Mount Shasta, California to Blue Ox RV Park in Albany, Oregon

We drove our coach 292 miles, about six hours of driving, from Mount Shasta City KOA Holiday in Mount Shasta, California to Blue Ox RV Park in Albany, Oregon.

Here’s a map showing our route, heading north:

Route map

An interactive map, with potential stops pinned:

Back through the narrow KOA driveway:

Back through the narrow KOA driveway

Entering I-5 North:

Entering I-5 North

Black Butte:

Black Butte

Barn:

Barn

Anderson Grade Summit Elevation 3067 Feet:

Anderson Grade Summit Elevation 3067

Klamath River bridge:

Klamath River bridge

Oregon Welcomes You:

Oregon Welcomes You

Siskiyou Mountain Summit Elevation 4310 Feet, Highest Elevation on I-5:

Siskiyou Mountain Summit Elevation 4310 Feet, Highest Elevation on I-5

Truck speed guidance:

Truck speed guidance

6% Downgrade:

6% Downgrade

Emigrant Lake looking mostly full:

Emigrant Lake looking mostly full

Oregon Welcome Center rest area:

Oregon Welcome Center rest area

More barns:

More barns

Table Rock:

Table Rock

Ouch:

Ouch

Exit 99:

Exit 99

Seven Feathers rest area:

Seven Feathers rest area

Paladin on the dash:

Paladin on the dash

Downhill:

Downhill

Willamette River:

Willamette River

Fuel stop:

Fuel stop

Exit 233:

Exit 233

Arriving at Blue Ox RV Park:

Blue Ox RV Park

They recommended (in the reservation email) parking here to check in:

They recommended parking here to check in

Office:

Blue Ox RV Park

Campground map:

Map

Blue Ox RV Park

It’s them again:

It's them again

Our site, #144:

Our site

A mostly long-term RV park, but decent short-term spots.

Lodi to Mount Shasta City KOA Holiday in Mount Shasta, California

We drove our coach 255 miles, about five hours of driving, from Flag City RV Resort in Lodi to Mount Shasta City KOA Holiday in Mount Shasta, California.

Here’s a map showing our route, heading north:

Route map

An interactive map, with potential stops pinned:

Entering I-5 North:

Entering I-5 North

Sacramento River:

Sacramento River

Rest area:

Rest area

Billboard for Granzella’s… truck & RV parking, eh? Interesting… I quickly investigated them for a lunch stop:

Billboard for Granzella's... truck & RV parking, eh? Interesting...

Swimming pools:

Swimming pools

Granzella’s parking looked compatible, so exit to Williams:

Exit to Williams

Williams arch:

Williams arch

The aforementioned truck & RV parking:

The aforementioned truck & RV parking

Parked:

Parked

Granzella’s Restaurant:

Granzella's

Granzella’s

Tasty:

Granzella’s

Later, a rest area:

Rest area

Mount Shasta in the distance:

Mount Shasta

Shasta Lake:

Shasta Lake

Bridge

Paladin asleep:

Paladin asleep

Mount Shasta:

Mount Shasta

Castle Crags:

Castle Crags

Mount Shasta:

Mount Shasta

Pointy peak:

Pointy peak

City of Mount Shasta:

City of Mount Shasta

Arriving at Mount Shasta City KOA Holiday:

Mount Shasta KOA

A narrow access road:

A narrow access road

Mount Shasta KOA

Campground map:

Campground map

Our site, #32:

Our site

Take note of the neighbor RV; we saw them again at our next stop, too:

Our site

A tight access road, but a perfectly fine place for a one-night stop. Though some train horn noise. Not a lot of options in this area; KOA is easy.

Orange to Flag City RV Resort in Lodi, California

We drove our coach 379 miles, about six hours of driving, from Orangeland RV Park in Orange to Flag City RV Resort in Lodi, California.

