The Oregon Coast

 Once we crossed into Oregon it really felt like we were in the Pacific Northwest and the girls had a hard time thinking about anything other than grandma and grandpa's house.  Normally they are not huge fans of the really long driving days but I think they would have been okay if we just drove straight through Oregon all the way to Shelton.  They started a countdown of days until Grandpa Camp.  

Even with this distraction, we all still had fun along the Oregon Coast, exploring her natural wonders.  The Samuel H Boardman Scenic Corridor really is beautiful.  We made several stops during this southern Oregon stretch to do little hikes and scenic vistas.  The coast line really is amazing and there are lots of wild flowers and plants and we felt like we had this remote world all to ourselves on an early morning in the middle of the week.  

We stopped for one night near the Oregon Sand Dunes.  We explored the park and the girls had fun catching newts in the little lake at our campground. 

The next morning we got up early and headed further north up the coast.  We wanted to hit Cape Perpetua Natural Area at the peak of high tide so we could see Thor's Well and Spouting Horn at their peak viewing.  We didn't get much from spouting horn, the waves were just not big enough, but we had fun watching the waves crash against the rocks.  It sounded like thunder.  We enjoyed Thor's Well and found it mesmerizing watching the water fill up and then drain way down each time a wave came in.  

We enjoyed walking around this area.  It was misty and a bit foggy which gave it all a more mysterious feel.  Another highlight was the whale we saw out in the water.  We saw him spouting and watched his back and tail come up several times.  Estelle had really wanted to see a whale, so she was extra excited about this.  We also got a laugh at how many places are named after the devil here.  We saw Devil's Churn and Devil's Punchbowl.  Natalia commented that, "the devil has a lot of beachfront property."

Devil's punchbowl was kind of a letdown.  It was about an hour north of Cape Perpetua and just a quick stop on the way, but the water wasn't high enough for there to be much action with the waves.  It was pretty but there we lots of people and it is right off the parking lot.  I like it when I have to work a little harder to see the natural wonders.  I want to have to walk a little to get there so it feels like I'm seeing nature and not a parking lot.  

Then we headed up to Tillamook.  We started getting Tillamook Ice Cream out on the East Coast a couple of years ago and I introduced my kids to it and we quickly became big fans.  We added the Tillamook Creamery to the travel agenda ages ago, way back in the early stages of planning.  Originally it was something we were really looking forward to, but then we ended up doing several creameries over the past couple of months so the bar was set high.  

Tillamook ended up being a huge disappointment compared to the others we visited.  First it smelled really bad.  I get that you need cows for milk and ice cream, but this was real bad.  Then the line for ice cream was crazy long; we are talking about waiting for an hour on a cold weekday at 2:00 in the afternoon.  Where are all these people coming from?  Tillamook is a small town.  

The Bluebell Creamery sold a scoop of ice cream for a dollar at the creamery and they had new flavors exclusive at the creamery.  Tillamook's cone was way more than a whole container of ice cream and then didn't even have any different flavors.  So we skipped the ice cream line and ordered some fried cheese curds and mac and cheese to try.  The fried cheese curds were pretty delicious.  The mac and cheese was not great.  We did really enjoy the viewing windows into the cheese factory.  Since none of us have ever spent time in a factory before, we really enjoyed watching the cheese be proceeded, cut and packaged.  It was fun to watch and learn about.  It was the creameries one saving grace.  We bought a couple tubs of ice cream on our way out and ate it in our trailer.  We did all of this while the other people were still in line waiting for their ice cream cones. So the Tillamook Creamery is definitely not worth going out of your way for.  If you are in the area already, it is a one time stop to see the cheese factory, but skip the food and ice cream and just get your Tillamook from the grocery store.  

While the creamery was a disappointment, the stop in the Tillamook area was not.  We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening at Hector's friend from college's house.  Chris and Rachel are awesome people and we had so much fun with them and their family.  We went off roading all over their property, the girls got to ride electric scooters and went fishing in the pond and the kids played in the huge hot tub way past bedtime.  Hector had some great friends during his college days and it was fun hearing the stories.  It has been really fun reconnecting with people as we travel along the route.  We spent the night and then left early the next morning.  

