NorCal and Oregon - Over Half Way Done!

August was upon us.  We left Utah and began our trek across the most boring state in the Union, Nevada.  Seriously.  The kids watched hours of movies in between 2 gas stops.  The only neat part was the very Western section which includes the Great Salt Flats.  Salt for miles.  We were able to stop the van, pull to the side, hop out and grab hands full of salt!  We walked around for half an hour, got back in the car, and watched X-Men:First Class again, and again, and again..............................

Our drive into California took us through Lassen Volcanic National Park.  It is one of the most serene places I have visited.  As we came off Rout 395 from Reno and rounded into Susanville, radio reports gave me the impression we may be in for delays and detours due to a wildfire in the park.  While we weren't delayed or re-routed, we were able to capture the pillar of smoke coming from deep in the forest, blending with the clouds.  The shadow it cast with the smell of burning lumber and brush was heavy, but seemed very far away.

We stayed with my husbands parents in Redding, and were able to meet up with old, wonderful friends.  Ken and Linda (Gordon's parents), Laurie and Joe (Alia's grandparents) with cousins, aunts and uncles, plus the bonus of Eric, Diane, and Erica Rapport met us at Manzanita Lake for a day of hiking, picnicking  

And a little bit of R&R for this Jolly Camper

A beautiful sunset wished us fair well as we headed to Redding, CA for a few days of friends and family.

 We spent about three days getting FAT.  We ate In-n-Out Burger, we had a potluck with dear old friends, we had Grandmas cooking, and we rested.  

 We rested till the 4th of August.  

Then we had captives.

We dragged (very willingly dragged) Ken and Linda (ok, maybe they dragged us.  Very willingly dragged us) to the southern Oregon coast line.  We spent the night in a charming little cabin by the ocean.  The sea air, seagulls and freshly picked blackberries met us in the morning.  Siri and Alia had gone exploring and fed us their bounty of juicy, coastal berries.  Delish!  

Brookings, OR Harris Beach was a cloudy, cool day to climb rocks, find shells, and play in the sand.  Annika hadn't seen the Pacific ocean before, and was in awe of its size.  She ran from the waves with a smile and a giggle.

 Alia was King of the Hill as Grandma Linda helped Annika navigate walking in sand.

A few hours south found us in the land of the Giants.  Paul Bunyan and his faithful Ox, Babe welcomed us to the home of the redwoods.  We recently visited Italy, and when we were sharing pictures of places to visit in the US, he very eloquently said "That is a MOUNTAIN, not a TREE!"

We said goodbye to the redwoods, the cool ocean air, and our traveling companions and headed to SoCal.

The Jolly Camper Makes Contact

I have another blog.  It's supposed to be about the crazy things my kids say, but our family camping trip started to take over....so I am making contact as The Jolly Camper.  My four kids and myself (the JC's) are heading on a grand adventure.  24 days, 14 states, camping in our 2008 Nissan Quest.  No no no, you misunderstood.  Not camping in a  tent OUTSIDE our van, camping IN our VAN.  Down By The River!  (Sorry, but I had to).  Here's the rout.  Follow along as we have 36 hours till departure!

Our Rout.

 We start at our humble abode in Cibolo, TX....

First order of business in HOUSTON!!!!!  We'll spend a few hours at the beach, just letting the kids and I enjoy a picnic lunch and relishing in the fact that we are ON VACATION!  Next we're off to New Orleans, LA where we'll spend two days exploring the French Quarter, Bourbon Street, and some other cool FREE sites.  After car camping in NOLA (see a later post on car camping), we head north to Memphis, TN!  Mud Island boasts a to scale replica of the Muddy Mississippi where kids can play and learn.  Looks fun to us!  From there, ahhhhhhh, up to Galesburg, IL, my home town!  We'll spend several days with mom and dad, eating delicious spinach bisque from The Landmark, exploring Starved Rock, and playing at Lincoln Park.  

From there, we head WEST!  Good bye Galesburg, Hello Omaha, NE!  I don't really know why I put an exclamation point there....its Omaha....BUT there is the Lewis and Clark Landing.  Have you picked up on the fact that I'm a nerd and I'm raising nerdy kids?  One day in Omaha is about all the fun we can handle before we head to......DENVER!!!!!!!!!  We are super excited to stay with my sister-in-law (but more like sister) while we adventure around Pikes Peak and the Garden of the Gods.  Siri hasn't seen mountains since she was one, and Annika never has.  I'm excited to see their reactions!  Two days is all we can spend in the Mile High City, then its off to Salt Lake City, UT!  Goblin State Park was featured in the 1999 version of "Galaxy Quest" and looks like an amazing playground for kids.  We can putz around SLC for a day and a half before we make the long trek to Redding, CA!  Home of the Sundial Bridge and very close to Mount Shasta, Mount Lassen, Whiskytown Lake, and Bumpass Hell, and most importantly, FAMILY!  My in-laws, out-laws, and so so so many friends, we'll stay several days in Redding before we head south-east

Bakersfield, CA is the ONLY place we'll be staying in a hotel.  A nice one.  Yay, Bakersfield!  From there, it's only a short jaunt to Lake Havasu City, AZ.  Do you know what's in Lake Havasu City?  The London Bridge.  Yup, the real one.  The one that was falling down.  It has been fully reassembled right over Lake Havasu!  Quick stop to see a landmark, then its off to the big one...THE GRAND CANYON!!!!!!!!  We are spending two full days at the Grand Canyon, camping in the National Park.  Alia was there once when she was MUCH younger, and I KNOW the kids are going to love seeing the amazing sites.  From there, more caves as we spelunker on over (is spelunker a word?) to the Carlsbad Caverns!   We will spelunk, explore and bat-watch before making our final leg back home.

I am so unbelievably excited to show my kids SO much of God's GOOD work in the parks and lakes and rivers and mountains of the 14 states we are visiting!  

So yup, thats our rout.  Is there anything/anyONE else we need to see/visit?  Let me know in comments bellow :)  Thanks for reading!