Texas Road Trip 2018 Summary

What an amazing trip! We spent 55 days traveling across six states visiting friends in Texas, friends in Arizona and family and friends in California. That's what this road trip was all about. The National Parks were a huge bonus (especially the Grand Canyon), but it was all about seeing those we love and miss that made this trip so special. I spent countless hours preparing our route (RV Trip Wizard was a lifesaver!), prepping meals to freeze (so I wouldn't waste time cooking when I'd rather be outside biking, hiking or sitting by the fire), and organizing the RV for two months of travel. So worth it!

A few stats, since I love this sort of thing:

Miles Driven: 5,891
Nights at Campgrounds: 33
Nights Boondocking: 7
Nights Moochdocking (friends/family): 14
Least Expensive Campground/RV Park: $6 Desert View (Grand Canyon)
Most Expensive Campground/RV Park: $57 Benbow KOA
Cost of Camping: $1,113
Average Cost per Night (excluding free nights): $31.80
Average Cost per Night (entire trip): $20.61
Cheapest Gas: $2.56/gallon (San Angelo, TX)
Most Expensive Gas: $4.49/gallon (Santa Claus, AZ)
Cost of Fuel (including propane): $2,023.44
Total Cost of Fuel and Lodging: $3,136.44
Cost spent exploring our beautiful country and visiting friends & family: Priceless!
Hottest Day: 102 (Las Vegas, NV)
Coldest Morning: 43 (Albuquerque, NM)
Most Beautiful Sunrise: Desert View (South Rim, Grand Canyon)
Most Beautiful Sunset: Desert View (South Rim, Grand Canyon)
Darkest Sky: City of Rocks (Faywood, NM)
Steepest Grade: 15% (Bald Hills Road, Redwood NP)
Most Boring Highway: Hwy. 95 (Nevada)
Most Stressful Drive: Devil's Backbone (Texas Hill Country)
National Parks and Monuments Visited: Crater Lake, Grand Canyon, El Morro, Petrified Forest, Saguaro, Redwood.
Favorite National Park: Grand Canyon
Wildlife and Birds: Elk, deer, javalina, Abert's squirrel, jack rabbit, eagle, osprey, turkeys, peacocks, pelicans, gray jays, and woodpeckers.
Friends & Family Visited: Linda & Bob, Kim & Pat, Cami & Chad, Maggie & Dick, Kristy & George, Amy & Will, Ana & Mark, Val & Neal, Merry & George, Sarah & Bert, and Sue & Rob. A huge thank you to everyone who allowed us to moochdock on your property, as well as taking time out of your busy schedules to hang out with us. We loved seeing all of you!
Meals at In-N-Out Burger: 4
Favorite Coffee House: Firecreek Coffee Company (Flagstaff, AZ)

There is nothing quite like a deadline to get me motivated. Tomorrow, Rod and I are heading out on another two month journey in our RV! We only plan to visit two states this year, but we're just as excited about all the new areas we hope to see as we were with last year's trip. I won't make any promises about blogging about this road trip any quicker than our 2018 trip, but I hope it won't take an entire year. :) 

To read all about our 2018 journey, click here or click on the link (55 Days on the Road) in the sidebar. I hope to eventually rename the posts to reflect the location of that day's visit, which should help enable future searches of specific areas.

Florence, Oregon

Saturday, October 27, 2018
Brookings to Florence, OR
Jessie M. Honeyman Memorial State Park
Distance: 153 miles
Duration: 1 night
Cost: $31
Weather: Cool and rainy

We weren't in a big rush to leave the campground in Brookings, but after breakfast we headed on up the highway to Florence. The fall colors were so pretty and in spite of having driven this highway many times, we were still in awe of the beauty of the forest.

