Options Abound in Olympic

Ten years ago was our last visit to Olympic National Park, yet it was a different experience as we huddled baby Braden under mosquito net protection after finding out he had a rare skin disorder called mastocytosis.  Every mosquito bite he had from birth two months prior had turned into a harsh lesion on his newborn skin.  These lesions would not disappear, at least anytime soon.  We raced through the Olympic Peninsula, hoping to avoid more bug bites, and saddened by the amount of clear cutting in the national forests.  While our boy still has these lesions and mast cell disorder, he is thriving.  This was destined to be a different trip than our last.  As we said our goodbyes to Kimmy at the Olympia train station, we continued on from Mt Rainier to Olympic (travel dates 7/12-7/17/17).

As we made our first stop in the remote Quinalt Rainforest, Braden informed us that he had his annual case of poison ivy once again.  Thankfully, his pediatric dermatologist had sent us prepared this year with mometasone, an ointment that thankfully did the trick, along with hand washing much of this boy’s wardrobe as we pulled into yet another area with no laundromats.

While the kids were hoping for monkeys and colorful exotic birds, they were pleasantly surprised by the majestic North American rain forest as we power hiked a quick 4 mile loop in the Quinalt.

 

  

 

The younger three enjoyed driving with Jill to our first campsite in Olympic at Kalaloch, a coveted campground stay on the cliffs of the Pacific.  We were so grateful for the opportunity to stay here, and immediately wish we had reserved more than two nights upon our arrival.  Thankfully, we had 3 sites for Jill, the Hamiltons, and us because it was the first of two occasions that we had to do some site swapping to accommodate the Hamilton camper (which ironically was better accommodated in Jill’s tent site two times in a row)!

But wow, was this place magical or what?!  Jill’s iPhone 7 plus captured some pretty amazing pictures on this stretch of the trip.

After dinner our first night here, we quickly raced off to the beach below to catch the sunset.  Lucky for us, we were even able to find some whales!

  

Laney was crushed when Ellie received the first full sand dollar, but more were to follow.

This famous tree amazed us with its “un-rooted” roots.

The next morning, we drove up through the Twilight based town of Forks to explore Rialto Beach at low tide, the only time you can walk out to the amazing Hole-in-the-Wall.

The kids raced down the beach to explore.

 

Gavin was thrilled when he realized we were back in tide pool territory once again!

Hole-in-the-Wall was an amazing experience for all of us!

    

 

    

This is where Gav thrives… he loves being able to explore, especially near water.

 

All the kids loved finding critters in the water and out.  Different than many other beaches, we were able to find so many baby starfish here!

 

Best of all, we were able to do it together, with family and friends!

On the way out, we found a huge downed tree that we had to take a “family tree” pic on of course.

 

 

We had a busy day ahead of us, and our next stop was one of our favorites, the Hoh Rainforest.

The Hall of Mosses hike is one that we will never get used to, and never forget.  It’s amazing that so many things can grow in this amazing corner of the country.

     

 

The Hamilton girls are such good friends to our boys, and so sweet with our girls.  Laney had gotten something in her eye, and Katelin was the first to care for her.

As we walked through the Hoh, the kids had fun searching for banana slugs, mushrooms, and more.  Of course, the dads once again turned it into a game, along with a point system for rare finds.

After the Hoh, we headed off to check out popular Ruby Beach.  We could have spent all day in any of these spots.

The kids enjoyed climbing on the above rock while the adults made up a fun little rock toss game.  We love that nature brings out this kind of creativity in us.

Laney found a great rock to use as a photo op, something I can see these girls doing more of as their love for getting their pictures taken rises.

On the hike back down Ruby Beach, this driftwood house was a great stop.

  

It was here that we found our third rainbow glass piece.  Even after stopping to ask the locals what they are, nobody seemed to know.  Please tell us if you have any ideas!  Strangely, they look like beach glass, but all have a flat bottom with a beautiful rainbow design inside.

The kids had been begging for a fire on the beach, and Kalaloch was the perfect spot for this.  While we were concerned about making dinner with all the sand, we do love indulging these sweet ideas whenever we can!  We headed down to the beach with our pie irons and pizza supplies.  It felt as is we were the only ones on this beautiful beach all night.  While the kids built forts and sand castles, the adults enjoyed a spectacular sunset alongside visiting whales.  All of us agreed that it was a night we will never forget.

