NoCal

At Crater Lake we had to decide whether to head west back to the coast or south and continue volcano hopping. We hemmed and hawed for a couple of days but a quick glance at the weather forecast (high 90s!) sent us scurrying toward the coast. It was the perfect change of scenery and added a lot of variety to our trip. We had the added bonus of visiting with some of Andy's family in Berkeley!

Our first coastal stop was Redwoods NP. As usual we arrived to the park campground as the light was fading but managed to find one spot we could squeeze into. It was great with a huge redwood right next to us. 

There were beautiful groves to walk through and admire the massive trees.

This is a nurse log. Fallen trees help keep the cycle going. 

We joined a fun ranger hike and learned about the elements of an old growth forest: old stuff, woody debris, layered canopy and snag...OWLS! We can always count on Cubby to step up when no one else will. Or not fuss when we push her forward.

Big ole tree

Nearby Redwoods NP is Crescent City, CA. We had a great dinner at the Chart Room which reminded us of the restaurants of similar name on the east coast. 

California sea lions congregate on the floating docks outside the pier. They make such an unbelievable racket. At first we thought they were so cute but then wanted to tell them all to can it. 

Back at the park Drew and Cub briefly display their collection of badges. 

Further down the coast we stayed at MacKerricher State Park and visited the Mendocino Headlands. At the park we were able to see seals out on the rocks including a roly poly baby. We were in the middle of being turned away due to lack of space but were lucky to get a spot when another camper was leaving at the same time to check on his house after a wildfire went out of control. 

We visited the little town of Mendocino and glass beach. We collected and admired the sea glass but left it for others to enjoy. The huge fire was raining ash on us and making the sky a weird color.

After a quick overnight in Eureka we got to an RV park just outside San Fran. It had a great view of San Quentin Penitentiary. We had beautiful weather for driving up Mt. Tamalpais and hiking up to the fire lookout. It's really pretty but it seemed like one good rattle would send some of those cliffside houses on a sleigh ride into the sea. 

We were lucky it was so clear and we had great views of San Francisco Bay. And San Quentin. 

Beautiful view obliterated by "the beard."

We went to Berkeley and had a really fun visit with Andy's aunt Joanna, his cousin Peggy, husband Gregoire and Andy's cousin Jack's wife, Charlotte. I had never met Peggy and Gregoire before so it was a real treat catching up and getting to know them.

Peggy, Joanna and Gregoire behind the couch. And that beard. Yeesh. We hope to see them again soon! 

We got up early the next morning to catch a ferry from Marin to downtown San Fran. We saw sailboats out on the bay. brrrr. We're babies and prefer much warmer water. 

Hey San Fran!

Such big hills! But what a pretty and clean city. 

We told the kids about the Rice-A-Roni commercials from our childhood. The trolley conductor indulged us and took a bunch of cheesy pics for us. 

We walked to Pier 38 to grab lunch and check out some more sea lions. They are so loud and are constantly pushing and shoving for position. They clamber all over each other complaining and shouting about everything. Which led Andy to declare, "What a bunch of assholes." 

The trip to Alcatraz Island is so popular it books up weeks in advance. Of course we had no idea and didn't do any research ahead of time but were lucky enough to schedule a visit. I had wanted to do this since I was a kid!

It was a chilly, damp, and foggy day so pretty easy to imagine the misery. 

We took the award winning audio tour and learned all about some of the famous inmates and the daily routines. The realistic sounds of the reenactment of a knife and gun fight kind of gave the kids nightmares. 

Lock 'em up! 

Junior Rangers at it again. 

It was pouring on our walk back from the ferry to the RV park. And we were pooped! Northern California was very cool but it was time to move on. 

The Volcano Days: Mt. Rainier, Mt. St. Helens, Crater Lake

We were pretty eager for some sunshine after many days of rain on the coast. So we turned eastward to visit some volcanoes. The rain subsided for the most part but the temps dropped considerably. The scenery, however, could not be beat.

Because of our side trip to the wildlife park we arrived at Mt. Rainier late in the day. Andy quickly jumped out to grab this shot because we do not like looking for camp sites in the dark. We camped at Ohanapecosh which was really cool.  

