San Francisco

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Do you ever go somewhere and not totally enjoy it and then look back and realize you had an incredible time? That’s how I feel about our time in San Francisco. There were so many people and so many cars and so much waiting and so many traffic jams that I was ready to get outta dodge. But now that I’m looking though my pictures, I am reminded that we had a good time. We saw so many neat things and added memories to the memory bank.

Alcatraz Island

Alcatraz Island

The reason we were in San Francisco in the first place is because Little Mister wanted to go to Alcatraz. It was a really cool experience and I’d recommend it if you are in SF. I had the great idea to book 9am tickets thinking the island would be less crowded. While that was the case, I didn’t realize we would be headed into San Francisco during morning rush hour. Doh. We had to leave the campground ridiculously early but we didn’t get caught in rush hour and we made our ferry with plenty of time to spare.

Alcatraz Island

Alcatraz Island is gorgeous. Not only is the architecture cool, the flora is stunning, and the views are to die for. There are even good views from inside the prison.

Flora on Alcatraz Island

You absolutely must get the headphones for the Cellhouse Audio Tour. Get off the boat and walk to the very top of the island to get your headphones. The audio tour walks you though the prison and the grounds and gives so much history. You can go at your own pace so there’s time to see everything.

I did not realize that American Indians occupied Alcatraz Island for 18 months after the prison closed. They were attempting the claim the land for the tribes of North America but were unsuccessful in the end. Evidence from their time there is all over the island.

There are incredible views of the city and the Golden Gate Bridge around the backside of the island so be sure to go outside. If you’re listening to the audio tour it will take you out there.

Golden Gate Bridge

The hills at Alcatraz are no joke but if you have mobility issues there is a tram that will take you to the top of the island where the main prison is. Once at the top, the prison is easy to get around so as long as you can get on and off the ferry and can walk (ride or roll) around on flat surfaces you can enjoy Alcatraz.

Golden Gate Bridge

Driving across the Golden Gate Bridge is so cool and totally worth the $7 toll. At least once. We also stopped near the Golden Gate Bridge Welcome Center to get a closer view. We were hoping to grab some of the rentable bikes to ride across the bridge but they were all in use.

Muir Woods National Monument

I was surprised to find that Muir Woods National Monument is basically in the middle of the city. They have limited parking so if you want to park on site you have to make a reservation. The other option is to take a shuttle into the park. We made parking reservations for first thing in the morning and I’m glad we did. There were few people in the park and it was still very peaceful.

The canopy is dense and it was chilly! Be sure to bring warm clothes. One kid was in shorts and sandals so we didn’t stay terribly long. We walked the trails that bordered the stream and it made for a lovely morning walk. I would loved to have taken one of the trails that takes you above the tree line. Next time.

Walking through the redwoods at Muir Woods National Monument

Point Reyes National Seashore

After leaving Muir Woods we headed up the Pacific Coast Highway/Highway 1 to visit Point Reyes National Seashore. This was my first time on the PCH and holy moly is it narrow and windy. There are some great spots to stop and take pictures though.

There is a lot to do in Point Reyes but it’s pretty spread out. At the advice of a ranger we headed to Drakes Beach. Wowza…it is gorgeous.

Drakes Beach, Point Reyes National Seashore

There is a small gift shop that sells food and coffee and we were so thankful. It was cold and windy so we grabbed warm drinks before heading to the shore.

We spent sometime walking along the beach looking at all the neat rocks, shells and crabs.

We stopped at the Cypress Tree Tunnel on our way out of the park to take a walk through the trees. It was a beautiful walk, albeit people were illegally flying drones through the tunnel.

Cypress Tree Tunnel

We stopped by the Inverness Store to buy peanut butter because we left our jar at the campground. The store is rather pricey so I would advise not leaving your lunch at the campground. Since we were there we took the short walk behind the store to see the shipwreck.

Shipwreck, Point Reyes National Seashore

San Francisco North KOA

We stayed at the San Francisco North KOA and it is one of the better campgrounds we’ve stayed at. First of all, and most importantly, they have an awesome game room! We had a blast playing air hockey, teaching the kids to play pool, and setting high scores on the arcade games.

The park is huge and there is tons to do, particularly if you have kids. Every evening they had a train or wagon ride go though the park around dusk. They were bumping kids music and everyone looked to be having a ball. We had a back-in spot in the Redwood Grove Area and it was awesome. I would definitely stay in this spot and campground again.

