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From Joseph Stewart C.G. we drove further up the Rogue-Upmqua Scenic Byway around Diamond Lake (seeing Mt. Thielsen on the way) and then took 138 back to Roseburg, OR and Hwy 5. It was a beautiful drive and we felt adventurous doing it with the camper (we’re finally getting a little more courageous!).

From there we drove north up to Albany, OR where we had a couple nights at a Harvest Host at Deluxe Brewing and Sinister Distilling. As we drove we discovered that this area is the grass seed capital of the country (world?). Over the next several days in that area of Oregon, we discovered there is a plethora of agriculture in the area from hazelnuts, to apples, to vineyards, to Christmas trees, to peaches, and more!

Matt and I got drinks and played a little shuffleboard after dinner. Then the next day we made good on Reece’s Christmas present of hang gliding lessons! We got up and walked over to get coffee and a cute shop in downtown Albany and then drove to the Corvallis airport for our lesson. BUT, the wind wasn’t great so the instructor pushed our time back to later in the afternoon when the wind was supposed to be better.

We pivoted and grabbed some groceries and then headed to Avery Park in Corvallis where we were one of many groups that were out enjoying the sunny day. We hiked around, skipped rocks on the river, ate lunch, made daisy crowns, and tossed a frisbee. Eventually it was time for our lesson.

We started with the basics of flying/wind patterns/etc. It was very informative, albeit not particularly adrenaline producing. Next, we got harnesses on and tried out the simulator. Then, we put the hang glider together and brought it over to the field/runway.

It was a lot of work running against the wind and trying to catch air, but it was still pretty fun. Someday we’ll find tandem flights to do, which will be much more thrilling, but we’ll be ready! (I learned Sleeping Bear Dunes area is a popular place for hang gliding (because of course our instructor was originally from MI)!)

(Note – I also caught some air, but have no photo documentation of it!)

We returned to the camper, had celebratory sodas at the brewery and then had our first Burgerville experience – the seasonal rosemary shoestring fries and strawberry cheesecake shake were particularly good!

It was a great day!

We only spent one night in Ashland and headed up towards Crater Lake the next day. We camped at the Joseph Stewart Recreation Area on Lost Lake Reservoir (on the Rogue River). It was a beautiful place this time of year with lots of walking paths, lots of grassy open space (perfect for tossing a frisbee), and beautiful forest with flowering dogwoods.

The next morning we drove up to Crater Lake National Park not knowing exactly what we would be able to see. The Steel Visitor Center is open year round, but nothing past that is guaranteed. We stopped at the visitor center to learn about the park and then were able to drive up to the rim! There’s still a lot of snow up there (not compared to the amount they normally have, but a lot compared to the campground we were at!) We got to look over the rim at the lodge area and see the lake. It was beautiful! Formed by a collapsed volcano, it is the deepest lake in the US at almost 2000 feet, with no inlets or outlets known.

On the way back to our campground, we stopped at the Rogue River Gorge and the Rogue River Natural Bridge. A lot of the river runs through old lava tubes. At the gorge area, the river roars through a narrow canyon/tube, but at the natural bridge area, the river disappears underground for a short bit. The water levels were high when we saw it, so it didn’t totally disappear, but it was still impressive.

The next day we worked on stuff around the camper for a while before heading out to check out Mill Creek Falls. It was a beautiful waterfall dropping into the Rogue River and the hike around there was through thick forest. We also hiked up the Avenue of the Boulders (huge boulder in and along the river). The water is rushing this time of year, so it was impressive and intimidating!

The last night at the campground we finally got to use one of the fire color packets that the kids bought back in Canada! And the next morning, we found a tree fort – yes, Reece is in that tree picture!

We’re liking Oregon!

It’s been a busy stretch, so I haven’t been posting – sorry! I’ll be doing several posts over the next week or so to catch up, so check back.

From Napa we drove up to Redding, CA. We spent a couple nights at the parking lot of the Shasta Rock Club (a Harvest Host location). We met a young couple from Colorado who was also parked/camped there and were headed up to Alaska. They had an issue with their trailer that Matt jumped in to help with and then followed them to the shop early the next morning. We found out that the shop was able to help and they were on their way later that day!

