Frugal Travel: OR-CA Parks Trip

This post covers the ins and outs of how we planned a frugal, long weekend trip to see three national parks in the PNW (Crater Lake, Redwoods, and Lassen Volcanic). Perhaps it may be helpful or give you some ideas if you are trying to plan a trip and save money at the same time! 

Getting There On A Budget

Matt, Adam, and I all flew on points using Southwest Airlines (Matt's review and introduction of the airline here). We paid $10 per person total for the taxes and fees. Nick was already out in Seattle for work training, so he drove down to meet us in Portland.

Eating On A Budget

When flying, airplane and airport food and beverages can add up! We tend to carry water bottles along and fill them up after we are through security. While in the air, the guys utilized free Southwest Drink Tickets. Also, if the flight is delayed, Southwest usually offers free beverages to everyone on board which is a nice perk. This actually happened twice this particular weekend.

While on layovers, we like to utilize free lounge club access (granted through some travel credit cards) in the airport and stock up on free snacks and drinks rather than spending money within the terminals.

Instead of eating out, planning meals ahead of time and grocery shopping helps to cut costs. Nick did most of our grocery shopping ahead of time out there. Then, the next morning, we made a quick stop at Trader Joe's to finish off the list before setting off on the park tour.

We needed to have mostly non-perishables on hand, but we did bring a small collapsible cooler for the items that needed to be kept cold. Lunches were kept simple to meat/cheese and pb&j sandwiches, fruit, and snacks. Dinners were quick and easy as well: Trader Joe's pulled pork and brisket and avocado and veggie wraps. Some of our favorite snack items are fruit, hummus, jerky, trail mix, sea salt dark chocolate almonds, and dark chocolate covered espresso beans. Beverages were water, sweet tea, cold pressed coffee, and Gatorade.

For the most part, we ate out of the car for a couple of days. Sometimes our meals were organized with paper plates and plastic silverware and an actual table to eat on, and sometimes they were not, as pictured below.

At other times, we made meals and ate while driving to our next destination to be time efficient.

Before catching our flights home, we did treat ourselves to a quick stop for ice cream. Salt & Straw is known for being Oregon-made using local, organic ingredients and is my favorite ice-cream. They have some creative farm-to-cone ice cream combinations. I was hoping to try one of their monthly flavors, Dandelion Sorbet with Edible Flowers, but they were out since it was the end of the month. Instead I opted for their Honey Lavender and Pear and Blue Cheese ice cream. Although, for the guys, having ice cream right after eating maple bacon donuts at VooDoo Donuts was not probably the best idea for their sugar levels.

Staying On A Budget

We flew in late Friday night and stayed at the Hampton Inn Clackamas. The room required 10,000 Hilton points and included breakfast. It was nothing special and really quite small, but was a good place to sleep. Breakfast was the best part about this stay.

Unfortunately, there were not many reasonable award redemption hotels in the area the second night, so we planned to use one of the $56 Hotel Tonight credits (mentioned in this post). We booked Ashland Springs Hotel for $53 total ($109 - $56 credit). Somehow the hotel failed to update its room inventory for the night from walk-ups, so we were put up in another similar hotel and received a $25 Hotel Tonight credit for future use. The room we ended up with was a spacious suite and had a kitchenette which came in handy for making dinner. For $15 per person, it was a cost effective lodging option.

Much like southern Oregon, reasonable award redemption hotels were hard to find in northern California. However, Matt and Adam found the Holiday Inn Express Red Bluff-South Redding for 10,000 IHG points. This hotel was only three years old and had a delicious breakfast. Not to mention it was only an hour from Lassen Volcanic National Park. We had to drive a lot the day before, but it was worth it to be close to our destination the next morning. After this stay, I am now a fan of IHG properties.

The last night, we drove six hours north and stayed in Bend, OR with Matt's aunt and uncle. It was so fun to see them even if it was just for the night! Jim and Laurie - Thank you so much for staying up late and letting us stay the night. We loved seeing you and Alison!

Flexibility While Flying

Sometimes this works and sometimes it does not, but depending on your travel schedule, it can be beneficial to be flexible. On the way back, the flight from Portland to Denver was oversold. I volunteered to be bumped, but Matt wanted to get back at a decent time (10:30 p.m.) because he had to work early the next day. 

We boarded the plane and found our seats, and then found out via intercom that I was going to be bumped. The flight attendant came over and asked Matt if he wanted to be bumped as well. They knew we were traveling together, since I was flying on Matt's Companion Pass. After a moment of hesitation, Matt decided to bump as well. We ran over to the counter, were awarded travel vouchers, and quickly hopped on a plane to Phoenix instead. We had a short layover in Phoenix (but enough time to hit the lounge) before arriving back home at 1 a.m.

For taking the long way home and getting back two and a half hours after the original scheduled arrival, I was awarded $400 (because my ticket was so cheap...it was free in the first place!), and Matt was awarded $496. We thought it was worth our time and lost sleep for the $896 in flight credit! And really, it is more like $1800 in travel credit, since I fly for free until the end of this year because of the Companion Pass (Matt's post on it and how to earn it found here).

What do you do to save money or make money while traveling? Let us know; we love hearing other ideas!