Tips for Visiting San Francisco

Have a big ‘ole dose of patience with you. I am not use to big city driving which includes leaving extra, extra early to account for the seemingly never ending traffic jams. I have friends from the Bay Area and they know how to get around this so maybe next time I will go with one of them.

Make reservations in advance for all the activities you are interested in to avoid missing out. For us that included booking ferry tickets to Alcatraz and a parking pass for Muir Woods. There really is so much to do and is was neat to see some of the iconic San Francisco destinations.

After San Francisco we made our way back to Arizona but not before stopping at my favorite bakery in L.A., Erin McKenna’s.

Box of goodies from Erin KcKenna’s Bakery

If you missed the other posts from this trip check out:

Highway 395 in California

Lake Tahoe

Lake Tahoe

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The next major stop on our California road trip was Lake Tahoe. Oh man…Tahoe is gorgeous. If we lived closer we would visit all the time.

Sand Harbor Beach, Lake Tahoe

I completely underestimated the size of Lake Tahoe. I had all these activities planned around the lake but once we got there I realized that was more driving than we wanted to do. The lake is 72 miles around but the majority of that is two lane mountain roads. After driving two days to Tahoe the last thing we wanted to do was spend another day driving. We ended up staying mostly on the south end of the lake and that was perfectly fine.

Sand Harbor State Park

We visited several of the beaches and they are all gorgeous. You really can’t go wrong in Tahoe. That being said, Sand Harbor was definitely our favorite. Crystal clear water with large boulders below the surface. This is what dreams are made of.

Kayaking at Sand Harbor

We rented kayaks from Sand Harbor Rentals and spent the morning paddling around. It was my favorite activity of our vacation and definitely at the top of my list of favorite things we’ve done.

Kayaking at Sand Harbor

The day we were at Sand Harbor Seabreacher was there doing a photo shoot. Seabreacher makes mini submarine like watercraft that look like dolphins and fish. They go super fast, do barrel rolls, dive, and jump out of the water. They were so much fun to watch. Every time they would start doing tricks on the lake we’d paddle out there and watch.

Sand Harbor is the most popular beach in Tahoe so if you want to go you need to get there early. Once the parking lot is full the only way to enter is by public bus. There is no nearby parking and they do not allow parking on the side of the highway – there really isn’t anywhere to park anyway. Since we were there in the “off” season and it was a weekday, we arrived around 9am. There were still plenty of places to park and the beach was not yet crowded. By lunchtime the beach was completely full and the rental line was long.

One more Tahoe tidbit. The day we were at Sand Harbor lake winds were expected at 1pm with 4 foot swells so we were told we had to be back in the cove by noon. I rarely visit lakes so this was new to me. Sure enough, by early afternoon the lake was super choppy and we had beach waves. We sat on the beach eating our lunch, taking in the lake, and watched two different kayakers get rescued. It was really cool to see, minus the poor people that were stuck on the lake. I have no idea how common this is but for what it’s worth, lake winds are a thing.

Mountain Biking the Tahoe Rim Trail

The Husband rented a mountain bike from Over the Edge Tahoe and rode a segment on the Tahoe Rim Trail.

Tahoe Rim Trail

The kids and I dropped him off at the trailhead and went and played mini golf while he was riding. Figuring out when to pick him up was tricky in that cell service is spotty all around Tahoe but in the end it worked out perfectly.

Magic Carpet Golf in South Tahoe (supposedly there is also one in North Tahoe) was a fun stop and a great way to spend a few hours. We played 18 holes and then a few games of air hockey. For the record, I’m the air hockey champ. And since we’re stating things for the record, Little Mister is the mini golf champ. Little Miss and I were talking a bunch of smack the entire game. He stayed quiet and whooped us at mini golf.

Back to the Tahoe Rim Trail, the Husband had a ball and loved almost every single minute of his ride.

Tahoe Rim Trail
Tahoe Rim Trail
Tahoe Rim Trail

There are bikes shops all around Tahoe so it’s probably best to find one near the trail that you want to ride. Most also offer shuttles if you don’t want to drive.

Fallen Leaf Lake Campground

We stayed at the Fallen Leaf Lake Campground in South Tahoe. I struggled with where to stay because there are so many campgrounds and everyone has an opinion on north versus south. We never made it to North Tahoe so I can’t compare the two ends but we had a thoroughly enjoyable time in South Tahoe. It’s definitely a populated area but Fallen Leaf Lake Campground is in the woods and very relaxing. I’d recommend it if you like camping.

