San Simeon to Sequoia National Park To Florida

Leaving San Francisco, we head southbound on California 101. The decision to not drive the coastal highway was made with great deliberation due to the nature of the road with regards to the size of our vehicle. Getting a bit fatigued driving winding, narrow roads, we chose the main highway for this journey.

After just a few hours on California 101 we are on the Pacific coast at the San Simeon Creek Campground. This is a very picturesque, though primitive campground across the road from the ocean. (5 minute walking path under the highway to a gorgeous beach) The locale includes clean bathrooms with flush toilets and running water as well as coin-operated showers and the sites are paved and level.  We are here primarily because the campground is located just 5 miles down the coastal road from the Hearst Castle, our reason for coming to this area.

In 1919, newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst hired San Francisco architect Julia Morgan to design a “little something” on the hilltop at his ranch at San Simeon. This Mediterranean Revival took almost 30 years to complete, though technically it was never finished. La Cuesta Encantada, The Enchanted Hill, Hearst’s formal name for his home, includes the Neptune Pool, a Romanesque exterior 104’ long pool, the main house – Casa Grande, 68,500 square feet with 115 rooms, three guest cottages, a magnificent esplanade, tennis courts and an indoor Roman Pool. Among the spectacular artwork that fills the castle is Sekhmet, the statue of the Egyptian Goddess, among the oldest pieces in the collection, over 3,000 years old. There are several different tours available at Hearst Castle but the basic tour of the Grand Rooms, 90 minutes, is the most popular if your time is limited. Depending on the season that you plan to visit, it is recommended that you book your tour in advance. All tours also include the wonderful companion film, “Hearst Castle: Building the Dream.”

Mr. Hearst wanted the ketchup and mustard on the table to remind his guests of the informality here at his “ranch”.

Just north of the castle entrance is the delightful Piedras Blancas Elephant Seal Rookery, the beach home to these enormous sea creatures. At this location, depending on the season, you may see birthing, mating, molting and play among these giants. The huge males weigh up to 5,000 pounds and are up to 16 feet in length and the viewing boardwalk is mere feet away from these entertaining mammals.

After three days in this coastal region, we began our trek east, across central California to the Sequoia National Park. Since there are no hook-ups for camping in the park, we chose to camp just a few miles west of the entrance at the Three Rivers Hideaway, a full hook-up site. The camp sites here are rather close, though the bathrooms and showers are very clean and the campground sits on a lovely little river, swimming hole included. Proximity to the park entrance is a good rationale to stay here, though you do pay for this convenience, at $44/night.

Sequoia National Park, the second oldest of our national parks, and the adjacent Kings Canyon National Park are a bit less crowded than the more well known Yosemite, Yellowstone or Glacier. The home of some of the largest trees in the world is up a very long and winding road, with constant switchbacks and steep grades. We chose to rent a car for this visit to make the touring that much easier, but also because certain sections of the roadway are not recommended for vehicles over 22 feet. The town of Visalia, 30 miles to the west, is the closest location to rent a vehicle. (Enterprise Car Rental $117 for 3 days) Per usual, we stopped at the first Visitor Center to aid in planning our two days in the park. Foothills Visitor Center at the southwest entrance off of Rt. 198 was our jumping off point where a very knowledgeable park ranger suggested that we visit Hospital Rock, Tunnel Log, Moro Rock and then of course the General Grant Tree and the General Sherman Tree, the world’s largest living tree. The Giant Sequoias are the main attraction here and some minor hiking is required to see the largest specimens. In addition to the Sequoia Park, it was recommended that we drive to the very northern end of the main road to the Kings Canyon Park to see the magnificent canyon views. There are many side roads and hiking trails in this park that lead you to various groves of trees so plan your time well, as the roads are very slow going and time consuming. This first day we do a rather extensive road tour of the park with several stops to familiarize ourselves with what hiking and viewing opportunities are available for the next day. You will notice that I’ve included more people than usual in our photographs below. With the grandeur of some of these spots, I’ve included people for size reference.