This couple has become such a treasure to Chuck and I, and we finally captured a moment with them.  While we don’t live nearby, and often times, we don’t see them on a regular basis, we are intentional about finding times to make it happen, and couldn’t be happier with the directions we have gone together, or the things we have to look forward to with them.  Thank you Hamiltons for your amazing friendship!

 

We were sad to leave Kalaloch after our special fire on the beach, but Sol Duc was calling.  As we passed through Forks again, we made a stop to eat lunch and take care of any business before heading out of service once again.  That business tends to build up… for example, my mom had gone through our mail, only to discover some semi-urgent matters, our mailbox had been knocked down, etc.  I had to snap a pic of our ladies here, at the grocery store, totally absorbed with their phones, not ready to leave civilization just yet.  It’s amazing how disconnected we get on the road, and feels so odd yet necessary when we have the ability to connect in these fleeting moments.

Our next group of 3 sites at the national park Sol Duc Hot Springs Campground was even stranger than our last three.  Our campsite ended up being the bathroom parking lot, and the Hamiltons were supposed to park in the next few spots of the lot.  Thankfully, the tent side of those sites were very nice, so Jill made a switch, and the Hamiltons parked their camper in her site instead.

These sites were in the heart of the rainforest, and even though we had driven a couple hours from Kalaloch and the Hoh Rainforest, we were actually only 15 “walking” miles or so from the Hoh.  All the roads in Olympic go around the heart of the park.  This site was heaven on earth for us.  Since we would be here for three nights, the full setup went up, including all the hammocks and slackline.  I think the kids would have been happy to sit in this campsite the whole time, which is one of the reasons we revamped our plans a bit.  We had intended to shuttle up to Vancouver Island for a day, but like always on summer trips, flexibility is key.  All of us decided to tone it down a notch, avoid the rush, and enjoy life in the rainforest.  All of us were convinced we had the best site in the campground, a rainforest playground for kids and adults.

With Kelsey going into high school, and as the other kids are getting older, we were able to put her in charge and take nightly “adult” walks around the campground.  Believe it or not, there was truly only tea in those cups, despite the wildly happy looks on our faces.

We ran into this character on the walk one night when he needed to borrow Ethan’s swiss army knife for a corkscrew, so he could open his wine for his “woooman.”  It seemed that we ran into him wherever we went, maybe because it appeared his camp was set up along the road in the dump station.  Brian appeased us by sporting our favorite vest during a night of games… so many good laughs here!

 

The Sol Duc Hot Spring was not our favorite, but it was nice to get a couple soaks and showers in since none of the national parks had showers in the bathrooms.  We were able to get a 10 pack of tickets for a discount, and buy the rest of the kids tickets at the “child rate” thankfully.

 

In the middle of hot spring visits, we took a nice walk out to Sol Duc Falls, and back along a different route to the hot springs.

 

There were definitely lots of characters back in Sol Duc.  We had to snap a pic of this funny bus in the parking lot.

I think Braden would have liked to spend the whole day in the primitive springs.

On our last day together, we headed into Port Angeles for fish and chips/pizza in a parking lot,

and a trip up to Hurricane Ridge, another popular area in Olympic National Park.

The kids received their junior ranger badges

and we headed off for a high altitude hike.  We ran into lots of deer on the way up, and a mountain goat on top.

 

The views were very clouded over, which makes the breaks in the clouds that much sweeter.

Our last night as the h-pack was spent making Jiffy pop,

squeezing all the kids on the slackline,

and taking some silly pix in our playground.

Olympic National Park was so good to us.  Whether we walked on the beach, sat in the rainforest, or climbed one of the highest mountains, there was always something new to see and do.  Until next time, h-pack.  Coddiwomple.  Travel in a purposeful manner toward our vague destination. (travel dates 7/12-7/17/17)

 

Tumbling atop Mt Rainier

The last time we had been at Mt Rainier was 10 years ago when Braden was just 3 months old.  This time, we were looking forward to a more intense, hands on experience at this amazing national park (travel dates 7/9-7/12/17).  Mt Rainier is visible from much of the surrounding areas, so we were excited to finally get nice and close to this huge mountain.

