Redwood National and State Parks

Firstly you might wonder why it is called a National AND State Parks, this is because the National Park was not formed until 1968. However prior to that a large portion of the area was state parks. Now it is managed jointly by the National Park Service and California State Parks, hence the name.

Since only days before we arrived here we were in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park viewing the redwoods family member, the sequoia, you may wonder what is the difference between the two species of giant trees. The first major difference is where they grow, the sequoia only grow on the western slopes of the Sierra Mountains between 4,000 and 7,000 ft of elevation and the Redwood only grow in the coastal areas of Northern California, along with a few miles into southern Oregon. Giant Redwoods live up to 2000 years, grow up to 380 ft tall, have bark up to 12 in thick, and a diameter of up to 30 ft. In contrast a Sequoia can live up to 3000 years, grow up to 300 ft, have bark up to 3 ft thick, and also grow to a diameter of up to 30 ft. The Giant Redwood are the tallest trees in the world but on the other hand the Sequoias are the largest trees in the world by volume. This is because the sequoias carry their girth almost the full height while redwoods taper more. Either of them can have branches that are as big as the truck of a regular large tree. On average, in my experience, the redwoods tend to be taller while the sequoias have a larger diameter.

The two parks are in quite different ecosystems as mention above, Redwood National Park runs along the beautiful northern California coast while Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks are in the stunning Sierra mountains. What this means in practice is that there is a lot more “civilization” surrounding Redwood Nation Park. Both have national forests nearby but it would be a longer drive to boondock in one near Redwood NP. The road to Redwood NP, while a bit windy and hilly, is nothing compared to the roads leading into Sequoia-Kings Canyon NP.

This also means in general that the hiking in Redwood NP is much less strenuous. You can also hike along up and down the coast which could make for a very unique backpacking trip. We hiked the James Irvine trail to the coast, then down the coast for a mile, and the took the Miners Ridge trail to loop back to our car at the Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park visitors center. It was a perfect day hike in that we got to see a number of ecosystems in ~8 miles and were able to make it a loop. There were also a number of short hikes right off the road that were very nice also. At this point I should also mention that simply driving Highway 101 will provide you with some beautiful scenery, huge trees, and the opportunity to see some gray whales.

As far as my perspective on the trees themselves I found the sequoias to be individually more impressive. Go back and look at the picture of me on the stump in that post or the picture of the tree that was used as a HOUSE for example! However collectively I thought the Redwood forest was more impressive. This was because while the sequoias seemed to be scattered here and there, the redwoods dominated the forest. We hiked and drove for miles and miles all while being surrounded by a majority of redwood trees. Either way both parks are recommended, neither more than the other. It simply depends on what your looking for. If you want to go backpacking I’d say Sequoia-Kings Canyon NP would be the choice. If you’d prefer to stay in a cabin or with full hookups in your rv and tour by car I’d recommended Redwood NP. Redwood NP also tends to be more temperate, while they were getting snow in Sequoia-Kings Canyon NP we were enjoying 60 to 80 degree days. Both parks will blow your mind.

We decided to stay at Elk Country RV Resort and Campground which was just outside of the National Park. We didn’t bother to try to stay in the National or State parks as many of them had restrictions on the size of your rig and had no hookups but cost just as much without being in any better location. We had full hookups and the park was nearly empty. The elk in their name is no joke, at any point in time you might look out and see 20 of them chowing down in the prairie. I also saw a fox and a skunk while walking around at night. Thankfully the skunk turned and ran as soon as he saw me. They had two different areas you could choose from to camp (it used to be two different campgrounds). One was in a heavily forested area and the other was a wide open field. We chose the forested area, of course, but to each their own.

Although the owner seemed like a nice enough guy, he was a bit of moron. Even though Victoria, I, and the few other campers who were there(including two of his camp hosts!) we were unable to get onto the advertised free WiFi for our entire stay. He continued to insist that since it worked on his phone there was nothing wrong with it. So if you need WiFi avoid this park(and be sure to let them know why, maybe he’ll get the message ;). With Verizon I did have both voice and data(as usual) while Victoria with AT&T did not(as usual).

