Trip dates
Aug 16 – Aug 21, 2026
Fly into Fresno (FAT) Sunday, drive the CRIHB route, fly home from Medford (MFR) Friday.
Master summary
At a glance
Outbound flights
AA 2006 + AA 2396
DCA → PHX → FAT, Business, Seat 4E both legs. PHX connection is roughly 74 minutes — tight but standard for a same-terminal American connection.
The route
Fresno → Porterville → Santa Rosa → Manchester → Crescent City → Medford
Seven driving legs, ~849 miles total. Longest single leg: Manchester to Crescent City, 267 miles.
Four CRIHB sites
Site assessment + AST hands-on training
One morning each at Porterville, Santa Rosa, Manchester, and Crescent City. All four visits run 8:00 AM–12:00 PM.
Return flights
AA 6401 + AA 3191
MFR → PHX → DCA, Business, Seats 3A / 4B. Departs Medford 5:20 AM, lands Washington Reagan 4:15 PM. PHX connection is roughly 49 minutes — tighter than the outbound; carry-on only.
Highest-risk day
Wednesday, Aug 19
Manchester → Crescent City, 267 miles / ~6:00 via Highway 1 and the redwood corridor on US 101. See Road Safety.
August 16–21, 2026
Day by day
Site visit hours are fixed by the signed schedule. Drive times are point-to-point between town centers and assume clear conditions.
16Aug
Day 0 — Sunday, August 16
- 7:15 AMDepart Washington Reagan (DCA) — American Airlines 2006, Business, Seat 4E. Nonstop to Phoenix.
- 9:08 AMArrive Phoenix (PHX).
- 10:22 AMDepart PHX — American Airlines 2396, Business, Seat 4E, to Fresno.
- 12:02 PMArrive Fresno (FAT).
- AfternoonRental car pickup at FAT (not booked), then drive to Visalia — roughly 45 miles / ~0:50 down CA-99.
- EveningHotel check-in — Visalia Marriott at the Convention Center (booked). The Porterville site is a ~45-minute drive Monday morning.
Watch
The PHX connection is roughly 74 minutes gate-to-gate. Tight, but standard for a same-terminal AA connection — manageable without checked bags.
Why FAT
Fresno has 8 airlines and 15 nonstop destinations but no direct DC service — one connection required. Arcata (ACV) was rejected: no American Airlines. Crescent City (CEC) was rejected: Essential Air Service only, one flight a day, 30 seats.
17Aug
Day 1 — Monday, August 17
- ~7:00 AMDepart the Visalia Marriott — ~32 miles / ~45 min to the Porterville site. Leaves buffer to be on site by 8:00.
- 8:00–12:00Tule River Tribal Child Development Center — 186 N. Reservation Rd., Porterville, CA 93257. Site assessment + AST hands-on training.
- 12:15–12:30 PMDepart Porterville, drive to Manteca — 181 miles / ~2:57, mostly Central Valley highway.
- ~3:30–4:00 PMPersonal stop — visiting a friend (Naved) in Manteca, which sits directly on the route.
- ~6:30–7:00 PMDepart Manteca, drive to Santa Rosa — 123 miles / ~2:10, arriving around 9:00–9:30 PM.
- Late eveningHotel check-in — AC Hotel Santa Rosa Sonoma Wine Country (booked).
Drive note
The Porterville foothill roads are winding and slow — leaving right after the morning session keeps that leg in daylight. The Manteca → Santa Rosa stretch afterward is straight interstate, so finishing it after dark isn't a concern.
Placeholder — tentative
Personal visit, not yet confirmed on the other end. If it doesn't line up, this becomes a normal Porterville → Santa Rosa drive.
18Aug
Day 2 — Tuesday, August 18
- 8:00–12:00Tribal Head Start — 1592 Fulton Rd, Santa Rosa, CA 95403. Site assessment + AST hands-on training.
- ~12:15–12:30 PMDepart Tribal Head Start, drive to Martinelli Winery — ~15 min / 10–12 miles north to Windsor.
- ~12:30–4:00 PMPlaceholder — Martinelli Winery tasting, 3360 River Road, Windsor. Tasting room open daily 10 AM–5 PM; this gives a 3–4 hour window.
- AfternoonDepart Windsor, drive to Manchester — 86 miles / ~1:56 from Santa Rosa (Windsor adds only a few minutes to this).
- EveningHotel check-in, Manchester / Point Arena area (not booked).
Drive note
Short mileage, longer clock — Highway 1 north of the Russian River slows to coastal two-lane speeds.
Placeholder — tentative
Depends on how the Santa Rosa session actually ends and how the Manteca evening before it plays out. Not yet booked or confirmed.
19Aug
Day 3 — Wednesday, August 19
- 8:00–12:00Manchester Point Arena — 10 Mamie Laiwa Rd., Manchester, CA 95459. Site assessment + AST hands-on training.
- By 1:00–1:30 PMTarget departure from Manchester — leave promptly after the morning site to keep daylight for the redwood corridor.
- AfternoonDrive to Crescent City — 267 miles / ~6:00 via Highway 1 and US 101 through the redwood corridor.
- ~6:00–6:30 PMArrive Crescent City. Dinner at SeaQuake Brewing, 400 Front Street — kitchen open until 9:00 PM.
- EveningHotel check-in, Crescent City — one night (not booked). See Hotel Options below.
This is the risk day
267 miles, ~6 hours, the longest cell-dead stretch of the trip, and the highest wildlife and fog exposure. Full plan under Road Safety below — read it before you leave Manchester.
Dinner sorted
SeaQuake Brewing, 400 Front Street. A 6:00–6:30 PM arrival leaves comfortable margin before the 9:00 PM close, even if the drive runs long.
20Aug
Day 4 — Thursday, August 20
- 8:00–12:00Elk Valley Head Start — 2298 Norris Ave, Crescent City, CA 95531. Site assessment + AST hands-on training.
- AfternoonOptional: Battery Point Lighthouse, walkable only at low tide — check the tide window before heading out.
- EveningDepart Crescent City, drive to Medford, OR — 115 miles / ~2:15 via US 101 to I-5, staging for tomorrow's 5:20 AM flight.
- NightHotel check-in — Courtyard by Marriott Medford Airport (booked). Tomorrow's flight departs 5:20 AM — early bedtime.
Tide note
Battery Point Lighthouse is reachable on foot only during the low-tide window. Check NOAA's Crescent City tide predictions for the Aug 20 low-tide time before walking out — don't get stranded on the tidal path.
21Aug
Day 5 — Friday, August 21
- ~4:00 AMRental car drop-off at MFR (rental still not booked) — small airport, but budget time for an unstaffed early-morning key drop.
- 5:20 AMDepart Medford (MFR) — American Eagle 6401 (operated by SkyWest), Business, Seat 3A. Nonstop to Phoenix.
- 7:49 AMArrive Phoenix (PHX).
- 8:38 AMDepart PHX — American Airlines 3191, Business, Seat 4B, breakfast served. Nonstop to Washington Reagan.
- 4:15 PMArrive Washington Reagan (DCA). Home.
Connection note
The PHX connection is roughly 49 minutes — tighter than the outbound's 74. Same-terminal American connection, but this is a no-checked-bags flight. If AA 6401 runs late, later PHX → DCA departures exist same-day.
Verified July 24, 2026
The route, leg by leg
Point to point between town centers, not exact site addresses. Assumes clear conditions. Re-verify any leg you change rather than estimating.
| Leg | Miles | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Fresno (FAT) → Visalia † | ~45 | ~0:50 |
| Visalia → Porterville (Mon AM) † | ~32 | ~0:45 |
| Porterville → Manteca * | 181 | ~2:57 |
| Manteca → Santa Rosa * | 123 | ~2:10 |
| Santa Rosa → Manchester | 86 | 1:56 |
| Manchester → Crescent City | 267 | ~6:00 |
| Crescent City → Medford (MFR) | 115 | 2:15 |
* Added for the Manteca personal stop, checked July 24, 2026 — same day as the rest of the table, but a lighter verification pass than the original five legs. Re-check before relying on it.
† Split from the original direct Fresno → Porterville leg (71 mi / 1:20) for the booked Visalia overnight — estimated, re-verify before the trip.
~849 miles total. Airport service also verified: FAT (Fresno) — 8 airlines, 15 nonstops, no DC nonstop. MFR (Medford) — 5 airlines, 10 nonstops, American Eagle to Phoenix 5:06 AM–6:00 PM. ACV (Arcata) rejected — no American Airlines. CEC (Crescent City) rejected — single daily 30-seat Essential Air Service flight.
Wednesday, Aug 19 is the day this matters most
Road Safety
The Manchester → Crescent City leg is 267 miles, ~6 hours, and the longest stretch without cell service on the trip. Read this before leaving Manchester on Wednesday.
Bail-out plan
If departure from Manchester slips past 1:30 PM, or weather/fire closes 101, stop overnight in Garberville or Eureka rather than finishing the redwood corridor after dark.
Departure window
Leave Manchester by 1:00–1:30 PM after the morning site visit — this keeps the full 267-mile leg in daylight.
Cell dead zones
The longest no-signal stretches of the whole trip are on this leg — Highway 1 north of Manchester and the US 101 redwood corridor roughly from Leggett to Eureka. Download offline maps and text an ETA before losing signal.
Fuel stops
Fill up in Ukiah or Willits before the coastal/redwood run. Garberville and Eureka are the two reliable fuel anchors on this leg — don't count on anything in between.
Wildlife
Deer and Roosevelt elk cross US 101 at dawn and dusk, especially near Orick and Elk Meadow. Risk is highest in the morning hours on this leg — slow down in low light.
Fog
Coastal Highway 1 fog is common even in August and is heaviest in the morning. Use low beams, not high beams, and add time.
Wildfire season
August is peak wildfire season in Northern California. Check the CAL FIRE incident map before departure and have a fallback route in mind — don't drive into active smoke.
Fatigue protocol
No driving on a sleep deficit after a training day. Stop every two hours; if drowsy, pull off rather than push through.
Check-in protocol
Text Leah at the end of each driving leg with your ETA to the next stop, especially Wednesday. If she doesn't hear from you within a reasonable window of the expected arrival, that's the trigger to start checking.
Live from Caltrans District 1 (Mendocino / Humboldt / Del Norte — covers SR-1 and US-101 on the Wed leg)
Checking current closures…
Trip Weather Forecast
Each card shows today's actual live conditions at that location right now. The day-specific hi/lo, rain chance, and sunrise/sunset for the site-visit date appear below it once that date falls inside Open-Meteo's ~16-day forecast window — until then you'll see a caveat instead.
Porterville, CA
Aug 17 — Site 1
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Santa Rosa, CA
Aug 18 — Site 2
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Manchester, CA
Aug 19 — Site 3, risk day
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Crescent City, CA
Aug 20 — Site 4
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Medford, OR
Aug 21 — 5:20 AM return flight
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Thursday, Aug 20 — live from NOAA
Battery Point Lighthouse tide
Battery Point is only reachable on foot at low tide. Live predictions below, pulled from NOAA station 9419750 (Crescent City) every time you load this page.
Loading tide predictions…
Booked stays + remaining candidates
Hotel options
Built around two rules: do the long/windy drives in the afternoon after training ends, and keep the next morning's drive to the site short. Marriott-preferred, with non-Marriott noted where there's no good Marriott option.
| Night | Goal | Candidate hotels | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sun Aug 16 | Wake up close to Porterville site |
|
~45 min Monday-morning drive to the Tule River site. |
| Mon Aug 17 | Wake up close to Santa Rosa site |
|
Do the long Porterville → Manteca → Santa Rosa drive Monday afternoon/evening, after training and the Manteca stop. |
| Tue Aug 18 | Wake up close to Manchester site |
|
Ukiah was considered and rejected — ~1h20 over winding roads is too far from Manchester the next morning. No traditional Marriott hotel sits close enough on this stretch of coast. |
| Wed Aug 19 | Wake up in Crescent City |
|
No traditional Marriott-branded hotel in town. One night only — Thursday evening's drive continues on to Medford. |
| Thu Aug 20 | Required — flight departs 5:20 AM Friday |
|
At the airport — right where it needs to be for the pre-dawn start. |
What's booked
Booking status
| Item | Status |
|---|---|
| Outbound flights — AA 2006 + AA 2396 (DCA → PHX → FAT) | Confirmed |
| CRIHB site visit agreement — all four sites | Confirmed |
| Return flights — AA 6401 + AA 3191 (MFR → PHX → DCA) | Confirmed |
| Rental car | Not booked |
| Hotel — Visalia Marriott at the Convention Center (Aug 16–17) | Confirmed |
| Hotel — AC Hotel Santa Rosa Sonoma Wine Country (Aug 17–18) | Confirmed |
| Hotel — Gualala / Manchester area (Aug 18–19) | Not booked |
| Hotel — Crescent City, 1 night (Aug 19–20) | Not booked |
| Hotel — Courtyard by Marriott Medford Airport (Aug 20–21) | Confirmed |
Who to call
Key contacts
American Airlines
+1 800 433 7300
Out: AA 2006 / AA 2396 · Back: AA 6401 / AA 3191
Out: AA 2006 / AA 2396 · Back: AA 6401 / AA 3191
Caltrans road conditions
ODOT TripCheck
Oregon road conditions
tripcheck.com
tripcheck.com
CAL FIRE incident map
Wildfire status, Aug 19 route
fire.ca.gov/incidents
fire.ca.gov/incidents
CRIHB site coordinator
Per-site names and phone numbers pending — see Open Items.
Needs a human
Still open
Everything below needs to be booked or resolved before departure.
Site contacts — supervisor names and phone numbers for all four CRIHB locations, pending from the CRIHB coordinator.
Rental car — book for the full Aug 16–21 route, FAT pickup / MFR drop-off.
Hotels — 2 nights left to book: Gualala/Manchester and Crescent City. Visalia, Santa Rosa, and Medford are booked. Candidates in Hotel Options above.
Wednesday fuel/rest stops — named stops with mileage markers along Highway 1 / US 101, anchored on Garberville and Eureka.
Offline capability — cache the page shell and last weather/tide/road-status response for the cell-dead stretch on Wednesday.
ODOT TripCheck for the Medford leg — Caltrans District 1 closures are now live on this page; Oregon's equivalent feed hasn't been wired in yet, so the Crescent City → Medford leg still relies on the static TripCheck link.