2026: Christmas in Texas

Well, it seems like we toured Yellowstone and then stopped traveling but we did actually make it back to Salem! For whatever reason, I just dropped the ball on that but we were back to Salem by November and were able to spend Thanksgiving and Christmas with my (Kelley's) family. We flew the boys out from Maryland and had a wonderful time! We stayed in Salem the better part of the year but are now on the road again, traveling some familiar ground as well as new to us places. If interested, you can follow along here! Also, as we travel, Ken is engaged in a side quest for finding the most delicious local burgers. If you are interested in following along with that quest, check it out on the Burger Quest page.

6. Pacific Dunes Ranch

When it came time to leave, Kerry was done with being in the car. When I put the air cleaner into its travel position she refused to move. It's like having a toddler, "I believe you can't see me so you can't see me." In her defense, we did have four travel days in a row which is more than we usually do.

We thought the trip into San Benito was narrow and winding until we left. Sheer walls, no shoulders, VERY tight turns with some agricultural semis coming the opposite way all combined for a very tense morning of driving. But, we survived and made it to our week long spot at Pacific Dunes Ranch. This is part of the Thousand Trails family so very inexpensive beach adjacent camping.

Unfortunately, Ken came down with a horrendous cold so our first few days were spent just chilling out around the campground. (More to come!)

5. SAn BEnito Thousand Trails

This was our first time heading to this Thousand Trails campground and wow. The roads in were narrow and bumpy and rather winding which made for slow going but we were in no hurry. Also, we are listening to the full-cast Harry Potter novels from Audible during our drives and absolutely loving them! Even though we try to limit our drives to around 3-3.5 hours, the books help to pass the car time.

This campground is pretty far away from any amenities, but was very big rig friendly. The ranger even moved us to another site when we arrived that she thought would be a better fit for us. Also, Thousand Trails is handing out different stickers each week, so we received the week 12 sticker celebrating s'mores!

When we pulled in there was a family of deer cooling off in the shade on the volleyball court and there were ground squirrels everywhere. So many ground squirrels! I am not a "birder" but we did see Yellow-billed Magpies and California Scrub-Jays in our site. The magpies were particularly beautiful! I am loving the Merlin Bird ID app from Cornell Lab. Sorry, my picture did not turn out great. My subjectg was uncooperative.

It was another hot day in a dry and dusty environment and we were quite grateful for the full hoookups at our site. :)

4. NElson Family Vineyards

Today's travel saw us transitioning out of the coastal redwoods and pine forest into the rolling hills and grasslands of wine country. I need to put the camera in the car because the vistas were amazing! Some of the driving was white knuckle when we were on smaller county roads or state highways but we travel with the philosophy: "Slow is smooth, smooth is fast." (Thanks, David Boreanaz on Seal Team!)

However, we did have a moment of fun in the car when we realized we were driving on Hwy 101 at 1:01 PM and the temperature was 101. I did manage to snap a picture of this "milestone"! :)

Tonight was a repeat Harvest Host spot for us and we absolutely love it! The last time we were here was in October 2025 and August was a whole different experience.

The temp was 105 when we parked and there are no utilities so we dropped the trailer and kept Kerry with us to run a few errands. We skipped the wine tasting this time (boo!) because of our furry traveling companion but picked up a couple of bottles to take on the road with us. We hooked up our new generator and were able to cool the trailer down nicely until the sun dropped below the horizon and it cooled off outside. Great night's sleep with the windows open and "attic" fans running. Then, back on the road in the AM!

3. Ancient Redwoods RV Park

This was a one night stay for us, but we agreed that if we follow this route again we will extend our stay here and spend more time exploring what is available in this area. We had site 42 which made my day as a Douglas Adams fan!

This campground is near the Eel River as well as the redwoods and would definitely offer opportunities for exploration that we could not take advantage of due to our itinerary. I sat outside for part of the afternoon and couldn't resist taking a picture of the incredibly blue sky.

2. Kamp Klamath RV Park

Finally saw a bear! This was our second time at Kamp Klamath but our first time seeing a bear. Unfortunately, he was in and out of the road before we could think about a camera, but he was gorgeous! Clearly living well. The campground manager said he is a juvenile male who has been raiding the campground because it is easier than finding food on his own now that momma has kicked him out.

The same super friendly staff member showed us to our site and helped us park. This is a "must stay" for us when heading south from Salem as the staff here is amazing! We drove the coastal highway again and although we saw no whales, the scenery was dramatic enough! Who knew that Douglas Firs could be so immense?

We ate delicious burgers at the Country Club diner, again, and it was just as amazing as the first time. Again, no pictures taken because we were just enjoying our time, but we will be better about this.

We had a chat with our neighbor while we were there. He and his wife were the grandparents attached to a large group what was staying in about six of the sites while we were there. He told us that his daughter fosters children and the group was her family and three or four of her friends who also foster kids. The kids were so fun to watch. They all watched out for each other and were so well-behaved and polite. Really delightful experience!

Rogue Valley Overniters

Phew - it was HOT. We decided to break up our journey to the Redwoods with a stop in Grants Pass, OR. Rogue Valley Overniters gave us a pull through spot for the night and we were so grateful for the electric as it was almost 100 when we pulled in. 🥵 If was nice to arrive early enough to relax a bit and take a short walk around the campground before dark. We didn't take any pictures, so here is a picture of the office/store.

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