Fallen Leaf Lake Campground

All of the sites at Fallen Leaf are nice and spacious. We were in 49 and it’s a pull thru site. Some of the sites are more in the trees, some have meadows backing them, and some back to the river. You really can’t go wrong.

The walk to Fallen Leaf Lake

Access to Fallen Leaf Lake is towards the backside of the campground. It took me two days to figure this out. There is a road to the lake but it’s not the best and is mostly one lane. There are some incredibly gorgeous cabins along the lake and a marina. But that’s it. If you want to sit on the shore you need to access it from the campground.

  • Fallen Leaf Lake

If you’re not a fan of narrow roads I would not recommend driving to the lake. Little Miss and I decided to go on an adventure one evening and ended up on the one lane road with a boat on wheels coming towards us in the opposite direction. I kid you not. It didn’t look like a boat you’d want to ride in so I assume it had some other offical purpose. Fortunately, we met up with this boat near a driveway so I was able to get out of its way. We ended up being behind the boat on our way back from the lake and he was driving literally like one mile an hour. Nothing like driving down a one lane mountain road behind a boat going slower than walking speed. It was such a strange situation that all we could do was laugh.

Tips For Visiting Lake Tahoe

We visited towards the end of June and were surprised to find that Tahoe isn’t fully operational until July. The visitor centers are only open on the weekends in June and some businesses aren’t operating yet. The kids wanted to ride the mountain coaster at the Heavenly Ski Resort and we wanted to go on a river float but neither business was open. I wouldn’t worry about this if you visit in July but if it’s any earlier check to make sure the activities you want to do are available.

We have Verizon and had terrible reception in most of Tahoe. Our phones did not work at the campground nor in most areas. Our phones worked best on every lake shore and in the BevMo parking lot. Be sure to have your activities planned before coming to Tahoe. Being that the visitor centers were closed the entire time we were there and we had terrible reception, we made our way to the BevMo parking lot at least once a day to research activity options and such. Insider top: Don’t buy ice at BevMo. It’s crazy expensive.

If you missed the other posts from this trip check out:

Highway 395 in California

San Francisco

Highway 395 in California

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We recently returned from our annual summer road trip and California was the destination this year. Little Mister (he’s not so little anymore so I probably need to come up with a new name) has been wanting to visit Alcatraz for years so we centered our trip around Alcatraz. Per usual, I then added on as much as possible within driving distance from said destination. I am fairly certain the family has a love/hate with this tactic but I don’t care. 🙂

Our first destination was Lake Tahoe and we took Highway 395 to get there. If you’ve not taken a trip down 395, add it to your list. Not only is the scenery gorgeous, there is so much to do! We only stopped a handful of times but we will definitely be back to explore the area further.

  • Scenes from Highway 395

Our first stop was the town of Randsburg for a soda from their soda fountain. Randsburg is about a mile off the highway so it didn’t add too much time to the day. It’s an old mining town and has some cool looking buildings and a jail you can explore. The Randsburg General Store serves food, sells groceries, and has a soda fountain that has been in operation since 1904. I tried the lime phosphate soda while The Husband tried the root beer. Both were good and it was neat to experience a bit of history.

Old fashioned sodas from the Randsburg General Store

At this point we had been driving all day so we spent the night in Lone Pine at the Boulder Creek RV Resort. I was rather impressed with the campground. The sites are nicely spaced and clean and they have a well stocked store. They also have quite a few fun things to do on the grounds. There is a pool, playground, birds, desert tortoises, and a handful of swings to relax in. We didn’t spend much time at camp but it made for a nice place to stay on the way up the 395. The only downside is you have to actually call to make reservations. I run into this every so often and it boggles my mind.

  • Boulder Creek RV Resort Campsite
  • Swings at Boulder Creek RV Resort
  • Desert tortoise enclosure

Our next stop was the Hot Creek Geological Site. A chamber of magma lies below the surface causing boiling hot water, colored pools, fumaroles, and occasionally geysers. It’s a couple miles off the highway and easy to get to. The first two miles are paved and the final mile is dirt but well maintained. There is a short, steep paved path down to the river.

Hot Creek Geological Site

You cannot go in the river or walk over to the pools but you can get close enough to see the steam coming off the pools. That blue color is really incredible.

The Earthquake Fault in Mammoth Lakes was a little farther of a stop than I expected but the area is beautiful and the fault was cool to see. Technically it’s a fissure but it was caused by an earthquake and you can see how the two sides of rock go together. Aside from the neat history lesson and geology, the forest is gorgeous and the trees are huge. I’d love to come back to this area to camp and ride bikes.