Elk Country RV Resort and Campground
216 Idlewood Lane Trinidad, California 95570
Phone: +1 707 488 2181
Email: info@elkcountryrvresort.com

P.S. Be sure to check out our previous post about Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Park for more information and some very cool pictures.

Whitewater kayaking on the Trinity River (Shasta Trinity National Forest)

We initially had planned to drive through the Shasta Trinity National Forest on our way to Redwood National Park. As the road followed the river we noticed a bunch of rafters, and from the road the white water rapids looked pretty large. So we randomly decided to find a place to camp and go rafting. We first tried Big Flats, a national park campground that was empty. Although I could have gotten the rig in there is was not meant for trailers our size and the trees were heavily overgrown.  Also because we hadn’t planned on boondocking our water tank was empty and there wasn’t any water at the campground. A mile or two down the road we came across an RV park right on the river. It was a killer location with views of a rapid so we got to see rafters come by every now and then.  The next day we ran it ourselves…

Once we parked and settled in, we only had to walk across the street to find a rafting company. They have a class five run but unfortunately the water was too high to run it. Lucky for us it was at a perfect level for the class three run. When she found out I had run the Gauley in West Virginia (a famous BIG class five river) a few times she recommended us renting kayaks instead of going in a raft with a guide. We’d done this before on the Nantahala in North Carolina (Class 2 with one small class 3 at the end) but never on a river as wild as this one. I was amazed that they rented all manor of rafts and kayaks to take down guided or self guided. There are very few places I know of that still do this.

The two owners and one of the guides all recommended that we each take a one person kayak but Victoria felt more comfortable in a two person kayak. They thought this was funny and were taking bets on how many times we’d flip. The two person kayak is much less maneuverable and does not have leg straps to hold you in, plus you have to be able to coordinate between the two paddlers. They nicknamed them “divorce boats”.

We followed along with a guide taking a family down in a raft for mothers day. As usual Victoria and I dominated and didn’t flip once. In the first large class 3 rapid we hit, the guide was getting ready to rescue us. He had told us to avoid the largest holes and waves but I figured, what fun is that? So we blasted straight at them. Although Victoria did almost fall out twice, once she was saved by the wave that we ran into, pushing her back into her seat. If I had a picture you’d know why he thought we would fall out. I guarantee the only thing you’d see was the tops of our helmets in some of those waves and holes. We kept paddling and although our boat was completely filled with water we made it out no problem. After that he wasn’t a doubter anymore, and I think he was a little impressed. 🙂

We happened along at the right time, just after a dam release but not too soon after. The river was running at about 2000 cfs. This provided for a lot of big class 2 and several big class 3 rapids (6 or so). I say big class 2 and 3 because the reason for their ratings was the size of the waves and holes more so than their technical challenge. There was one class 3 that took more finesse because there were boulders strewn through out it, so you needed to be more careful with the line you choose. If you wanted to run the class five section apparently the end on May is the time to be there. A little bit later and Victoria might have had her first Class 5 experience!

If you happen to be in northern California and enjoy whitewater rafting I can’t recommend the rafting company or RV park enough. The campground is simply beautiful, surrounded on all sides by the mountains and with a view of the very rapids you’ll be running. Plus when we were there, we were the only people in the park. Although we got zero reception anywhere around there the campground had excellent internet (can’t say that about many parks).

The rafting company was a small family outfit that had been there for 25+years and were very laid back (most rafting companies are more like joining the marines as they try to get huge groups of people ready for the river). In addition the fact that they will rent several different types of boats is amazing. By all means if you’ve been rafting a few times, take your own boat down. Self guiding certainly adds some excitement. If your into to big water like me and can’t make it for the class 5 section, rent a kayak. A class 3 rapid feels like a class 5 when you in a boat a quarter the size of a four man raft and you don’t have a guide helping you out.

All in all that was definitely the coolest unplanned stop of the whole trip.