Day 2 we planned to stay towards the southern region of the park and do some more in-depth touring and hiking. First stop was the 375 steps to the top of Moro Rock. This incredible man-made walkway is cut into the side of this granite dome, providing a very safe, though taxing, hike to a spectacular 360 degree view of the surrounding mountains, valleys and the serpentine road below that is your path through the park.

From Moro Rock we make the obligatory stop at the Tunnel Log and then Crescent Meadow, a beautiful framework for more Giant Sequoias. 

A short distance from the Tunnel Log finds us at the famed General Sherman Tree, the largest tree by volume in the world. Though the Coastal Redwoods are considered the tallest trees in the world, the Giant Sequoias, by virtue of the volume of wood in their trunks are considered larger and General Sherman tops out at number one. The hike to view this tree is 1 mile round trip down a rather steep walkway with several runs of stone steps. There is a handicap accessible pathway from a lower parking lot that does not require the 1 mile down and back from the main parking area.

Adjacent to the Sherman Tree is the Congress Trail, a 2 mile hike through another extensive grove of these towering giants. Further down the road and beginning by the Giant Forest Museum is the Big Trees Trail, a winding 1.5 mile level walk through a major stand of Sequoias that borders a beautiful meadow. On a partial boardwalk through this meadow is explained the optimum growing location for these trees. They only exist between 5,000 and 7,000 feet elevation on the western slope of the  Sierra Nevada Range and only have about 3 feet of soil burying their  horizontal root system. The support comes from the tree roots intertwining and if the soil is too damp as what occurs in the adjacent meadows, the trees may topple.

As we rounded the corner of the boardwalk, we were fortunate to encounter a mama bear with her two cubs crossing the meadow. Though the mama did look towards us and clearly knew that we were there, she sensed no threat and wandered away harmlessly.

From this hike, we began the long descent back to the campground as we prepare to depart for our drive to Barstow, in the California desert. But first we visited with “The Twins” and some of their friends.

The journey continues into the California desert, aka Death Valley. In Barstow we stay at the Shady Lane Campground, a one night stop only. The campground had FHU as well as a small laundromat, but nothing here to recommend. However, the one redeeming feature is the proximity to Peggy Sue’s 50’s Diner. The original roadside diner was built in 1954 using railroad ties and mortar from the nearby Pacific Rail yard and currently features a 5 and Dime store complete with soda/ice cream counter, a “dinersaur park” for kids as well as good old fashioned diner food. The decorations are pure 1950’s including several mannequins dressed in 50’s attire. Of note is the male figure at a painted urinal in the lady’s room.

Continuing eastbound we begin the long journey across Rt 40, at times crossing the iconic Rt. 66. After reviewing the upcoming weather forecast, we have changed plans to avoid the cold wave coming towards Bryce and Zion Canyons. (Lows expected near 20) We have decided to head east and have cancelled our plans to attend the Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque as we are anxious to get back to St. Augustine, Florida to begin the renovations on our condo.

From Barstow we make a long days journey to Winslow, Arizona where we stay at the Homolovi State Park, a beautiful high desert park. The park was developed by the Arizona State Parks in conjunction with the Hopi tribe to preserve the archaeological sites of the ancient Hopi dating from the 1200’s to late 1300’s. There are two archaeological sites that are accessible in the park.

The campsite features electric and water hook-ups, includes beautiful new bathrooms with showers as well as a wonderful observatory that is open the 4th Saturday of every month. We coincidentally were there on the 4th Saturday and had a wonderfully clear night and a very gracious and engaging telescope host. This was a magical find and if you can plan to be there on that night, you are in for a treat. (Incidentally, for music lovers, yes, Winslow, Arizona is featured in the classic song, “Take it Easy” – “standing on the corner….” – written by Jackson Browne and Glenn Frey)

Traveling through Arizona, we glance by the Painted Desert and the Petrified Forest. El Desierto Pintado was named by Coronado on his 1540 quest to find the Seven Cities of Cibola, which he located 40 miles east of the Petrified Forest.