Earthquake Fault – Mammoth Lakes

Our final stop on the 395 was Bodie Historical State Park, a gold-mining ghost town. Bodie is a little farther of a journey off the highway, about 20-30 minutes each way, but definitely worth a stop. Because Bodie is a state park there is a small entrance fee. Additionally, for $2 cash, they sell a brochure that tells the history of each building. I would recommend getting the brochure. It made walking through the town more exciting because we knew what we were looking at.

My favorite stop in the town was the bank, or what’s left of the bank. I spent many years working for a bank and have a soft spot for all things banking.

The only downside of driving the 395 was the gas prices. We paid $4 – $5 a gallon in all of California, but the highest prices were definitely along the 395. It’s a collection of small towns so high prices are expected but it definitely hurts the wallet.

If you are planning a trip to this area check out California Thru My Lens. Josh has tons of information on all the stops along the 395.

To read about the rest of this trip visit:

Lake Tahoe

San Francisco

Rainbow Rim Trail

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I have been waiting to ride the Rainbow Rim Trail on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon for years. We finally made it happen and had the best time. The Husband and I left the kids at home and headed north for a long weekend. It was just the two of us, the camper, and our bikes. ❤️

Rainbow Rim Trail

The Rainbow Rim Trail is a 22.6 mile trail on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. The trail is not in the national park but rather on Forest Service land right next to the park. The trail is open to hikers, horses and bikes but I think it sees bike traffic the most.

The Kaibab Plateau, where the North Rim is located, had a wet winter and it was still snowing the week before we arrived. I was freaking out a little bit because the trail is 20 miles down a dirt road and the ranger station was unsure of the road and trail conditions even the day before we arrived. They told us to stop by the station on our way to the trail and they would hopefully be able to give us a better report. When we stopped at the ranger station, as they told us to do, they referred us to the North Rim Country Store because they know the trail conditions better. Um, what? The Country Store is right across the street from the turn off to the Rainbow Rim so it wasn’t out of the way and it ended up being a great stop. The staff was knowledgeable and friendly and did indeed know the road conditions. One of the employees pulled out a big map, showed us a few things, and answered all the questions the ranger station was not able to. It still seems strange that the ranger station was less knowledgeable but whatever. The Country Store also has a coffee trailer and they make the best latte’s. Seriously. If you are headed to the North Rim be sure to stop in the North Rim Country Store and give them some love. They’re good people.

We planned our trip for early June and due to scheduled kid activities and vacation days at work changing the dates was not possible. We had everything necessary to live off the grid for a few days, so we figured we’d make the best of it and see what happened. Fortunately, the weather was perfect, the roads were mostly dry, the trail was dry, and we had the best camping spot.

The trail winds up through the forest and back down along the rim. The rim views are gorgeous but you spend a lot of time in the forest. I actually enjoyed riding through the forest more than along the rim. The aspen trees were just getting their leaves, the pine trees were huge, and the wildflowers were just starting to bloom. It was absolutely gorgeous.

I was surprised by the size of the size of the trees in this area. There were a few times I felt like I was riding amongst the redwoods. This particular tree was so tall we couldn’t get the entire thing in a picture. Every time we rode by it we stopped to take in its grandeur. Our itty bitty bikes are at the bottom to help with the size reference.

The trail is not hard, but it is at 7,500 feet, there is some exposure, and the grade is a tad steep in some areas. The first day we rode I was questioning my life choices until I adjusted to the higher elevation. I may or may not have stomped off the trail on day 1 thanks to items 1 and 3 mentioned above. Fortunately, after taking a break and eating a snack I regained my sanity and got back on my bike. Days 2 and 3 were much more enjoyable.

The clouds were constantly rolling in and out and we were continually treated to incredible scenes.

One afternoon a rainstorm rolled in so we decided to hop in the car and head to the Grand Canyon National Park North Rim.

If you don’t get a sign picture did the trip really happen?

Our first stop in the park was a coffee shop because it was cold and there is something wonderful about drinking coffee and staring at the Grand Canyon. The Grand Canyon Lodge has a lovey patio with Adirondack chairs and high top tables perfectly positioned so you can relax and stare off into the canyon. There is also cell phone signal in this exact location so we able to check in with the family which was a bonus.

From this spot you can see Grand Canyon Village on the South Rim as well as the San Francisco Peaks near Flagstaff. It’s pretty incredible.

