then the road climbed again. This time it was a first gear grunt up the mountain with switchbacks right out of the Alps. With the fog, it all made for a surreal view.
Here is a clip my wife did with her phone (excuse the sniffing/coughing)
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A bit longer one showing the climb out away from the coast. I am trying to remind my wife to hold the phone sideways but it didn't happen on these.
Link
Then one of those weird travel encounters happen. We were driving up this road in the middle of nowhere and we see a big blue Westy coming down the hill towards us. They flashed their lights and we all stopped in the middle of the road
to meet. I had seen the van before on Instagram and it was Shane's old Westy he sold before moving to camper life and then back to building his syncro. These were the new owners from Colorado and they had just moved out to Cali. I
didn't get good pics but hoping they send me some to put in this report. What a crazy meeting in the middle of nowhere.
Back to the climb, we finally crested and made our way down to Ferndale. We had been several times before so we just moved on north.
We drove up 101 and remembered that about a year ago went saw this funny emu near the drive through tree near Klamath. We decided to stop and see what he was up to but this time he was pretty chill and not running around. We fed him a bit and moved on.
We hit Brookings, Oregon and pulled over to see about camping. We pulled out our trusty iOverlander app and looked up the coast for some free camping. A promising site popped up with a bunch of reviews and showed it to be a bit private with a view of the ocean. Score! Headed north for about an hour and found this gravel road that went behind a stand of fir trees separating us from highway 101. Found a great, level spot and popped the top.
About 30 min later a Dodge Promaster van pulls in and kinda drives around a bit deciding if they wanted to stay. We waved them over and they parked about 150 feet away. A single traveler came out and asked if it was ok that he camped near us. Of course! Another like minded traveler to share stories with? I'm in. He and has dog made camp and my wife and I enjoyed the sunset over the ocean.
We made vegetarian chili for dinner and made way too much so we invited Kyle over to share our dinner, warm fire, and a cider. He was happy to have the company and we stayed up pretty late sharing stories until our propane ran out and it got pretty cold. As I have said many times in our trip reports, the people we meet make the journey. iOverlander has brought many new faces into our lives that we still stay in contact with today.
Turned on the heater and off to bed.
Day four:
No real pics of today as my wife was pretty sick and we just went up 101 north then over to I5 for the blast home. Traffic was still good being a holiday and we were home in no time.
Another great trip and the Westy did amazing. The heater has been a wonderful upgrade and we look forward to our March camping trip which should be a spring break adventure with the twinzers. Maybe back to Canada for a few days?
You can follow these adventures in real time on my Instgram
nate_baldwin
nate _________________ 1987 Westy
Insta: @Thatbaldwinlife
Vanagon Adventure and DIY videos:
That Baldwin Life YouTube Channel
Last edited by thatbaldwinlife on Wed Feb 19, 2020 9:32 am; edited 1 time in total |
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mikemtnbike Samba Member
Joined: March 26, 2015 Posts: 2797 Location: North Carolina
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VicVan Samba Member
Joined: July 01, 2015 Posts: 1845 Location: Vancouver Island, BC
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Posted: Wed Feb 19, 2020 9:32 am Post subject: Re: Valentines Day road trip report |
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Very nice report! Thanks for sharing. _________________ '90 Little Blue Truck, 2WD auto, FAS GenV 2.0 NA (AVH) |
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JimmyJagged Samba Member
Joined: October 14, 2016 Posts: 88 Location: San Juan Capistrano, CA
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Posted: Wed Feb 19, 2020 10:12 am Post subject: Re: Valentines Day road trip report |
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Great picture story. Thanks for sharing.
The Redwoods are my most favorite destination! _________________ Current:
1971 Tin Top Weekender Bus
1973 Squareback
1985 Pop Top Weekender Vanagon (my 19yo son's first car. father/son project)
1985 Pop Top Weekender Vanagon w/ 2.5 Subaru
Past:
1976 Rabbit diesel (my first car). RIP. totaled by drunk driver (not me!)
1973 Pop Top Westfalia Weekender Bus. RIP. Blown engine due to 25yo ignorant of VW maintenance (me).
1986 Vanagon Transporter. RIP. totaled by drunk driver (not me!)
1987 Vanagon Syncro. I never should have sold. |
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dobryan Samba Member
Joined: March 24, 2006 Posts: 16508 Location: Brookeville, MD
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joetiger Samba Member
Joined: January 27, 2005 Posts: 5078 Location: denver
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Posted: Wed Feb 19, 2020 10:54 am Post subject: Re: Valentines Day road trip report |
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Thanks so much, Nate. What a great companion to my coffee on cold, snowy morning. Can't wait to get out! _________________ Joe T.
