Quick Photo Blog of our last three stops

Day 50 - Florence, Oregon to Pacific City, Oregon (Driving the Oregon Coastal Highway)

We spent about 2.5 hours driving the Oregon coastal highway (highway 101). It's a really nice drive with beautiful views of the Pacific Ocean and several rivers that flow into the ocean. The road weaves up the coast through many little towns along the way. The little towns remind me of some of the small vacation villages you might find on the coast of North Carolina, but one was big enough to have a Wal-Mart. Personally, I've decided that measuring the number of Wal-Marts is one of the best ways to gauge the size of a city. For example, Winchester Virginia (near my home town) is a city with three Wal-Marts. Using the Wal-Mart method, that's a pretty big city. If a town doesn't have a Wal-Mart, it really has more of the small town feel.

Speaking of small town feel, Pacific City is a very tiny town with only a couple restaurants and several motels and vacation rental properties. I'm not sure it even has a gas station. It's got a great beach, but you can't really swim in the water unless you have a wet suit, which is true of the entire northern Pacific coast.     

The highlight of the day was our visit to Sea Lion Caves, which is the largest natural sea cave in the world (according to their signs). The sea lions discovered it well before the humans did and made it their home. The folks who owned the land have turned it into a little "tourist trap" by blasting enough of the rock to make an elevator and a viewing area underground. Going underground into the backside of the cave is a pretty cool experience, especially when you get to see the sea lions in their natural habitat.

Day 49 - Crater Lake to Florence, Oregon (on the coast)

As I checked into the the RV park today, the registration attendant said that this part of the Oregon coast gets almost all of its rain in the months prior to summer. From mid-June to mid-September, they receive very little rain. Then he followed up that statement with, "this cold rainy weather is very unusual for this time of year". Apparently, we timed our trip just perfectly to appreciate the unusual weather!

All things considered, the weather actually cooperated quite a bit. The rain stopped long enough for us to enjoy the sand dunes. Our RV campground was right on the edge of the Oregon Sand Dunes State Park. Thankfully, we had purchased saucers when we were at the White Sands. We put them to good use here, and the hills were much bigger. I'd guess that some of the hills were about 200 feet long with a 80 to 100 foot elevation change.

Days 47 and 48 - Crater Lake National Park - Start of the Mayo Family Reunion

On June 25, we began a west coast family reunion with my brother's family, my sister, and Mom and Dad. They all rented an RV and joined us for Crater Lake and the Oregon coast. They will also host us for 3 days in Hood River, where my bother (Keith), his wife (Laura), and son (Lukas) live. We picked our first stop as Crater Lake because it's one Oregon's gems.

Cloudy and Rainy. That pretty much sums up our 2 days at Crater Lake. If you are ever fortunate enough to visit Crater Lake, shoot for July to September. The color of the lake is brilliant deep blue, but you need a sunny day to fully see the beauty. Thankfully, I saw it in 2007, but didn't see the color in 2014. The clouds barely lifted for us to catch a few pictures, but for the most part our views were blocked by a cloud that sat above the lake for 2 days. The ranger said that Saturday looked like the best day, but we left on Friday.....We made the best of the weather by talking by the fire, hanging out, and hiking down to the water. In my opinion, the lake looks better from above. Unless you love hiking, you can get most of the experience from above.

Days 45 and 46 - Redwoods National Park

When George Lucas set out to convince moviegoers that the planet where the Ewoks lived (Return of the Jedi) was vastly different from earth, he selected the redwood forests as the film's location. If you are from any other place on the planet, you probably would agree that a stroll through the redwoods feels like a transplant to another world.


Redwoods National Park has several disconnected pieces, some of which are on the ocean. It's the only place I have been where someone can watch a river flow into the ocean. At this location, gray whales hang out for feeding and we were lucky enough to see a few.








One of my favorite unusual natural events occurred here when a male elk decided to rub his antlers on a tree one day. He got stuck and the tree grew right around the antlers.

I can't forget one more important story of the week. It actually occurred on Saturday as I was in a hurry to get to Target one morning before leaving the campsite. At the gas station, the kids all asked if they could get out and wash the windows. I gave them all permission and we all exited the vehicle. Unfortunately, I had left the keys in the car and one of us hit the automatic door locks on the way out. We had one hour to get the windows clean while we waited for someone to come unlock the car. By the way, I was amazed at how fast they can break into a locked car. It took less than 20 seconds to break in.

