Final Fall Camping Trip: The Next Day

Here are some cute kids after their night in the tent. Everyone slept pretty well, aided by our comfy pillows, which we didn't have room for on the last camp-out (after which I made a note to always make room for my pillow in the future).

 

 On the last trip I also made note of my cold ears and this time packed hats for everyone.

We got us up another great fire in the morning & had some pancakes for breakfast.

Then we broke camp, packed up the car, and re-parked the car near the visitors center so we could go hiking without worrying about getting back in time for check-out.

These morning rays of sun coming through the trees were just begging to be caught on camera. My family obligingly hammed it up in their poses.

Chosen One

Angelic Prayer

Shying Away

And here are just some cute poses of Maggie by a green pool:

 

We all crossed over this meager bridge. Here's proof that I was on the camping trip.

We saw several banana slugs. Here's Gunnar's foot for scale:

And the same slug by Holly's foot:

We finally settled down at a rocky shore by the creek. I claimed a spot in the sun while Damon and the kids did some more exploring.

 I found this butterfly softly resting on some of the rocks nearby.

 

Adah enjoyed getting her feet wet and playing in the water.

Holly looked at rocks. 

Gunnar rolled up his pant legs and got in a bit deeper.

...and reached a bit further....

Until he pretty much fell all the way in. The only dry thing for him to wear was Maggie's pink fleece. He was not loving that, (although I think he's smirking here, so maybe he didn't mind so much).

We eventually had to leave the creek and finish our hike. We were all getting hungry and wanted to get back to the car where our lunch--and dry clothes--awaited. We also had to get back for an afternoon birthday party for Gunnar and Holly and the Relief Society General Broadcast (a worldwide meeting for women) for me. I told you our weekends were busy!

Camping is fun, and even though it's hard work, I'm glad we make the effort. We always have a good time and make good memories with our kids.

Final Fall Camping Trip

We wanted to get one last camping trip in before the weather got too cold. Our Saturdays were looking pretty busy throughout the first months of school, but we finally found a weekend in late September when we could make it work. Damon got off work a bit early and we left as soon as the kids were out of school.  We were headed for Portola Redwoods State Park, a quiet little place not too far away in the Santa Cruz Mountains.

Despite being a short distance away, the drive took awhile since it involved a narrow and winding road. Still, we arrived well before dark & got the tent set up before meandering down the road to the visitors center before it closed for the night.

We took an alternate path back from the visitors center along one of the park's hiking trails.

 

These tall trees never fail to impress me.

And there are always some great hiding spots. I love this photo because Maggie has her arm around Gunnar. She is wearing my old Brownie Girl Scout sash and Gunnar is wearing a homemade one, hoping to earn "badges" established by Maggie on the camping trip, like the River Badge. They had a lot of fun together on this camp-out.

The great part about camping with our children now is that they are old enough to help set up! Camping is fun, but can be so much work. Now that the kids have gotten bigger, they can take on responsibilities. While I made dinner, the kids got all the pads and sleeping bags unloaded from the car and rolled out in the tent. Then they set to work preparing for the fire, which is definitely the highlight of camping for my little pyromaniac family.

This was one of our better campfires, if you ask me. For once, we brought wood from home. We had some old fence boards that were nice and dry and burned quite nicely.

We had a great evening around the fire, roasting marshmallows, sitting, warming ourselves,

or just being silly!

 

I love this one of Damon looking at his girls. He's a great dad. He loves his kids.

And they love him!

 

More camping to come in the next post! I couldn't get all the photos to load into a single post.

Coast Camping Trip: Jade Cove & Trip's End

We were indeed camped near Jade Cove, and one afternoon we stopped there to check out the rocks on that beach. Holly, however, had fallen asleep in the car, so I opted to stay there with her while Damon took the older three down to the shore. I'm sure I wanted the chance to doze as well, as I did not sleep well at all on this camping trip. (We forgot our pillows and I just couldn't get comfortable--or keep my head warm!)

 

When they returned to the car, Damon said it was a good thing that Holly and I stayed behind. The path to the beach was very steep and would not have been safe for Holly at all. Sliding and screaming was apparently a big part of the excursion.

 

Still, giant boulders for climbing,

cool rocks and crevasses to explore,

spots for resting,

the impressive surf,

and the general splendor and excitement of a rocky seaside cliff definitely made the adventure worthwhile for my little band of explorers--

--even though they didn't really find any jade at Jade Cove.  No matter. It was a fun camping trip and an enjoyable weekend.

On Saturday, after we broke camp we drove south and met Damon's parents at a beach where we could view elephant seals. They were amazing and HUGE, and we learned a lot of interesting things from a volunteer docent. Then we went to Cayucos for lunch and onto Grandma's house for hot showers. We spent Saturday night there, went to church Sunday morning, and left for home late Sunday afternoon. Just before heading for home, we decided to take the kids to the neighborhood park, which is visible from Highway 101. While there, we saw someone from White Salmon!! She was a shop owner that we'd known for all the years we lived in White Salmon who was merely stopping at the park with her daughter and granddaughter as a break during their road trip from LA to Monterey. We were each only there for the same 45 minutes; what a crazy coincidence.

What a great way to spend our spring break.

Coast Camping Trip: Coastal Treasures

From our campsite at Plaskett Creek Campground we could hear the ocean waves. It was just a short walk out of the campground, across Highway 1, through this meadow, 

and down this trail to get to the ocean. (Gosh, I guess that didn't sound short! Really, it wasn't far.) 

 

We spent a couple of hours down near the beach exploring on the sand . . .

. . . and on the rocks.

I spent a long time just sitting in the sun on a rock and the children kept bringing me the interesting rocks, shells, seaweed, and parts of sea creatures that they found. I felt like a queen being presented with gifts. Damon kept telling me to get up and look around, but I told him I didn't have to since they were bringing everything to me!

Holly loves ladybugs right now and she was in heaven because they were everywhere on the rocks and sand. I'm sure she spent much of her time at the beach with a handful of 3 or 4 ladybugs, always reluctant to let them go.

I found this one creeping along the sand when I did take a stroll down the beach.

I knew that we were near a place called Jade Cove, so we spent a lot of time trying to find green rocks that could be jade. We're not sure whether or not any of it was genuine, but we did find a lot of rocks with green veins in them. Gunnar found this big rock with so much green in it that he wanted to keep the whole thing and carried it all the way back to our campsite! He's a strong and determined little boy.

I always love seeing how much my family enjoys being at a shoreline and can entertain themselves for so long when surrounded by water, rocks, and beautiful landscape.