Texas to California and Back in 14 days & 6000 miles

[AggieOE]

This is a trip report of our 6,000-mi road trip out west in 14-days back at beginning of November 2020. Also, this is not true overlanding. I just want to get that out there.

We started from Houston, TX and made our way west to Big Bend NP, then further to Los Angelos, CA, up to Sequoia NP, over to Monterey, CA, back to Yosemite NP, down to Death Valley NP, and finally back home to Houston. But that isn’t how it was all planned….

It was a crazy awesome trip that I wouldn’t have traded for the world.

So as any trip began, I worked the whole thing out on a spreadsheet. As an Engineer this is always the first place I go to put my thoughts down on paper. I quickly realized that as I filled the next day’s column of cells, 14-days was not enough, not even close. I’d log the travel distance, the estimated mileage and fuel consumption, how much food should cost depending on the day, where lodging will be and what we could do in each place. I’ve learned over the years that leaving some room for daily decisions is nice as compared to having every minute “itinerized” but most of the trip had to have a structure as we were planning on getting a AirBnB or two.

As Google Maps was opened, iOverlander was consulted along with AirBNB, and after google search after search, we finally settled on a rough outline.

My wife and I were excited for all the new places we’d get to see as we’ve both never explored California or Big Bend. Even this trip would barely be a taste.

As any good car enthusiast or wanna-be overlander, the vehicle had to be perfect. So, we chose the 4Runner over the Jeep, installed Bilstein 5100s front and rear with Cornfed rear spacers to maintain the rake. ~2” up front and 1.5” in the rear. To help with extra weight, I installed AirLift 1000 airbags in the rear springs to maintain rake depending on the final load out and weigh-in. New BFG KO2s were installed (OEM size: 265/70/17). To make sure we were breathing good and stopping better, a K&N filter and EBC GreenStuff pads were added. Finally, a Tuff Stuff Trailhead roof top tent was purchased.

I was looking at different roof rack methods but didn’t like many due to extra height. I researched the stock rack and determined the OEM crossbars were inadequate but the OEM side rails were sufficient. Then I called Tuff Stuff to run an idea by them. Could I use the support bars that came with the tent as cross bars? I would have to flip the mounting orientation and drill new holes in the RTT floor. Their California office discussed it for a bit and came back with a positive affirmative. We even discussed how far in I can make the new holes without compromising the integrity. Super happy with their customer service!

With the tent mounted, the new suspension, brakes, tires installed, and PTO days upon us, we were finally ready.

We gassed her up as the sun was just about to come up and hit the road.

I didn’t take any pictures along the drive but once we got to Big Bend, I couldn’t stop.
First stop was setting up camp in Chisos Basin.

Heading down toward Black Gap Road.

Chisos Basin was an awesome campground with a bathroom nearby. We brought our own shower and I made a hot-water set-up using a propane run tankless hot water heater with a pump plugged into the car.

Sleeping off the ground was an instant hit with the wife. No dirt and easy set up and tear down. The one problem was the constant tear down every day to drive around. We'll 100% be putting this on a small adventure trailer before our next trip. Off the ground was also nice at night as we'd have a few beers or a wine up in the fort and watch the skunks wonder through the campground scavenging.

On our last day there, we woke up early, stepped out of the tent and the neighbor came over and asked if we wanted to see some bears. Sure enough, not even 40 feet away on the other side of the road down in the ravine was a family of black bears. The Ranger came by later and said they frequent the campground but usually only at night and no one usually sees them. So this was definitely a treat.

While here we hiked the Window Trail, Lost Mine Trail, Santa Elena Canyon Trail, drove some of the Black Gap road and the River Road.
I have too many pictures to continue on with this one stop.

People always say that Big Bend is gorgeous and we completely agree!
Next time we go back, we'll do some camping off the beaten track in the back country (real overlanding), finish the rest of Black Gap road and more of the River road, and maybe do one of the long hikes like the South Rim Trail or the Pine Canyon Trail. Kayaking into the canyon would also be pretty sweet.

More to come!