We hadn’t stayed in one place for three nights since back at Snow Mountain Ranch, so we enjoyed setting up camp and spreading out again this time.  There is a big difference between one, two, and three nights or more in regards to what comes out of the camper.  The slackline was the biggest hit, of course.

Lucky for us, Cougar Rock Campground was within a couple miles of several stunning waterfalls, so after lunch,

we raced off to see Christine Falls and hike to Comet Falls.

“We” entailed a semi-random group of friends and family who didn’t really know each other, including the Hamilton family, my cousin Jill, and Chuck’s sister Kimmy.  The group couldn’t have gotten along better.  It was a perfect day to wear our new “Coddiwomple” shirts, a phrase meaning “to travel in a purposeful manner toward a vague destination” chosen by the eldest Hamilton, Kelsey.  When we arrived at this waterfall, we assumed it was Comet Falls,

  

only to look beyond and see a huge towering fall beyond.  Of course, we had to get close enough to feel the powerful spray from the real Comet Falls.  What a great 4 mile hike, with 1300 feet of elevation gain!

  

  

    

Back at our awesome campsites, everyone enjoyed being able to relax,

   

 

eat dinner and even s’mores, and get ready for a full day up at Sunrise the next day.

 

We had an aggressive plan to hike Mt Fremont, and a loop including the Sunrise Rim, and Glacier Basin Trail, but when we arrived at the visitor center, they informed us that most of those trails were closed or advised against due to snowfall.  In fact, there had been rescues just the day before on these trails, so…. we opted to hike past Frozen Lake,

up the Fremont trail

   

    

through some intense clouds to the Fremont Lookout Tower.

We ate lunch in the tower,

ironically, had the first cell service we had had in days in the park,

and enjoyed looking through the clouds when Mt Rainier peaked through.

    

     

 

The sky cleared as we hiked back down,

so by the time we hit the snowfields, everyone was ready to play.

Snow angels,

and snow balls ensued.

We had a quick stop at Shadow Lake,

and then jumped our way back to Sunrise.

The girls enjoyed packing their cooling towels, although the weather didn’t warrant any necessary cool downs.

We were so proud of these two girls, getting their hiking legs in shape and ready to go.  At the end of the this hike, they were still jumping for joy 😉

 

We circled around by road to the White River Campground to cover another part of the Glacier Basin Trail that was still open (which we had originally planned for our loop).

As if these two hikes weren’t enough, we had to stop at the Grove of the Patriarchs.  No matter how many big trees we see, we never get enough!  The bridge over to the grove was a fun, wobbly suspension bridge that everyone enjoyed.

 

At the grove, we immediately had to snap a pic of the twins with the twin trees, and the whole group was in awe of the soaring giants.

The kids can never resist taking pictures climbing on these huge playgrounds.

  

   

  

With our big group, we couldn’t resist wrapping around one of the biggest trees.  Here’s our failed attempt at taking a pano of our theatrics.

A late dinner at the campsite was just what we needed, and this competitive group loved learning how to play our new favorite game, SET.  These guys were so intense, I was afraid to play!

 

Ellie enjoyed the special girl treatment from the Hamiltons, and I’m not sure Gavin left his favorite rock near the site that evening, which he gave nightly tours for all.

  

Before heading into the Paradise visitor center, all the kids finished up their junior ranger books

before getting sworn in.

Once again, we discovered that our intended hike (Paradise Skyline Trail) was snowed in further up, so our plan shifted to getting a good view of the mountain… and having lots and lots of fun.  Our ultra-competitive group decided to have a photo contest throughout the day since we couldn’t hike most of the Skyline Trail or get to Panorama Point.  As we hiked towards Myrtle Falls, Chuck tried to sabotage Jill’s pic by jumping in to photobomb the perfect shot of the first cute marmot we came across.

 

The further we hiked,

the more silly the pictures got.

 

Ellie, the cartwheel queen started the tumbling streak,

  

so we had to take pictures of everyone doing headstands, more cartwheels,

    

and of course, we hiked with our hammocks to get the perfect mountain shot.