Days 42, 43, and 44 (June 20 - 22) - VIsiting Friends and Family in California

We spent Friday and Saturday working our way up the California coast. On Friday, we stopped just north of San Francisco (Novato) and spent the evening with Talitha and her family, whom Sheri has known since age 6. On Saturday and Sunday, we spent the evening with Sheri's cousins in Eureka, which was a particularly enjoyable experience for the second cousins, including a rowdy bunch of 6 boys ages 4 to 17. Bailey and Bria tried to stay out of the way as the boys shot each other with NERF darts and other projectiles. On Monday, we head up to Crescent City to see Redwood National Park.

Day 41 - Yosemite National Park - Hike to Upper Yosemite Falls

If you ever want to feel old, try hiking with your teenage sons and watch them speed ahead of you because your legs simply can't go another step or your lungs can't move enough oxygen. That's what I felt like today. I was a little unsure about a 7 mile hike going up and down 2,700 feet, but Levi and Seth really wanted to tackle it and I didn't want to have to tell them that Dad was too frail. It's probably the hardest hike I have ever done, but well worth it. If you want to simulate it, just simply find a stair master (exercise equipment) and climb stairs for 3 hours. Take a break after an hour when your leg muscles burn and then keep going for another two hours. It's okay to take a 2 minute break about every 10 minutes, that is what I had to do. Don't forget to breathe through a straw to simulate the reduced oxygen at higher elevations.
We started on the floor of the valley at 10:00 and made it up to the top of Yosemite Falls by 1:00. Yosemite Falls is the tallest waterfall in North America so the view at the top of the falls is incredible. We spent one hour at the top and then hiked down for two hours. While the hike up was physically exhausting, the hike down was dangerous. The rocks are uneven and coated with sand. I did fall once, but with no real injuries.

While the older boys and I were tackling the mountain, Sheri, Brandon, Bailey, and Bria went to several ranger talks including one about bears. They used to feed the bears from the early 1900s up to the 1960s. This has some unintended consequences. Bears learned that humans were the best source of food. Bears became aggressive and were really problematic in the park in the late 90s. In 1998, they were averaging 10 bear break-ins per night. Bears were literally pulling car doors off their hinges to get to food inside the vehicle. This year they have had none, a remarkable reduction.

Day 40 - Yosemite National Park

Yosemite National Park is one of the most popular parks in the National Park system. One reason it is so popular is its proximity to urban San Francisco and the surrounding area. Thousands of people make the 4 or 5 hour drive to Yosemite throughout the summer. It attracts so many largely because of its natural beauty. My personal favorite is Yosemite falls, which is the tallest water fall in North America. Yosemite Falls has snow melt that falls about 2,400 feet from the top of the falls to the bottom during the spring and early summer. It dries up in the late summer. If you ever decide to come to Yosemite, try to get here before the falls dry up, they are simply amazing. We were too late in 2007, but just in time for 2014.
Thankfully, I allowed more time here at Yosemite. Many of the other parks were scheduled as a one-day visit to allow us to see as many sites as possible. However, there were a few parks that I wanted to appreciate with an extra day. What we do with that extra day is always an important decision. Here at Yosemite, we decided to split up. Sheri, Brandon, Bailey, and Bria plan to listen to some of the ranger talks and take some short hikes. Levi, Seth, and I have decided we will take on one of the most strenuous hikes we have ever tackled: a 7 mile (round trip) hike to the top of Yosemite Falls. 7 miles really isn't bad until you factor in the 2,700 foot elevation gain. I'm headed to bed now so I can get a good some rest before the big hike. If you don't see any more posts, it's because I didn't make it back!

Day 39 - Tuesday, June 17 - Visalia to Groveland, California

Today we drove from Visalia to Groveland. As we made the journey, the route became very familiar to me because we took the same route in 2007. As we made the turn into the campground (Yosemite Pines), I realized at that moment that this was the same campground we stayed at 7 years ago. I have fond memories of this campground because it has an old abandoned gold mine on it's property. This area of California was first discovered by American explorers in the 1840s. They discovered gold here in the 1850s, and one website I found showed about 30 or 40 mines in the area between 1850 and sometime near 1920. The lady at the check-in said there is still gold in the soil in this area, but the particles are very small. She did tell me that someone last week found a piece of gold (no real size reference given....).
In 2007, Levi, Seth and I crawled about 20 or 30 feet into the gold mine, but this time it is boarded up because of safety reasons. Brandon, Bailey, and I hiked the 15 minute trail to see the mine and discovered a large rock just on the outside of the mine. As we looked closely, it appeared to have a piece of "gold" about the size of the tip of a ball point pen imbedded with the other minerals. I'm not exactly sure it was gold, but I'd like to say I "discovered" gold!