 

[AggieOE]

After a few days in Big Bend, we broke camp and began our trek further west toward LA.
We completely planned to camp out in the BLM campgrounds west of Phoenix. However, we've never done that before and after arriving in Phoenix after dark, we were a little worried about camping in either the wrong spot or somewhere dangerous. So we decided to keep it easy and, more importantly, safe and find a hotel.

From Phoenix, we continued west. Turns out the BLM land was awesome and there were a good number of normal-looking people out there for a Monday morning. So we'll definitely try it again next time we pass through.

The drive into California was gorgeous. We made a very quick pass through the lower portion of Joshua Tree so we that we can at least say we saw it. Then it was rolling hills through Palm Springs and past all the small wind turbines spinning furiously.

This is where our trip plan started to change. Our plan was to get to LA and go out on the town. My wife watches enough of those LA shows to want to go see some of the restaurants and local life. So, our plan was to go and do that and try all the different foods and cocktails she’s seen on tv, typical tourist things. Our first stop in LA was the Griffin observatory to get a view of the city and of the Hollywood sign.

Turns out this location was going to be one we would never forget. Soon after a quick bathroom break my wife comes up to me overlooking the valley below and shows me a stick that reads “pregnant”.

This is the first picture, with our knowledge, of our family of three.

After embracing the moment for what felt like hours, we finally found our AirBnb and revisited our plans of seeing different parts LA night life. We spent the next day and half site-seeing.

We didn’t expect to see wildlife here but the seals were out and about.

The shopping area around Santa Monica was boarded up like the Purge was about to take place. It was November 2nd.

This was one of those sitcom bucket lists, to see one of the homes from Modern Family. We saw all three but this one looked the most like the one in the show.


After a full day here, we packed back up our bags and headed north to the mountains.

More to come.

 

[AggieOE]

We’ve learned our idea of overlanding can fall a little short since we try to prioritize hiking as well. And since most of the best hikes are in NPs, we have so far found ourselves camping at normal campgrounds. The next couple parks wouldn’t be much different.

The next morning, we took the 5 from LA up toward Yosemite NP.

Since every campground was full in the park, we found the last remaining slot at a super nice campground off Bass Lake, just south. Little did we pay much attention to though was the snow storm heading our way. We quickly learned as we pulled into the campground and realized we were some of the only people there. It was just a little eerie.
But the morning views were serene.

We quickly got our things together and headed for the park. It was wet and rainy but still breathtaking. As we pulled up to the park entrance though, unfortunately, we were told the main road that we wanted to take through the park from Wawona to Yosemite West was closed from the storm and most-likely for the season. So, we had to back track down the mountain and take 49 around the park and then 140 back into it. Even with the couple hour delay, each winding turn up into the mountains and down across two lane bridges had us on the edge of our seat as to what to see next.

We knew our longer hikes would now be compromised so we scrounged for some shorter good hikes in the park. Also, not knowing a pregnant person’s capabilities (looking back we were naive and could have totally done a more challenging hike), we settled on the classic site seeing hikes, Lower Yosemite Falls and Mirror Lake. It was also raining and we were in rain gear so it was what it was.

As the rain continued to fall, we decided it was time to find our way back to camp.

 

[rcintx]

Awesome report and congratulations! Definitely a big adventure on the way for you but well worth it.

I am from Texas as well and struggle to understand public lands. That is just not a thing here and hard to wrap my head around. I look forward to seeing the rest of your trip.

 

[Todd n Natalie]

Looks like a great trip!

 

[PetitFrereArmada]

Nice report. I am enjoying it.

2 weeks from today, I will be doing almost the same exact trip. I will be driving Texas to California and back to Texas in 15 days!

I will be driving from Houston to California and back. I will do a trip report as I go along. I will start the trip report probably next week. I am going to check-off some things off my bucket list that I jave never ever visited before now; Death Valley NP, Sequoia NP, Kings Canyon NP, Yosemite NP and Lake Tahoe. And add to the list is to drive on the Loneliest Road in the US called highway 50 in Nevada!

 

[Superduty]

Great writeup. Thanks for taking us along. Looking forward to the rest.

