Our first 6 months of rv’ing on the West Coast have been short hops from one campground to another, on one tank of gas. Our Tacoma’s range is only ~200mi/tank and being new at towing a travel trailer. We’ve been conservative, only driving ~150-160 miles each day.
But traveling home from Monterey to Oceanside (~431mi), we decided to just make one overnight stop in Buellton, the halfway point. This required a fuel stop along the way towing Howie, something we’ve been putting off until gaining more experienced. But we want to start driving longer distances before stopping overnight to get further away from home. So finding rv-friendly gas stations every 200mi along our route has to be planned. Rest stops every few hours will still happen along with the fuel stops.
The California west coast does not have many Pilot/Flying J gas stations. There’s one off the 101 in Salinas CA but most are inland on the I-5 & further east. But there are a few other gas stations that cater to RVs & trucks off the 101 freeway. After researching a few places along the way using Google maps & street-view, we picked a few that were right off the 101. We stopped at the San Paso Truck Stop in Paso Robles, 118mi south, that was right off the freeway. It has CAT scales so before fueling, we weighed our tow vehicle (5680#) and 20ft travel trailer (3261#).
When planning this trip, we considered boondocking for the night but settled on stopping at Flying Flags RV Resort in Buellton, which is in town right off the 101. It’s another urban “glampground” with lots of amenities & full hookups. We booked two nights – I’ve read advice from experienced RV’ers that recommend when stopping, to stop for more than one night. Flying Flags has some very nice facilities: beautiful restrooms & showers, pool & hot tub, cafe & bar. But the Feather & Fire Cafe/Bar are closed Mon-Tues. Fortunately, since you are in town, there are plenty of places to eat nearby like the Figueroa Mountain Brewing Co. a mile away.
Since we were not in a big hurry and never stayed in this area. We’d spend Monday checking out the area. Nearby Solvang is a great day-trip.
We drove to Solvang May 17th, first stopping at OstrichLand which is on the way. It’s a fun kitschy place to see & feed ostriches & emus (and squirrels). Solvang is a quaint Danish-styled town with local wineries, Danish bakeries, gift shops, and restaurants. Solvang is also home to the Santa Inés Mission, 19th of the 21 California Missions.
It’s a great place to have lunch, wine taste, or stop for coffee & danish after exploring the area.
Last, we hiked to a waterfall, Nojoqui Falls, located in a small 85 acre county park 7 miles south of Buellton. In May, the water flow was pretty slow but it’s a short, easy hike in a forested park.
