Tag: Camping

Portlandia

This past week Victoria had a couple days off in a row so we decided we’d go see something in the area. I needed to go to Portland because I had eye surgery before we left and I needed to go to my last check up. In Jacksonville they told me they had an office in Seattle but when we were almost here I called them and lo and behold the closest office was in Portland! That was alright since on the way up here we were only able to spend one night in Portland after a long day of driving (truck problems in Coos Bay, it’ll be my next article probably). Even having only been there one night I could tell it was a town I’d like. The neighborhood we went to have dinner off Mississippi Ave. was full of old homes, young people, and good cheap restaurants you could walk to. In short it reminded me of my neighborhood, Riverside/Avondale, in Jacksonville. The park we stayed at was also only 5 miles from downtown and apparently only a mile or so from their excellent train system.

We decided not to bring the RV this time however because after the cost of diesel, campground fees, and just the hassle of setting up and breaking down everything we thought it best to just rent something. Doing so would also allow us to stay even closer into town. We ended up using AirBNB for the first time. For those of you who aren’t aware this is a vacation rental service. Where it differs from most other services, such as VBRO.com, that I have used is that you don’t have to rent by the week for most places. They also offer places where you can just rent a room in a house with other people or even just a couch. Not our thing but if you were traveling alone it would be a good way to meet others. Really not too much different from shared rooms in hostels but probably a lot nicer.

We ended up renting a one bedroom apartment in the basement of a nice older home. It was actually very similar to the apartments I rent in the basement of my historic home, lol. The process in general was similar to other vacation rental services but AirBNB seems to be a more in your business. I had to give them my social security number and they cross referenced that info against my Facebook page somehow. Then after paying the owner wanted an introduction. It all seemed like a bit much just to rent an apartment for two nights. I mean, I’ve rented 500k+ homes with a lot less hassle.

The apartment was called Pied-a-Terre; PDX and was very nicely decorated and stocked with everything from shampoo to coffee. It was immaculately clean, I thought, clearly the owners must be anal retentive. They confirmed this and their passive aggressive nature after we had left by accusing Marilyn(Marilyn!!!!!!) of scratching up their window sill. When I explained that although she is a dog, she is only a four pound chihuahua they cut off contact. I guess they realized that it would be physically impossible for her to even reach the 4 foot high window sill much less scratch it, lol. Not to mention Marilyn has never scratched up anything, she prefers to sleep :). Anyways, it was well worth the hassle and was cheaper and much much nicer than a decent hotel room. We were also only 2 blocks away from a train station that would have you downtown in 10 minutes or so. All in all I highly recommend it.

The first night we got in a bit late because the traffic in Seattle is outrageous, all day, everyday. Their rush hour apparently runs from about 7am to 7pm. So we decided to take the train a couple stops up and get some food and beer at one of the many micro-breweries in Portland. We got sausage and bread with fondue cheese and pickled onions and a pretzel. All of it was excellent. I’m not much of a beer drinker but Victoria gave it the thumbs up. Then we took the train up a stop and walked around the neighborhood a bit and got some pizza.

The next day we wanted to head downtown to check out the food trucks(of which there are hundreds) and just walk around. We went and had some excellent Hawaiian food and a gyro. The selection of trucks was amazing, Thai, Indian, Georgian(the country, not the state, lol), Polish, hot dogs, grilled cheese, Chinese, Mexican, etc. So much to try, not enough stomach to fit it into. I love when you get good, unique food for a reasonable price. We also had to go over to Voodoo Donuts to try out their famous and outrageous offerings. I had a bacon maple doughnut with a literal slice of bacon on it. Victoria had a pretty tame creme filled doughnut, both were excellent. Take a look at their website to get an idea of the crazy donuts they have. Besides the bacon there were pretzels, cereal, and much more as toppings.

Now for the bad. Portland is absolutely infested with homeless people. I don’t think it is any exaggeration to say that there was well more than a 1000. Now Victoria has never been to the west coast so she used to think Jacksonville had a lot of homeless people. I however have been to San Francisco so I know what the situation can be like out here. I think the people and cities are so overly generous and hospitable to the homeless that they attract them from all over the country. Portland is certainly right up there with San Francisco and it puts Seattle’s homeless population to shame. I don’t think they actually have more homeless people than Seattle, I just think Seattle does a better job of setting up homeless ghettos and keeping them out of the main tourist areas, in large numbers at least. Portland is the opposite of this. On every corner there is a band of ten homeless people smoking and begging.