 

[Foy]

Enjoying the report. No doubt the kiddos coming along is the ultimate game changer. I distinctly recall the morning of our scheduled departure from our jobs' field office on the Michigan UP bound for Glacier NP exactly 39 years ago (within a day or two): Wife felt ill--nauseous and just "icky". Best go to the local doctor before hitting the road for 3.5 weeks. Diagnosis--pregnant. Lots of our plans changed before we even rolled out!

I beg to politely differ on the general statement that most of the best hiking in within NPs. Our trips to the West from our NC home are geared towards off-highway driving, normally to reach above timberline roads and trails, with the ultimate goal of accessing high elevation trailheads. Away from the NPs, we often see but few vehicles in a day's exploration, and once on foot trails, we often see no other hikers all day. In the process, we see some amazing views, wildlife, and weather(!). High elevation July-August thunderstorms in Montana are amazing and scary.

Enjoy the journey. Our 38 year old has married and given us an 8 year-old grandson and a 5 year-old granddaughter. The best is yet to come!

Foy

 

[AggieOE]

Thanks everyone!


The following day, instead of taking the long way around to Yosemite Valley, we opted for a more tree filled hike near Wawona and did the Grizzly Giant trail in the Mariposa Grove of Sequoias.

At home I have a few pine trees in my yard so I genuinely thought I knew tall pines…. This whole area changed my perspective on that. Not to mention the actual sequoias…

The day started at a very comfortable temperature and then began getting colder and colder.

Instead of finishing the loop we decided to start making our way back to the 4Runner. As soon as we started the trek back, snow. Not a lot but eventually a constant flurry.

Eventually I stopped taking pictures and we hooded up and began walking faster and faster since we knew we had a few miles to go.

By the time we got back to the car, there was snow everywhere. Up on the vehicles and all over the ground. I wish I would have captured a picture but I couldn’t believe people were still starting the trail. The final few hundred yards before we got back to the parking lot became a muddy slip and slide.

If I only knew the amount of snow we’d see the following days…

It was enough for one day. Back to camp because tomorrow was Sequoia.

Well that's what we thought at least. We pulled back into camp and it wouldn't stop raining. We sat there for at least an hour in the car looking at the radar, forecasts, enjoying the heat in the car as the outside temperatures had plummeted.
We thought about quickly setting up the tent and hopping up inside and getting underneath the blankets. We thought about moving some of the gear underneath the overhang of the RTT and cooking something quick. Then we thought of the next morning. Snow was forecasted to possibly fall on us that night which meant an early departure was not going to be pleasant and all of our gear would be wet. Then we decided this is what adventuring is all about, ahem adventuring in a first-world country with enough room in the budget for a few audibles. Hotel it was!

We decided to instead of drive the 3-hours south to Sequoia in the morning, we'd drive it now, grab a hotel, and be able to enter the park even earlier the next day. Win Win.

We packed the table and gear up, threw it sloppily in the back and took off through the rain down to Visalia.

 

[AggieOE]

The Hotel was a good call; Dry room, dry tent, heat, and a real shower. The next morning we woke up with a new vigor for the day. We picked up a coffee and headed up Sierra Drive into the mountains.

As we broke the “flat” land, the sky started becoming dark.

As we pulled up to the entrance, the park ranger asked if we brought chains. I brought a tow-strap but I doubted I’d need it. Turns out she meant snow chains which to a Houstonian is as foreign as a Prosciutto wrapped Date. We didn’t. She said we could go as far in as the next parking lot which had a couple of small trails off of it. From there on, we’d have to have chains. We tested our luck and drove up the short ways, passed our next campsite for the following night, and to the chain installation parking lot.

When I say this was a ******* show, this was a royal ******* show. Imagine a sea of rental minivans and compacts with tourists trying to install chains. Then imagine half of them installing them on the rear wheels of a front wheel drive car. Cars were literally sliding left and right and bouncing off curbs.

We both simultaneously gave each other one of those sit-com looks that read, um no. As the rain continued to turn to sleet, we said forget this, and drove back down until we were at a place to buy chains. We sat there a moment, remembering the hectic parking lot from only a few minutes prior. Snow was forecasted for the whole day and into the next morning but should be done the following day by 8AM. This whole back and forth ruined the beginning of the day and cost us quite a few hours.

I pulled up the map and asked my wife. Want to go to the beach today?