Hoover Dam and Sequoia National Park

Hoover Dam 2007

Hoover Dam 2014

Day 35 - Friday, June 13 – Hurricane, Utah to Boulder City, Nevada

My Virginia friends have had quite a bit of rain over the past month. When Sheri told me that, I realized that we haven’t had rain in a month. We haven’t even had a cloudy day in a month. I stopped to think about our recent route and realized that we’ve been in the desert for about three weeks (since Big Bend, Texas). None of the campgrounds have grass. It’s all sand and gravel. We arrived in Boulder City, Nevada, quickly unhooked the van, and drove to Hoover Dam. Hoover Dam was an engineering marvel at the time it was built (1935). If you enjoy heights, hydroelectric generators, and lots of concrete, Hoover Dam is an interesting place.

Day 36 - Saturday, June 14 – Boulder City, Nevada to Barstow, California

I can see how someone might fall sleep on the stretch of interstate we traveled today. The scenery offers little variety and consists of sand and rocks. We saw several solar energy stations because the sun shines nearly every day in these arid parts of California. After arriving in Barstow, we dropped the trailer and headed to San Bernadino to meet Sheri’s cousin, Mike Tanner, and his family for dinner. We had a great time catching up on events over the last four years.

Day 37 - Sunday, June 15 – Barstow, California to Visalia, California

The desert landscape transitioned to farming landscape today. If you have ever looked at a label on fruit from the grocery store and read “Product of the USA, Made in California”, there is a good chance we drove very close to the farm it came from. Imagine driving for 2 hours and seeing orchards line the highway the entire time. We saw orange trees, lemon trees, grape vines, and other trees that we guessed were nuts and other fruits. Most people think of California as Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Francisco. However, there are huge plots of land dedicated to farming with humble homes and small communities that look nothing like the urban coastal regions.

Day 38 - Monday, June 16 – Sequoia National Park

If you are prone to motion sickness, avoid the road that enters the southern edge of Sequoia National Park. We drove for about one hour on the most twisted road I have ever been on and climbed from 250 feet above sea level to 6,000 feet above sea level. The curves were so tight, we could only drive 10 miles per hour on most of the curves. The landscape changed from small brush and trees to larger trees as we climbed. If you do make the drive, you will be rewarded with an amazing awe inspiring view as you round a turn at about 6,000 feet. All of sudden huge sequoia trees line the highway. I’ve seen these trees in 2007, but I was once again blown away at their width and height. The tall ones are between 2,000 and 3,000 years old and reach a height of 200 to 300 feet and a width of 20 to 40 feet. The amazing thing about the sequoia trees is that people have tried to transplant them to other locations and they simply don’t grow the same in other climates. They thrive in about 6,000 to 7,000 foot elevations with just the right amount of rain and temperature variance. We also saw a black bear and drove through tunnel log. If you are one of those folks that gets motion sickness, you can still see these amazing trees by entering the park from the north. The road climbs at a much slower pace, but it’s about 2 hours from the main highway.

My apologies for missing out on updates over the past several days. We have not had internet, which is actually a freeing experience. Removing oneself from cellular service and internet is probably the best way to experience things like the Grand Canyon. I'm now in Boulder City, Nevada (just outside of Las Vegas) and I've reconnected to the electronic grid :-)

Day 31 - Monday, June 9, 2014 – Panguitch, Utah to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon

The highlight of the day was the outstanding customer service delivered by the very small tire shop (Cooper Tires) in Panguitch, Utah. Keep in mind that the town of Panguitch has no stoplights, only one mom and pop grocery store, and a handful of other things. It’s probably about the size of our home town Berryville, Virginia. By God’s providence, the tire shop happened to have the rim and tire I needed for my trailer. The tire shop was a one bay tire shop with what appeared to be two or three employees. The father and son (two of the employees) were so helpful they were willing to let me take the tire and rim without paying and return to pay after I made sure it fit. They also charged me a fraction of what some other “emergency tire service providers” were quoting me on the phone over the weekend. I even told the owner he was charging me a whole lot less, and he simply said he was trying to run an honest business. Something we all appreciate.

After installing my new tire, we left Panguitch and drove 2.5 hours to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. We settled into our “primitive” campground for two nights without water, electricity, or sewer. Many of you “real” campers probably think that what I am calling “primitive” camping is still a pretty cushy way to camp. I’ll admit, it probably is. As our neighbors froze in their tent with the 43 degree (F) night, we comfortably slept in our cushy beds shielded from the cold wind. However, some of the Mayos did attempt to brave the elements. Levi, Seth, and Brandon each tried to sleep outside in hammocks tied to Aspen trees. Unfortunately, they didn’t make it more than a couple of hours because the cold weather and full moon made it hard to sleep.

