Chaco Culture National Historical Park

Road trip 2016 is in full swing.  We are having a blast, but are a bit behind on blogging.  We are just having too much fun.  We drop into bed exhausted each night.  Our first stop was Vernon, AZ.  We met up with the Richardson family and friends for a night.  Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures, so I'll have to get some from Grandma Linda when we get home.

From Vernon, we headed on to Chaco Culture NHP.  And let me tell you... this was no easy trip.  We had 20 miles of washboard dirt road to navigate before we reached the park.  It was slow going, and these kids were anxious to be out of the car.

We arrived to find that the Visitor Center was closed, so we set up camp, made some dinner, and headed out to the Indian ruins to catch a moonlight guided hike.  The hike was pretty interesting, but these kids were beat.  As soon as it was over, they were in bed. It was so dark and quiet at Chaco because it is so remote.  Justin and I awoke to the sound of howling coyotes several times that night.  The next morning, we packed up and headed out to see the ruins in the daylight.

Along the road to the ruins, we saw this awkward ripple moving along the road.  We drove closer and closer trying to figure out what it was, when suddenly, it turned to face us.  There were three badgers in the middle of the road.  They puffed up and tried to stare us down before retreating into the rocks on the side of the road.  You can kind of see them in the picture above.  None of us had ever seen a badger before.  We were so shocked, it took us a minute to find our cameras.

We spent a good hour exploring the ruins at Chaco Culture.  They were so interesting.  We are still amazed at how well these structures were built--and all by hand!  They are incredible.

We would have loved to spend more time there, but we have a tight schedule.  So after a bit of exploring, we were on the road again.  Next stop is The Great Sand Dunes National Park.  We will be back tomorrow to tell you all about sand boarding... and crashing.  :-)

On the Road... Again!

It was REALLY hard to say goodbye to Prairie Creek.  I think this may have been my favorite campsite ever.  It was in the middle of a state park, but it still felt so secluded.

But we finally got packed up and hit the road.  Justin and I have been nervous about this drive, because we had to take the camper through San Francisco.  YIKES!  We detoured through Oakland, and guess who rented a car so she could hang with us for lunch!?!

Yep, Auntie Janesa met us at In-N-Out Burger for a quick lunch break.  The traffic was horrible, so we were both a bit late, but we made it anyway, and it was so good to see her.  The girls wanted to pack her up and take her with us.

Unfortunately, she had to work, so we had to say our goodbyes.  We sure miss her already, though.

Traffic through the Bay Area was completely crazy.  We were so happy to get out of there.  We made it to Big Sur, and set up camp at Pfieffer Big Sur state park.  Tonight we are making pie iron sandwiches and soaking up the gorgeous weather.  It was a long drive, but California is so beautiful.  We can't wait to see what adventures tomorrow will bring!

Prairie Creek Redwoods, Day 2

Today we woke up early and had a good breakfast.  Once I started calculating the mileage on our hike, I realized it was going to be more like an 11-mile hike.  The kids were less than enthusiastic about that.

We packed up our Camelbaks so we would have water, snacks, and lunch with us on the trail.  We left at about 9:40 am, and we were hoping to be back to camp by 4 pm.

We took the James Irvine trail out.  It was absolutely amazing.  Scenes from Return of the Jedi were filmed here, and you can tell.  It looks exactly like the forest moon of Endor.

It was so green!  The redwoods are just as impressive as the sequoias.  We were in awe of the beauty around us.  Most of the time, the kids were quiet and contemplative.

Quiet is not usually a word we use to describe hiking with Tate, so it was an odd experience--very relaxing.  The scenery kept us distracted, and we hardly felt the mileage.

We passed cool bridges and giant redwoods.  There was so much to see, we didn't take many breaks.  At the end of the James Irvine trail, we came to the trailhead for Fern Canyon.  Fern Canyon is breathtaking.

The walls of the canyon are completely lined with ferns.  It is so green.  I know I keep saying that, but these Arizona kids just cannot get used to all this plant life!

We meandered through the canyon before we took the Coastal Trail to Gold Bluffs Beach.

Gold Bluffs Beach was the perfect spot to eat lunch and watch the pelicans.  The weather was perfect, the food was good, and these girls couldn't have been happier...

Then we put our shoes back on, packed up, and headed back to camp.  We walked down a short dirt road before we came to the Miner's Ridge Trail.

The kids thought this evacuation sign was funny.  We noticed how different the scenery was here on the Miner's Ridge trail at first.  There weren't many redwoods.  Eventually, though, our trail wound down through old growth forest.  I think parts of this trail were even more spectacular than James Irvine.

By this point, we were really starting to feel fatigued.  The last few miles really hurt.  Our feet were sore, and we were just really exhausted.

I think the only reason why the kids didn't mutiny was that they were awestruck by the surroundings.  By the time we finished our hike, though, the GPS told us that we had gone 14.2 miles that day, and we made it back to camp by 4:30 pm!  Whew!  These kids were beat!

We were able to herd them to the showers and get them some dinner.  At 6:30 pm, they were begging for bed.  Justin told them they couldn't go to bed until 9 pm.  So they curled up in blankets around the fire and played their instruments for a few hours.

I'm happy to report that they made a few more hours before crashing out.  They were all in bed with the lights out by 8:30 pm, though.  What an awesome day!  Tomorrow is one of our longest drives, so we'll check in when we get to Big Sur.  Goodnight!

Prairie Creek Redwoods, Day 1

We didn't form any attachments to this campground, so it was easy to leave Bandon this morning.  We packed up and headed out to a place I've been dying to see for years, Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park.

