North from Calif to Washington

[5erWonk]

We are finally preparing to make our move from California to Washington. Final destination is to be Yakima, but with the cold weather I'm considering parking DW in the Seattle area until end of Feb so we don't have to deal with freezing pipes. There's also going to be a couple of week we'll be out of town and don't want to leave the rig unattended in the cold of Yakima.

Weather forecasts don't look great heading north next week, what passes do we need to watch out for in I-5?

Any suggestion on places to stay in the Seattle area?

 

[2010augusta]

You can come and see us in Gig Harbor, just across the bridge from Tacoma. I have been told by several locals that Gig Harbor RV resort is the only decent place to stay and we are only about an hour from downtown Seattle. Gig Harbor is a nice "little town" with all the basics except a wal-mart.

 

[5erWonk]

Been to Gig Harbor before but not the RV Resort.....Does it look like there are spaces available?

 

[2010augusta]

Yep, lots of open spaces, don't know how many are 50amp, but if you like I can ask the office tomorrow. Winter and spring do not appear to be a busy season here, summer will be interesting.

 

[Yianni]

We're going to be heading to Tacoma in July to visit my aunt. My cousins said Gig Harbor where Alan is was the best place to stay. I spoke with the lady there and she said it does get very busy in the summer.
Thanks to Google maps satellite I was able to zoom on my aunts house and see we had plenty of room to park next to her house otherwise we would have been at Gig Harbor.

 

[ziggy]

On I5 watch the weather over the Siskiyou Pass south of Ashland, OR. There can be some tricky spots around Dunsmuir and Weed CA too before you get to the Siskiyou. From there you are good 'till you get to Sexton north of Grants Pass, OR. I don't know of any bad ones after that.

If you get off of I5 at Weed, CA and come up Hwy 97 through Klamath Falls, OR you need to watch for Mt. Hebron between Weed and Doris, CA. Hwy 97 iis really busy with trucks and tends to stay more frozen than I5. We would love to have you in KF, but I would stick to I5. Besides, if you come up 97, you eventually have to go back to the west side of the mountains and none of those passes are good all the way North.

Travel Safe,
Kristy

 

[5erWonk]

Kristy,

Thanks for the information, its exactly what I needed....We drove 97 two days after Christmas and it was frozen all the way from Klamath Falls to the Columbia Gorge.

We'll stick to I5 and check pass conditions as we go.

 

[B. Lee]

Be careful in Medford also, they have the elevated highway that goes through town and is known to get covered in black ice if the weather is cold.
Travel safe, Butch

 

[wdk450]

Where to Stay in Seattle

We went through this last September as we went up to Seattle for my wife's daughter's wedding. It seemed all of the parks were too far away/too expensive. We finally ended up at Vasa Park Resort on Lake Sammamish in Bellvue, about 12 miles form downtown Seattle (and low cost).
The park is a former Swedish fraternal orginisation recreation park that is now privitized and used mainly for corporate group events and weddings.
The park is small, there is no cable (got Dish to work O,K,), the spaces are side-by-side paralell to the lake (so only 1 rig gets a full lake view). I am pretty sure it is open year round for RV use, despite what you see on the website ( I think those dates refer to public lake swimming access).
Here is a link:
http://www.vasaparkresort.com/1525.html

 

[ralphpam]

To find an RV park you will have to go to the suburbs. That also means that there will be lots of traffic to get to Seattle - our daughter claims Seattle-Issaquah-Bellevue is worse than LA! You can try north as in Lynnwood or Everett and south as in Renton or Federal Way and you will not have to contend with bridge traffic over the lake to get to Seattle. You will want to be somewhat careful about what park you choose - some are mostly full of families and singles with the problems that can accompany them. And it does freeze in Seattle - already had almost 2 weeks of below 32 weather in December and it can happen through February although they keep saying it will be warmer and dryer than normal! Right now we are about an hour north of the Seattle in Mount Vernon. It is a great park with no families and no related issues. It is called Mount Vernon RV Park and we highly recommend it if you don't mind being out of the city aways. There is all the shopping you need up here and it is safe if your wife will be by herself. Gig Harbor is also very nice! My husband has lived in this area all of his life and I have been here 30 years so we are familiar with the area.

 

[Larryheadhunter]

I vote for Lake Pleasant RV Park in Bothell, WA near Everett and north of Seattle. It's surrounded by 2 lakes and alot of wildlife preserves nearby and when we there we saw 3 Big Horns and 2 Landmarks. We had an easy drive to my cousin's in Federal Way and less than an hour from Tacoma. It doesn't rate a 10, but it is quiet and very secluded.

 

[5erWonk]

Thanks everyone for the recommendations, looks like it's either going to be Gig Harbor or Lake Pleasant.

 

[Mels Musty Music]

Hey Bob -

I'm with Alan on the Gig Harbor park. Much less traffic with the new Narrows Bridge (read "toll" into the new).

We are back in Casa Grande and won't be home till April but hope to see both you and Alan then.

Alan - did you get the e-mail I sent you before we left? Was kinda hectic but pretty sure I sent one. Also Walmart tried to build in Gig Harbor some years back but city fathers said No. Nearest one is on Bethel Road in Port Orchard.

Bob - Have a good trip. I usally try to spend a night just before the Siskiyou's. Don't like going through at night and if the weather turns bad I just wait it out at the RV park. They get things plowed out pretty fast.

Hank

 

[5erWonk]

Hi Hank,

Looks like it will be Gig Harbor, when I checked with Lake Pleasant they would not accept our dog since she's over 40lbs.....Never heard of that rule before, only breed restrictions.

 

[2010augusta]

Well Bob and Jane, we look forward to meeting you all when you get here. There is also a Big Country and an Eagle Ridge and our Landmark.