West Coast Trek - Videos

A few years ago we learned that Bill and Rosemary were planning a trip to Los Angeles to handle a matter. Now Bill had spoken many times about a desire to visit the Columbia River Gorge and yet he had never gotten there. We discussed this and I suggested that they consider a trip through some of the national parks to the Columbia River and then back south along the coast. I suggested that they take a train north from LA and we'd pick them up in San Francisco or Oakland. 

I began planning a route, with overnight stays, generally manageable daily distances and so on. After we decided upon the nightly budget (for this trek we were to stay in motels) I began looking at all of the possible staying points along the route. That was one of the more difficult things because for some legs there were few motels, hotels or dining spots. I decided it would be necessary to tailgate at various points so G and I planned on coolers, ice and transporting food for lunches and snacks. 

After three or more months of planning we were set. 

I've finally put together some video segments of this trek and posted it on YouTube. Enjoy. 

Part 1. Yosemite and Bodie:

Part 2.This segment includes Lassen Volcanic Park and Crater Lake:

Part 3.This segment includes the Columbia River, Vista House and numerous waterfalls:

Part 4. This segment includes the Oregon coast:

Part 5.  South on the Oregon Coast, to California.  

Part 6. This segment includes more of the coast and California to San Francisco:

Note: Updated May 27, 2017 to revise description of Part 5 and add Part 6.

West Coast Trek - Lighthouses - Cape Meares

During our West Coast Trek we stopped at many lighthouses from Cape Meares in Oregon to Point Reyes in California.  This post will be the first in a series on those lighthouses.

Lots of seabirds:

Next on the itinerary: Oceanside Beach

A West Coast Trip - Segment Maps

Here's the itinerary for a really wonderful west coast trek. I'm including a few maps here. The first is the entire trek. Then there are three segments. I designed and did this trek a few years ago.

The yellow rectangles are stops along the way and I have photos for each of those, and points in between. In all, about 1,500 photos. This trek is 2,392 miles, per the odometer. It requires a minimum of 12 days. I broke it into three segments, or "legs."

I'l be posting more on this in the coming days and weeks.