Our Trip from Yacolt to San Diego (1,100 Miles. 5 Days. 3 Kids)

View of Mt Shasta from where our tire blew out on I-5

On Saturday, Aug. 27 we packed up our RV, left Yacolt, WA and decided to see how far south we could make it on Day #1 of our big trip.

We ended up driving 155 miles (about 3 hours) and stopped at Deerwood RV Park in Eugene, OR.

When I told Emma, my co-pilot in the RV, we were in Eugene she asked, “We’re going to Flynn Ryder’s place!?” (Flynn Ryder aka Eugene Fitzherbert from Tangled).

We stayed in Eugene just one night. I went and grabbed dinner at a little hole in the wall place that night and we enjoyed our first night on the road!

The next day we left Eugene and drove about 220 miles (about 3 hour) south when we had a tire blow out on the highway!

Tire Blow Out

I actually didn’t even know the tire blew until Lacie,who was behind me in the minivan, told me. We decided not to tow the minivan so Lacie would drive the minivan with two or three of the kids and I would drive the motorhome solo or accompanied by a co-pilot (all three kids had turns helping navigate).

So it was good that she was behind me in the minivan because she notices something flapping in the rear driver side tire area. I pulled over and sure enough, the inside tire on the rear driver side was blown!

We called our roadside assistance, which ended up taking forever. I think we ended up on the side of the road for over 2 hours. But at least we had this beautiful view to look at while we waited:

View of Mt Shasta from where our tire blew out on I-5

But we finally got it figured out and the motorhome got towed to Les Schwab in Yreka, CA. We drove to the Best Western in Yreka, CA and settled in for the night.

Best Western in Yreka, CA

After we checked into our room we walked across the road to a little diner called Poor George’s. We ordered a bunch of pancakes for the kids and I think Lacie and got burgers.

Poor George’s Diner in Yreka, CA

I had to get some work done the next morning so I was glad the hotel had little desk that served as a perfect workstation for me.

My Office at the Best Western in Yreka

After I finished my work (around 11:30 a.m.), we drove to Les Schwab to pick up our motorhome. It ended up costing $312.40 to replace the tire. But at least the tow was covered by our auto insurance.

From Yreka, CA to Lost Hills, CA

We left Yreka and drove 127 miles (about 2 hours) south to Durango RV Resort in Red Bluff, CA. This was a nice place. It had a cool pool area we took the kids swimming in. And I liked that they had a nice clubhouse area which I used as my office.

Pool area at Durango RV Resort

Our campsite at Durango RV Resort

The Lodge Room at Durango (aka “my office”)

From Red Bluff to Lost Hills

The next day we covered a lot of ground and drove 371 miles (about 5 hours) south. We just wanted to get as far as we could in that stretch. So when it got time to stop it was slim pickings as far as RV parks were concerned.

We found a place called Lost Hills RV Park, which is about 2 hours north of L.A. It was no Durango RV Resort but it was a spot to stay for the night.

Lost Hills RV Park

From Lost Hills to San Diego!

The next day we made our last stretch and drove 274 miles (about 4.5 hours) from Lost Hills, CA to San Diego! Driving through traffic in L.A. with a 35′ motorhome was a bit of a challenge but I made it through with just one battle scar to the RV, a cracked side mirror.

We were so happy to finally pull in to Rancho Los Coches RV Park! The park was located about 20 miles east of downtown San Diego. The reason we chose this as our destination is because this was the park where Logan and Danielle were moving into a couple days after we got there.

We ended up staying here for one month and had a great time. Here’s some photos: