Yosemite National Park has a reputation that precedes itself. The guidebook authors throw around words like grand, majestic, and noble. Regarding Yosemite, conservationist and naturalist John Muir wrote, “It is by far the grandest of all the special temples of Nature I was ever permitted to enter.” It is also one of America’s favorite national parks and one of the oldest. The park was officially established on October 1, 1890, though it was originally much smaller than its current size of 747,956 acres. Yosemite also holds a special place in the history of land conservation in the American West. In 1903, John Muir took President Theodore Roosevelt on a camping trip here in an effort to convince the President to increase conservation efforts out west. The trip was a resounding success. During his administration Roosevelt established 5 national parks, 23 national monuments, 55 wildlife preserves, and 150 national forests. That’s quite a legacy to live up to. Continue reading “Getting Lost in Yosemite National Park”→
Neither of us had ever been to San Francisco (unless you count a couple of long layovers in the Oakland Airport), but we’ve had some trouble visiting large cities on this trip because we’ve found they generally aren’t very RV friendly. Most notably, we completely skipped Seattle and Denver, both places we had hoped to visit. For RVers visiting a large popular city, there is often a choice of either staying close to the city (for a price) or staying far outside of the city, which somewhat kills the allure of visiting the city in the first place. However, we were determined to make our visit to San Francisco work (despite its reputation for high prices) because we had an extra incentive: visiting friends!
Our friends Cody and Jaz live on the east side of the bay and our friends Coleman and Kelly live outside of Sacramento but Coleman currently commutes to the bay for work. For those of you familiar with the area, yes, Coleman has one of the longest daily commutes of anyone I know. With traffic it can be an hour and a half in the morning and two and a half to three hours at night.
The last time we saw these guys was at our wedding back in April. You may also remember them from our visit to Folsom Lake on our way to Texas in March. These are some of our favorite people and we were super excited that a weekend campout worked with everyone’s schedules. Continue reading “San Francisco & the Point Reyes National Seashore”→
The final stop on our three-part tour of the redwoods was the iconic Avenue of the Giants. The Avenue is a 33 mile scenic drive through an area of particularly large giant trees. Some of the tallest redwoods have been found in these groves, so naturally, it was worth a stop.
We stayed at the Giant Redwoods RV Park in Myers Flat, a tiny little town right on the Avenue, nestled into the bank of the Eel River. When we checked into our campsite the camp host gave us two warnings.
First, don’t swim in the river. The river is full of an algae that contains a neurotoxin. For humans, the toxin is just a skin irritant, but for dogs it can be deadly. She said that most dogs die within an hour of drinking from the river. We had not seen any stray dogs in Myers Flat and I think we know why.
Second, don’t give anyone the bathroom code. This area of California (Humboldt County) is widely known for growing marijuana. Some of it may be grown legally as part of the medical marijuana program, but I suspect much of it is not. Marijuana growers were using these forests to hide their plants long before legal medical marijuana was even introduced as a concept. Well, when harvest time comes around, the growers need extra help to trim all of the plants. We happened to visit during harvest and all of these tiny towns were suddenly full of migrant workers here to trim the pot plants. Our camp host called them “trimigrants”. The migrant workers didn’t really bother us, but our camp host was sick and tired of the trimigrants using her campground bathrooms without paying the camp fee. We agreed not to give out the bathroom code and got a good laugh out of the whole situation. Honestly, the trimigrants are probably a nice boost to the local economy. The restaurants were doing a steady business and the tiny local bar was overflowing with people playing guitar and singing along to Hootie and the Blowfish songs.
The drive to our next camping spot was our second shortest yet. (The shortest was while staying at Lake Cushman in Washington.) From Crescent City we drove a mere 19 miles south to Klamath, California where we would be staying at the Mystic Forest RV Park, just minutes from the Trees of Mystery and the famous statues of Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox.
The Mystic Forest RV Park is an older, smaller park but we were instantly charmed by the adorable older woman running the front desk. Her name was actually Carolyn but we referred to her as “Sweet Caroline” for the rest of our stay. (Thanks Neil Diamond, that catchy tune was stuck in our heads for days.) Carolyn was super friendly and told us about her grand kids and great-grand kids. She also gave us a map of the area (a photocopy of her own hand-drawn map) and spent at least 15 minutes telling us about all of the major attractions and her favorite places. We picked up other maps along the way but none were as useful as Carolyn’s hand-drawn version. Continue reading “Coastal Redwoods: The Trees of Mystery and Fern Canyon”→
April of last year was a really big month for us. We took the Alpha Uno on its first bona fide journey. We decided to quit our jobs and run away in an RV. And, finally, we decided to get married. That’s a lot to pack into one month!
It all began with a trip to the redwoods with our friends Cody and Jaz. We had never seen the redwoods before and we had never driven the Alpha Uno more than a couple of hours from home. It was a big trip for us, but at the time we didn’t realize that it was going to completely change the course of our lives. But in fact, this entire plan, the whole grand adventure, the idea was hatched while hiking back from the Boy Scout Tree in Jedediah Smith State Park. We were surrounded by the biggest living things we had ever seen, completely amazed that a place like this could exist, when one of us said to the other, “What if we just kept going?” We could drive around the entire country. See everything. Of course, we both try to take credit for that statement and can’t actually remember who said it.
From there, things snowballed pretty quickly. Before we knew it we were sending out wedding invitations and resignation letters. And we still think this was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. We know it seems strange to give so much credit to a tree (even a really big tree) but we felt like this trip wouldn’t be complete unless we went back to the Boy Scout Tree to say thank you. Continue reading “Northern Redwoods: Revisiting the Boy Scout Tree”→
We’ve wanted to visit Crater lake National Park ever since we moved to Oregon six years ago. Honestly, I didn’t even know Crater Lake existed until I lived in Oregon. Then, suddenly, I was seeing pictures of it everywhere. And for good reason. The place is breathtakingly beautiful. It is also on every list of “must see” Oregon travel destinations. A crown jewel in a state full of exceptionally beautiful places.
Crater Lake was formed by an ancient volcanic eruption. Nearly 8,000 years ago, Mount Mazama erupted in an explosion said to be 100 times more powerful than the eruption that blew the top off of Mount St. Helens in 1980. The heroic blast caused the mountain to collapse in on itself, forming a vast crater. The crater slowly filled with water from area snow melt until it formed the deepest lake in North America. Crater Lake also holds some of the clearest water in the world, with visibility all the way down to around 140 feet. But what astounds most visitors to the lake is its exceptionally blue color. The sapphire tinged water is the result of light refracting through the superbly clear water. Because the water is so clear, it appears even bluer than the sky above.
Our first view of the lake, however, was nothing more than a thick white cloud of snow, but more on that later. First, you have to hear about the absolutely perfect camping spot we found. Continue reading “Crater Lake National Park”→
Bend, Oregon is only a few hours southeast of Portland, but feels like a completely different world. While Portland lies only a few hundred feet above sea level, Bend sits at a few thousand feet in elevation. The fire watch tower pictured above was at over 5000 feet. This higher elevation, combined with the rain shadow effect of being east of the Cascade Mountain range, means that Bend receives a fraction of the rain we experienced in Portland and the Willamette Valley. However, the higher elevation also means that the area receives far more snow than Portland. For many, the warm dry summers followed by snowy winters make for an outdoor adventure paradise. You can kayak the Deschutes River all summer and snowboard on Mount Bachelor all winter.
This area is also full of volcanic activity. Lava rock litters the ground and ancient lava tubes are open for exploring. We actually purchased the Alpha 1 in Bend and came here twice during that process, though we never stayed for more than a few hours. But as the second fastest growing area in Oregon (behind Portland), we thought Bend deserved a bit more of our time. As an added bonus, an old friend of ours had recently relocated to Bend from Texas and was hosting another old friend at her house! It was like a mini highschool reunion!
I met Krissy when we were little kids and she played on the same soccer team as my older brother. Brandon met Krissy freshmen year of high school in drama class. They both became friends with Blaze that same year.
From left to right: Blaze, Krissy, baby Odyn, and Brandon
That’s right y’all, I’m back!! Your irregularly scheduled blog has been hijacked by the cunning man behind the scenes of these pretty machines! So forget that smooth talking, well-worded, and perfectly delivered blog post you’re used too. You’re stuck with me for now, enjoy the word salad!!
This ride isn’t as bumpy as the last run we went on through Browns Camp. Nope, today we are going to a completely different side of the off-road world, a car show. All I needed to do was obsess over my rig for a few days and drown it in tire shine!
It’s the end of our time in Portland, Oregon. I had a blast getting a chance to make new friends and catch up with old ones. I didn’t want to risk any possible trail damage that would lead to us having to delay our departure from the Portland area. However, you can have fun on the street too!
I entered a 4×4 “cruise-in” at a local off-road shop. The event was held in conjunction with the Pistons Wild Motorsports Club. My group, Jeep Nation, had a really great turnout. It was awesome to show and shine our rigs with other friends in the off-road community. There was plenty of activity, a raffle that went all day, and a hilarious adult-sized tricycle race. Continue reading “Pounding the Pavement!”→
We’ve been hanging around Portland ever since Carla left. We’ve done some Jeepin’, caught up with old friends, and generally enjoyed staying in one place for a change. But summer is officially over and we’re getting restless again, which means it’s probably time we get back on the road. So on Monday we’ll be packing up and migrating south for the winter.