We arrived at the campground without any trouble and since we didn't have reservations, we drove around the first couple of loops until we found a nice site. This state park has huge, tall trees with lots of shrubbery between the sites. We didn't have any problem with privacy since the park was practically empty, but during the summer months, the trees and shrubs would be adventageous for shade and privacy. It's a really nice state campground with only a little road noise (and the occasional ATV noise out on the dunes). It rained heavily during the night, but we still slept soundly. The sites are level, asphalt pads with full hook-ups, picnic table and fire ring. Pretty much your typical Oregon state park, which we have come to love over the past two years. 

Not our campground, but we camped here in June (2018).
Beautiful area but no cell service!

Oregon moss.

Pretty much had the entire loop to ourselves.

No neighbors, which is always nice!

Site #C142
We'll definitely be back!

Sunday, October 28, 2018

Florence to Depoe Bay, OR

Distance: 66 miles

Home!

Garberville, CA & Brookings, OR

Friday, October 26, 2018
Garberville, CA to Brookings, OR
Harris Beach State Park
Distance: 188 miles
Duration: 1 night
Cost: $32

Another relaxing morning (although Rod did have a teleconference before we left) and we were on the road before noon. We didn't feel rushed and since it's a familiar drive, we didn't leave until close to check-out.

I always enjoy my walks by this beautiful, old hotel.

The trees were so pretty!

I thought it would be fun to have our lunch in the Redwood National Park, so we took a road that we thought would lead us to something in the way of a visitor center. HA! The road (Bald Hills Road) just north of Orick was not one we should have taken! At the "entrance" of the park, we saw a sign that said "Steep road. Trailers not advised." It did not indicate the percentage of the grade, nor did it say anything about RVs. So, up we went. The road was very narrow with huge pot holes. Had there been a place to turn around, I might have considered doing just that before we went any further. The incline was VERY steep! We finally reached the first parking area and we decided to turn around and go back down the hill. The RV was going pretty fast, even with the lower gears in tow mode. It was pretty scary, especially since I had to rely on the brakes along with the lower gears. We reached the bottom and found a parking spot in another lot and ate our lunch. There might have been a beer involved, too. While reading a sign near a trailhead, I discovered that the road we had just come down was 15%. This sign also said not recommended for trailers or RVs. I wish we had seen that one first. 

Didn't see any!

Nice spot for lunch.

The rest of the drive back to Oregon was uneventful. It started to drizzle in Crescent City, but no wind to speak of. We arrived at Harris Beach SP and got set up in our lovely ocean view site. Sadly, it was raining. It wasn't pouring, but we couldn't see the water or any of the rocks. I would love to return to this SP (this was our second visit) when the weather's better and it's not too crowded.

The view from our back window. (Site #A22)

Almost home!

Garberville, CA

Thursday, October 25, 2018
Garberville, CA
Benbow KOA

It's always so nice to have a "stay" day after so much traveling. Since we were almost home, we decided to only stay two nights at this KOA, but it sure was nice to relax. I didn't even bother doing any laundry since we would be home in a few days. I took a couple of long walks and Rod worked on an article for a magazine. All in all, it was a quiet day.

Brunch! Leftover steak with veggies and scrambled eggs.

The fog was heavy on the hills and it was chilly.

Our timing is always perfect. 

This KOA is seldom more than 50% full when we're here.

The sun finally came out and it turned out to be a beautiful day.

Philo, CA

Wednesday, October 24, 2018
Philo to Garberville, California
Garberville/Benbow KOA
Distance: 125 miles
Duration: 2 nights
Cost: $57/night
Weather: Sunny and warm

We woke up with the sun and were on the road fairly early for us. I took more pictures of the vineyard and the fog on the hills in the distance. It was such a beautiful and peaceful morning. I hated to leave.

The drive on Hwy. 253 was very pretty with a lot of the trees dressed in their fall colors. The highway is probably just as curvy as Hwy. 128, but there wasn't as much traffic, so it was more enjoyable than when we drove in to Philo from 101. Also, we noticed that when I pulled over to let the cars behind me pass, almost every single one tapped their horns in appreciation. This has happened occasionally on our road trips, but we were shocked that almost 99% of the cars and trucks expressed their thanks to us with the horn tap. Thank you, Northern California drivers!