P.S. The only picture we have was of the view out our window and Victoria with the largest pine cones known to man. The rest are photos of others on the river. I really need a Hero Cam 😉

The campground was $28 a day with full hookups(water, sewer, electric).
A single kayak was $45, a double $65, and rafts depend on the size. We also paid $15 for a shuttle (We only have one car). A guided rafting trip was $75 a person and it was $190 a person for the class 5 section. Self guiding certainly makes for a very reasonable day on the river. I’m glad we decided against trying to use our inflatable kayak, it simply does not drain water quick enough and the tubes are small for a true whitewater boat. It would be fine on class 2 and maybe even a small class 3 here or there but we almost certainly would have done some unintentional swimming on this river in our boat.

 Trinity River Rafting, Inc.
P.O. Box 572
31021 State Hwy 299
Big Bar, CA 96010
800-30 RIVER (307-4837) or (530) 623-3033
splash@trinityriverrafting.com
 Trinity Adventure Park – Campground, Store, Restaurant
Across the street from Trinity River Rafting
530-623-3964

Sequoia National Park, CA

One of the experiences unique to California I was most looking forward to was seeing and hugging the giant trees out here. Yes I said hug. I’m a tree lover and proud of it! I was more choked up seeing my first Sequoia than my first sight of the Grand Canyon. It is humbling to stand next to such a huge living thing that has been alive for 2000 years and survived so many storms, fires, and…well, humans.

Tim had planned to boondock along forest service road 14S46 but to our dismay it was not going to work. We drove up a couple miles up a very narrow, very windy road before deciding to turn around, luckily there was a spot to turn around. We attempted calling the National forest district office for advice but the guy was absolutely no help, saying he had no idea about the condition of forest roads (you don’t know if the roads in your district are open or not? Really? -Tim) and places to disperse camp (Every other ranger has been extremely helpful, He probably wasn’t a real ranger, just answers the phone -Tim). It wasn’t until after we paid to stay at Azalea campground and talked to the National Park ranger did we realize that we could have disperse camped at any of the turnouts along 180. Azalea campground is very nice don’t get me wrong but it sucks paying $18/night for no hookups. We arrived at the campground after dark because of our attempt to boondock. Tim was having trouble backing in the fifth wheel because he couldn’t see well. We were both exhausted having just driven the longest driving day, 12 hours on the road. I was on the brink of tears. After finally finding a site in the cold, dark night, I prepared our emergency Ramen noodles dinner and we both crashed.

They next day I felt refreshed and excited to see the biggest trees in the world. First we checked out Big Stump Trail, a short 1.5 mile trail that takes you to see about 5 Sequoia stumps (hence the name) cut down a long time ago. One of the tree stumps, named the Mark Twain stump, was cut down for educational purposes. You may have seen the cross section of the tree on display at the Museum of Science and History in New York. There were so many huge trees on the Big Stump Trail, the first one is a mere 50 feet from the trail head. Sequoias can live up to 3000 years old. When they start growing the young trees boost into the sky about 300 feet. Then they quit growing tall and they grow wider and wider, up to 40 feet in diameter. Even after they fall they don’t die. Their wood is highly resistant to decay and therefore in a way they continue to live after death, providing nourishment to the other trees. General Grant is the second largest tree in the world. He is fenced off to help him keep growing. Apparently foot traffic around the giant trees compacts the soil, making it harder for them to grow. General Sherman is THE largest tree in the world and he is in the park too.

After visiting General Grant, we drove to King’s Canyon, about an hour from Azalea campground. The hour goes by fast as you wind your way into the canyon. We stopped a few times along the way to see waterfalls and take in the views of the canyon. We parked at Road’s End and hiked to Zumwalt Meadow, an easy 3 mile hike. The lovely green meadow is surrounded by granite canyon walls. You can’t help but to stare up open-mouthed at the thousands of feet towering above.

The next day we learned some bad news of the possibility for snow. When we woke up it was cold and gray. Then an ominous fog rolled into camp and we decided to get the hell out of there. I was disappointed because we were supposed to hike the Redwood mountain grove and see General Sherman. But since General Sherman was an hour south of Azalea campground, we knew we couldn’t do it. We had to leave and play it smart. If it was going to snow we didn’t want to be stuck up there in our fifth. At least we had a blast the one day we spent out and about, and I’m glad I got to hug a Sequoia (another item off my bucket list). We will be back to see you one day Sherman!

