West Coast Trip: The Redwoods

We arrived at the Redwoods on the evening of July 3rd.  We had a campsite booked at Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park.  The campsite was gorgeous and our favorite of the whole trip.  Our campsite was secluded and very wooded but also close to the restrooms and water.  If you want to stay at this campground plan to book it six months in advance.  We didn't book it that far in advance...and as a result were at a different campsite for the three nights we stayed there.  Kind of a pain but to stay in this place it was worth it.  After setting up camp we got started on dinner.  We bought Mountain House meals in bulk at Costco and were set for the trip.

After dinner we went out in search of Seth's sister Jill and her family.  Jill had mentioned their West Coast trip back around Christmas and we decided we should tag along.  It was nice to not have to plan a trip...especially since we had been busy buying and fixing up a house.

Phin was delighted to see cousins and to have his own headlamp.

The next morning was July 4th.  Our little Phin was excited to get going and insisted on wearing the Camelback while we loaded up camp.

He wasn't so sure about the wildlife at the campsite.

But he was willing to climb right into the bear box.

After we got packed up we headed over to Jill's campsite.  Phin had a chance to explore with cousins while everyone else got ready to head out.

Our first stop was the Prairie Creek Visitors Center.  We got some good recommendations on hikes and enjoyed the exhibits.

The kids loved exploring the area behind the Visitors Center while we made our final plans.

We set out on the Prairie Creek trail that started just behind the Visitors Center.

It wasn't long before Ashton found the infamous banana slug.

We made lots of stops along the trail to explore the trees.

Phin picked up pine cones and rocks.

We thought this fallen redwood looked a little like a boar.

We ended up missing the trail we were expecting and took quite the detour.  We forgot to load our pack up with snacks and were getting pretty hungry.  Jill was kind enough to share a few Ritz crackers.  Phin ate one of the three she gave him and then held onto the other two until he fell asleep.

Ashton was able to find some blackberries and Phin loved them.  He usually doesn't love berries but he must have been pretty hungry.  He didn't want to leave the blackberry bushes...he must have learned the survival skill to not leave the food source.

We did find our car soon after and enjoyed a late lunch.

Then we explored more of the big trees behind the Visitors Center.

Our next stop was Fern Canyon.  We had to drive quite a way on a dirt road but this trail was worth it.

The canyon was lush and green.

We explored the beach once we finished at Fern Canyon.

Jill's family had brought sand toys and Phin was in heaven.

Phin loved chasing birds with his Daddy.

The love of the beach quickly ended when Phin got a taste of the sand.

We headed back to the campground for the night.  The next day was Sunday, July 5th.  We went to church in Crescent City and then headed to the tide pools.  I quickly learned my limitation after I slipped on the rocks...while holding Phin...and the camera.  My side was pretty sore that day but I learned to slow down.

We walked up to the Crescent City lighthouse and enjoyed gorgeous views of the ocean.

We headed to the Jedediah Smith area of the park next.  This section is famous for some scenes from one of the Star Wars movies.  We walked along the Simpson Reed and Peterson trails.

The fallen trees were pretty impressive.  We loved studying their root systems.

Whenever Phin was out of the backpack he was picking up rocks.  He found a pretty cool place to store the rocks along the trail.

We enjoyed lunch at the Jedediah Smith campground and hiked down to the Summer Bridge.

It was lovely to soak our feet in the cool river water.

We enjoyed exploring more of the campground when we got back.

On Monday, July 6th we headed back to Crescent City.  Seth watched all of the kids at the park while Jill, Peter and I headed into town to do some laundry and pick up a few things from the grocery store.

We headed back to the Jedediah Smith campground to play in the river.  Well some of us played...

Seth and I enjoyed sitting on the shore and watching Phin throw rocks into the river.

West Coast Trip

We took a two week West Coast road trip at the beginning of July.  I was worried about camping being as pregnant as I was...but the weather along the coast was heavenly and a much needed break from the triple digits we were experiencing here in Utah.  It was so nice to spend time together as a family and have a break from house projects.  Prepare yourself for picture overload in the next few posts.  

A = The Nest

B = Elko, Nevada

C= Redwoods National and State Park, California

D = South Beach, Oregon

E = Tillamook, Oregon

F = Carnation, Washington

G = Seattle, Washington

H = Vancouver, Canada

I = Seattle, Washington

J = Kalalosh, Washington

K = Forks, Washington

L = Elwah Campground near Port Angelos, Washington

M = Seattle, Washington

N = East Wenatchee, Washignton

O = The Nest

We left on July 2nd when Seth got home from work.  Our first stop was Elko, Nevada for the night. We checked into our hotel and then went on a short walk.  Phin was happy that we found a few trains.

We stopped at a little grocery store and picked up some tamales to heat up in our hotel room.  We stayed at Stockmen's Casino.  It was the Top Secret Hotel that we chose on Travelocity.  We felt like we got a little bit of the bait and switch.  The hotel was rated as a three star and the pictures online looked great...but that rating must have been based on their upgraded rooms.  We felt like we were traveling back into the 70s with the dark carpet, lack of lighting and old bathroom.  The tamales must not have agreed with Phin and he threw up all over the floor.  He also fell out of bed in the middle of the night.

Needless to say we were excited to continue on with our journey the next day.  We drove for almost 10 hours...here is a picture of Phin during a happier moment of the drive.

There were some long stretches of the drive between Nevada and Oregon.  We should have filled up our car in Winnemucca, Nevada but we stopped at a rest stop just before and thought we would be okay.  The drive between Winnemucca and Lakeview, Oregon was long, barren and had no services.  We made it to a gas station on a few fumes and lots of prayers.  We stopped for ice cream in Medford, Oregon and then continued on to the Redwoods.  

June

June was mostly filled with activities related to the new house but we did squeeze a few other things into the month as well.  Phin took swimming lessons twice a week for four weeks.  It was a nice break from working on the house.  We signed up with my best friend Amy and her daughter Zoey and had a blast hanging out.  Phin is turning into quite a fish and is pretty good at tiger arms, ice cream arms, looking for birds while he back floats and doing frog kicks.

We had our last Sunday in our old ward.   We will always have fond memories of this ward and our apartment.  We became a couple in South Carolina and a family in this ward.

The night before our move Seth's brother Matt came down to help us pack up last minute things.  We took a little break from packing to head over to the car show on Main Street.  We enjoyed some yummy Philly Cheesesteak sandwiches at Vito's and then got to watch a few burnouts...Phin loved watching the wheels spin and did quite a few fist pumps. The rubber sure was stinky as it hit the road.

We also made it to a couple of outdoor movies in June.  The night we moved into our new house we went to How to Train Your Dragon 2 at the Rec Center and the following week we made it to Paddington at a nearby park.

We took a break from unpacking on a Monday night and headed to the pool.  Phin loved going down the big slide with Seth.  He kept saying "again, again."  Seth was a good sport and took Phin down at least ten times.