In the morning we drove up to the mountain. It was around 45 degrees! Pretty uncomfortable if you don't have the right clothes. We really loved the architecture of the visitors center and lodge.  

The mountain was shrouded in clouds and it rained on and off for a long time after we arrived. So we spent a lot of time in the visitors center looking at the exhibits, watching the movie, and trying to avoid the gift shop. It was so cold and raining so hard that we bought hot chocolates and a soup so we'd have a cover for eating our picnic lunch in the cafeteria rather than the designated picnic tables outside. And the mountain was still not visible. Right after Cubby spilled her entire hot chocolate in Andy's shoe we thought maybe it was time to give up and head back to camp. But as we were packing up, the sun suddenly came out and the clouds started to clear. We quickly ran outside and walked and walked up the trail catching glimpses between the cloud cover.  

Alpine meadows are the best. 

There it is!! We couldn't believe this gorgeous site was hidden behind the clouds. It is truly impressive and cool to see through the binos. We wondered if there were any climbers out there and wish we had the stamina and time to hike closer. 

The clouds rolled in again but we got to see a marmot. Cute!

Coat back on and mountain gone again. In the afternoon we went inside the lodge. It was so pretty inside we decided to stay for a tea and coffee. Cubby tried to dunk her cookie in Andy's coffee and it completely disintegrated in it, ruining his drink! It was definitely time to go home. But that lodge. We could see ourselves coming back sans kids one day just to sit by the fire and read a newspaper. Uninterrupted and without a shoe full of hot chocolate or a coffee full of chunks. 

Out again! One last pic while we heard a distant crack and deep rumble. Avalanche?

Back at the campsite the next day we took the kids to a ranger program just for them. It was really good. 

Another promise to take care of their parks and brush their teeth! 

The eruption of Mt. St. Helens in 1980 is something Andy and I vividly remember so we couldn't miss visiting. 

After the (pretty bad) movie the curtains rose dramatically to reveal the collapsed side of the crater. But it was too cloudy to see it. The visitors center was fine but we were hoping to see clips from the news and eyewitness interviews in the movie. Not a bunch of cheesy effects and head spinning camera work. 

As you drive up to the mountain itself you can see the impact everywhere. You can also tell that you are driving through a lumber forest. We stopped by the Weyerhaeuser (lumber company) visitors center and that was really, really good! We were too busy enjoying the movie and the exhibits to take photos. 

So now we know there is corn in everything as well as wood. 

Here's tedze (I've been spelling it wrong all along!) with almost all of the ten essentials for hiking. I think he's missing a first aid kit. After Mt. St. Helens we visited Portland. But for some reason we didn't include any pictures which usually means we left the camera home, took one lousy pic with a phone, and forgot to put it on the computer. Drats. But we had a quick and fun visit. Portland seems like a very laid back city. It's nice looking and there are a million good restaurants. I got to cash in my birthday dinner rain check at an awesome sushi restaurant. Then we had lots of fun meeting up with the daughter and family of our old friends and neighbors from Fairfield. They treated us to incredible ice cream at a place called salt & straw. What a treat!

 As usual we got off to a late start for our next leg so we stopped for a quick overnight in a really pretty campground called Trapper Creek on a lake in Deschutes National Forest. As we walked the trails we saw very obvious signs of a beaver at work. 

It was so obvious it was like a cartoon. 

Crater Lake. The color is amazing and not easy to capture on camera. And you can really see that it is a volcanic crater.  

The trails were really nice with lots to choose from and many pretty overlooks with exhibits about how the crater was formed. 

This was my favorite campground of the whole trip. Cubby and I liked it so much we stayed home one day just to go for walks and ride bikes while Andy and Drew took off exploring. 

On one of their hikes. 

They clambered down to the lake for some fishing and swimming. 

Then hiked around some more. The island is called Phantom Ship. We all had a really nice day. The weather was perfect and Crater Lake NP felt very peaceful.  

Another oath. These kids love their badges! But by this time we were all volcanoe-d out so it was time for a change of scenery.