Grand Canyon National Park, AZ

Whelp, I’ve slashed off another item off my bucket list. Before I go into the details of the awesomeness, let me tell you about where we camped. Man I’m glad we have the means to disperse camp, because the campgrounds around here are pricey and fully booked! We camped right outside of Tusayan in the Kaibab National Forest. We drove up Forest Road 302 a mere ¼ mile before we found a bunch of nice options to choose from. It was the perfect spot, only a 5 minute drive to the entry gate of the Grand Canyon National Park AND we were able to pick up wifi and cell service since we were so close to town. The only thing, (as there always is one thing) were the helicopters constantly flying to and from the airport. They make quite the business from paying customers who want to see the Grand Canyon by air. However it wasn’t a big deal because we spent the days out and about anyways.

When we approached the gate there were 5 lanes filled with cars. It felt like going into Disney World. Once again our America the Beautiful pass got us in for free, otherwise you have to pay $25 per car/7 days. The park attendant hands you a worthless map and you proceed to the visitor center. I say it’s worthless because it doesn’t give any detail about roads or trails. They pretty much herd all tourists to park at the visitor center and utilize the buses to get around. I guess this is efficient to prevent traffic jams within the park. At the visitor center there is information about the trails and which bus to take to get to the trail heads. The trails range from easy paved ridge walks to extremely difficult. Tim and I agreed on the Bright Angel Trail to Plateau Point. A 12 mile round trip classified as extremely difficult with a projected 8-12 hour finish time.

So now the climatic moment of my first view the canyon. We took the blue bus to Bright Angel TH. As I ascend up the hill, my eyes eagerly focus ahead for the first glimpse, my foot steps carefully approach the railing and then….it’s there, stretching to the horizon. I initially had to hold on to the railing to fully take it all in. It was so beautiful it didn’t feel real, it seemed like I was looking at a large beautiful painting on a projector screen. After a few moments I said, “okay lets go” and we descended into the canyon.

Down, down, down we go, passing by heavy dry-mouth breathing, red-faced hikers of all ages and sizes coming up. I started to dread the return trip. I pushed the thought behind me and focused on my footing. Two hours later we reach the campground where we had lunch in the oasis. Beware of the squirrels! They are cute indeed but they are very aggressive. While Tim and I snacked on Cheeze-Its, they creeped up and stared, expecting us to throw one. Tim had to stomp to make them run away, otherwise I’m sure they would of jumped us. After lunch and evading the squirrel attack, we proceeded to plateau point. It…was….hot…. No shade, no water, be prepared if you plan to do this hike. It was very rewarding as you get a spectacular view of the roaring Colorado River. They are plenty of opportunities for cool pictures if you are brave enough to stand on one of the rocks that jut out into the canyon. Ascending the canyon was a grueling 3000 elevation gain. It took us 8 hours to hike the whole trip. I must say this was probably THE most difficult hike I’ve done.

The next day we were both sore and exhausted so we did the easier South Rim trail. It’s paved, easy, has many awesome viewpoints of the canyon, BUT – this is where all the tourists come since you can access the trail from the visitor center. If you walk a mere 100 feet from Mather Point, the tourists thin out significantly. Dogs are allowed on the South Rim Trail, so Marilyn got to enjoy the view too.

We have officially hit our one month anniversary for full-timing (que applause). We’ve had a few hiccups, but we are still truckin’ to Seattle. Next stop, Sequoia National Park.