Day 32 - Tuesday, June 10, 2014 – North Rim of the Grand Canyon

Some of you have been fortunate enough to experience the Grand Canyon’s South Rim, but few of you have probably experienced the North Rim. Personally, if I had to pick one over the other, I think the North Rim is the place to go. The North Rim sits up about 1,000 feet higher than the south rim. The weather is cooler, there are no mosquitoes, and the landscape is totally different. There are huge aspen and pine trees that allow for shady trails. Even more majestic are the trees that grow on the canyon ridges. If you do make it to the North Rim, don’t miss Angel’s window and Cape Royal (a 45 minute drive from the main visitor center and lodge). The park service has constructed a trail and railing system at Angel’s window that allow you to stand at the top of a cliff on 3 sides. If you peer over the railing, you are staring at a huge drop that is 500-1000 feet (my best guess). I wanted to strap on a parachute and jump off the cliff. It reminded me of the time I went hang gliding in Rio de Janero, Brazil in 2004. On the other hand, Sheri was ready to quickly retreat and step away from the cliffs. Oh, by the way, Sheri had good reason to fear the canyon. Every year people fall off the rim (two in the first 6 months of 2014).

We ended the day watching the sunset at Cape Royal. It was a beautiful way to finish up our trip the North Rim.

Day 33 - Wednesday June 11, 2014 – Driving from the North Rim to Hurricane, Utah

Today was a fairly routine travel day. It consisted of a few hours on the road, laundry, and grocery shopping. Sheri, the kids and the Watkins crew attempted to enjoy Quail Creek Lake while I went to Wal Mart, but the rocky beach access made that pretty difficult.

Day 34 - Thursday June 12, 2014 – Zion National Park

If you have ever been to the mall on Christmas Eve to purchase that last minute gift, you may be able to identify with some of our experiences at Zion: fighting for a parking spot, rubbing shoulders with folks you don’t know because of the large crowds, and feeling like everyone is watching your kids fight. If you visit to Zion National Park in the summer, be prepared for the crowds. The most interesting portion of the park is only accessible by a bus system because the number of cars is simply overwhelming. We had to walk about 0.5 mile to the bus station because that is the closest parking spot we could find.

Zion’s famous for its canyon walls. The canyon walls are impressive, but it reminded me of King’s Canyon National Park (connected to Sequoia National Park) or Yosemite National Park. Of all the parks we have seen, I'd say this one I don't feel I need to see again. It's still a really cool place, but the crowds give it some negative points over the other parks. 

Day 30 - Bryce Canyon National Park

Bryce Canyon National Park is uniquely characterized by the tall Hoodoos (yes, this is an official geology term) that stick up like columns. I didn't take this picture (found it on the web), but it gives you a picture of what we saw this afternoon. The views were stunning, but the coolest part of the day was hiking down into these structures. Imagine hiking down inside a narrow valley surrounded by columns on either side. Unfortunately, we discovered this trail when we returned to view the stars. If we would have found the trail during the day, we would have hiked all of it. At twilight, we were limited by how far we could go. Levi, Seth, and Brandon went about 200 feet below the rim while I stayed back about 50 feet below the rim. Tomorrow we will drive to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. We won't have any cellular or wi-fi service for several days. It will be our first attempt at primitive camping (no water source attached to the RV and no electricity).

Day 29 - June 7 -Moab, Utah to Panguitch, Utah

On Saturday, June 7 we traveled from Moab to Panguitch, which took about 5 hours. One of the most interesting parts of the drive was crossing an exposed fault line where two tectonic plates come together. The geographic formations are impressive and unusual. If you are really interested in seeing the exposed fault, Capitol Reef National Park has better views of the fault. We elected to skip that park, we just couldn't fit it in. However, if you are driving interstate 70, there is an opportunity to view it right off the interstate.

The low part of the day (and probably the trip) occurred when I made a critical driving error. You would think that after towing a travel trailer for about one month, I would be quite accustomed to making wide turns. Unfortunately, today at the campground I lost my mind and took a turn too tight. The campground owners had placed some nice sharp rocks on the turn to create a natural barrier. As a result of my error, my travel trailer took the turn tight and the rocks ripped the sidewall of my tire and bent my rim. My older boys and I quickly jumped into action and had the spare on within 10 minutes. This is my sixth tire for the travel trailer, but only the first in an emergency setting. The others were changed as I noticed the wear getting too low. However, I have had to change a tire on the van in an emergency setting so I've received lots of practice changing tires. I've been blessed every time with helpful locals folks who helped me find places to get new tires.