Pioneer Day Fireworks

One great thing about Utah is you get holidays with fireworks twice in July. We usually don't go to the big show on the 24th, but we did this year because Zeke was bummed we missed big fireworks on Independence Day because we were on vacation. It was a great show and the kids had a great time! Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa for taking us.

Redwoods Trip: The Drive

It is a looong way by car to California by car! And hot too, across the Nevada desert. 

We found a great park in Klamath Falls, Oregon, and a gorgeous Oregon sunset that seemed to last forever.

Zeke put us on the map in our campground in Oregon, which was our break point in our drive both ways. 

I packed bunches of coloring pages, toys, games, puzzles, DVDs, and more to keep the kids entertained for 20+ hours in the car. Nora went through most of her stash and she colored a lot. And napped too :)

Zeke spent most of his time holding our GPS and watching our route on the map and out the window. By the end of the trip, he was also playing the license plate game with his aunts and uncle. Most of the drive was either desert or forest and not much to see, but there were a few unexpected surprises. Zeke was looking for several random items from a sheet grandma gave him. Somehow we managed to get them all before we started home! Who knew that we would see basketballs by a house in the middle of the forest, or firefighters driving through the park where we were having lunch? 

Self-made 'rest stop' in the middle of nowhere, Nevada. 

Redwoods Trip: The Ocean

 The Pacific Ocean was just as spectacular as the Redwood trees - huge and beautiful and just awesome. After being there for a week, I've decided I could probably live on the coast. I don't think I could ever choose the ocean over the mountains, but I could be happy there. 

We spent part of one evening at the beach. I could have spent a lot longer walking on the shore, wading in the water, and playing in the sand. It was therapeutic for me to just play I think. We only spent maybe 45 minutes on the beach and although longer would have been fun we all went away satisfied. 

Nora was thrilled we were going to the ocean. In practice, she was a little intimidated by the waves coming in and preferred to stay on the beach and draw in the sand. 

Zeke waded in the water with Aaron for a while but spent most of his time drawing on the beach too. You can see our group of shoes in the background here; Zeke drew a line in the sand in front of them so the water wouldn't get to them.... it worked for a while but then we had to move them back, and he drew another line.

We also visited a lighthouse. It is close enough to the shore that you can walk out to it at low tide. We didn't get to tour it because the line was still long at the end of the day, but we did get to walk around it. So fun!

Ocean view - oh I love it!

Redwoods Trip: The Trees

When preparing for our California Redwoods camping vacation, I realized about a week before we left that in my head I was thinking Utah camping: scorching heat, cold nights, little shade. Then I read the weather forecast and stopped to think about the fact that we are camping in a giant forest near the coast. It was wonderful. The shade was plentiful, the temperatures perfect, and the company fantastic!

The morning mist was so beautiful and it felt so peaceful at that time of day among the trees with the birds chattering and people just beginning to stir. The picture doesn't quite do the scene justice; it was simply gorgeous in real life. 

We went on a couple of hikes, and the most amazing part was to stop and just look up. The trees went up so far and the sun coming through them was awesome. This is the 'lightning bolt tree'.

We went to the Trees of Mystery and rode the SkyRide up over the tops of some of the trees. The kids loved the ride, and it was really interesting to have a birds-eye view of the forest rather than an ants-eye view!

At the top of the SkyRide there is a lookout with binoculars. Nora was in heaven. 

Great photo op on the hike back down from the SkyRide!

We also hiked around the campground. The undergrowth is spectacular. So many ferns and clovers and grasses. Nora was a trooper. She marched right along with us for about half of the hike, then took random (often blurry) pictures with our camera for a while, then asked to get up on Aaron's shoulders and promptly fell asleep. 

Such a peaceful and beautiful place.