Tonto and Coconino National Forest, AZ

 

I combined these forests into one post because if you look at the map, they border each other, yet are separated for some reason I don’t know. After a nice visit at Tim’s Grandparent’s home in Tuscon, we took the scenic highway 77 up to highway 188 to Theodore Roosevelt Lake in the Tonto Basin. Highway 77 was a lovely route to take to get into Tonto National Forest. One tall, looming thing stands out in the landscape of Arizona, the Seguaro catcus. The large, Gumbi-like cactus stands as tall as a grown man and grows multiple arms. Since it’s a National Forest, we could of dispersed camped anywhere for free but because I wanted to be by the lake we stayed at Bermuda Flat’s campground for $6/day. We literally pulled the fifth wheel right up to the edge of the lake. We kept the windows open to hear the sound of the water breaking on the sand and to feel the occasional cool breeze. The only thing I didn’t like about the site by the lake was the bugs. They were not the biting kind of fly but they swarmed all day and night anywhere sheltered by the wind. I celebrated by 31st birthday here and was happy to get cell service so I could receive happy birthday calls and messages on Facebook. We spent two nights here before heading to Coconino National Forest.

At Coconino we only stayed one night because we were anxious to get to the Grand Canyon. From Highway 3, F.R. 132 is called Crimson Road, so we passed it initially. We drove quite a ways up the gravel forest road 132 and found a nice little open patch in the woods. Once we started up the narrow gravel road we were dedicated. Doing this with a car or truck is not a big deal, but when you are towing something there is a slight worry in the back of your mind, will I be able to find a spot to camp? Will I be able to turn around if I can’t find a spot? We told ourselves that next time we would pull over and unhitch the trailer so we could scout out a spot a little easier. Since we arrived early, we had time to go for a hike to see Priest’s Draw, a large exposed rock that is popular for bouldering. Bouldering is when you climb up the rock a couple feet without ropes. We saw several people bouldering, carrying with them crash pads to place under the rock for when/if they fall. We also saw a bunch of chipmunks, which triggered me to sing Alvin and the Chipmunks Christmas songs pretty much the whole time.

There wasn’t too much going on in these places, hence the short and sweet post. They were means to get to the Grand Canyon, on which I will extensively report next time! Thanks for reading!

Gila National Forest, New Mexico

After having our LP blue flame heater installed in El Paso, we were ready for our first attempt at boondocking. (The reason we needed this “Blue Flame” heater for boondocking when we already have a furnace is because the furnaces that are built into RV’s use a lot of electricity to run their blower. When we’re boondocking it would quickly burn through all of our batteries. The link below is the one we purchased. -Tim)

[amazon asin=B002NLW93U&template=iframe image]

What’s cool about staying in a National Forest is you have the option to boondock where ever you want. The park rangers call it “dispersed camping.” The first night at Gila (pronounced He-la), we stayed at the sparsely populated Mesa Campground for 15/night for water and electric hookups. Tourism doesn’t pick up until May in this part of the country since it still gets really cold at night in April, hence why we needed the LP heater. We decided to go ahead a pay for one night so we could fill up our water tank to prepare to boondock. The next day we went to the ranger station north of Mimbres to inquire about our options for dispersed camping with a large fifth wheel. The ranger suggested going up road 150. When we approached the road there was a sign warning proceeding with vehicles over 20 feet in length. After contemplating a few minutes whether to go back to the ranger’s station to ask him again or just go for it, we decided to go for it. It turned out that he was right. We easily made it up the gravel road to our sweet spot on a little plateau off the road. We had an almost 360 degree view of the forest. It was a little windy since there wasn’t much tree cover, but the old Yellowstone held up quite well against the gusty wind. To get the trailer leveled was a bit of a challenge. Up until now, we hadn’t really needed to try and level it. At first we tried to use those plastic orange levelers, but after a couple attempts and breaking one or two of them we determined that trying to back onto them with double axle wheels on rocky ground wasn’t going to work. The orange levelers worked fine on the front two legs and we ended up using wooden 2×4’s to level the wheels. If anyone has advice about this please comment below.

The next day, we drove over to the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument. It’s a scenic drive with lots of places to pull over and marvel at the mountains and cliffs. When we arrived we realized dogs are not allowed on the trail to the dwellings, so Marilyn had to wait in the car. One lady couldn’t help herself and brought her Boston Terrier in a bag. It looked ridiculous with only it’s head popping out of the bag. As the tour guide explained the dwellings, the dog obnoxiously whined and eagerly licked the woman’s allowing hand. It was only slightly distracting. We hadn’t planned on doing a tour but when we got to the dwellings one had just begun so we merged in with it. It was interesting because the tour guide pointed out things I wouldn’t have noticed. On the way to the dwellings I noticed a canyon ridge that I thought would be awesome to hike. When we drove up to it on the way back, I told Tim to pull over. It was the first off trail hike we have done. I was constantly looking for rattlesnakes or arrowheads. I thought to myself how the Apache would of probably used the ridge for hunting, taking advantage of the high ground. It was awesome because I’m sure not many people have walked down that ridge and seen the views of the canyon from that perspective.

