ISO Advice for trip from Houston to Portland via LA

[cinemaphonic]

Hey guys. So I'm driving from Houston to Portland, but I'm taking around 3 weeks to do it. I would appreciate any general advice as far as cities to enjoy along the way and natural must-see sights. 

My main question is this:

I want to get to Portland through California, with a definite stop in LA to see some friends. I've been going over the maps, and one thing I really want to avoid is border Patrol stops. Nothing illegal, I just don't like the hassle and don't want to seem suspicious for van dwelling, and then have my vehicle searched. Just don't want to deal with it, or go through the invasion of privacy. 

So I was thinking I would drive up to Albuquerque and then the rest of the way to LA, then take whatever route to Portland. What do you guys think? First of all, does this seem unnecessary? I'm not African American, but I am a person of color. I'm half mexican, half filipino.  Again, just worried about the hassle. Second, would I be missing out on too many great destinations taking this route? In other words does taking the more southern rout past El Paso garner me much better natural beauty? 

This is my first time through the southwest and west coast, so I do want to make the best of it while remaining safe. I'm open to other suggestions as well. I don't mind putting on a little bit of extra mileage.

Thanks in advance everyone.

 

[Gary68]

if you want one of the most picturesque drives,somewhere north of san francisco head west to hwy 101,if you want one of most boring drives take I5,plenty of south of the border and asians out west so you should fit in nicely

 

[highdesertranger]

what time of year are you planning on doing this? the reason I ask is from L.A. to Portland I would take U.S. 395 instead of the I-5. much prettier road, but this time of year it could be dicey. highdesertranger

 

[cinemaphonic]

what time of year are you planning on doing this?  the reason I ask is from L.A. to Portland I would take U.S. 395 instead of the I-5.  much prettier road,  but this time of year it could be dicey.  highdesertranger

I'm leaving towards LA this Friday. Do you mean dicey in terms of snow and such? Thanks for the recommendation. 

Does my avoiding the southern border town seem too paranoid?

 

[cinemaphonic]

if you want one of the most picturesque drives,somewhere north of san francisco head west to hwy 101,if you want one of most boring drives take I5,plenty of south of the border and asians out west so you should fit in nicely

Thanks Gary. Is the 101 pretty safe this time of year? It is definitely on my bucket list, but not on my death wish, lol.

 

[Gary68]

Thanks Gary. Is the 101 pretty safe this time of year? It is definitely on my bucket list, but not on my death wish, lol.

could encounter a rock slide with all the rain,mid winter pacific ocean is not something you want to play with,cold and wet but should be safe as far as travel conditions

 

[cinemaphonic]

could encounter a rock slide with all the rain,mid winter pacific ocean is not something you want to play with,cold and wet but should be safe

I see. Yea, and I don't have the best steering on my van. I can control it well, but front end is a little loose on the steering due to age. 

I'm not sure if this can be answered, but what would be the safest portion of that highway do you think? It'd be nice to pop on it, even for an hour.

 

[Gary68]

if i had to pick one must see it would be the redwood forest,coos bay to newport would be pretty easy as far as windy coastal roads go

google maps hwy 101

 

[cinemaphonic]

Now I'm reconsidering the whole thing. See, I'm driving to Portland to relocate indefinitely. Find work, restart ,my life, etc. So I'm starting to think I'm drive straight from houston to Portland. This way I can just avoid the whole border patrol thing and dicey west coast weather. 

Any route recommendations to avoid inclement weather in case I decide on this route. 

Thank you.

 

[GotSmart]

Play with Gas Buddy maps.  Figure .25 cents a mile.  500 miles a day max for sanity sake. 

If you plan on doing it this week, check the weather, and plan accordingly.  It may be dicey, but gorgeous!  Main roads are cleared within hours usually. 

As for "la Migra,"  any encounter is over within 5 minutes.  Most of the time just from hearing you talk they will keep on moving.

 

[GotSmart]

I see. Yea, and I don't have the best steering on my van. I can control it well, but front end is a little loose on the steering due to age. 

Steering box from Rock Auto, along with rebuilding the coupler kit.  Perhaps $500 done by a mechanic. 

https://vanlivingforum.com/Thread-495-for-a-3-inch-long-part

https://www.rockauto.com/?ref=goto

The front end needs to be tight to run that country.  I lived there.

 

[USExplorer]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v._Martinez-Fuerte The case regarding the border checkpoints

You can be arbitrarily sent to "secondary" for brief questioning, but you van cannot be searched at an interior checkpoint without probable cause or a K-9 alert. If you want to travel a southern route, arm yourself with knowledge of the law and a camera, and don't let the checkpoints scare you away.

 

[Gary68]

Now I'm reconsidering the whole thing. See, I'm driving to Portland to relocate indefinitely. Find work, restart ,my life, etc. So I'm starting to think I'm drive straight from houston to Portland. This way I can just avoid the whole border patrol thing and dicey west coast weather. 

Any route recommendations to avoid inclement weather in case I decide on this route. 

Thank you.

what border control are you worried about? us/mexico? going in to california all they care about is fruit and veggies,oregon has none

 

[cinemaphonic]

what border control are you worried about? us/mexico? going in to california all they care about is fruit and veggies,oregon has none

I'm driving from Houston to LA, THEN to Portland. 

Looking this map there's a potential for a lot of border control along these routes: https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=zhQY4bL21wnI.kBgudR6F40Qw&hl=en_US

 

[cinemaphonic]

Steering box from Rock Auto, along with rebuilding the coupler kit.  Perhaps $500 done by a mechanic. 

https://vanlivingforum.com/Thread-495-for-a-3-inch-long-part

https://www.rockauto.com/?ref=goto

The front end needs to be tight to run that country.  I lived there.

good point. very good point. I've been meaning to look into this, I just kind of got used to it. It steers ok and is aligned well, but sometimes when a good gush of wind gets it on the side it can get a little shaky. I'll definitely look into do this. thank you.

 

[Gary68]

I'm driving from Houston to LA, THEN to Portland. 

Looking this map there's a potential for a lot of border control along these routes: https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=zhQY4bL21wnI.kBgudR6F40Qw&hl=en_US

oh,the 50 miles without probable cause to check your papers checkpoints,if your legal dont worry and say yes sir,but if you are me you throw a hissy fit for the record book,get the full search and let go just so they dont have to hear my on going fbomb laden rant,i must avoid these at all cost :angel:

 

[blars]

In California, there are border patrol checkpoints on all highways between I8 and I10. There is another on US95 between Yuma and Quartzsite. I don't know about further east. I'm camped a few miles from one, no big deal.

 

[bigsallysmom]

Map isn't accurate. There is a checkpoint between El Paso and Alamogorodo and another between Las Cruces and Alamogordo.