Orange County CA to Austin TX Please Help?

[DonnaR57]

Actually, I-8's highest point is just over 4000 ft. You'd have to go to the top of Mt Laguna (not on I-8) to get to 6000 ft). The climbs are gradual - only one point ("Japatul Hill", we locals call it) is a climb enough to slow trucks and RV's down. It won't bother a car.

GLC - I'd forgotten that the 52 finally opened! I haven't been on it yet. Yes, 52 will definitely get out of San Diego traffic unless you decide to run that between 2 pm and 5 pm. :-)

As far as I-8 goes - - we just drove that into Arizona (Stanfield) last weekend, and there was no construction any more. They were done with the stuff on either side of Gila Bend, going eastbound. (There was a little, westbound, around Yuma. Nothing major, though they wanted to slow us down to 35 on a Sunday when no construction was actually being done. Grrrr!)


Donna

[Lifemagician]

... and if there is no repair shop within 3 miles, the tow truck driver will take you to where he came from and there will almost always be a repair shop there.

That is what they did for me, in AK, almost 100 miles. They are not going to leave you stranded in some remote area.

Lifey

[Yeehaw]

I agree, your stops are well planned. Still a lot of driving. Use lower gear driving the mountains east of San Diego also down hill and avoid using your breaks all the time.
You also will find a border patrol check point before Las Cruces NM. Instead Fort Stockton you could stay at Balmorhea SP. Often overlooked and an oasis in the harsh lands http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/f...rks/balmorhea/ just a very short distance off the interstate.
The I20 stretch to Junction is 80mph. Don't speed because highway patrol is waiting for you. I knew about this but still got a ticket only doing 8 miles over the speedlimit.
Fredericksburg TX is a nice town on your way to Austin.
I like I8 with the mountain drive, the farmlands, the sanddunes and the low desert. Gila Bend has lots of options for fast food and Benson is a good place to spend the night.
Yeehaw

[DonnaR57]

Border Patrol checkpoints going eastbound:

We did not encounter any eastbound BP checkpoints on our June 17th trip, in California. In Arizona, though, there is one just after you pass Fortuna. That's a pretty permanent station - sometimes it's closed but mostly it's been open over the past 6 months. A few months ago, they had a temporary BP station set up right by Spot Rd., but as of the 17th, it was shut down. Beyond Stanfield AZ 84 exit, though, I couldn't say. (We use AZ 84/AZ 347 to cut the trip off into Tempe.)


Donna