This next leg of the journey is going to move a lot faster than the last leg. We took nearly four months to drive from Austin to Portland. We’re hoping to do the return journey through California in just under two months. There is so much to see and do in California that we could easily spend a couple of months there. However, we need to be back in Texas before Thanksgiving.
We haven’t spent Thanksgiving at home with family in five years! We’re really looking forward to the green bean casserole, stuffing, mashed potatoes with gravy… Oh wait, I mean spending quality time with family. Yes, family time, that’s what I meant to say. Just kidding, we actually really miss you guys!
We also need some time to get ready for our next big adventure: sailing in the Bahamas! That’s right, our honeymoon road trip is taking a brief detour out to sea. We will be storing the Alpha 1 in Texas for the entire month of December while we join my parents on their sailboat, the Irie Joe. We are both so excited to be on a sailboat again!!
Craziness, right!? Just typing that makes me feel so overwhelmingly grateful that we have the opportunity to live the life we’re living. It’s seriously amazing.
So here’s the details. When my parents retired they got back into an old hobby from their pre-kid days, sailing! And a few years ago they made a long-term dream come true and bought a catamaran sailboat that would live in the Bahamas. They named it the Irie Joe, combining the Jamaican word “irie,” which means to be without worries, and my paternal grandfather’s name “Joe”. The boat is a Maine Cat 41 and is maintained as part of the charter fleet at Maine Cat Charters. This means that while my parents own the boat, it is also available for rent. In exchange, my parents have someone on site in the Bahamas helping to maintain the boat. This is important because my parents don’t actually live in the Bahamas (they’re in Texas) and boats require a lot of maintenance. Well, no one rented the boat during the month of December so my parents invited us to go sailing with them!
If you are interested in chartering either the Irie Joe or another Maine Cat sailboat check them out here. Additional information and photos are also available from Abaco Multihull Charters. We have done chartered vacations before and they are a ton of fun. If you also hire a captain to sail the vessel, no experience is necessary. If you would want to sail the boat yourself (also known as a bareboat charter) you will need sailing experience and generally some form of certification. You can take lessons and get sailing certifications at locations all over the world. We have taken classes with the American Sailing Association (more info here) and highly recommend them for anyone interested in sailing.
We’re leaving for the Bahamas the first week of December and plan to return a few days after Christmas. Getting back to Texas before Thanksgiving gives us a bit of time to pack our bags and get the RV ready for a month of storage, but not much.
We have previously tried to keep our plans and route pretty flexible. If we plan too far in advance something always happens and we end up changing plans anyway. But with such a short amount of time to get south (and so much we want to see) I decided our route needed a bit more structure if we were going to keep up the pace. So I am tempting the travel gods and making a plan. I even made reservations!
NOTE: I decided it’s probably not smart to list our actual travel dates on the internet, so this is just all of the destinations we’re planning to visit. If you need to know exactly where we’re going to be and when, call me.
Bend, Oregon
Crater Lake National Park
Northern Redwoods, Jedediah Smith State Park
Coastal Redwoods and the Trees of Mystery
Redwoods National Park and the Avenue of the Giants
Point Reyes National Seashore
San Francisco
Yosemite National Park
Monterey
Pinnacles National Park
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios California
Joshua Tree National Park
Brandon’s Dad in Arizona
Sedona, Arizona
Somewhere along Route 66 in New Mexico
Palo Duro Canyon State Park in Texas
Phew! You can see what I mean about picking up the pace! You also might have noticed that our route completely leaves out Nevada and Utah, while just barely touching Arizona and New Mexico. Before you start telling us how amazing these states are, we know. We just don’t have enough time. And for that reason we’re actually planning a second trip west, most likely in January and February after we’ve returned from the Bahamas. We think winter will be a great time to enjoy the desert areas and possibly also some snow up in the mountains!
It’s going to be tough to keep this blog up to date while moving so quickly but I’m up for the challenge! Also, I plan to continue posting while we’re in the Bahamas, so stay tuned!
Our next stop after a fabulous week at the Oregon coast was the Willamette Valley Wine Country RV park, also home to the Vintages Trailer Resort. We stayed there once, before we officially moved into the RV, and loved it. See our post about the Willamette Valley Wine Country. You can read more about the park on their website at www.willamettewinecountryrvpark.com. Also check out the excellent write-up done by Oregon Wine Press here.
This park is basically the cutest thing ever. The majority of the park is your standard RV park with rows of pull-thru spots available to travelers and a section dedicated to permanent residents. But what really stands out about this park is the entire row full of beautifully restored vintage trailers. The park rents these trailers out by the night, much like a hotel, but with a much greater “cool factor”. Each trailer comes fully stocked with everything you need to enjoy your stay in wine country, including dishes, linens, and basic toiletries. Each one also comes with two vintage-styled bicycles to cruise around town! Like I said, the cutest thing ever.
ALPHA 1 ON THE RUN 