Oh OK!  I understand now.  Yes, I just realized it may make more sense to
head north after driving right east thru Yosemite and use 395 to get to
Tahoe.  I've got some Eye-talian cousins that have 'made a new life' there,
or so they say!

Thanks!

On 4/30/08, Donna Skarloken <dskarloken@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> I'll second that.  Most of the time when I was a kid we camped in the
> Eastern Sierra, and I have continued the practice when possible.  U.S.
> Hwy.
> 395 mostly runs the backslopes of the Cascades and Sierras, and you can
> easily cross over to the coast on a number of different routes once you
> get
> in the L.A./Orange County vicinity.  Spectacular vistas.  Convict Lake is
> beautiful.  As Jeff notes the Forest Service campgrounds that prevail are
> low on fancy services (usually a water spigot somewhere and the pit
> toilets)
> but make up for it with usually less crowds and beautiful views.  In
> mid-summer it does get a bit crowded, mostly on the weekends, but I don't
> think nearly as badly as the coast.
>
> Donna, 87 Syncro
>
> On Wed, Apr 30, 2008 at 12:34 PM, Jeffrey Olson <jjolson@gwtc.net> wrote:
>
> > Check out the roadhaus reviews of campgrounds.  The east slope of the
> > Sierra nevada have wonderful forest service campgrounds that don't have
> > running water and have only pit toilets.  They're off dirt roads.  My
> > favorite campground - traditional  - is at Convict Lake just south of
> > Mammoth Lakes...
> >
> > Jeff Olson
> >
> >
> > Don Hanson wrote:
> >
> > > You might also consider an inland route during one leg of your trip
> > > south.
> > > The east slope of the mountains along the west coast, gets much
> lighter
> > > traffic and has some pretty nice areas.  Camping without reserving
> spots
> > > is
> > > not too difficult, if you  are able to get along without the
> > > "Tourist/Motorhome/Phot-op/Campfire Program" style of amenity that
> many
> > > think of when they go 'camping'.  Many public lands still allow the
> > > public
> > > to use them without fees, but be sure to take care of these areas if
> you
> > > do
> > > camp out in an "unstructured" spot like I almost always do.
> > >  There are state parks in California along the coast, but these are
> > > almost
> > > always full of reserved campers in mid-summer,  so if you plan on
> > > camping in
> > > the more popular parts, you just have to reserve ahead or go "Private"
> > > like
> > > to a KOA or other commercial camp area.
> > >  The Oregon coast is very crowded on weekends..unless the gas costs
> keep
> > > some people home this summer.
> > >  I like to travel using those Topo map Atlas books..DeLorme,
> etc.  They
> > > have plenty of campsites and points of interest marked on the maps and
> > > lots
> > > of small back roads that are interesting alternatives to the main
> > > routes..
> > >  Don Hanson
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
>

--
Neil
'82 Diesel Westy
Me other car is Swedish