Our last day in the Redwoods was a day to just sleep in, regroup, take care of some odds and ends and relax at camp. The girls found some friends next door to us and spent the day wandering around camp, playing tetherball and tag with all the kids at the playground. Our neighbors also had a ridiculously adorable 13 week old King Charles Spaniel puppy that, of course, kept the kid's attention for hours.
Tisha - don't even START!! Gigantibeast and most of the bikes got a much needed bath and our clothes got a much needed washing. I'd post pictures of the laundry but that wouldn't be nearly as exciting as a sparkling clean Gigantibeast, lol!
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| The puppy and a bike being washed in the background - yes, Laryssa got the neighbor kids to help. |
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| Gigantibeast - clean at last! |
We left Crescent City with one major objective still unfulfilled - dipping our toes in the Pacific! Quite honestly, we are calling our stay in the Redwoods our "Fall camping trip" since it stayed in the 50's most of the time. We weren't prepared for the chill and no one wanted to jump in the ocean - and if you know any kids that are ages 6-12, you know it must be cold for them to not want to go swimming in the summer. So instead of taking a more direct route up into central Oregon, I opted to take the 101 north up the coast so we could see the Pacific and find a place to get to the beach. It was a beautiful ride - a little twisty and not the fastest way, but well worth it in the end.
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| Our lunch stop at a rest area on the Oregon Coast |
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| 4 little Olsen's head to the ocean |
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| Shoes off! |
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| Annalise in the Pacific Ocean! |
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| Happy girls! |
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| Annalise and Scarlett see a dead sea lion. I knew I smelled something... |
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| Graeme opted to stay dry so he only touched Pacific sand |
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| Getting back to the parking lot via beach grass tunnel |
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| The McKenzie River |
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| Dead trees on Rt. 126 in the Willamette National Forest |
Our ride through Oregon was a good one. Everything was lush and green and we saw the timber industry in full tilt - everyone was napping, but I saw the biggest lumber mill operation EVER before we made the turn east at Florence. Once we made this turn at Florence, it hit me that we're heading home. Of course, not directly home but we're now
past the mid-way point of our Odyssey and I'm realizing that I could do this full time in a heart beat! But we have a lot to still enjoy and we will do just that! The Oregon coast is beautiful, but the Oregon woods are equally impressive. We traveled for quite awhile along the McKenzie River and it was clear and clean... Sadly as we reached the Willamette National Forest, something has killed many trees. It looks as if insects have been the culprit since we didn't see much evidence of fire. The visual effect of these dead trees made for a stunning landscape, nonetheless... And as we neared camp in Prineville, OR seeing the bikes casting shadows on the road in front of us was just another reminder that we have made the turn to come back east... For so many of our trips from one campsite to another, the sun has been setting in front of us. Now it will set behind us until we return to Long Island.
Of course, no sooner do we get set up at camp here in Prineville and the frogs are making a racket across the road. It takes Scarlett all of 2 minutes to catch one and now he's hopping around our campsite somewhere... Just kidding. They played with him for awhile and then returned him safely to the pond. Where he's joining in the chorus of ribbits...
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