Traveling past Albuquerque and across the incredibly windy desert (4 solid days of intense cross winds), we land at the Santa Rosa Lake State Park in New Mexico. Another beautiful high desert campground, this park surrounds the 3800 acre Santa Rosa Reservoir. The sites are beautifully spread out for privacy, have FHU and a very clean bathroom with showers, though the hot water heater has been out of service since the spring. The temperatures when we were there were in the high 90’s so lukewarm showers were not a problem. At 4800 feet above sea level, this park, like Homolovi, provides another spectacular sky for star watching.

Traveling eastbound now through the panhandle of Texas, we pass Amarillo and into Oklahoma where we stay at the Elk Creek RV Park, midway between Amarillo and Oklahoma City. This is a one night stop but quite adequate if you’re passing through. The sites are level, with FHU, the bathrooms and showers were very clean and there is also a dry sauna, game room and pool table, but only open during the day when office staff are on the grounds. The park is also a member of the Good Sam Club. ($29/night)

Another 5 hour drive takes us into Arkansas where we were fortunate to find the Aux Arc Park on the shores of Ozark Lake in the Arkansas River Valley. Aux Arc, or “the big bend” is the name that originated with the French Explorers who mapped this territory. Over time the name has morphed into Ozark. The campground has very spacious lake- front sites with FHU and includes clean bathrooms with showers, a boat ramp and a dump station. The site is managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and with the America the Beautiful Pass is only $9/night with FHU.

A few hours into Tennessee brings us to Memphis where we google the best barbecue on our route and find the Memphis Barbecue Co. Though Germantown Commissary had been recommended by a trusted friend from Memphis, it was too far out of our way and we found the Memphis Barbecue Co. to be very good. (Recommend the wet ribs vs. the dry rubbed and the pulled pork was delicious) Vegans should probably avoid this restaurant.

Memphis is at the intersection of Tennessee, Arkansas and Mississippi, so our path leading us eastbound next takes us to Tupelo, Ms. the birthplace of Elvis Presley. His rather humble beginning is quite evident from the size of his home, appearing smaller than our RV.

Six miles south of Tupelo we find the lovely Tombigbee State Park, a rich, tree lined park on a large recreational lake. The sites are FHU, there is a very clean bathroom with showers and the park also has available 7 cabins and one cottage for rent. Fee was only $17/night.

Our last night on the road took us into the corner of Florida, Georgia and Alabama at the East Bank Campground on Lake Seminole, another wonderful park managed by the Corps of Engineers. Most sites are on or above the beautiful lake, with FHU and again, very clean bathrooms with showers. Fee was a mere $12.

On our final days drive, we land in St. Augustine, Florida where we will settle into retirement, though settle has never been a word that resonates well with us. This journey of 14,547 miles, 4 1/2 months and visions and memories to last a lifetime will never quite be over. We do plan to get back on the road next spring, destinations to be determined. There are some special parks that we had to pass on this time around, but expect to get there in the not too distant future as well.

Traveling this amazing country as well as Canada has been a joy and we encourage all who have the desire to do the same, whether by RV, car, plane or train. Our thanks to all of our friends and family along the way who put us up as we passed their way. Our thanks to the many new friends we met who have renewed our faith in the goodness that is still out there.

For those who are interested in pursuing a similar journey, please don’t hesitate to ask for any info or assistance that we can lend. My next post will be a summation of tips, locations, costs and suggestions for RV touring and I hope to have that out for you in the next week or two. Until the next time, peace.

Jay and Ellen

All photos contained in the blog postings were by Jay or Ellen with the exception of one photo by Jack Ostrofsky in Yosemite.