North Rim of the Grand Canyon looking south

After spending a few days basically by ourselves in the forest, all the people and tour buses at the North Rim were getting to us so we retreated for the car and headed back to our little slice of heaven in the forest.

Home sweet home

One of the things I love about the Grand Canyon is that every time you look at it it looks different. Sunrise and sunset are particularly beautiful and we walked to the rim, which was 10 steps one direction and probably 50 in another, every chance we had.

I had the best tacos of my life on this trip. They weren’t anything different than what we eat at home but they tasted 1,000 times better. Mountain biking + high elevation + camping + gorgeous dinner views = amazing tacos.

We were gifted a very nice bottle of wine and brought it with us. We’ve been saving it for a special occasion and decided this fit the bill. And then we proceeded to drink it out of plastic cups. #classy

We had the best time camping and riding the Rainbow Rim. This trip definitely tops my list of favorite trips and we will be back. If you like mountain biking, camping, and gorgeous views I’d recommend adding the Rainbow Rim to your bucket list.

McDowell Mountain Regional Park

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We visited McDowell Mountain Regional Park in April and it was one of the best weekends I’ve had in a long time. 2018 was not my favorite thanks to a nonunion fracture in my foot but I finally feel like I’m getting my life back. Hallelujah!

A rainbow on the way to the campground – a sign of a good weekend ahead.

A couple years ago we attended a bike demo at McDowell Mountain and have been wanting to go back ever since. Well, we finally made it happen. The park is located east of Phoenix and the campground sits in the middle of tons of mountain bike and hiking trails. Literally, almost every single campsite had mountain bikes so I take it most visitors come to ride bikes. The trails are my favorite kind – fun, flowy XC trails. The Husband wasn’t as much of a fan – he prefers more technical riding but Little Miss and I were in heaven.

The makings of a good weekend!

My new favorite Friday night camping hack is to pick up a pizza on the way to the campground. We used to pick up a rotisserie chicken to make Frito tacos but pizza is so much easier. My favorite pizza restaurant has locations in Phoenix and Sedona and it happened to be on the way to the campground. Score!

Saturday morning The Husband and I got up with the sun to ride bikes. Teenagers aren’t fans of early morning anything so we let them sleep in. We had an enjoyable ride but it got hot fast. I don’t have much of a heat tolerance so that probably didn’t help matters but it was hot – truly. We finally made it back to the campground and I checked the temperature. 64. 64 degrees is how hot it was. I still call boloney. It felt so much hotter than 64. The trails do not have any shade so there’s that and the sun was intense. I’m not sure if that’s normal for Phoenix heat but I don’t feel that way in Tucson usually. Fortunately, I lived through the ordeal.

It did get hot in the middle of the day so we hopped in the car to explore the park and the visitor center. Turns out, the visitor center has a small exhibit of animals you may encounter in the park. Think rattlesnakes, scorpions, spiders, and gila monsters. Every couple of weeks they feed the animals and we just happened to be there on feeding day. I’m still a little creeped out by the experience but it was a good learning experience. The herpetologist taught us about the animals as she was feeding them and then we watched as they did their thing.

McDowell Mountain Regional Park Visitor Center

Saturday evening we went on a sunset bike ride – my favorite type of ride!

One of our favorite camping activities is playing cards at the end of the day. Our new camper has a longer table and we are enjoying the extra space. More room for snacks!

Sunday morning The Husband wanted to go on a longer ride so he went his way and Little Miss and I went on our own ride. We found a connector trail right off the campground that connected with a sweet, easy downhill trail and we spent probably two hours just riding laps. It was so much fun!

We finished up our ride by hiding in the shade of our camper because that’s what you do in the desert.

The campground has a really cool playground and we spent some time playing on the toys. I mean, how can you not slide through the middle of a rattlesnake? Or sit on a saguaro cactus? These might win the award for coolest toys ever.

Overall, the campground was well maintained and the bathrooms were always clean. The sites were spacious and not on top of each other. If I were to stay here again I would probably try to get one of the sites on the northern end of Rock Nob Road but only because they’re right next to the connector trail we enjoyed riding. The campground is not that big so it really doesn’t matter where you stay though.

Happy trails!

A Road Trip To Texas and a New Pop Up!