Here’s a map showing our route, heading north:

Route map

An interactive map, with potential stops pinned:

Following the coach to toad up by the office, as usual:

Following the coach to toad up by the office, as usual

Toaded up

Tight corner for a motorhome and toad totaling over 60 feet, but easier when we can take both lanes:

Tight corner for a 60-foot motorhome and toad, but easier when we can take both lanes

In the correct lane for CA-91 East:

In the correct lane for CA-91 East

Exit to CA-91:

Exit to CA-91

Exit to I-5 North:

Exit to I-5 North

I-5 North:

I-5 North

Downtown LA:

Downtown LA

California freeways doing their thing:

California freeways doing their thing

Traffic and hill:

Traffic and hill

Wildflowers:

Wildflowers

Rest area:

Rest area

Hills:

Hills

Exit to CA-269:

Exit to CA-269

An interesting toad:

An interesting toad

Fuel stop:

Fuel stop

Spendy fuel:

Spendy fuel

Paladin keeping the seat warm:

Paladin keeping the seat warm

Hills:

Hills

Aquaduct:

Aquaduct

Closed rest area:

Closed rest area

Exit to CA-12:

Exit to CA-12

Arriving at Flag City RV Resort:

Arriving at Flag City RV Resort

Campground map:

Campground map

Our site, #E14:

Our site

Annoyingly for a one-night stay, we had to untoad, as the site was too short to remain connected. That might be my fault, though; they let you choose your site when booking, and I must not have measured it with Google Maps:

Our site

If we stay here again in the future, we’d choose a better site.

Bonita to Orangeland RV Park in Orange, California

We drove our coach 104 miles, about two hours of driving, from Sweetwater Summit Regional Park in Bonita to Orangeland RV Park in Orange, California.

Here’s a map showing our route, heading north:

Route map

An interactive map, with a potential stop pinned:

Tight turn for a big coach:

Tight turn for a big coach

Big skeleton, narrow road:

Big skeleton, narrow road

CA-54 West:

CA-54 West

Exit to I-805 North:

Exit to I-805 North

Heading to LA:

Heading to LA

I like when they have helpful markings in each lane:

I like when they have helpful markings in each lane

Traffic:

Traffic

A large chandelier in this car:

A large chandelier in this car

Rest area, but it was full; that’s okay, we didn’t really need to stop:

Rest area, but it was full

Exit to CA-57 North:

Exit to CA-57 North

Passing Angel Stadium:

Passing Angel Stadium

Exit:

Exit

Still working on this new garage:

Still working on this new garage

Arriving at Orangeland RV Park, our fifth stay here, the last just back in December:

Arriving at Orangeland RV Park

Campground map:

Campground map

Untoaded:

Untoading

Our site, #29:

Our site

Always a nice place to stay when going to Disneyland… and in this case Angel Stadium.

Sun City, Arizona to Sweetwater Summit Regional Park in Bonita, California

We drove our coach 354 miles, about six hours of driving, from Encore Paradise RV Resort in Sun City, Arizona to Sweetwater Summit Regional Park in Bonita, California.

Here’s a map showing our route, heading west:

Route map

An interactive map, with potential stops pinned:

Pulled out of our site in Encore Paradise:

Pulled out of our site in Phoenix

Leaving Paradise:

Leaving Paradise

Exit to I-10 West:

Exit to I-10 West

Teacups ride trailer:

Rail crossing:

Rail crossing

Dinosaurs:

Dinosaurs

Another Tiffin Allegro Bus (with poor lane placement):

Another Tiffin Allegro Bus

Oversize load:

Oversize load

Train:

Train

Rest area:

Rest area

Mountains:

Mountains

Arizona centennial sign:

Arizona

Fuel stop before leaving Arizona:

Fuel stop before leaving Arizona

This short handle isn’t all that useful for washing RV windshields:

This short handle isn't all that useful for washing RV windshields

Spendy fuel, but cheaper than California:

Spendy fuel, but cheaper than California

Interesting bridge art:

Interesting bridge art

California State Line:

California State Line

Welcome to California, and Pacific Time Zone:

Welcome to California

Agricultural Inspection Station:

Agricultural Inspection Station

No Inspection Today:

No Inspection Today

Rest area (with a dump station):

Rest area (with a dump station)

Interesting rocks:

Interesting rocks

Tecate Divide; Elevation 4140 feet:

Tecate Divide; Elevation 4140 feet

Closed immigration inspection:

Closed immigration inspection

Exit to CA-125 South:

Exit to CA-125 South

Arriving at the campground of Sweetwater Summit Regional Park:

Arriving at Sweetwater Summit Campground

Entrance station:

Entrance station

Campground map:

Map

Our site, #134, with a nice concrete pad:

Our site

Very level site:

Level site

Our site

A nice campground; we’d stay here again.

Simplifying posts

I’ve decided to simplify my blog posts a bit. You may have noticed that I’m not following the schedule I used to use (Modification Mondays, Travel Tuesdays, etc); I’m now just posting each weekday.

Since the most useful and interesting posts (to certain audiences) are RV modifications and things we do, I will continue those posts much as I have been. The modifcation posts are useful for other Tiffin motorhome owners; I regularly link to them in Facebook groups to help others with similar issues. For other people, those posts are easy to skip. The exploring posts are more interesting to family and friends (and future us!), to see the interesting attractions we’ve experienced.

But travel and campground posts aren’t all that useful, and all the data recorded for campgrounds was a lot of work, so I’m going to merge those two, much as I did for the New Zealand series. The new format will be like the travel posts, with photos from the journey, but end with a few campground pictures, and omit all the data. So each post will document some interesting sights during our travel from one campground to the next, for anyone interested in that. They will continue to include maps with potential stops marked, which are useful for others traveling this route (including our future selves).

I will continue the travel timelapse videos, at least until after Alaska, since that will no doubt be very scenic. Those are a lot of work too, so I may discontinue them in the future, but we’ll see.

I know that the audience for this blog is very small; mostly just family and friends, and a few others who have seen the blog on Facebook on seen our motorhome on the road (via the QR code). In large part, it’s just a hobby travel diary for my own satisfaction. And that’s enough.

Encore Paradise RV Resort

We stayed at Encore Paradise RV Resort in Sun City, Arizona. (Campground Reviews listing.)

A nice 55+ community in the Phoenix area, where we spent three months; our longest stay to date. It was ostensibly winter, but had record unseasonal temperatures reaching 105° F!

Dates:

Check in: 2026-01-01
Check out: 2026-03-31
89 nights

Weather:

Partly sunny
High temps 55-105°F, lows 38-69°F
Negligible wind, occasional gusts to 25 MPH

Noise:

Little road noise
Very distant train horn noise
Little neighbor noise
Frequent fighter jet noise weekdays (in flight path for Air Force base)

Site:

#832, back-in, sandy gravel
Needed to disconnect toad, parked beside coach
Somewhat level site; low slope in front; used hydraulic leveling
Sandy gravel driveway about 45 feet long by 18 feet wide
Total site 55 feet deep by 45 feet wide
Just gravel between site on passenger side
Carport on driver side
24 by 8 feet concrete patio
No trees
Clean site
Elevation 1210 feet, front facing south

Utilities:

50 amp power, conveniently located
60 PSI water, conveniently located
Good sewer connection, conveniently located (1 10-foot pipe needed)

Internet (in usage priority order):

Starlink: 105-125 Mbps down, 25-35 Mbps up, 30 ms ping
RoamLink: 21-23 Mbps down, 4-8 Mbps up, 88 ms ping (RoamLink uses whichever is best of AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile)
AT&T: 580-620 Mbps down, 13-17 Mbps up, 35-42 ms ping (I have AT&T on my iPhone)
Campground Wi-Fi: none

Amenities:

Garbage dumpsters
Pool
Cafe (breakfast and lunch, Tuesday to Saturday)
Lots of activities

Campground map:

Map

An interactive map:

Our site:

Our site

Since we were there for three months, we set up all the things:

Our site

Including making pizza:

Our site

Record heat:

Hot

A nice thing about this place is that Amazon, UPS, and FedEx delivers directly to the site:

Delivery to site

For USPS, they have mailboxes:

Mailboxes

Mail room

Mail info

They also have a small on-site cafe (that is open to the public, though I doubt many outsiders patronize it); we thought we’d eat there regularly, but actually only went once — not because it was bad, we just never really felt like it (if they had been open for dinner, we might have gone there more):

Cafe

Cafe menu:

Cafe menu

Breakfast

Lots of activities:

Activities

A popular pool (that we didn’t use; we’re not really into pools):

Pool

RV arrival area:

RV arrival area

Water feature at the front of the park:

Front

A nice pond and fountains:

Pond and fountains

I added a Pokemon Pokestop for that, and the front water features:

Pokemon Pokestop

Lawn bowls:

Lawn bowls

Pickleball:

Pickleball

And more:

More games

Garbage:

Garbage

Recycling:

Recycling

Propane fill:

Propane fill

The park is split into two parts, the pet area (where people can have dogs) and the non-pet area (where they can’t); we were in the non-pet area, as an indoor-only cat doesn’t count as a “pet” (fair enough; he’s in charge, and we’re his staff):

Pet area

“Stop; it does matter”:

Stop; it does matter

Free fruit:

Free fruit

Other sites; the vast majority of the community are park models:

Other sites

Aerial views of our site (a couple of days before departing, after packing up our stuff) and other sites:

Aerial view of our site

Aerial view of other sites

Aerial view of our site

Aerial view of other sites

Quite a nice community. We’d stay here again. The jets were somewhat annoying, but we got used to them after a while.

Thousand Trails Palm Springs

We stayed at Thousand Trails Palm Springs in Palm Desert, California. (Campground Reviews listing.)

Our fourth stay here. Like all other Thousand Trails campgrounds, they have switched to assigned sites, which is more of a challenge here, since many sites are tricky to squeeze into, with palm trees and sewer ports in random places.

This campground is split into two: the left side (from the front) is 30 amp pull-through sites, and the right side is 50 amp back-in sites.

We were initially assigned a pull-through site on the 30 amp side of the park, but the gate agent assured us it had 50 amp. Of course, once we got there and tested it, it did not. So we contacted them and asked for another site, and were eventually assigned a back-in site on the 50 amp side, which wasn’t too hard to get into (for TTPS anyway).

Dates:

Check in: 2025-12-14
Check out: 2026-01-01
18 nights

Weather:

Mostly sunny
High temps 69-80°F, lows 55-60°F
Negligible wind, gusts to 9 MPH

Noise:

Some freeway road noise
Some train noise, but no horns most of the time
A little neighbor noise

Site:

#339, back-in, sand
Needed to disconnect toad, parked in front of coach
Somewhat level site; high in back; used hydraulic leveling
Sand site about 65 feet long by 26 feet wide
Just sand between sites
Picnic table
Tall palm trees
Somewhat clean site
Elevation 120 feet, front facing NE

Utilities:

50 amp power, fairly conveniently located behind site
60 PSI water, somewhat conveniently located behind site
Good sewer connection, very conveniently located (less than 1 10-foot pipes needed)

Internet (in usage priority order):

Starlink: 95-190 Mbps down, 25-30 Mbps up, 39-40 ms ping
RoamLink: 35-52 Mbps down, 40-52 Mbps up, 95 ms ping (RoamLink uses whichever is best of AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile)
AT&T: 600-670 Mbps down, 46 Mbps up, 25 ms ping (I have AT&T on my iPhone)
Campground Wi-Fi: paid; not used

Amenities:

Garbage dumpsters
Pool

See our previous reviews on Campground Reviews.

Campground map:

Map

An interactive map:

Our site:

Our site

The site we were initially assigned: “No 50 amp!”, which my tester confirmed:

No 50 amp

Other sites:

Other sites

Holiday lights:

Holiday lights

See posts of our previous stays for more pictures. We’d be happy to come back here again.

Orangeland RV Park

We stayed at Orangeland RV Park in Orange, California. (Campground Reviews listing.)

Our fourth stay here; our favorite place to stay somewhat near Disneyland.