'86 NAHT Vanagon GL Syncro/ supercharged ABA 2.0 "Pigpen"
'04 GTI 1.8T
'04 Golf R32
"get metaphysical with it. if it's simply a means to get to and from places, it will let you down. if it becomes your zen, it can't fail you." -dabaron
"Still, it's good to be afield."--VWagabond
Available Now! Vanagon to Louisiana--A Two-Lane Reckoning Through Past and Present
www.josephtrussell.com |
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erste Samba Member
Joined: March 29, 2013 Posts: 1110 Location: San Francisco
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Posted: Wed Feb 19, 2020 11:08 am Post subject: Re: Valentines Day road trip report |
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Looks like a great trip and reminds me that I need to get my aux heater working again. When I came back from Descend last year I took HWY 1 from Oregon down until 128 when I finally had to cut over to 101 to make up some time and actually get back home. Love the drive down the coast and could take two weeks doing it.
I was really tempted to take that road (Mattole Rd.?) out but it was going to add a lot of time and didn't make sense for a day trip detour. Nice to see what it's like.
A few months ago I went back up to the Lost Coast with my mom and we stayed in Shelter Cove. The road there is no joke. It's paved and windy and not really bad, but it felt like it just dropped straight down to sea level at one point. Really hard on the brakes and reminded me of Teton Pass.
The terrain in that area is pretty awesome, I can't wait to go back. Thanks for sharing. |
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dhaavers Samba Member
Joined: March 19, 2010 Posts: 7757 Location: NE MN (tinyurl.com/dhaaverslocation)
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Posted: Wed Feb 19, 2020 11:50 am Post subject: Re: Valentines Day road trip report |
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Love it! Beautiful trip report...thanks!
- Dave _________________ 86 White Wolfsburg Westy Weekender
"The WonderVan"
<EDITED TO PROTECT INNOCENT PIXELS> |
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dabaron Samba Member
Joined: June 21, 2018 Posts: 2561 Location: Philly, mang
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Posted: Wed Feb 19, 2020 12:09 pm Post subject: Re: Valentines Day road trip report |
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glad you were able to make the trip!
you make me want to move to Oregon. i did some of the coast highway in 2017 in a rental car, i would LOVE to do it in my Westy. this confirms my desire. _________________ 1991 Vanagon GL Camper
i had no idea i wanted to be a mechanic
"burnin oil and cookin coils" -- Destructo
BiWerks Design, LLC |
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Sodo Samba Member
Joined: July 06, 2007 Posts: 9620 Location: Western WA
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Posted: Wed Feb 19, 2020 2:32 pm Post subject: Re: Valentines Day road trip report |
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goldtooth wrote: |
My wife and I have committed to camping every month this year |
i wanna do what you do, and there's no reason that I can't.
Including the documentation part 'cuz then you get to re-live it anytime. _________________
'90 Westy EJ25, 2Peloquins, 3knobs, pressure-oiled GT mainshaft, filtered, cooled gearbox
'87 Tintop w 47k 53k, '12 SmallCar EJ25, cooled filtered gearbox
....KTMs, GasGas, SPOT mtb |
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thatbaldwinlife Samba Member
Joined: August 01, 2011 Posts: 777 Location: Out exploring
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Posted: Wed Feb 19, 2020 4:48 pm Post subject: Re: Valentines Day road trip report |
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Sodo wrote: |
goldtooth wrote: |
My wife and I have committed to camping every month this year |
i wanna do what you do, and there's no reason that I can't.
Including the documentation part 'cuz then you get to re-live it anytime. |
Yep! We are always more relaxed when we come back and already planning the next one.
Would love to see more trip reports documented on this site!
nate _________________ 1987 Westy
Insta: @Thatbaldwinlife
Vanagon Adventure and DIY videos:
That Baldwin Life YouTube Channel |
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Squidfish Samba Member
Joined: November 24, 2004 Posts: 336 Location: 95519
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Posted: Wed Feb 19, 2020 6:18 pm Post subject: Re: Valentines Day road trip report |
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Very cool report! My neck of the woods Wish it would have been clearer for you driving up and over the Wildcat Rd into Ferndale, the views of Point Mendocino are amazing!
I just met John the other day with the blue high top too. Nice guy! _________________ 1985.5 - Vanagon Westfalia Weekender Wolfsburg Edition - LH8U - "Penny"
- 2.6i 5-Cylinder 10v (2004) |
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4Gears4Tires Samba Member
Joined: October 08, 2018 Posts: 3054 Location: MD
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Posted: Wed Feb 19, 2020 7:00 pm Post subject: Re: Valentines Day road trip report |
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Beautiful trip! _________________ '87 Syncro
Ferric Oxyhydroxide Superleggera Edition |
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Abscate Samba Member
Joined: October 05, 2014 Posts: 22670 Location: NYC/Upstate/ROW
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Posted: Wed Feb 19, 2020 7:02 pm Post subject: Re: Valentines Day road trip report |
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Glad you got away for each other for a few days. Thoroughly enjoyed the trip report and pictures. _________________ .ssS! |
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thatbaldwinlife Samba Member
Joined: August 01, 2011 Posts: 777 Location: Out exploring
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Posted: Thu Feb 20, 2020 10:04 am Post subject: Re: Valentines Day road trip report |
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gonewesty4good wrote: |
Very cool report! My neck of the woods Wish it would have been clearer for you driving up and over the Wildcat Rd into Ferndale, the views of Point Mendocino are amazing!
I just met John the other day with the blue high top too. Nice guy! |
Yeah I was looking forward to the views as well but the fog did add a different dimension to the climb. _________________ 1987 Westy
Insta: @Thatbaldwinlife
Vanagon Adventure and DIY videos:
That Baldwin Life YouTube Channel |
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Slimvest Samba Member
Joined: March 20, 2014 Posts: 431 Location: Portland, OR
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Posted: Thu Feb 20, 2020 3:14 pm Post subject: Re: Valentines Day road trip report |
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Great stuff.
I love hearing other peoples' vans on bumpy roads. Hearing the rattles of another 30yr old vehicle, I feel better about the rattles and vibrations my van makes on the rough roads. _________________ '87 GL w/ Reimo top |
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thatbaldwinlife Samba Member
Joined: August 01, 2011 Posts: 777 Location: Out exploring
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Posted: Fri Feb 21, 2020 8:50 am Post subject: Re: Valentines Day road trip report |
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Slimvest wrote: |
Great stuff.
I love hearing other peoples' vans on bumpy roads. Hearing the rattles of another 30yr old vehicle, I feel better about the rattles and vibrations my van makes on the rough roads. |
Yeah the squeaks drive me crazy but I can't fix them all. After all, I have a kitchen and bedroom back there!
nate _________________ 1987 Westy
Insta: @Thatbaldwinlife
Vanagon Adventure and DIY videos:
That Baldwin Life YouTube Channel |
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shadetreemech Samba Member
Joined: October 05, 2005 Posts: 777 Location: Claremont, CA
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Posted: Fri Feb 21, 2020 5:20 pm Post subject: Re: Valentines Day road trip report |
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Made the trip North through the Lost Coast last September.
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=725793&highlight=driver+dan
Got to relive part of it reading your Trip Report. Nice account, great pics & videos. Thanks!
Happy Trails & Best o' Luck!
Dan _________________ '84 GL 1.9
'01 Volvo V70 T5
'88 Westy - "MZDRTHY" |
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jimf909 Samba Member
Joined: April 03, 2014 Posts: 7479 Location: WA/ID
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Posted: Fri Feb 21, 2020 7:05 pm Post subject: Re: Valentines Day road trip report |
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Goldtooth and shadetreemech provide some of 5e best trip reports ever.
I’d love a monthly installment from goldtooth. _________________ - Jim
Abscate wrote: |
Do not get killed, do not kill others.
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Current: 1990 Westy Camper - Bostig RG4, 2wd, manual trans w/Peloquin, NAHT high-top, 280 ah LFP battery, 160 watts solar, Flash Silver, seam rust, bondo, etc., etc.
Past: 1985 Westy Camper - 1.9 wbx, 2wd, manual trans, Merian Brown, (sold after 17 years to Northwesty who converted it to a Syncro). |
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thatbaldwinlife Samba Member
Joined: August 01, 2011 Posts: 777 Location: Out exploring
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Posted: Fri Feb 21, 2020 7:42 pm Post subject: Re: Valentines Day road trip report |
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shadetreemech wrote: |
Got to relive part of it reading your Trip Report. Nice account, great pics & videos. Thanks!
Happy Trails & Best o' Luck!
Dan |
Great report! I acutally know the camp site you were in at Burlington as we walked the campground and pointed out sites our twins would like to play in.
Glad you were able to get the van going on the road. Nice detective work!
jimf909 wrote: |
Goldtooth and shadetreemech provide some of 5e best trip reports ever.
I’d love a monthly installment from goldtooth. |
Hope I can follow up on that! _________________ 1987 Westy
Insta: @Thatbaldwinlife
Vanagon Adventure and DIY videos:
That Baldwin Life YouTube Channel |
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