So we drove to Monterey to see the rocky coasts. My wife took on the task of finding us a small bungalow near the water. Since it's not peak season there, these were readily available and inexpensive. We made it there in about three and half hours but not soon enough to enjoy lots of daylight. Turns out the sun setting at 5:30PM is not the most accommodating and we arrived about an hour before.

Either way, we made it somewhere warmer and enjoyed some good food downtown and walking along the beach at night listening to the waves crash.

The following morning we were able to see even more.

We were out of there and back on our way east toward the mountains by 9AM.

 

[BLand Cruiser]

Great trip. Thanks for the writeup!

 

[AggieOE]

As we got back to Visalia, we triple and quadruple checked the weather. From here on out there should be no more rain or snow…. Just really cold temperatures. Time to get back up into Sequoia!

We grabbed some snow chains, flashed our NP pass, and drove on into the park. We passed our upcoming and “technically” previous night’s campground site at Potwisha, and drove right on passed the Hospital Rock Picnic area where, the day prior, the rangers were making everyone chain up. Maybe the snow had melted!?

Just a little further passed that point, the 4-wheel dancing show began. 4-high engaged. The switch-backs made this all the more interesting. Cars were sliding left and right and some were sitting completely still with the front wheels spinning away. Unfortunately, as you can imagine, I wasn’t taking any pictures at this point. I was watching the traction control system do its thing trying to manage all four tires, which, unsurprisingly, was going rather well.

Next thing you know, in the middle of the road on quite a good slope, everyone started chaining up. Self included. We were fully in a cliff’s shadow and the road was pure ice.

I asked my wife to stand outside of the car with me, out of the way though, and just watch the uphill cars and give me a heads up if one started sliding further back toward us. I crawled under the FRONT tires and chained them up. I watched some videos of people chaining up the rear tires but it didn’t seem to provide adequate steering and braking. Since we were going to be crawling at low speeds, the front seemed more logical.

Once we were hooked up, we hopped in, and the 4Runner started moving as if nothing was wrong. Success!

The trees here, my goodness. They’re enormous, they’re huge, they’re all the other synonyms for big. I found myself getting sore in the neck from all the looking up I was doing. We trudged through the snow and just stared in the snow-covered silence of the park. Although snow has its challenges, we love the sight of it and what it does to the landscape. The contrast of colors and the stillness it seems to bring. There were other tourists around but not many. Enough for the pleasant greetings every so often but not so much that you couldn’t get a single unmanned picture in.

After seeing as much as we could, visiting the visitor center and purchasing t-shirts and other things, we began the backtrack down the mountain to go set up camp.

When we pulled into the campground (which was fully booked online), we quickly realized many people were not coming due to the cold. Being from Texas, a sustained sub 20-deg day is cold. At night, teens and single digits was even more less than ideal in a tent.

The campground was near dead. Maybe 10% full, maybe. We found our little spot on the edge which would have been nice if trying to avoid the other campers but since no one else was there, it was rather eerie.

Plus, a ranger came by and introduced us to the campground, checked us in and such. Then she made us aware of the bear problems. New to us, apparently these bears behaved like Racoons and would come up within feet of you, snatch something off your table and run back into the woods. She said the little black bears were mainly just a nuisance and nothing really dangerous. Well guess how many of us were at this campground, not many. Guess who was right next to the woods, us! The uneasy feelings set in. Especially! Once she said the next line. “Ah, so I see you’re sleeping in a soft sided tent, okay, that’s okay, you’ll be fine, just make sure you keep all pungent clothes away from the tent in the bear box.”

Comforting? No. Real? Yes. We were grateful for the heads up but now a little more unsettled jerking our necks at every sound we heard.

It was so cold and got dark so early that we decided enough was enough. We secured everything we owned that had a smell, bathroom stuff, food, all the norms inside the bear box, climbed up into the tent and prayed for a calm night.

The next morning came sooner than expected and a whole lot colder than we’ve ever experienced. It was not even 4am and we were wide awake, having to pee like all get-out, but stuck, frozen in our tent, still paralyzed with the fear of the imagined herd of bears swarming outside our tent. The inside of the tent was wetter than the ocean from the condensation and there was layer of frost creeping its way across the roof. This tent is not for this cold of weather and our sleeping bags aren’t either.

