Evan jumps in

Hiking down to the lake

 Our most adventurous hike was the hike down to the lake itself.  There is only one trail down to the lake and it is down, down, down.  Which was fine, fun actually.  We had a nice shady hike down through the trees to the edge of the lake.

 The lake was beautiful and clear and blue.  It had a lot of yellow pollen in it, but that was even clean.  The water was freezing cold, but there were a few swimmers.  After watching people jump in we persuaded McKinley and Evan to give it a shot.  Evan jumped right in and screamed.  McKinley counted down 6 or 7 times and finally jumped in and screamed.  It was shockingly cold!

Then we had the hike back up, up, up.  It was a great workout and a constant strain on the body.  I made it after several stops and breathing pretty hard.  That's definitely a once in a lifetime hike!

Crater Lake

 After heading inland for a quick 5 hour drive we arrived at the incredible Crater Lake National Park.  I had been there quickly when I was about 15 years old and remembered it as a beautiful place, but WOW!  it was amazing.  This time we were able to stay and enjoy and explore the park and the lake and it was just surreal.  The lake is such a deep blue color and crystal clear.  It is filled entirely by rainfall and snow melt, so it's very clean water.

 At first we drove to the lookout points for the lake.  Then we took a few short hikes to see different views of the lake, like the Phantom Ship formation . 

 We enjoyed all the different hikes and lookouts, except for the annoying mosquitos that were eating us alive.  We bought some bug spray at the gift shop and literally bathed in it every hour or so!

The lake was formed thousands of years ago when the volcano, Mt. Mazama exploded and caved in.  What was left was a 6 mile wide hole that filled up with water over the next thousands of years.  Really an incredible site and a great place to visit!

Trinidad Lighthouse, California Coast

 After touring the Redwood Forest, we headed up the coast of California on Hwy 101.  Parts of it run right along the coastline and it's just beautiful.  We had been given a magazine from a couple we met at the campground that outlined 101 things to see.  We didn't see most of them, but we did drive in to see the lighthouse in Trinidad.  It was a lush green inlet overlooking a fishing harbor. 

 After enjoying the view, we decided to descend the stairs down to the harbor.  It was about 12 flights of stairs down...and back up!  It was a fun little beach with rocks and the ocean tide coming and going.  We enjoyed about an hour down there before making the hike back up to the car and being on our way again.

A cute little town...McKinleyville, CA

Who doesn't like to see their name on things?  Well, McKinley may have a National Park and a mountain and a president, but you don't see it too many places.  So when we noticed we'd be driving right thru McKinleyville, CA we had to stop and take a few pictures.  It was a cute little town and we drove straight through it on our way to the coast!  Fun!

 

Avenue of the Giants...Redwood Forest

Our first destination of our road trip 2012 was the Redwood Forest Avenue of the Giants.  None of us had ever been and we were excited to see this natural wonder.  And it did not disappoint.  We were awed by the hugeness of these majestic trees.  The whole forest of giant trees was amazing.  Mile after mile of these ginormous beautiful trees.

We were able to drive on the scenic highway through the forest.  We were able to tour a one log house and walk through the drive thru tree (our Suburban was too big to drive thru ;(  We hiked around a nature trail and even stopped at the side of the road to see some really big trees.

There was a couple play houses made out of giant redwoods and on the nature hike we came upon a tree that had been knocked over in a flood and you could see the giant root system and again appreciate just how big these trees are.

It was a wonderful 31 mile stretch of Hwy 101 in California and we thoroughly enjoyed our day driving through there.  Amazing!

Fourth of July Fun...Thankful for Freedoms!

 This year we went to Centerville and watched fireworks with Dave's sister and her family on the evening of July 3rd.  It was nice to be able to stay up late and enjoy the fireworks together.  We were right under the fireworks and actually had soot and smoke all around us...but not in a bad way.  It was really cool to be so close to the fireworks show.

We stayed the night there and were up and ready for the parade on 4th of July morning.  We were a little sleepy and groggy, but it was a good parade.  Evan made a killing in candy and coupons.  He was very determined to get stuff and had a blast running up and down the street to get goodies.

 Then we headed to Draper pool for a swim before the family BBQ this afternoon and the Real vs. Seattle soccer game tonight!  What a fun day.

We are so thankful to celebrate the birthday of this great country.  I'm blessed to be living here and to enjoy all the freedoms I enjoy.  Thank you to all our servicemen and women who currently serve, those who served in the past, and those who will serve in the future!  God bless the USA!