What I find even more sad is that compared to the homeless out east the majority of the ones out here are young, under the age of 30, in good shape health-wise, and seemingly not bat shit crazy. Maybe the proper term isn’t homeless but vagabond? It seems they just do not want to work. In the nice several mile long river front park there were at least 200 homeless people sleeping. On top of all that, these were the most entitled, aggressive, and just plain rude homeless people I have ever seen, their attitude even put the ones in San Francisco to shame. While eating our doughnuts no less then three healthy but dirty twenty something homeless people came up, asked for us to buy them doughnuts, and then were indignant when I refused. It’s one thing to ask for change politely on the street or hold up a sign and another to come into a place of business and demand something(Either way they won’t get anything from me as I don’t think it actually helps them). Unfortunately someone sitting across from us got up and gave them one of her doughnuts, and that was after he had been rude and aggressive. That’s just causes more of that behavior. A bit later several others came and dug through the garbage feet from paying customers in the middle of the day.

Portland is a truly a very cool, urban, and artistic city but the severe homeless problem is going to scare off a lot of people, both tourists and potential residents. The sheer number and audacity of them compares to nothing I have seen before. There were much less homeless people in the downtowns of third world countries I have visited. However, I have to say that if Victoria and I had a choice we both would pick Portland over Seattle. The main reason for that is the traffic situation in Seattle and the amazing public transit system in Portland. It also helps that Portland has an RV park only five miles from the city center whereas in Seattle we are 20 miles out, through heavy traffic. Seattle seems like a great town but the suburbs of Seattle are just like suburbs everywhere else (Only with more asian stores) 🙁

Voodoo Doughnuts 

TriMet – Portland Public Transit

AirBNB

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.

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)

[amazon asin=B005NLQAHS&template=iframe image]

 

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 – ****

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 – ****

Big Bend sausage soup

Victoria came up with this soup a couple days ago here in Big Bend. We had been planning to make white chicken chili but the chicken was spoiled, so instead she went freestyle. This is much better than any white chicken chili I ever had.

If you enjoy spicy food then you have to give this soup a try. It was spicy enough that I didn’t put hot sauce in it! The mixture of the jalapenos and serrano peppers really provides both heat and flavor to the soup. The sour cream really mixes well with the heat and personally I think some cheese would go good on the top (habanero jack!). If you like Tex-Mex but can’t handle too much heat you can seed all of the peppers along with the ribs or even leave a few of the peppers out altogether. Shoot us a comment if you try it out. Buen provecho!!

Big Bend sausage soup

2 cans white beans (one small white and one navy or pinto, rinse and drain can juice)
2 corn ears grilled
4 jalapenos diced (remove seeds and ribs)
2 serrano peppers sliced (keep seeds and ribs)
1 can green chilis diced
3 garlic cloves minced
1 box chicken broth
1 lime
8 ounces of smoked sausage (chopped after grilling)
olive oil
salt

Generously apply butter to corn and grill until browned all over. Grill sausage with corn. Put oil in skillet and cook peppers and garlic until soft (3 minutes) add salt to cooking peppers (helps release juice). Add green chilis. Pour in chicken stock and beans. Bring to boil and then simmer. Once sausage and corn is done, roughly chop sausage and remove kernals from corn with a chefs knife and put all into soup. Juice lime into soup (watch out for seeds). Simmer another 10 min or so and it’s done. Serve with a dollop of sour cream and chopped cilantro (optional). Soup is spicy, to make it milder remove seeds and ribs from serrano peppers.

Torreya State Park

Torreya State Park
Bristol, Florida

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

Torreya State Park is named after the Torreya tree, an endangered pine species. Only 200 are remaining, some of which you can find, barely holding onto life, roped off at the park. However, most people don’t come to Torreya State Park for the Torreya trees, they come to hike. Being at the highest elevation in the state at 300 feet, you feel like you are in NC at times while hiking the trail. A mixture of Oak, Pine, and Cyprus trees fill the forest. Total amount of trail mileage is about 14 miles. The hike is pretty challenging with all the ups and downs all the while scanning the land for copperheads. We were forewarned about the prevalence of the high land moccasins. Considering we saw two dead and one alive, I also recommend keeping a constant vigilance for them. After all, we are in their house. Don’t fret, the bite is poisonous but won’t kill you or your dog. In fact the ranger told us his cat has survived being bitten twice!

The campground itself if one of the most quiet and serene I’ve visited. Originally built and maintained by the CCC, the park has a rustic feel to it with an awing overlook of the Apalachicola River. There are 18 campsites with water and electric hookups for $17.20/night. The sites are narrow but there is a thin section of trees dividing the sites, providing a little privacy. Tim’s first time backing up the RV was successful, twice… Since the camp host gave Tim the wrong spot the first time he had to do it twice. If rving isn’t your thing and you don’t have a tent then try to get a reservation for the Yurt! It looked really cool but unfortunately we didn’t get to see the inside. I highly recommend bringing mosquito repellent and tick repellent for hiking. Also make sure you bring all the food and supplies you need as the nearest store is twenty minutes away. The only other thing to do at Torreya State Park is touring the Gregory house, a colonial mansion. The tours are daily at 10 am EST for $3.

Time flies when you are Torreya State Park, literally. Don’t rely on your cellular device for accurate time. Because the park is located close to the division of the EST and CST zones, the hour will switch back and forth depending on where you are standing.