We headed up to Lassen National Park that day. It was rainy and chilly, but that’s the day we had to do it! We got warm beverages on the ride up and took a beautiful drive on some backroads since we found out that the visitor center we intended to go to wasn’t open on that day. So, we had to drive around to the south side to access the open Kohm Yah-mah-nee Visitor Center. It’s at about 6,700 feet, so the landscape was changing and the temperature was dropping as we went. We knew the road through the park was closed because of winter conditions, but we didn’t expect it to actually snow on us while we were there! After checking out the visitor center we bundled up and walked the road up to Sulphur Works – a geothermal area with mud pots and steaming vents. It was fun to walk in lots of snow (for us, but actually considerably less snow pack than they usually have at this time of year), and stinky when we go to the vents.

The next day we headed out from Redding and were working our way to Ashland, OR. We didn’t have many exact plans, but started with a pit stop in the town of Mt. Shasta. We got bread, baked goods, and coffee at Bob’s Oven Bakery. It was a small, but tasty, and friendly operation. When Claire mentioned wanting to be a baker, they gave us a tour of the bakery, and Matt had to go get his camera to check out the temperature on their wood fired oven where everything was cooked.

Then we stopped by the visitor center and the helpful woman there suggested a hike by Lake Siskiyou – Box Canyon Hike with a car graveyard. It was a beautiful hike and a surprisingly large car graveyard with numerous rusty cars and washing machines strewn across the hillside where you were hiking. She said long ago people just threw stuff over the hillside to dispose it in that particular area.

From there we drove over to Pluto’s Cave on the northeast side of Shasta. It was recommended by a guy from the company Matt had worked at in Napa. It was off the beaten path a bit, and we were just able to park the van and camper off the side of the road at the trailhead. We hiked in to check out a stinky, bird/bat poop covered, graffitied tunnel in the ground. It was gross. We walked through and out and headed back to the van disappointed. But on the walk back we were convinced that we had missed something, so we checked the online info again and headed back. This time we went under the arch in the opposite direction and went through an opening into a larger cave tunnel and it looked like the pictures we had seen online. Then we continued on through another opening into another cave that did not have another opening, but it did continue. The kids and I decided to turn back once we started not being able to see light from the entrance, but Matt decided to continue for another 10 minutes or so and the cave just kept going. It was crazy! We’re glad we went back.

We continued on towards Ashland, OR via beautiful high prairie roads with mountains in the background. Upon arrival in Ashland, we had a quick turnaround to eat dinner, change clothes, and head to a play at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. We saw “Come From Away” – it was absolutely fabulous! (The director’s notes on the link are particularly appropriate for these days, so check it out!)

There are lots more Oregon adventures to share, so check back soon!

After leaving Santa Cruz, we headed up to Napa. We decided to drive Highway 1 up the coast and then over the Golden Gate Bridge to Napa to avoid driving ‘over the hill’ (Highway 17 from Santa Cruz to San Jose). It was a beautiful sunny day, so we got some nice views. Driving through San Francisco and over the Golden Gate Bridge was interesting… LOTS of cars and narrow lanes. It took a lot of concentration, but we made it!

Matt had a couple days of work in American Canyon (just south of Napa). He did work at the company that made the big blue bear in Denver. They have a mini version at their offices. (Denver version)

We camped at Skyline Wilderness Park. It’s a county campground with an interesting history. Here’s the link to the history of the park. The land was previously part of the Napa State Hospital – because before Napa had people come for its wine, people came to the mental institution there.

We thoroughly enjoyed our time there. We were surrounded by open space, woods, trails, a native plant garden, an archery range, disc golf, and miles of trails. This place is busy – especially on the weekends.

One day we visited the Jelly Belly Factory in Fairfield. It was really fun. We left with a new appreciation for how Jelly Bellys are made and entirely too much candy!

Matt had to fly out for a week for work while the kids and I stayed at the campground. We caught up on school, did a lot of hiking, took walks, pulled weeds at the garden with other volunteers, watched lots of disc golfers, runners, hikers, and horses all around the park. One morning we even caught the end of the draft trials of the Golden State Greater Swiss Mountain Dog Club (sorry, no pictures).