On our departure, we decided to take a different route leaving the forest. Since we had to drive out of the way to head to Mesa campground to dump our tanks we decided instead of going back the way we came we would make a circle taking 15 South, thinking we would save time. Boy was I ever wrong. We ended up going down an extremely steep and treacherous road that took 2 hours to go 20 miles. It was stressful on both of us. We had to pull over twice to let the transmission fluid cool. (Lucky I had purchased an OBD II connector that let me view our transmission temperature on my phone or tablet, along with other important data, super useful. The one below is what we have, it’s only for android but there ones for IOS also. It works with most cars made in the last 20 years or so. -Tim)

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Our lesson learned?? Be more specific when asking the ranger on what roads to avoid. Poor Oso (our truck).

 

Davis Mountains, Fort Davis Texas

Davis Mountain State Park is a quiet Texas state park nestled in the Davis Mountains(surprise!). It has 100 sites, sites with water($15), some with water and electric($20), and some with sewer hookups and cable also($25). They also charge a $6 per day per person entrance fee. If you’ll be in Texas a while it’s well worth it to buy their state park pass which waves the entrance fees. The sites were fairly spacious and open with nice views of the mountains. The water and electric sites were back-in only while the ones with sewer were pull through. The odd thing about the layout was that the dump station was on the wrong side when leaving the campground. So you had to go around the loop to get it on the correct side and then go around the loop again to get out (weird). A small town with groceries, gas, restaurants etc. was only 5 miles from the campground. Be sure to pick up some Julio’s ”Hotter than hell chips” while in town for some of the best tortilla chips I’ve had.

There were a number of both hiking and biking trails. One of them ran from the campground 3 miles to Fort Davis National Monument. The fort was built pre civil war and a number of the buildings had been fully restored including furniture so you could see how the soldiers lived back then. If three miles is too far to hike you could also drive up skyline drive and take a shorter one mile hike or just drive the main road straight to the fort.

Skyline Drive was quite a nice scenic little road. It was very steep with a number of switchbacks like a hiking trail that took you to the top of two different peaks overlooking the campground and the town. It also allowed us to get the reception on our phones that was lacking down in the campground. It was a great place(and popular) to come and watch the sunset and then view the stars. We rode our bikes up the first night there and it had us huffing and puffing. Also available close by is the McDonald Observatory that offers star parties($15pp) on Friday and Saturday where you get to see what a REAL telescope can do.

If camping isn’t your thing they also offered rooms in an “Indian Lodge” along with a restaurant.

Five star scale rating
Scenery – ****
Campground – ****
Campsite – ***
Recreation – ****

BIG BEND

Big Bend National Park, Texas

After passing through the entry gate at Persimmon Gap, I felt as though I was driving through a National Geographic magazine. Picture purple, yellow and white wildflowers lining a long paved road, a desert landscape with various cacti in bloom and hazy, bronze mountains on the horizon. Such a beautiful setting in a harsh, unforgiving land.

With our 31 foot fifth wheel and 4 pound Chihuahua, our choices for camping were limited. Our only option was to stay in the Rio Grande Village campground. Regular camping is only $14 a night and with our America the Beautiful Pass admission was free (normally $20). All the sites are spacious, some are in direct sun, some have all shade. We chose a spot with a little of both since we needed our solar panels to get some sun. There are public restrooms but no showers. If you want to shower you can pay for one at the village store, $1.50/3 minutes. There are sites available with electric and water hookups but they were all taken. These sites are more costly at $33 a night and packed tightly together in a parking lot. There is another campground in the Chisos basin but you can’t go there with a trailer greater than 24 feet. For those without RV’s and not into “roughing it”, there is a lodge at the Chisos basin. There are a ton of sites for back country primitive camping as well which would have been awesome, but unfortunately we couldn’t do it since National Parks don’t allow dogs outside of the developed campgrounds. There are a couple gas/diesel stations throughout park, so no need to worry about running out of fuel if you want to see the entire 880,000 acres of the park.

