Norfolk, VA to Whidbey Island, Wa

dfrelin

New member
PCS(military) move from Virginia to Washington St. In 2005 Jeep Liberty CRD(diesel) with 120,000miles

Day 1-February 1st Superbowl Sunday
Loaded up the Jeep and left at 8 from Norfolk, VA after eating breakfast with the family. Took 64W to 81S to 40W. I wanted to try and drive as far as I could to allow for more time to explore out west so I drove straight through the game. I made it all the way to Forrest City, Arkansas.

Day 2-February 2nd
Woke up at 6 and hit the road. Continued on 40W. Arrived in Amarillo, TX during the early afternoon. Headed south to Palo Duro Canyon(2nd biggest canyon in America) to camp for the night. The camp was on the canyon floor. I was surprised to see some water crossings on the drive in.....nothing crazy! Lol

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Got down into the mid-20s overnight but nothing too bad.

Day 3-February 3rd
Woke up before the sunrise and got back on the road. The agenda was to drive through Monument Valley then head to the Grand Canyon. So I hopped back on 40W into New Mexico, Arizona, and just into Utah through the Navajo Nation Reserve.

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Monument Valley
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After this I hauled ***** to try and make it to the Grand Canyon for the sunset.

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Camped at the canyon for the night(high 20s that night) and woke up for the sunrise and exploring.

Day 4-February 4th
Drove some forest roads in the morning.

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Found this really cool old airport!
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After exploring all morning, I head south through Flagstaff, Sedona, and into Phoenix for 80° weather, dinner, and bed at my Aunts house.

Day 5-February 5th
Woke up and headed out with my Aunt on her way to work. Hopped on 8W through Yuma and into sunny California. Before getting to San Diego I diverted to highway 78 towards Juilian, CA then to 79 for a more scenic drive. I arrived into Escondido and went to Stone Brewery for lunch and a tour on the brewery. Yum...good beer!

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After lunch headed south into sunny San Diego! The girlfriend flew into San Diego and I picked her up to finish the trip.

Day 6-February 6th
Woke up, had breakfast and headed north. The plan was to drive straight through LA and not stop til Santa Barbara....mission accomplished! When we got to Santa Barbara we stop and checked out the wharf, picked up my dad a UCSB shirt since that is where he graduated from and visited the place my parents met back in the 70s.
Pelican at the wharf.
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We got back on the road...trying to stay on Rt 1 and the Pacific Coast Highway as much as possible. Drove up the coast until we got to Grover Beach, CA. Saw a sign for a driveable beach and so I stopped and watched the sunset.
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Had dinner and made it to San Simeon State Park to camp for the night.

Day 7-February 7th
Woke up to the pineapple express. For the rest of the trip it rained with little bits of sunshine until the Oregon coast when the rain and wind really picked up.
Continued up the coast on 1 to Seal Beach. It was perfect timing as they leave the beach towards the end of February. They are very territorial animals!
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Next on the list was Big Sur, Bixby Bridge, and the Old Coast RD through the land of El Sur Ranch

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Continuing on our way we stopped in Santa Cruz, CA and continued to San Francisco. We got to SF later then expected and didn't do much besides checking out AT&T Park(home of the SF Giants), 21st Amendment Brewery and drove across the Golden Gate Bridge. We stopped in Bodega Bay, CA for the night.

Day 8-February 8th
Woke up to more rain but it actually clean up for most of the day and was really nice. Stopped at a few lighthouses, beaches, scenic viewpoints, and into the redwoods.
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Stopped in Eureka, CA for dinner before heading into Klamath, CA for the night.

Day 9-February 9th
Again woke up to rain but didn't let that stop up. Decided to drive Howland Hill RD which goes through an old growth redwood forest near Crescent City, CA.

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Was a really nice drive with access to nice hikes until we ran into this...
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Turned around and kept on truckin'!
Finally crossed into Oregon. The Oregon and northern California coast are beautiful.

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Stopped in Coos Bay, OR for lunch and checked out the Oregon Dunes Recreation Area(no pics)...didn't drive on the sand either . Stopped at Rogue Ales Brewery in Newport, OR before heading into Portland for the night. Stayed at the McMenamins Kennedy School. Pretty cool place if you're even in Portland.

Day 10-February 10th
Dropped the girlfriend off at the airport cause she had to be back in VA for work and hit up an old highschool buddy who works at Warn(wimches) Industry's and grabbed some local beers and discussed a trip up Alaska!. Crashed in his spare bedroom for the night.

Day 11-February 11th
Finished the trip up through Seattle on I5N. Pretty uneventful and decided to take the ferry from Mukilteo onto Whidbey Island, WA. Arrived safely, no issues with the Jeep.
Total miles
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Red Zebra

Adventurer
You rolled through some miles on the first day! Good on you to take time for sights! I made two cross-country re-location moves 16+ years ago and didn't take the time to see sights---doh!
 

DetroitDarin

Scratching a 10 year Itch
As a vet - Thanks for your service; and as a seattle area native i implore you to take advantage of the wonders of the area!
 

dfrelin

New member
Got out again today and headed up to Hidden Lake Lookout in the North Cascaded NP. This was taken right before the trailhead.
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dfrelin

New member
H2os2,
Thanks for the heads up on NW Overland. I joined and will be looking forward to participating. They had a meeting today around the area I was at...too bad.
 

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