Our last day on the Oregon Coast was spent in the Fort Stevens/Astoria area. We pulled into the campground and were immediately swarmed by mosquitos.   They just seemed everywhere.  I was trying to back Hector up into our camp spot.  Normally I just give small hand waves as he backs up to help him park straight, but this time I was waving my hands and arms all over the place trying to keep the mosquitos off...I'm sure I was lots of help parking.  I hopped back in the truck and we all sat there for several minutes, not wanting to get out and face the mosquitos.  We were not sure what to do...we actually thought about just leaving.  But we stayed and ended up realizing that even though there were more mosquitos on our campsite than we have seen in the past three months combined, they were not biting.  Thank goodness!!!

We spent part of the afternoon exploring the park.  We saw the Fort and learned about some Japanese attacks during World War 2 that we had never heard about before (history class has let us down).  We walked around part of the old fort and girls had fun reenacting battle scenes in an old army jeep.  Then we headed to the Lewis and Clark National Historical site and learned all about the Lewis and Clark expedition.  After our history lessons we headed into Astoria and walked up the column for great views of the peninsula and then we had fun driving around Astoria looking at places from the Goonies movie. 

 Back at the campground we checked out the shipwreck on the beach before braving the mosquitos at our campsite again.  It was a nice day wrapping up our Oregon Coast time.  We put the girls to bed early (they were a bit cranky from staying up late the night before and anxious to get to Washington). 

Redwoods National Park, CA

We drove back to the coast, this time in northern California at the Redwoods National and State parks.  

We made a quick stop at Whiskey Town National Rec Area, but there wasn't too much to do there since most of the park was burned in the Carr Fire of 2018.  It was interesting learning about the fire and the damage done.  Then we had a long drive over the mountains (no cell phone service for hours - this is why I am so behind on my blog).  

Once we hit Hwy 101 and turned north into the Redwoods, the girls all exclaimed. "I feel like we are at grandma and grandpa's house."  The huge trees, mossy branches and ferns everywhere did make us feel like we were in Washington.  

The first day we explored the southern end of the park.  We hiked through Fern Canyon after driving this great dirt road through groves of trees and coastal views.  Fern Canyon was fantastic.  Such a beautiful place.  Estelle now says this is her favorite hike we have done.  Much like some of the other canyon hikes we have done, we had to get out the water shoes and hike through water.  This was just a stream, so it was only our feet and ancles that got wet, which is good because the water was chilly.  Totally worth cold toes for though.  We loved the two story high walls of ferns.  We felt like we were in some magical realm.  

Since we were already in a secluded part of the park only accessible by dirt road, we checked out the beach that was so close.  The sand was black and made for a unique beach experience.  The water was cold but that never stops the girls from running in the waves.  There was a seal in the water that seemed to really enjoy watching the girls.  He kept swimming back near them and would just stick his head out of the water and watch them running in the waves.  

After the beach we headed to our campground and found ourselves nestled in a beautiful grove of trees.  It felt dark all the time.  It was beautiful with all the moss and ground cover.  We felt totally cut off from the rest of the world.  

The next morning we really got to explore the majesty of the Redwoods.  We took another dirt road that took us into the heart of the Old Growth Redwoods.  We hiked to Grove of Titans and really loved this hike.  Our necks hurt from looking up at the trees.  This section has never been logged before.  We enjoyed some of the tunnels created by fallen logs and lush vegetation and of course the trees.  They are impressive.  

We also stopped at Stout Grove and enjoyed a small hike there.  We met super nice people at the visitor center and enjoyed learning more about the area.  Hector's favorite part was the self cloned trees that grow out of the side of the old growth trees.  It's cool.  

In the afternoon we explored the coastal areas.  We walked around a lighthouse and did a beach hike that is part of the Pacific Coast Trail.  The girls had fun exploring another cove.  

After another pleasant evening in the trees, it was time to move on to the next destination.