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In early October, The Husband and I took a road trip to Texas to pick up a new pop up. I started writing this post as soon as we got home, got a little side tracked, and then my hard drive crashed with all my pictures from the trip. I typically back up my pictures but the ones from this trip managed to not be in the back up. 🙁  I never got back around to finishing this post but the other day I ran into a friend who was unaware we bought a new pop up since my last post was that we sold the pop up. I managed to find a couple super random pictures so I’m getting this out there to catch you up on what we’ve been up to the last eight months.

We started tossing around the idea of upgrading the pop up last summer and ended up finding one at a dealership in Texas that was discounted because it was the last of their 2018s. Since no one else in the country had them at this price, we knew we likely wouldn’t find another one so we hopped in the car and drove 13.5 hours to a town just south of Fort Worth. It was a long three days (roundtrip) but I love the open road and seeing new parts of the country for the first time. We left the kids at home and I’m glad we did. 27 hours of driving over three days makes for llloooonnnnngggg days.

We started the trip by stopping at Love’s for some coffee. I’m not a big fan of gas station coffee but I was quite impressed with Love’s. We then continued to stop at Love’s throughout the rest of the trip for more coffee. I’m pretty sure we’ve now been to every Love’s between Tucson and Fort Worth. I also love their cups so that may have slightly influenced my like of their coffee. 😉

Love’s Coffee

I’ve never been to Texas and it’s been 25 years since The Husband has so this trip was a treat. Driving through El Paso was the same as driving through anywhere else but once we hit I-20 it felt like what I imaged Texas would be like. Highways lined with oil rigs and refineries and pickup trucks as far as the eye can see.

Our Toyota was a fish out of water

Literally almost every single vehicle on the road was an American brand full-size pickup truck. We started counting the number of Toyotas because there were so few. Over the three days we counted less than 20. It was truly comical. It may not be this way all throughout Texas but it was from El Paso to Fort Worth. 

We stayed the night at the Abilene KOA and the staff were genuinely some of the kindest people we’ve met. This was one of our first interactions in Texas and they lived up to the motto of being the friendly state. Fun fact: the word Texas comes from the word tejas which means friendly. Since we did not yet have the pop up we stayed in a camping cabin. 

I’m not sure what I was thinking when I planned the food for this trip but I decided backpacking meals were the way to go. It wasn’t my best idea. Rehydrated food is not as good when you haven’t been hiking all day. Fortunately, we had a bottle of wine to help wash down dinner and the people watching was top notch. The cabin next to us was occupied by three families. There were four adults and six kids. If you’ve never been in a camping cabin they are tiny. A one room square with one small set of bunk beds and a fullish size bed that seems smaller than full. Trying to imagine 10 people sleeping in that cabin while watching the chaos that was ensuing had us laughing while we were swinging on the porch swing choking down our rehydrated chicken and rice. 

We got up early the next morning and finished the drive into Fort Worth. We had a 10am appointment at the dealership. All went mostly well but it still took a couple hours to get back on the road.

First picture with the new pop up!

A coworker of mine had told me that Texas has killer BBQ so we stopped and grabbed lunch at a local BBQ joint. Oh my word…he was right. That meal was to die for. I’d drive back to Texas in an instant for more BBQ. After lunch we were back on the road headed towards home. We had reservations at Monahans Sandhills State Park for the night but a crazy storm rolled into the area. Wind, hail, and heavy rain didn’t seem like an ideal first night in the camper so we grabbed a hotel room and ate another backpacking meal on the hotel room bed.

On the way home we continued to count the Toyotas and enjoyed the new scenery. We also noticed a few things about Texas that we thoroughly enjoyed. Aside from the fact that everyone drives a full-size American brand pickup truck, Texas has the smallest entrance and exit ramps know to man. Jumping off the highway is a thing. Traffic would backup and people would literally jump off the highway and drive through whatever was on the other side of the road. Since everyone is in trucks curbs, ditches, and uneven terrain are no big deal. We saw it numerous times and even did it once because why not. If there was an accident or traffic was bottlenecking, people would put on their hazards to alert everyone behind them. We’ve never seen this before but looked it up while driving and apparently it’s a thing. Last but not least, driving in Texas, at least on I-20, was probably the most enjoyable drive we’ve taken in terms of traffic flow. People in Texas know how to drive on the highway. They only use the left lane to pass and then get right back over. I’ve never seen anything like it in all my years of driving and miss Texas highways greatly when I’m stuck on I-10 behind someone going under the speed limit in the left lane.


All-in-all, it was a good trip. Long but enjoyable. We’ve camped in the pop up a bunch since October and are starting to get the hang of it. I’ll get a post up soon with more details on the new pop up and our thoughts eight months in.