 

We headed down for lunch because a “special guest” was expected, which turned out to be the popular governor of Washington.

Chuck and Brian had to introduce themselves and get a picture of course.

The Alta Vista Trail came to a screeching halt for us when we found a particularly friendly marmot near this large boulder.

 

The view was stunning here in all directions,

Since the marmot had claimed the big boulder, our crew claimed this smaller one.  All of us had to jump off for our own photo shoots,

   

  

but it was Chuck that claimed “best jump” with this winning shot.

Probably one of the most fun times was documenting what was now “our spot” on Mt Rainier with what we coined the “selfie panorama,” where the cameraman gets swapped out to include all of us during the pano pic.  We’re pretty sure everyone that passed us at this spot surely thought we were crazy, but oh was it fun… definitely a highlight from the trip we won’t forget!

Just beyond the spot we had parked it was this nice waterfall, and nearby, a ranger who told us about the dangers of walking on snow, especially in areas like this, where the water runs below the questionable snowpack.  A climber had been missing for a few days now, and there was no way to find him after he fell through a crevasse.  When the snow melted more, he may be found…. a reminder to heed warning to the rangers words of advice and hike safely.

   

The dads offered ice cream to whoever made it safely down the steep, snow-covered trail first, so of course these bright kids finished arm in arm so they could all earn ice cream 😉

I thought we may never leave the comforts of the lodge once we entered,

and it was “Auntie” Jill who splurged for all the kids.  Spoiled.

Back at the campsite, there was one more waterfall within walking distance, so one group stayed back at the campsites with the dads, while the moms headed off to check out Carter Falls.

  

 

The lighting was perfect on this “golden hour” hike,

  

 

so after a few pix, we declared we must come back in the morning with the whole crew.

Back at camp, the dads did not set up our cooking fire, but instead rigged up the perfect hammock swinging setup.

We returned bright and early the next morning to what we thought would be the perfect photo op,

only to discover an old stump, one cloud in the sky hanging right in front of Mt Rainier, crabby, sleep-deprived kids, a dead camera battery, and a bunch of kids who had to use a non-existent restroom… quite the funny situation!

Us ladies would not cease to be teased about good-looking stumps for the remainder of our time with the H-pack.  Good times of course!

H-Pack Reunited at Mt St Helens

Leaving Oregon was one of the hardest parts of the trip for us.  It was unanimously decided that Oregon was one of our favorite states.  However, we were totally looking forward to being reunited with the Hamilton family, one of our favorite crews to meet up with each summer.  Last summer, we were not able to meet up when the Hamiltons headed east for a family reunion, and of course, the Hoffpack was out west in the Rockies.  I always love telling the story of the year we drove all the way out to California, thinking nobody would plan their vacation alongside us all the way out by the Pacific, yet Jeanne drove her camper all the way across the country with their three young daughters, picked Brian up in Phoenix (who had limited vacation time), and met us on the west coast.  Now, that’s a tough woman!

My cousin Jill, Chuck’s sister Kimmy, and our crew drove up to Seaquest State Park in Washington and met up with the Hamiltons for a quick trip up to Mt. St. Helens.

After quickly setting up camp in this beautiful state park, we headed off for the famous volcano.  It’s amazing that the campground was nearly an hour away, yet it was pretty much as close as we could get to the mountain.  There really isn’t much of anything around this national park, a precaution put in place for the next eruption?  I can’t imagine having that drive to work everyday! The girls have become very interested in mountains and volcanic activity, so they were especially excited to learn more about Mt. St. Helens. These little sponges quickly earned their junior ranger badges.  They were comforted to know that the next time she erupts, scientists will be able to predict when that may happen, so thankfully, they were more than willing to hike along the ridge for a better view.  The movie at the visitor center was one of the best national park videos we have seen, and even better when they lift the screen for a beautiful view of the mountain.

    

The kids could not have been happier to see each other.  Our kids don’t have any cousins their age, but the Hamiltons certainly fit the bill for pseudo cousins.

