The Oregon Trail (Part 2)...Yachats, OR

After the camping portion of our trip to Crater Lake, we were headed home for some beds and showers. At the last minute, Mike and I decided that we could take a detour to the Oregon coast and find a place to stay. We have never done something quite so spontaneous (considering it was mid-August in the Pacific Northwest and there are NO hotel rooms), but we headed west and drove up the coast looking for vacancy signs. Surprisingly enough we found them. We did pass up a few ($300+ a night) and then a few more (neon signs and a bit sketchy) before we came accross a resort in Yachats, OR. Amazingly enough, we got a very affordable room with a waterfront view. The hotel was old and 70's cheesy (think wood paneling and gift shop in the lobby selling painted sea shells and airbrushed T's), but it was clean, clean, clean, the bathrooms were updated and the staff was very nice. We even had a fireplace in our room that we used while opening the window to hear the surf. It ended up being a great place to stay. Luckily, I am getting used to packing for the weather around here. We put away the tanktops, pulled out the sweatshirts and had a great time enjoying the beach and the views.

The view from our hotel window.

The boys headed to the beach.

Michael exploring the beach.

Self portrait...

The boys digging in the sand (our hotel is up in the right-hand corner).

Concentrating on his project.

Crossing the bridge from the hotel to the beach.

The girls (I have to laugh at the "sun hat", but it was more for warmth!)

Some downtime before we hit the road again.

I can only assume he is talking to a hilarious friend.

Part 3 coming soon...

A backseat puppet show

This was an impromptu puppet show the boys had in the backseat. It was actually started by Will, who took off his sock, put it on his hand and said, "Hello Puppet". Ian rolled with the idea from there (and stole the show a bit), and we were pretty entertained by it. This is the portion that I caught on tape...

The Oregon Trail (Part 1)

We are back from our truly exhausting trip through Oregon. We figured out that we drove about 1100 miles over the course of our 4 day trip. We saw some gorgeous things and encountered more dirt than we intended and ended up on an impromptu drive up the coast. All in all we're glad we went, but happy to be home!

One shot of the Eastern Washington desert. This is near Yakima, WA. It was HOT and did I mention that our a/c broke on this trip? It did make a half-hearted attempt at cooling, but it couldn't handle the desert. So, it was HOT outside and very warm in the car as well.

This was our first night's campsite. We camped right on the Columbia River. We had a great view of the water and the stars that night were outstanding. We were able to leave the rainfly off the tent so we could actually lay in bed and look at stars.

Another view from our campsite of the Columbia River.

Arriving at Crater Lake. This is the backside of the crater with some lingering snow. The snow doesn't leave the crater until mid-June so there is some there all year long. The season that the lake is actually open to visitors (by car) is very short.

Another view from looking out from the lake. As with most of the scenery around here, it is very hard to capture in a picture.

S0, this is a very telling picture of Mike and the kids eating breakfast on Tuesday. We arrived at Crater Lake on Monday afternoon and set up camp at what has to be the dirtiest campsite EVER. I can handle mud, but this was super dry dusty dirt. Everytime the kids moved a cloud of dust went up, onto the tables and chairs, into the food--everywhere! I wish I would have taken a picture of Ian who was COVERED from head to toe in it. Probably if I had thought it was funny at the time I would have remembered the camera! So, after an afternoon and evening of dirt, we scrubbed the kids down in the back of the car, carried them into the tent and decided that we would not let their feet touch down again at that campsite. We carried them to the car in the morning and had breakfast "on the road". The plan did work--they stayed much cleaner and we were able to keep everything somewhat clean, but it meant no relaxing at the campsite. And that is also why we headed to the beach after a day at the lake.

Ian in front of the model of the lake and surrounding area.

Giant Baby next to Crater Lake!

Two pictures that show the amazing blue water. These are both looking down into the lake from the top of the crater. We chose not to hike down to the water. It is about a 700 foot elevation change over a 1.1 mile hike. I think the kids could have handled it, but it would have been tedious and once you're down, you have to get back up no matter how much they whine! :)

Mike in front of "The Pinnacles" (not a great picture). These are formed from lava and escaping gas, or something like that. I'm sure someone out there understands it better than me.

This is after driving around Crater Lake looking for picnic tables. Everywhere we went was full so we finally just pulled over and had our own little tailgate party. The kids thought it was great!

Stay tuned for Part 2 of the Oregon trail...the Oregon Coast.

Happy Birthday Delaney Elisabeth!

I can't believe that Laney is 1! It really has gone by so, so quickly.

She has had a busy day...presents, cake and a bath all by naptime! She's having fun though. She's a busy girl and likes to keep up with her brothers. She spends most of her day crawling around after them and trying to join in the wrestling matches. I'm pretty sure she'll be able to hold her own soon enough! She is crawling very fast and pulling up on everything, but no walking yet. She likes to walk behind toys, but she isn't really into cruising yet. I'm sure it is only a matter of time...

I wanted to share some pictures from her big day. Mostly cake shots, but those are the most fun! :)
Present Time!

I'm 1! (my shirt says so)

A smile for Papa. Nice and clean before cake.

Let the fun begin. She started slow, but then she dug in.

What is this stuff?

Yay! Cake!

I can share with my big brother (although Mom thought this was a little gross).

Happy Birthday Miss Laney!

We took the cake away, but that didn't stop the cake eating.

All cleaned up and ready to go.

A family hike

We have started "hiking" with the kids. I have to put it in quotes because of the speed at which our party of 5 moves and also because we aren't exactly on difficult trails. BUT, we hope that if we start young, it will become something that our family can continue to do. There are so many great trails around here and we have discovered a whole group of family friendly trails near our house.


The following are pictures of the "swamp trail". It is aptly named and much of it is a boardwalk. To add some fun, there is even a little story to read along the way. Ian really enjoys the hikes. Will spends half the time on the ground. Laney is just along for the ride. And yes, we are all in sweatshirts and jeans in August. Seattle summer--it was 85 the day before this hike!

Enjoy the pictures...