Redwoods Road Trip

We have talked about taking the girls to the Redwoods for some time and we finally did it!!  After 10 days, 5 states and so many neat things to look at, we ended up with nearly 500 photos [before thining them out].  It would be impossible to post every single one...and a little cruel.  So I will try to condense our fabulous trip ....which is proving to be very difficult;) 

Our first stop was in Utah.  It was a the perfect chance to have a little bit of family time and break up the drive.

We had a super long day of driving, after our layover in Utah.  So unfortunately we couldn't stop at SaltAir to reminisce old times with the girls;) I did manage to snap this pic of the Salt Flats as we hit the border.  You would think that was snow...nope...pure salt!!

 We finally made it to Oregon and boy was everyone happy to be out of the car for the day.  We stayed overnight in Klamath Falls and got to explore the downtown area a bit.  Mark and I decided it made our list for great places to live someday;)

We loved Oregon....so beautiful.  There were all sorts of fresh produce stands as we traveled toward California.  We bought fresh peaches on the way there as well as the way back....they were so sweet and juicy, we took no time in devouring them;) The road sides were literally lined with blackberries.  So we did what any crazy travelers would do....pulled right over and picked ourselves some berries.

Then it was on to California....

 

A little more driving and we were officially at our destination.....

Redwood National State Park...woo hoo!!

 We camped at Jedediah Smith Redwood Park for a night.  This was luxurious by campground standards.  We've done a lot of camping in our time and I don't think I have ever had such nice bathrooms and showers.  The Smith River runs right behind the campground and is a popular swimming spot for campers.  The warm temperature outside made the water inviting and it felt surprisingly pleasant after the initial shock!!

 The water was so clear we had fun exploring and finding critters

We later crossed the river to check out Stout Grove, which was a short walk from our camp.  

Stout Grove is said to be the most scenic of the Redwoods.  Not the largest, or biggest trees, but the most photogenic.  We certainly found this to be true. We could not get enough and were snapping pictures left and right. The bad thing is that when you attempt to post some of those pictures it becomes impossible to choose the best ones....so this is just a sampling:)

Our next stop was Del Norte Redwoods.  This park is located in the Crescent City area, which is famous for the devastating Tsunami in 1964 which essentially wiped out the small waterfront town.  I had just recently watched the movie The Impossible, so needless to say, I was a little on edge every time we ran across one of these [which was often]

We set up camp at Mill Creek Campground.  Our site included a gigantic Redwood stump...free of charge!! This was immediately a hit and the girls were using it to play all sorts of games.

 This area is much more damp and almost jungle like with the campground being situated under a redwood canopy.

We found some massive trees in this park.....

You can't make a trip to the coast without including a stop(s) at the beach.  This part of the coast is not like you would imagine when you think of "beach".  It was cool, damp, foggy and pretty deserted.  It was actually pretty.... in a eery kind of way.

Our girls love the beach and were anxious to spend some time playing in the sand and water.  Mark had prepared them for the fact that this would not be like their beach experience in San Diego...much cooler and less sunny.  I found it too chilly for me to get in the water much, but it didn't stop our girls.  Emmrey ended up soaked from the waist down.

Prior to our trip, Emmrey had used some of her own money to buy beach toys that she was ecstatic about.  I am so glad that she got to use them:)

We had miles of beach to ourselves and as a result found lots of untouched shells and sand dollars. We also came across several "abandoned" homes for crabs.

 

The other big attraction in this area is the Tide Pools.  We made sure to be at the beach at low tide....and we were not disappointed. We had a blast finding all sorts of sea creatures in their natural habitat.  In fact we liked it so much we made two trips:)

 

One of our last stops was Prairie Creek Redwoods.  We explored in Fern Canyon.  The canyon is home to at least 5 different types of ferns and the walls are just covered with lush green.  It has such a peaceful and mysterious feel to it.  Apparently, it was used to film a scene or two from Jurassic Park.  It is so moist there that fungi grow in abundance.  Mark was fascinated with all the different varieties.

It wasn't all play for [some of] us in the Redwoods.  Amidst all the exploring, Karsyn and Emmrey also became Junior Redwood Rangers.  They had to earn the required points for their age group by doing various things throughout the parks.  And if you think this is something to be taken lightly, you are wrong...just ask Emm.  They had to make a pledge with a real ranger as a witness before they got their badge.  Emmrey has that little pledge memorized...she will recite it to you if you want.  She did for us many times on the drive home;)

Bay also came armed with a project. She was on a mission to find some new flowers to press for her book.  She spent a good deal of time photographing and identifying different ones....it kept her pretty busy:)

Our trip to Redwood National Park was better than we could have imagined.  Although it's cliche..."the pictures really don't do it justice"...you have to see it in person to truly appreciate the magnificence.  While photos capture the moments and serve as a reminder of a glorious trip, I hope the real memories will be imprinted in our minds forever.  

 

We made our way back home through Oregon and stopped for more peaches at another little road side stand...

 We stopped in Dayton NV to visit Mark's sister Karen and her family.  We have never been out that way and knew we needed to fit it into our road trip since it was in the general area.  The girls have not spent much time with their Denning cousins so they were a little slow to warm, but by the end of the night they were sad to leave. Uncle Matt helped get us set up with a room at the Casino he works at, so we stayed overnight in Carson City which was a much needed pit stop...thanks Matt!!  It was so fun to get to see them and check out their part of the world.  We only wish that it had worked out so that we could spend a little more time there...maybe another trip?

We made one last stop back in Utah before heading home to Wyoming.  I was lucky enough to get to do a little celebrating with my family for the August birthdays.  Chris and I share the same birthday and Leslie's is the following week.  [we missed Chris] Thank you Mom & Dad for putting this together and all for coming....I loved getting to spend more time with you guys!!

 photo bomb= funny girl:)

WOW.....what an amazing adventure we had!!! As tired as we were of being in the car, it was sure hard to come back to reality.  Mark and I were commenting toward the end of the trip how unbelievably well the girls all did in the car for that many hours [movies, iPods, and Audio books certainly help...but still]. I think in part it's because our girls have had to adapt to long car rides since they were itty-bitty.  Now that they are a little older, it allows us to take some fun road trips.  Yes, they are a lot of work, but they are oh so worth it!!  I'm so grateful we have these opportunities to take our girlies and see snippets of this big world out there....and so grateful I have a hubby who really gets the wheels rolling;)  

Now where to next??