The adults were just as thrilled to be reunited.  Chuck and Brian went to college together, and when they get together, they revert to the good ‘ol college days and add to the kid count 😉

One of the things I will never forget about Mt. St. Helens is the beautiful array of wildflowers scattered everywhere, a reminder of the rebirth of life in an area that was once annihilated.  Jill now has the iPhone 7 plus, and the portrait setting sure can do amazing things!  I so want one!

 

One of the things we love most about having my super-positive, trooper of a cousin along with us is her willingness to go with the flow.  As we were trying to empty the fridge to fit in more food for the next segment with no grocery stores along the way, Jill was all about eating the leftover pickles and even drinking the pickle juice.  She also claims to “like” the burnt pie irons coming off the fire, which of course the kids won’t eat.  How cool is she?

With such a big crew, we struggled to come up with a way to share meals, something we commonly do with the Hamiltons.  Lucky for us, the super organized Jeanne had made lots of dinner meals and froze them before heading out to meet us.  We picked up the remainder of the breakfast and lunch meals, and Jill and Kimmy loaded up with fruits, snacks, and desserts.  It worked out perfectly.  The kids were loving all the berries they brought with!

We finished off our one night stay at Seaquest (travel dates 7/8-7/9) with a fun fire, and all our cross county kiddos did some strengthening exercises and a nice run.  That is one thing I regret not having more pictures of, but it is definitely noteworthy how hard these kids worked on vacation.  Even though we were pretty tired at the end of the day after hiking (especially our feet), these kids were so committed to heading out for their runs.  We love their commitment and hope they have some great cross county seasons!

Getting up Close with Columbia River Gorge

Leaving the Pacific coast is always hard, especially when it was 70 and sunny, and upon arriving at Ainsworth State Park, it was nearly 90.  This would be our last stop with my mom before dropping her off in Portland, and Ainsworth was not really the campground we expected (a long campground with all pull through sites on a big hill, making it difficult to set up a tent, let alone two once Kimmy and Jill arrived for the next stretch).  However, the full hookups were a nice treat.

One of the luxuries of the big camper is eating ice cream, whenever we want it.  The kids couldn’t be happier about that.

The Columbia River Gorge is somewhere we have wanted to explore for years, but have never had the opportunity to do it.  Once we arrived, we weren’t sure where to go, so the campground host recommended checking out the Bonneville Lock and Dam (the first federal lock on the Columbia and Snake rivers), as well as the fish hatchery.  The lock and dam were placed on the National Historic Landmark Register in 1986Trail.  Upon arriving, we were surprised when they asked to search our car.  It was a quick check, but what a reminder it was of the damage that could be done by the wrong hands here.

Inside the Bradford Island Visitor Center, we were able to watch migrating fish move past lighted underwater viewing windows as they move up the fish ladders.  The lampreys were the first fish you see, sucking on to the glass of the viewing windows.  These scary looking, three-toothed “eel-like” sea creatures are also going up river to spawn.  While the Great Lakes fishery was nearly devastated by Atlantic lamprey several years ago (that were able to get around natural barriers with the construction of dams on the St Lawrence River) without natural predators, they are an important part of the Columbia River ecosystem.

It was shocking to see the force of the river, and the determination of the fish as they swam upstream through the ladder.

Millions of fish swim through every year, having been counted since 1938.  Yikes!

After an impressive trip to the lock and dam, we headed over to the fish hatchery.

Even more amazing than the number and size of these fish, was the beautiful grounds at the hatchery, a perfect place for a picnic had we thought to bring dinner.

Before we knew it, we found ourselves at the Bridge of the Gods, the gateway between Oregon and Vancouver, Washington.

The kids were thrilled when Grandma treated them to our last dinner out before she left us.  The Gorge is deceptive in that as your drive through it, you pass right by the beauty that is in the cliffs of the Gorge itself.  This evening, Chuck said, “we need to dig in and really get into this canyon, not just drive through it.”

That evening, we headed down the historic Columbia River Gorge Parkway to the impressive Multnomah Falls.  We always love it when the kids get along, and this night was no exception.  The boys enjoyed pretending the girls were their pets, and they carried them around  with superhuman strength, while treated them like gold… how lucky are these girls to have three awesome big brothers.