Another first was having a couple of deer dash across the road, right in front of the RV. Thankfully, we were going slow enough that it wasn't a problem, but it sure got our attention! 

We had one steep descent of 10% for 2 miles, but the RV handled it just fine. I feel so much more comfortable with steep ascents and descents in this Class C RV compared to when we were pulling a trailer. 

Early morning at Handley Cellars Winery.

Beautiful morning with lots of birdsong.

Another vineyard just east of Handley Cellars Winery. Gorgeous!

We decided to play tourists and stopped at the Drive-Thru Tree Memorial Grove in Leggett. It's pretty much a tourist trap, what with the $10 fee to enter the park. Obviously, our RV is far too big to drive through the tree, but we walked around and took a few pictures.

Probably not worth it, but we decided to play tourists.

Nope. The Four Winds is not gonna fit!

2400 years old! Wow.

I don't know how many times we've stayed at the Benbow KOA, but this may have been our third visit and it was nice to be back in a familiar spot. We snagged a good end site, which meant there was nobody on our right and we could enjoy looking out on the beautiful fall colors. The contrast between the leaves and the blue sky was picture-perfect! I took a long walk, desperate to get some exercise and stretch my legs. I walked over to the Benbow Inn and couldn't believe how low the Eel River had become since our visit less than six months earlier.

We enjoyed our drinks outside, as the weather was absolutely perfect. Not too hot and not at all windy. It got pretty chilly after the sun went down, but it was so quiet, we both slept great.

Back at the Benbow KOA.

The river is so low!

Beautiful fall colors.

Benbow Historic Inn.

Last time we were here, this river bed was completely covered with water.

Love these trees!

Not too many people here, so it made for a nice quiet stay.

Santa Rosa & Philo, CA

Tuesday, October 23, 2018
Santa Rosa to Philo, California
Handley Cellars
Distance: 87 miles
Duration: 1 night
Cost: Boondocking - free
Weather: Cool and partly sunny

We said our goodbyes to Sue and Rob then drove over to Sebastopol to meet up with our good friends, Sarah & Bert. Of course, we planned our lunch date at Handline so we could enjoy yet another delicious meal of fish tacos! After our early lunch, the four of us headed to Hook & Ladder Winery for some wine tasting. The winery is quite lovely and would be a nice place to go for a picnic lunch next time we're in Santa Rosa. We bought two bottles of their Sangiovese and had fun looking at all the shirts and caps that firefighters have brought to have on display in the tasting room. I even found one from Lincoln!

The bounty from George & Merry's avocado trees!

A foggy morning in Santa Rosa.

Handline fish tacos & fries. Delicious!

Our dear friends, Sarah & Bert.

Hook & Ladder Vineyards and Winery.

Fun to spot this one from Lincoln, Nebraska!

Perfect spot for a picnic.

Happy travelers!

After more goodbyes, we got back on Hwy. 101 and started making our way north to the Anderson Valley of Mendocino County. Handley Cellars Winery (a Harvest Host site, which is located in Philo) was our destination for the night. It is less than a 100 miles from Hook & Ladder, but the last 40 miles (on Hwy. 128) took close to an hour, as it is quite curvy. However, the trees and vineyards were gorgeous in their fall colors and the drive turned out to be more beautiful than expected.

We arrived at Handley around 4:00 and after checking in at the tasting room, found our way to our site. In order to park out of the way and find a level spot, we had to park next to the old water tower, facing some small cottages (which we assume are for workers) and weren't able to position the RV with the windows looking out toward the vineyard. There was also some music coming from one of the cottages, but it was turned off before we were ready to go to sleep. So, not an ideal vantage point to appreciate the beauty from inside the RV, but certainly a lovely location to spend one night.

After dinner, we wandered around the property, taking in the views and watching the sun set over the hills in the distance. 

Note: Should we ever decide to travel from Hwy. 101 over to Mendocino (on Hwy. 128), a few nights at Hendy Woods State Park, which is situated on the Navarro River, might be a good alternative for a longer visit to this particular area.