It was hard to say goodbye to Oregon, though.  We had to stop on her beaches a few times on the way down to soak in all the beauty.  We'll definitely be back.

Once we hit Cali, we stopped in Klamath to say hello to Paul Bunyon and his ox, Babe.  That was an interesting experience.  Very touristy, and not our cup of tea.  We didn't stay long, but we can at least say we saw them.

We got to camp, made some lunch, and packed up our dirty clothes in search of a laundromat.  On the way, we stopped at Agate Beach to explore the tidepools.  We had a great time scouring the rocks for signs of life...  like these sea anemones.

The kids rummaged through the rocks and driftwood.  Then, the girls took off their shoes and ran into the ocean.  That seems to happen a lot with these two.  As soon as their toes hit the sand, they are in the water.

After Agate Beach, we headed into McKinleyville.  We found a laundromat, grocery store, and pizza parlor.  We were able to get in a couple of loads of laundry, our shopping, and dinner all in one trip.  Then we drove back to camp and called it an early night.  We have a 7-mile hike planned for tomorrow.  It should be memorable!

Heading Down the Oregon Coast

We got a late start this morning.  We had intended to get up at 7am and head out, but we didn't wake up until 8:30!  I guess we needed the sleep!

We packed up our cozy little campsite and got a move on.  The ranger at Fort Stevens suggested we check out Battery West, which is another part of the military fort.  This battery guards the Columbia River, and is partially restored.

Wow!  What a completely different experience.  Battery Russell was creepy and deserted, but here at Battery West, we could see what the batteries were actually used for.  They had replica guns and all kinds of informational placards for us to read.

We learned all about how the ammunition was stored and transported to the guns.  We also read about how they used the guns.  We are so glad we took the extra time to check it out.  It was a fascinating place to visit.

Then we hit the road again.  We stopped for lunch at Ecola State Park in Cannon Beach, Oregon.  We had packed lunches for the road, and this seemed like the perfect stop.  Being the Goonies fans that we are, this was a must see for us.  Parts of The Goonies were filmed in Ecola State Park...  you may recognize Haystack Rock in the distance.  The kids were beyond excited when they started recognizing the scenery.  It made for a great pit stop.

From there, we continued our way down the coast to Tillamook, Oregon.  Tatum had been looking forward to this stop all day.  We toured the Tillamook Cheese Factory and got to taste samples.  Yum!  Then we headed over to their ice cream parlor for a treat.

Ice cream...  or in Connor's case, chocolate milk.  Yum!  It was delicious.  We continued down the coast, stopping in Coos Bay for a seafood dinner, and finally making camp in Bandon, Oregon.

We set up camp quickly and made the mile hike (in deep sand most of the way) down to the beach.  Tatum was not amused.  I had promised an ocean side campground.  It wasn't quite close enough for her.

But once we got there, they were all smiles.  The girls really love playing in the ocean.  They didn't mind that they were fully clothed.  The got wet anyway.

Even Connor got in on the action tonight.  Once it started getting pretty dark, we headed back to camp.  The kids are beat, and so am I.  Tomorrow is a short drive to the redwoods.  We hope we can get an early start!

Astoria, Oregon & Fort Stevens

We hit the road bright and early today.  Rylee has been waiting the entire trip to visit Astoria--home of The Goonies!  Yes, The Goonies movie was filmed in Astoria, and the house that Mikey and Bran lived in is on GoogleMaps.

We are huge Goonies fans, so naturally, we had to visit.  It's a private home, and they don't allow tours or anything, but you can park down the street and take your picture in front of Mikey's house.

So we made our way down to The Goondocks and snapped a few pictures.  We even recognized some of the scenes from Goonies in downtown Astoria.

Then we made our way to Lewis & Clark National Monument to visit Fort Clatsop.  It isn't the actual fort.  It was rebuilt on the site, but it was still very interesting to learn about the Lewis and Clark expedition and see the fort.

From there, we headed to our final destination Fort Stevens State Park.  We set up camp and took a hike around the park to take in the sights.

Fort Stevens was a military defense station from 1904-1944.  In fact, Battery Russell at Fort Stevens was actually fired on by Japanese submarines during World War II.  They fired nine rounds, but didn't hit a thing.  Battery Russell is abandoned now, but we were able to walk to it and explore it on our own.

It was fascinating, and a little creepy, but it made for some awesome photo opportunities.  The kids were snapping away.

From the Battery, we walked about 1.5 miles to the beach.  There is an old ship that ran aground years and years ago and was left to decay on the beach.  We'd seen pictures of it, so we were excited to see it in person.  It was so cool... and of course, the girls loved the beach.

The hike back to camp with shoes full of sand was a little less fun, though.   Back at camp, we broke out our new pie irons and made pizza calzones.  Then we sat by the fire and enjoyed one of our last days in Oregon.

Tomorrow we head down the Oregon coast towards California and the redwoods.  Service is always spotty, but we'll check in when we can!

Seattle, Day 3

Well...  today was a bust.  We had plans to visit Lake Union, Gas Works Park, and the Fremont District.  Instead, we woke up to a flat tire.

So the girls and I had to drive into Redmond to have the tire repaired.  While we were there, we did some grocery shopping and made sure we were well stocked.

Connor and Justin hung out in the lodge all day and soaked in the WIFI.  Justin had to work, and Connor had to game.

And since today was basically a bust, the girls and I gave ourselves pedicures.  Then the girls caught up on social media, while I got some laundry done.

Tomorrow we head back down the Oregon coast.  Tonight we roasted marshmallows and said our goodbyes to beautiful Washington.  We are looking forward to seeing Oregon again, though. Bear with us as we have limited services the rest of the trip.  We're a little behind on our posts.  😊