    

    

As Grandma was about to leave, Chuck picked up sister Kimmy at the Portland Airport at midnight our first night there.  Lucky for us, it was only 30 miles from Ainsworth Campground.  We were so fortunate that she was able to rejoin us after our recent visit in Colorado, before she returned to teaching in India later this month.  This expert traveler was able to find airfare for a mere $220, only one week before traveling!

The sights were amazing in the gorge, and one of the greatest things about having Kimmy along is her amazing ability to capture them on camera, as evidenced by many of her pictures posted here over the next week while she was with us.

After running and biking the gorge the next morning, we were so fortunate to be able to meet up with the McQueen family (who used to live in Illinois – I had worked with Adam at REI to get my outdoor fix before kids).  It had been years since we saw them, pre-kid era!  The McQueens met us at our campsite, and we drove a short mile down the road to the Horsetail Trailhead.  From there, we hiked a few miles and were able to see several spectacular waterfalls in that short time.

      

  

Probably the most impressive was our endpoint at the amazing Triple Falls. 

The moss on the trees was a quick reminder that we had finally arrived in the rainforest!

 

     

Of course Chuck had the brilliant idea to head out and take a picture atop these towering falls.

Never mind all the amazing sights on the trail, the kids were most impressed by the banana slugs we picked up along the way.

The girls carried them for the last couple miles back to the car, and their hands were officially slimed.  By the time they found the perfect place to release them, the waterfall nearby did not put a dent in the slime stuck to their hands.  Ugh!

  

    

We headed back to the campground for lunch, and waited for my cousin Jill to arrive (who would be with us for the next week and a half).  Adam’s next spot to take us was one of our favorites for the whole trip, Oneonta Canyon.  Again, this spot was only a mile and a half from our campground, between Horsetail and Multnomah Falls.  Despite how rugged it looks, it was relatively easy to access the canyon, aside from the dangerous log jam as we entered.

Once through the log jam, we were in pure amazement of the beautiful greenery in this canyon.  We were so fortunate to be able to explore this amazing spot, as a few days later on 7/12, the canyon was closed as wildfires burned near Oneonta Falls in the Gorge.  The Historic Columbia River Highway was closed from our campground at Ainsworth to Multnomah Falls due to the fire, knocking out access to all of the falls we visited on this day.

       

  

 

The water was cold in the canyon, and as proof that our kids don’t always love to hike, here’s a shot of Braden as he persistently told us he would have rather stayed at the campsite with Grandma.

The water got deeper the further we went, and the kids enjoyed walking on the downed logs

and climbing along the cliffs through the deep parts before finally succumbing to the water.   Chuck was not as kind as me, and pulled the girls right through the water instead of piggy backing them.

 

Poor Laney was terrified when it was her turn with Daddy.

The walk to the falls was not far, maybe 1/4-1/2 mile, but the canyon and falls were so very rewarding.  Thank you McQueen family for playing tour guide with us and showing us your amazing state!

     

We had been so eager to explore the canyon that it wasn’t until after that we saw the tunnels for the tiny cars, and the foreboding sign warning of the dangers of climbing in the log jam.  Whoops!

  

Two nights in the Gorge went by quickly, and we were sad to see our time coming to an end.  We returned to Multnomah Falls that night and hiked to the top.

    

We couldn’t have asked for a better stay here, and will definitely return!  Who would know all these amazing places exist only 30 miles from Portland.  Oregon, we love you like no other!

(travel dates 7/6-7/8)

The Boys Favorite, Fort Stevens

On the 4th of July, we moved over to Fort Stevens State Park, along the northernmost shore of the Oregon coast.  We remembered the beautiful rocky beaches from the last time we were there on our cross country bike trip 14 years ago.  We were shocked to see the condition of the road along the way in some spots.

The jetty at Fort Stevens was set up to close the mouth of the Columbia River, allowing safer passage for ships.  We enjoyed looking for wildlife in the lookout shelter and tower.  The kids were amazed that it was built by train cars long ago, which dumped loads of rock.

We knew the highlight of this park would be the actual fort, built during the civil war to protect our waterway.  The kids could not have been more excited to explore the Fort.  They said it was soooo cool because it was a “huge army place” where they got to go in all the historical buildings.