One day we walked through downtown Napa, did school, got second breakfast at the Oxbow Market, and visited the Culinary Institute of America at Copia. At the culinary institute we saw the kitchens they teach classes in, a culinary museum with an impressive collection of kitchen items, and the gardens out front that Julia Child helped design.

When we picked Matt up from the airport, we stopped to hike at Albany Bulb in Berkley. It’s a unique place with funky art and nice views of the San Francisco Bay. Our friend, Tim, had recommended it since he had been there recently. It had a very Concrete Couch Coyote Park feel to it!

The rest of the time we caught up on normal life, like changing sheets, doing laundry, cleaning, etc. Napa was a wonderful place to land for 10 days or so. And we’re also excited about moving on!

A place that will always hold a piece of my heart.

It was so good to be there.

We drove the Pacific Coast Highway (Highway 1) up from San Luis Obispo – with the camper. We weren’t sure if we were going to do it, and it was foggy that morning, but we decided to go the adventurous route. And it was adventurous!

It started out pretty mellow, but soon turned narrow and curvy with lots of ups and downs. The spiciest moment was when we met another vehicle with trailer on one of those sections, but we all survived! Matt enjoyed the driving and did a good job keeping tabs on brake and transmission temps with his thermal camera (of course). We’ll have to come back someday to see the beautiful ocean views, but the foggy coastal mountains had their own beauty and adventure as well!

We dropped the camper off at our campground in Scotts Valley and then met up at our friends’ house in Felton. It was a Summit/Mt. Hermon reunion with the Terrell and the Smucker-Oates crews! They have a beautiful house/plot of land along the river with a big swing. Claire scraped up her feet trying the swing, but was ok. We enjoyed lemonade with lemons from the lemon tree down the street from the Smucker-Oates and caught up from many years of not seeing each other. We enjoyed it immensely.

Then we had dinner at the Frankls! Jessica and I have kept in touch, but I had only met their son after he was first born 6 years ago and had never met their daughter, so it was about time! We enjoyed seeing their house updates and just being together. Thankful for this community! We’ve been missing community.

On Sunday, I took Matt to the airport super early for another work trip. The kids and I relaxed that morning, went to the park across the street, and eventually met Jess and kids at Mount Hermon and hiked down to the creek before meeting up with many other Mount Hermon people that I hadn’t seen in years. We all brought dinner to the field and enjoyed conversation and community. Super grateful to reconnect with people here.

On Monday morning I got to trail run with Jess and Karen! I’ve had feet/ankle issues over the past several years, but Jess and I had been well matched workout buddies for years. So I taped my feet and did it! This was a huge highlight of our trip for me!

Quick recap of the rest of our time there:

Rest of Monday: Met Hank (the Corstorphines puppy), did school, had dinner at the Frankls.

Tuesday: Did the Mount Hermon Outdoor Science Extended Day hike with the kids (Bear Mountain, cathedral, Roaring Camp, Henry Cowell Redwoods, Fremont Tree, up steep trails back up!), saw Jana and Peter.

Wednesday: School at Lulu’s (coffee shop), Trader Joe’s, Farmer’s Market (got cabbage, sugar snap peas, artichokes, and dates!), and dinner at the Frankls again!

Thursday: School, Natural Bridges with Bianca (tidepools, smashball, lots of dead sailfish on the shore), picked Matt up from the airport, Taqueria Vallarta for dinner.

Friday: I ran with Jess, Matt and Reece swam at the campground, relaxed, and then went to Jana and Peter’s for dinner (met Bonnie!).

Saturday: Easter egg hunt at the campground (met some neighbors), tye-dyed Easter eggs at the Frankls, I went to a ladies get together at Jana and Peter’s.

Sunday: I went to early Easter service on the beach with Jana and Peter, hike with Matt, Easter dinner with the Bristol family (Jessica’s family).

Monday: Felton donuts with Jana and Peter and the Frankls, hiking in Fall Creek with the Frankls, Verve, Bookshop Santa Cruz, Pac Wave, and Pizza My Heart downtown, West Cliff – Surfer’s Museum and statue, dinner at Frankls.

Tuesday: We packed up and headed out.

The Santa Cruz area will be dearly missed! Until next time!!