So at the beginning of July, we drove to Oregon. We decided to stay a few days at my dad's house in Klamath Falls and spend the Fourth of July with him, then drive up the Oregon coast for a few days and head home.
The trip started off with a bang, because on the drive to my Dad's (which is despicable, and I'm not being dramatic - you drive on I-80 to Winnemucca then get off and take this small highway through some hideously desolate parts of Nevada and eastern Oregon and it is just not fun). But just when you are driving in 110-degree heat through
hell Nevada and thinking it can't get any worse, you realize your AC has broken down. So you roll down all the windows, make sure the kids are drinking lots of water, and even start dabbing water on your 3-month old to keep him cool. Really, I can't complain too much. The Lord blessed us with a bit cooler temperatures (like 100 instead of 110) and we made it just fine.
My dad had just bought an amazingly huge, new camping trailer and we got to be the first ones to break it in. It was so nice of him and his wife to let us stay there and the kids loved it.
For the Fourth of July, my dad had arranged to let us be on a float of one of his friend's in the Merrill parade. Grace and Connor loved being on the float. Especially the part about eating the candy that they were supposed to be throwing out. :) Our kids loved getting to spend some time with their cousin Karmyn, too.
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| Kai and I were the lucky ones and got to be in the cab with our driver, Gary. |
After spending the long weekend at my dad's, we left and made our way to The Redwoods. Let me tell ya' - Grace LOVED the Redwoods. I mean really. She wanted to take a picture at EVERY. SINGLE. TREE. Wow. Lots of pictures there. But truly, what a beautiful, quiet, almost-reverent place. That place just feels ancient and because of that, sacred.
Following our stop at the Redwoods, we continued on to our next pit stop - Gold Beach. Boyce found a fantastic little cabin right on the Rogue River. The next morning, we got up early and went on Jerry's Jet Boat Ride up the Rogue River. The jet boat ride was super fun and we got to see some amazing wildlife. You stop for lunch at the turnaround spot, and truly I had the best fried chicken I have EVER had right there in that little town. On the jet boat ride back our driver was more adventurous (probably because it was warmer) and did all sorts of 360s with the boat and man alive did we ever get wet. I mean truly we got soaked. Grace had a ball with this, but Connor was not having it at all. Finally, he just put Boyce's jacket over his head and fell asleep. And let's be honest, Kai was not coping, either. I daresay I would never take an infant on the jet boat ride ever again...or at least not a newborn. It is not nursing or napping-friendly. :) But still super fun!
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| I believe that was an Eagle's nest way up there! |
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| Boyce was the "Kai-Whisperer" on that boat ride! |
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| That sign says that is a 100-year-old grapevine. It was pretty cool. |
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| Some seriously great Daddy-Baby bonding time. Look at that! |
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| Nope - my girl is not afraid to get dirty! This was just down from our cabin. |
The next morning we said goodbye to our fun little cabin and to Gold Beach and continued up the coastline to Newport. We made two fun pit stops that day - one that morning at a dinosaur park and holy cow our kids LOVED that place - and then at the beach that afternoon.
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| Seriously - with all the ferns and big trees and such, doesn't this place look prehistoric?! |
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| Pretty sure Grace was reenacting the dinosaur. :) |
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| This was where we stopped at the beach - it was at a lighthouse but darn it, I don't remember the name. |
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| This is where my little man hung out - under the umbrella in the shade! |
That night we stayed in another cabin at a fun campsite, and then the next morning we headed off to the Oregon Coast Aquarium. It was the perfect day for it because it was cold and rainy. We spent a good chunk of the day at the Aquarium and then the rest of it resting back at the cabin. Kai and I took a nap while Boyce took Grace and Connor swimming at the pool there at the campsite.
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| Gracie captivated by the spider crabs. |
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| I, on the other hand, think they are disgusting. |
By the way, I neglected to mention that we TRIED to get our AC fixed in Klamath while at my dad's, but because of the holiday weekend, we couldn't get it in. So we altered our travel plans a bit and decided to go back to my dad's before heading home to Utah. So the next day, we got up super early and drove back to my dad's so we could have the minivan at the dealer by 11 and get it back that evening. So we hung out at my dad's that Friday.
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| Some final pictures before we headed home! |
Saturday we woke up early again and headed home. But we decided to take the long, more scenic route and made our way up to Idaho and through Boise. Some dear friends of ours moved there and we used our trip as an excuse to see their new home and stay with them. It was great to see them and their kids and go to Church with them on Sunday before really going home. Sunday night we got home, and as always, there is truly no place like home. Another fun vacation in the books!