We eventually crawled our way out when the sky first turned any shade other black. As you’d expect, there were no bears outside and our stuff was completely undisturbed. We hobbled across the silent campground to the bathrooms and then back to our frozen camp. We got coffee finally cranking and sat there in the tent trying to warm up. I used a towel to wipe down what I could.

After a minute of talking, we realized we were tired of the cold, the wet, the stress. We decided to skip out on spending the rest of the day in Sequoia and another night frozen in this spot and to, instead, head back out of the mountains to find warmth. Another audible…. Death Valley.

We’ve never been, why not. We finished our coffee, packed up our frozen things and turned out of the campground. Within 40-ft of where we were sleeping the night before, we found this guy roaming around.

At 300lbs + (based on my google searching), I guess there were bears next to us.

Now extremely happy with our decision, we high-tailed it for the desert.

 

[ITTOG]

Congratulations on the pregnancy news. You guys looked excited, just like a first time parent.

Thanks for the report. Looks like a blast.

 

[AggieOE]

Now on to the audible. Death Valley.

We had originally planned to stay in Sequoia another day and then basically book-it home to Houston. However, with it being so cold and wet, we headed to the desert to see what all the hype everyone writes about is all actually like. Wow.

We drove across the south of mountains, through Bakersfield, and then went up 178 by Lake Isabella until we hit 395 and went North.

This made for a very pretty drive through the mountains and by the lake.

Then we turned east on 190 and it only got better and better!

We’d pull off the main road every so often and follow a few tracks out a few hundred feet or so.

We drove in a bit and then saw some vehicles off to the right along with a whole group of built-out Toyotas, 4Runners, FJCs, Land Cruisers, and FJ40s… we pulled along side trying not to impose but also trying to get invited to hang out (although we hadn’t a clue why everyone was sitting at this spot).

Turns out this is Father Crowley Canyon, aka Star Wars Canyon where military jets fly through during training exercises. The problem is no one know when they’ll fly through each day.

So, we parked there for 30 minutes or so and then eventually left as we had other things to see.

We worked on finding a campground. Since camping here was not part of the plan, I honestly knew very little of the area. I hadn’t a clue of off the grid camping sites so we went for something simpler. We drove into Texas Springs Campground, a first come first serve one. It’s not a pretty campground or really anything ideal BUT it was clean, warm, and had a fire ring. We pulled in and realized quickly it was packed full. As we made the lap with another dozen vehicles circling, I spotted an empty site a ways off. I took a different route than everyone else and sure enough, we got the last spot (also we didn’t cut anyone off).

That night was one of the best nights. 60-deg, camp fire, a little people watching, no worries of random animals sneaking into camp. We set up the shower and got a good, comfortable shower in.

The next morning was great. We broke down the tent, packed a lunch and headed for Titus Canyon Trailhead. My wife read off two trials from our book, Titus and the Racetrack, I randomly picked Titus which I’m kicking myself for now because my stupid self did NOT realize Tea Kettle Junction is on the Racetrack. Either way, we have something to go back for.

 

[AggieOE]

Going through Titus Canyon was gorgeous. The steep drop offs, the reds, the yellows, the old buildings, the history. It was such a cool drive.

^^ Air bags in the rear were still aired up even though we took out all our camping gear and left it at the site.

Then we went off to see the Ubehebe Crate which was cool!

Lastly, we went to Badwater Basin which was super cool to be back below sealevel… weird.

Death Valley 100% took our breath away and has left us wanting to go back. There’s so much here to see and cool drives to take. The land is so vast and mostly undisturbed which gives you a very humbling experience. It’s nice sometimes to take some time away and realize how big this world is.

I wish we could have camped out in the back country but there’s always next time.

Our drive out the next day gave us one last view before heading home.

From there it was on through Flagstaff, Sedona, Phoenix, New Mexico, and eventually home.

Our route ended completely different than originally planned but that was half the fun. It’s nice to have everything planned out but there something freeing about being able to change your mind on a whim and go with the flow.

I write this all now, many months later, with a 1-mo old girl sleeping next to me and am eagerly anticipating the next trip and the new places to show her.