Thanksgiving Mini-Tour

[slomove]

We are considering something like this .

Anybody interested? 3 days with stops in King City and Atascadero.

Gert

[johnh]

Dare I say I'm interested? Each time I have, something has reared it's ugly head and kept me from going...

[soareyes]

Dang, I already have plans with the family to visit relatives over the long weekend :(

Stan

[soareyes]

I was looking at your map more closely, and I remembered I had researched the Soda Lake Rd. portion before. According to Pashnit.com, there is a 15 mile stretch in the middle that is not paved:



The rest of the road look beautiful though:



Stan

[slomove]

Yeah need to work on the details a bit. If nobody else is coming along on that stretch I may do it anyway. The dirt roads are sometimes smoother than the potholed ones (Old Leesville Grade or Mattole Road come to mind).

But I read Parkfield/Coalinga has been freshly paved this summer. Maybe they put that stimulus money to a good use, after all

Gert

[Mondo]

Hows the road from Frazier Park to Maricopa? I might make a loop using I5 back into Btown sometime

[soareyes]

That stretch is in very good condition. We drove it last August on the way up to the Monterey Historics.

Stan

[slomove]

Agree, but it is not only in very good condition. It is arguably the most scenic one in the area and has very little traffic.

[escondidoron]

I just looked at your proposed route map.

Your choice of Pine Canyon Road between 3 Points and Ridge Road, just before reaching I-5 at Frazier Park is a great one. My wife and I drove that route this spring on a drive up the coast to Big Sur in one of the Esprits. While there was extensive fire damage to the hillsides, the road was wonderful. It is so tight and twisted I remember thinking at the time that it would be perfect for a Seven.

[slomove]

Hello John, would be nice if you could come to this trip. Just don't make up your mind until the last minute so that any bad Karma does not get in the way....

We are planning to leave Thursday, 11/26 around 8am, stay in King City (Keefer's Inn), drive up to Carmel and back to Paso Robles (Best Western Black Oak) the next day and return home Saturday.

If you want to meet up somewhere in between please let me know.

Gert

[slomove]

Hello Stan, can you do me a favor? I let my Pashnit membership expire but would like to know what they say about this and this

I would highly appreciate if you could have a look.

Gert

[soareyes]

Gert, unfortunately Pashnit didn't have anything on those roads. They did like Carmel Valley Rd., but sometimes there is a lot of traffic.

I've done Santa Rosa Creek Rd. out of Cambria and it was very scenic, but not a fast road due to narrowness. I was in a minivan at the time though!

Stan

[rzempel]

FYI,

I drove the 150/33 between Santa Paula and Ventucopa yesterday. It's a beautiful road with great pavement. Lots of places to watch for fallen rocks, so keep an eye out. The Highway Patrol was noticably active through there, too.

Have a great tour. Now that I've driven that road, I'm doubly sorry I won't be with you.

Randall

[soareyes]

Quite a coincidence as I'm in Ojai for the next two days before I pick up my daughter at college. We got in yesterday. You are right about the CHP being everywhere. Tons of motorcyclists too. I may take a drive up the 33 to at least Lockwood Rd. while my wife shops today. Unfortunately I will be driving a minivan but at least it's a Honda.

Stan

[rzempel]

I drove the PCH/Highway 1 from San Simeon to Pt Reyes today. The road from San Simeon to Carmel was pretty good. There was essentially no traffic. It was a bit eerie. I avoid that road because of my memories following big RVs. During the first 90 minutes, today, I only saw 3 other cars on the road. If it's the same for you, it'll be a terrific blat. The road is in good repair. The new patches are a bit rougher than the older ones, but nothing was especially bad. And, the only Chippie I saw was parked looking out at the waves hitting the rocks rather than watching traffic.

Once in Carmel, though, the story changes. Traffic was heavily congested. I know you aren't heading further north, but as an aside, I drove Highway 1 up to Pt Reyes. The bit from Mill Valley to Point Reyes was an incredible road. It is on the *must return* list of roads--beautiful scenery and a delightfully twisting road with no traffic. Incredible.

Have a great trip, guys.

Randall