This was a World War II battleship gun that was transported because it was similar to the actual guns used at Fort Stevens.  No battles actually occurred at the Fort, aside from a Japanese submarine fired at the Fort.  The soldiers were very disappointed that they did not get to return fire during that time, and some went AWOL and were sent to the fort prison.

The boys learned that there were other guns there that could shoot 15 miles.  Many of the soldiers were unhappy to be stationed at Fort Stevens because of the rainy, cold weather, so many became expert sharp shooters, which would allow them to get transferred to a nicer base down south in the sun.

Their main defense was a bunch of mines built around the Columbia River.

Back at the campground, we had to take advantage of the site to site firewood delivery.

That evening, we headed off to Astoria to watch the fireworks.  We found the perfect spot to see them, right on the Columbia, within view of Washington.

The next morning, Gavin was in heaven after a restock at the grocery store the day before, which included a box of donuts.

Laney, on the other hand, who had quickly adapted to Pacific time, had to be woken up almost every morning.

The boys were so intrigued by the Fort that we returned the next day to tour the museum more, and ride ‘the Beast,’ a Vietnam era truck used for transporting soldiers through the jungle.

It was quite a bumpy ride, which made it all that much more fun.  Braden said, “I can’t believe it had 5 wheels on each side to help it on rough terrain.  It could carry 6 tons (12,000 pounds).”

Everyone was all ears on the tour.  Even though the guide was a “sub,” she made the whole Fort come to life with her knowledge and story telling.

After our tour on the beast, we moved over to the Guard House.  Braden said it was for “army soldiers that were bad.  I learned that no prisoner ever escaped there.  There was a jail in the basement for soldiers who got in lots of fights.  We got to go in one of the cells too.”

We learned that the guards slept head to toe in order to decrease germ spreading when sleeping next to one another.

Braden also said, “I loved getting to pick out cool pencil sharpeners from the gift shop thanks to Grandma.  I chose one that looks like a furnace.  I totally enjoyed looking and learning about the history of the fort.  It is such a fun thing we do over the summer, and I will definitely want to come back here some day.  Even though I think they got treated badly here by working so hard and not getting paid much, I think they kind of got lucky to get to go in the whole Fort, which is something I want to do.  I hope to tour the underground next time.  Fort Stevens is a fun place to go and play now.”

After our last time at the Fort, we went out for fish and chips, and were so pleased with the recommendation of the volunteers at the guard house.  We will definitely be back to the Fishmonger!  Ethan said, “it was an amazing meal…. definitely the best fish and chips I’ve ever had.”

Chuck found a great beach along the Columbia to eat our lunch.  We enjoyed watching the big ships pass through.

Afterwards, we continued on to the Lewis and Clark National Park, which is small but beautiful.  The kids made crafts and completed their junior ranger books there.

Outside, we were able to walk along the  end path of Lewis and Clark.  Ethan thinks it was a great way to honor Lewis and Clark.

The re-enactments allowed us to see how things were many years ago.

With only a few hours left at Fort Stevens, we opted to drive down the coast to return to Ecola State Park, a favorite beach from the bike trip many years ago.

Unfortunately, the erosion on the cliffs have forced the state park to close off the main part of the overlook, beautiful nontheless.

On the way out, we were greeted by several elk.

Canon Beach was also an amazing place to return to. This beach is just magical, as you can see from the happy faces on the kids faces.

We were baffled by all the dead birds on the beach, and of course we had to snap a pic of this one with a cigarette to send to our smoking relatives with a “smoking kills” message.

The houses along Canon Beach are gorgeous-we had to snap a pic of these gorgeous flowers on our way out!

While we didn’t like all the mosquitos up on this part of the coast, we love the shady sites at Fort Stevens State Park, as well as the many things this great park has to offer.

Before we left, Grandma spent the morning on  the beach by the shipwreck while Chuck and I packed up the camper for our next destination.  (The captain of this ship had been caught on a stormy night and crashed into the beach, but thankfully, everyone survived.  They simply waited for low tide to get off the boat).  There is so much history here…  but just never enough time at any of these places!