The first day we planned to kayak the Rio Grande through the Santa Elena canyon. The renowned canyon is one of the highlights of the park and visited by many. The ranger suggested we put in at the Santa Elena boat ramp and kayak up river to the canyon and float back. I’m starting to see a trend here in Texas. Do Texans never kayak or simply not understand the logistics? It was our second suggestion to “just paddle upriver and float.” If the water is too low you simply cannot do it! Nevertheless, we didn’t give up like at South Llano, we were too determined to see and kayak through the canyon We had to portage the kayak at least 7 times. It was hard work but it was worth it in the end. Our point of view from the kayak was spectacular. The Rio Grande River, from what we saw, is very calm, narrow and shallow. Tim and I joked that it should be renamed the Rio Grande Creek. In the canyon, the only sounds are from little songbirds chirping and flying to and from their nests on either side the towering canyon. With the help of the current, only two portages were required on the way back.

The second day, we hiked to Emory Peak, the highest peak in the park at 7,825 feet. A 10.6 mile hike round trip from the basin with a 2,000 feet elevation gain. It was our first day hike in the desert. We each carried 3 liters of water and lunch. We passed a few hikers that were hiking to their primitive camp, carrying with them gallons of water for dry camping. Water is scare here so you have to carry a gallon a day for primitive camping. Nearly every plant has thorns, so you have to always be careful about brushing up against something. Reaching the peak was anti-climatic. I was expecting a plateau with a 360 degree view of the park. Yet after a 30 yard scramble to the peak, there was no where to comfortably hang out and have lunch. On our descent we saw a deer, which Tim thought was a donkey at first because they are more grayish toned here than brown. We also saw a small flock of Western Scrub Jays. We finished in only five hours. What’s the best way to end the day after a strenuous hike? A soak in a natural hot spring! FDR believed them to be healing. I agree, or perhaps it was the extra strong white Russian I had prepared for myself….it was pretty amazing. The experience was special for us since it was both of our first times in a HOT spring. The temperature stays at 105 degrees Fahrenheit, unlike the cooler Springs in Florida that stay at 72 degrees year round.

South Llano was awesome, but Big Bend definitely surpassed my expectations. I purposely did not use the internet to get a sneak peek of Big Bend because I wanted the first time I saw it to be through my own eyes. I literally couldn’t stop taking pictures because I saw beauty every where I looked. The mountains change color throughout that day. We were told by many locals that we were lucky. Because of the extra rain the area had received earlier in the year, the wildflowers and cacti were thriving more than usual. All in all, our stay at Big Bend was truly an unforgettable experience.

Five Star Scale Rating
Scenery – *****
Campground – ***
Campsite – ***
Recreation – *****

South Llano River State Park

South Llano River State Park
Junction, Texas

South Llano River State Park is a complete vacation package. A quiet campground with a river in the mountains. All of the sites are large and roomy, but the best sites are the last numbers on the outer edge. These sites face a large field that white tailed deer visit every evening. If you need supplies, Junction is only 5 miles away from the park. Sites with water and electric hookups are $20/night. There are hot showers in the restrooms. There is an entrance fee of $4 per person per day you have to pay even if you are paying to stay the night. I was told that all the parks in Texas do this. So if you are planning on vacationing in Texas for a while, it’s worth it to buy a Texas State Park pass. It is $70 for one year, waves all your entrance fees and includes 4 coupons for half off the nightly rate.

