Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
About this video:
Part 3 of our West Coast Adventure continues the journey through Northern California.
When we left you last time, Blair had flown out of San Jose and Piper and I settled into Canyon Valley RV Resort for the week. Two pools, a gym, quiet nights, and a river trail made for some welcome downtime while we cleaned up the rig and got some morning walks and workouts in.
Just before Blair returned, I took a day trip into San Francisco to catch a few National Park sites we missed in 2019:
• Fort Point National Monument — the only Third System fort west of the Mississippi, built during the Gold Rush and saved from demolition by the Golden Gate Bridge’s chief engineer
• San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park — where the city’s waterfront is literally built on abandoned Gold Rush ships
• Apple Park Visitor Center — a quick stop at the only public piece of the “spaceship” campus
Blair flew back into SFO and we crossed the bay to the Rosie the Riveter / WWII Home Front National Historical Park in Richmond. The Kaiser shipyards here produced more ships than any other complex in the country, and the park does a great job telling the full story of the women (and men) who made it happen.
From there we made a questionable decision and towed the Airstream into Muir Woods National Monument. Pro tip: do not do this. The roads are narrow, parking is limited, and the experience is far better without a trailer. The old-growth redwoods themselves, though, are pure magic.
Next up was Point Reyes National Seashore and the Bear Valley Visitor Center, followed by a few nights at Dillon Beach. We grabbed a quick roadside river stop for Piper, then landed at an outstanding Airstream Courtesy Parking spot just north of the Avenue of the Giants. Beautiful views, excellent homemade mead, great company… and the realization that we’d actually met our hosts years earlier in Oregon. Small Airstream world.
On our second day there we drove the 31-mile Avenue of the Giants through Humboldt Redwoods State Park — the largest remaining continuous stand of old-growth coast redwoods on the planet. We hit the Shrine Drive-Thru Tree, walked Founders Grove, hiked short trails, and simply stood in awe of trees that were already ancient when the Spanish first explored this coast. Pictures never do them justice.
That’s where this episode ends. Next week we finish Redwood National Park and continue up the Oregon coast.
Thanks for tagging along. Happy adventures — see you down the road.
🔗 Connect with Thirteen Adventures and access all our tools, favorites, and partnerships in one place: https://linktr.ee/Thirteenadventures
📝 Legal Disclaimer: Thirteen Adventures LLC © All Rights Reserved. Entertainment purposes only. Always conduct your own research.
Timestamps:
0:00 – Intro & Blair’s Departure
1:18 – Canyon Valley RV Resort
1:44 – Day Trip to San Francisco
1:53 – Fort Point National Monument
3:06 – San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park
3:43 – Apple Park Visitor Center
4:44 – Blair Returns & Rosie the Riveter National Historical Park
7:27 – Muir Woods (Trailer Warning!)
9:20 – Point Reyes National Seashore
10:14 – Dillon Beach
10:36 – Piper’s Roadside River Stop
12:06 – Airstream Courtesy Parking
13:16 – Avenue of the Giants
19:56 – Closing & Next Week Preview
About this video:
Part 3 of our West Coast Adventure continues the journey through Northern California.
When we left you last time, Blair had flown out of San Jose and Piper and I settled into Canyon Valley RV Resort for the week. Two pools, a gym, quiet nights, and a river trail made for some welcome downtime while we cleaned up the rig and got some morning walks and workouts in.
Just before Blair returned, I took a day trip into San Francisco to catch a few National Park sites we missed in 2019:
• Fort Point National Monument — the only Third System fort west of the Mississippi, built during the Gold Rush and saved from demolition by the Golden Gate Bridge’s chief engineer
• San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park — where the city’s waterfront is literally built on abandoned Gold Rush ships
• Apple Park Visitor Center — a quick stop at the only public piece of the “spaceship” campus
Blair flew back into SFO and we crossed the bay to the Rosie the Riveter / WWII Home Front National Historical Park in Richmond. The Kaiser shipyards here produced more ships than any other complex in the country, and the park does a great job telling the full story of the women (and men) who made it happen.
From there we made a questionable decision and towed the Airstream into Muir Woods National Monument. Pro tip: do not do this. The roads are narrow, parking is limited, and the experience is far better without a trailer. The old-growth redwoods themselves, though, are pure magic.
Next up was Point Reyes National Seashore and the Bear Valley Visitor Center, followed by a few nights at Dillon Beach. We grabbed a quick roadside river stop for Piper, then landed at an outstanding Airstream Courtesy Parking spot just north of the Avenue of the Giants. Beautiful views, excellent homemade mead, great company… and the realization that we’d actually met our hosts years earlier in Oregon. Small Airstream world.
On our second day there we drove the 31-mile Avenue of the Giants through Humboldt Redwoods State Park — the largest remaining continuous stand of old-growth coast redwoods on the planet. We hit the Shrine Drive-Thru Tree, walked Founders Grove, hiked short trails, and simply stood in awe of trees that were already ancient when the Spanish first explored this coast. Pictures never do them justice.
That’s where this episode ends. Next week we finish Redwood National Park and continue up the Oregon coast.
Thanks for tagging along. Happy adventures — see you down the road.
🔗 Connect with Thirteen Adventures and access all our tools, favorites, and partnerships in one place: https://linktr.ee/Thirteenadventures
📝 Legal Disclaimer: Thirteen Adventures LLC © All Rights Reserved. Entertainment purposes only. Always conduct your own research.
Timestamps:
0:00 – Intro & Blair’s Departure
1:18 – Canyon Valley RV Resort
1:44 – Day Trip to San Francisco
1:53 – Fort Point National Monument
3:06 – San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park
3:43 – Apple Park Visitor Center
4:44 – Blair Returns & Rosie the Riveter National Historical Park
7:27 – Muir Woods (Trailer Warning!)
9:20 – Point Reyes National Seashore
10:14 – Dillon Beach
10:36 – Piper’s Roadside River Stop
12:06 – Airstream Courtesy Parking
13:16 – Avenue of the Giants
19:56 – Closing & Next Week Preview
