Our trip was a dream initially. I had known I wanted to go out west and visit my girlfriends and my sister, but I had no idea how it would play out.
Every year my girlfriends and I had gone on some sort of road trip since I was 17 years old. We traveled the East coast, across country to Washington State, and down south to North Carolina. We had made it to San Francisco, flew to LA for Thanksgiving one year, did horseback riding in Santa Barbara, and spent a day in New York.
Yet we had never been able to take that dreamy cruise down the California coast that I always imagined..until the summer of 2016! We started planning in the spring, and decided we'd rather camp to save money. We booked campsites in Northern California (based upon reviews of course), and at Pismo beach in Southern California.
The trip started by a trek across the North on the lonely US-2: with just me and a gal from Duluth, MN who needed a ride to Montana in my little purple Hyundai. We ran out of gas in North Dakota and was saved by a farm boy named David. We nearly hit a car in Montana, and ate at an extraordinarily religious cafe (HA!). The views were incredible (see below).
One night was spent with friends in the AMAZING Kalispell, Montana (Check it out, it's gorgeous!), and continued for 10 hours in my little car alone. Hello, BORING.
I spent one week in the amazing PNW, soaking up the hot, dry summer heat and sister bonding time. I explored waterfalls, did hikes, visited tourist locations, and played Pokemon go in downtown Portland because why not? (We had to try it! haha)
Then our coastal adventure began. My two girlfriends from Michigan joined me in Portland via airplane (Lacy + Holly), and we headed from PNW in two cars. Me, Lacy and Holly in mine, and Whitney, Mariah, Lindsay and Kaylee in another car. They all lived in Portland, so their plan was to head home after our camping adventures.
Let's start with our first camping adventure. We showed up in the middle of the night at a hidden campground in the middle of Northern California. The campground had rumors of bigfoot, and the redwoods surrounding us reallyyy gave off that creepy vibe at 2am ;) We set up our tent in the misty darkness and chatted for hours before falling asleep (8 in one tent!)
We thought we were prepared, but with no electricity, no condiments, no firewood and no service, we literally had to just wing it. We foraged for firewood, asked our camping neighbors for salt for our corn on the cob, and hiked throughout the woods and explored the area with no schedule or plans. We also got desperate for caffeine and drove 40 minutes for hot coffee haha!
The foggy, cold, and rugged coastline was breathtaking and unpredictable. I never experienced anything like it, and it was the most incredible weekend with my best friends.
Also, we learned a LOT about "Sneaker Waves" as they call them. Literally terrifying.
After our weekend in Northern California, the car-full from Portland went home and Lacy, Holly and myself continued south. We had thought we could do Big Sur WHILE we drove down to our campsite, but by the time we got to Santa Cruz it was dark.
So we did something goofy, and headed around Big Sur straight to our campsite on Pismo Beach. Okay BIG eye-opener and surprise here haha! Our campsite was literally a cement slab next to some brown grass. We were okay with it, though, because it was just a place to crash at night.
The next day we headed north to Big Sur and OH MY WORD.
Big Sur can't be explained. It can't be photographed accurately. It can't ever be experienced the same by two people. For example, we collided with forest fires, watched Hearst Castle property burn, missed Julia McKay falls, and spent hours watching dolphins swim.
My advice? Take three, four days to explore Big Sur. Stay on the outskirts to keep it affordable, and drive throughout the park and take time to visit all the cool little spots. Learn about the area, and chat with the locals. Big Sur is incredible.
Then, we spent some time in the Pismo area, exploring local coffee shops and the beach. California was experiencing CRAZY forest fires and drought, so every day we had to check our fire map and make new plans.
One day we decided to head to Santa Barbara. Yes, we were literally all over the map. Still, it was so great. We hiked, spent time on the beach, and walked through the gorgeous shopping district.
We did a smoky hike overlooking the coast (there's a human in the first frame to show the height). Then we raced to In-n-Out for burgers and fries, and ate them on the beach.
After spending several days on the California coast, we decided to head East towards Arizona. I wanted to go to Sedona, and Lacy wanted to hit up the Grand Canyon.
We got pulled over in the long and boringggg stretch between LA and Las Vegas area. The trooper chatted with us for about 45 minutes, told us to buckle up, and gave us JR Trooper stickers.
We got to the bleakest little town called Barstow, CA (no offense to those who live in Barstow!) at dark. No wonder why the hotel was so cheap, the town was literally a crossroad. I heard trains going all night long, and the town was full of grown men. Haha that's one way to freak out my mom back home in MI.
Then we finally got to Sedona, and checked into our hotel before exploring the little town and doing a short hike. Unfortunately we only had one day to spend here, so we made the most of it. I was impressed by the gluten-free selection, and LOVED the red rock vistas. I will definitely be making it back here.
The Grand Canyon, unfortunately as well, was a short stop on our way home. However, we happened to visit on the 100th anniversary of our NPS! SO entrance was free, and we had just enough time to do a short little hike. It was actually incomprehensible. I would looove to do a photoshoot in this area someday.
The next two days were long and pretty boring. We stopped at the cutest little shop somewhere in the middle of BFE Utah to eat, where I got a delicious quesadilla and a prickly pear lemonade.
We stopped at a doughnut shop in Denver, CO to refresh our coffee supply, and we were 80% sure the man at the front desk was on some sort of drugs. Yes, we drove through the night.
We stopped at the airport in Minneapolis to drop off my girl Holly, where she flew to her home in downstate, MI. The flight was actually super last minute, and we found it on our way there. Me and Lacy continued on our way home.
Overall, it was an INSANE two weeks of driving. 100 hours for me, and if I were to do it again, I would definitely have spread it out. BUT, I don't believe in regrets and I believe I experienced California in a way that makes me just want to come back.
Tips:
- GO ON A ROADTRIP WITH YOUR FRIENDS.
- Know that reviews and descriptions just might not really give you a good picture of what is reality, and be okay with that.
- California has a pretty strict water supply, so expect to pay more in water. Heck, expect to pay more for EVERYTHING.
- You can't just pitch a tent on any beach. They have pretty strict rules on this.
- Everything books up fast.
- Visit grocery stores and farmer's markets instead of eating out all of the time. It saves money and gives your tummy a break from all the restaurant food.
- Pick a couple of destinations and commit to them. Don't try to see everything, or you will get overwhelmed. You can always go back :)
- Be aware of your surroundings. On a prior trip to LA we had some pretty weird experiences that I didn't expect coming from a small town.
- BE OPEN. To change, to spontaneous decisions, to other people's ideas, etc.