There is plenty of wildlife to view from deer, jackrabbits, ground squirrels and many species of birds. I’ve never been a birder nor have I ever really cared about birding, but this park opened my eyes to the calming hobby. There are two bird blinds that you can comfortably sit and watch the birds come to take a bath and peck at seed. I saw at least 10 different species after just sitting for a couple minutes. Another nice thing about the park is the effort to save land for the Texas turkeys. They have large roosting fields available for them that they do not allow visitors to enter. While we were here, the turkeys were still in mating season so we didn’t get to see any in the roosting fields. While driving, we saw a hen cross the road and on one of the hikes I heard a Tom gobble, one of my favorite animal sounds by the way. Other reasons to come here other than birding, how about a natural fresh water lazy river? You can rent a tube for $5 and float down the river. Be sure to check the water level before planning this as the river was too low when we attempted to kayak. The ranger didn’t seem to know because she suggested kayaking upriver and floating down. Unfortunately we only made it half a mile and after two portages we gave up. There’s miles of mountain trails to bike or walk, with the highest elevation at 2,100 feet. We saw many mountain bikers so it must be a popular spot.

We had only intended to stay two nights here but I fell in love with this park, so we stayed three. There are a lot of nice parks in Florida, but this was the first park that I’ve experienced this ecosystem. I love that I am able to have these new adventures. I’m so far away from everything I’m used to and yet I feel comfortable. I can’t wait to see more mountains and deserts in Texas at Big Bend.

Five star scale rating
Scenery – *****
Campground – ****
Campsite – ****
Recreation – ****

Bayou Segnette State Park

Bayou Sengette State Park
Westwego, LA

Bayou Segnette State Park is unusual as it is surrounded by the industrial city of Westwego. Driving here we were thinking, “Are we going to right way?” We chose to come here because of it’s convenient location to New Orleans. The campground is standard but offers some nice amenities like free laundry and a wave pool that is open after Memorial Day. Each site has water and electric hookups for $20/night. The sites are all back in onto a paved driveway. Some sites have a nice wooden patio area with a picnic table. There is plenty of space between you and your neighbor but there are no trees dividing the sites.

Tim and I had one objective – to ingest as much Cajun food as possible. Our first night the ranger at the park recommended Perinos boiling pot as I told her I wanted to try crawfish. The food there seemed to be a little overpriced but it certainly was delicious. The crawfish must have been in season as they were only $13 for 3 lbs but everything else was a little high. We ordered 3 lbs of crawfish and a fried shrimp basket. Both were prepared perfectly. I’m ok with paying a little more for food but it better be worth it!

To get to the French Quarter we drove 20 min to the Ferry in Algiers to take a five minute cruise across the Mighty Mississippi. The prices to park at the marina were inflated (a steep $20, usually only $5) due to the annual French Quarter Festival. Yet we were pleasantly surprised as we hadn’t planned attending the free festival. We enjoyed strolling around and drinking our 32 ounce 190 proof daquari for $13. We ate a Muffaletta at the Central Grocery, who claims to have had invented the delicacy. With a 12 inch diameter, the circular sandwich can feed four people and goes for $18 bucks a pop. It contains salami, ham, Swiss cheese, and the signature olive salad. You can order half a sandwich for $8 which Tim and I fully enjoyed with a bag of Cajun Onion Zapps chips. The French Quarter is beautiful. Three story residential apartments lined with flower beds atop iron ivy gates provide picturesque allies. Bourbon street is alive. Live musicians compete for partiers hooting and hollering while carrying their over-sized daquari “grenades”. You don’t have to go into the bars, street performers are there to entertain for tips. It’s a happy place. People from all over flock here to have a great time. My only qualm is that they allow smoking inside the bars.

We also enjoyed the Taste of New Orleans, a convenient trio of Cajun delicacies – crawfish etoufee, jambalaya, and shrimp creole. This is offered at many restaurants but we choose Cafe Soule for it’s historic charm and moderate priced entrees. Of course we couldn’t leave without having a beignet. A beignet is basically a flat, airy doughnut with a mound of confectioners sugar on top.

I wish we had time to stay a couple more days. I would of liked to have gone out at night when all the wild ones come out. Will definitely return, but when we do we will not take I-10. RV-ers beware of the horrendous road conditions. At times it seemed as though our trailer was about to fly off the hitch into the swamp.

Five Star Rating Scale
Scenery – **
Campground – ****
Campsite – ***
Recreation – **