Dates:

Check in: 2025-12-07
Check out: 2025-12-14
7 nights

Weather:

Sunny
High temps 69-82°F, lows 49-55°F
Negligible wind, gusts to 11 MPH

Noise:

Some road noise
No train horn noise
Some neighbor noise

Site:

#96, pull-through, asphalt
Needed to disconnect toad, parked in front of coach
Somewhat level site; high on passenger side; used hydraulic leveling
Asphalt driveway about 50 feet long by 14 feet wide
20 feet to road on passenger side
9 feet to neighbor on driver side
Fence between sites
Patio table and chairs on asphalt patio
An orange tree
Clean site
Elevation 170 feet, front facing SE

Utilities:

50 amp power, conveniently located
90 PSI water, conveniently located
Good sewer connection, very conveniently located (1 10-foot pipe needed)

Internet (in usage priority order):

Starlink: 118-161 Mbps down, 11-24 Mbps up, 29-39 ms ping
Campground Wi-Fi: 10 Mbps down, 7 Mbps up, 15 ms ping
RoamLink: 8-24 Mbps down, 20-24 Mbps up, 95 ms ping
AT&T: 113-125 Mbps down, 4 Mbps up, 29-45 ms ping (I have AT&T on my iPhone)

Amenities:

Garbage pickup from site
Pool
Package delivery to office
Just a few miles from Disneyland

See our previous reviews on Campground Reviews.

Campground map:

Map

An interactive map:

I forgot to take photos of our site, but it was the same site we stayed in back in 2023, so here are pictures from back then:

Our site

Still a nice RV park. We’ve already booked another stay here.

NZ: Hokitika to Christchurch

We traveled from Hokitika to Christchurch; our last full day with the van.

Here’s an interactive map of our route, with some of the stops marked:

The town of Kumara; amusing as that is also the Maori name of a sweet potato:

Kumara

One lane bridge:

One way bridge

Taipo River:

Taipo River

Taramakau River:

Taramakau River

Otira Stagecoach Hotel, with Gollum on the roof:

Otira Stagecoach Hotel

Another one lane bridge:

One lane bridge

Roadworks light with a countdown; nice:

Roadworks light with countdown

16% downgrade:

16% downgrade

Interesting avalanche guard:

Interesting spillway

“Thank you for not feeding me”:

Thank you for not feeding me

Otira Viaduct Lookout:

Otira Viaduct Lookout

Alpine Parrot Cafe for a coffee and slice:

Alpine Parrot Cafe

Kea:

Keas

Kea info:

Kea info

Kea statue

Arthur’s Pass National Park Visitor Centre:

Arthur's Pass National Park Visitor Centre

Arthur’s Pass:

Arthur's Pass

My beard having “main character energy” as the kids say:

Arthur's Pass

Dusty:

Dusty

Arthur's Pass

Interesting rocks:

Interesting rocks

Castle Hill rocks:

Castle Hill rocks

Arthur's Pass

Springfield doughnut:

Springfield doughnut

Sheffield Pies:

Sheffield Pies

Perhaps the tastiest pie I had in NZ:

Sheffield Pies

Christchurch Fanfare Sculpture:

Christchurch Fanfare Sculpture

Arriving at Top 10 Spencer Beach:

Top 10 Spencer Beach

Map

Our site:

Our site

Pre-loved items bin; a good idea, since a lot of people end their trip in Christchurch (as we did); we had too much stuff to fit in that bin, so we took it to Red Cross before dropping off our van:

Pre-loved items bin

Shower:

Shower

We went out to a laundromat to do a last load of laundry:

Laundromat

And got takeaways from Kaikanui Fish & Chip and Chinese Restaurant next door:

Takeaways

Which we took back to our site (not the best, but the last):

Burger and chips

Our site

This was our last night in the van.

Sinclair Trails

The travels of David and Jennifer Sinclair, full-timing in their Tiffin Allegro Bus 40SP motorhome.

campsite

Mount Shasta, California to Blue Ox RV Park in Albany, Oregon

Lodi to Mount Shasta City KOA Holiday in Mount Shasta, California

Orange to Flag City RV Resort in Lodi, California

Bonita to Orangeland RV Park in Orange, California

Sun City, Arizona to Sweetwater Summit Regional Park in Bonita, California

Simplifying posts

Encore Paradise RV Resort

Thousand Trails Palm Springs

Orangeland RV Park

NZ: Hokitika to Christchurch