Oregon Trip

My husband is truly the greatest man in the world. He planned a road trip to Oregon for just the two of us with out me knowing. He figured out what car we would take, who would watch the kids and even tried packing for me.

Thanks to our AMAZING parents, Tyce and I were able to go on a much needed vacation without our kids.We could never thank them enough for being so willing to sacrifice their time so that we could go and play.

Day 1- We were already in Boise for the Basketball tournament so we just left from there. Jim and Annis drove the Honda to Boise and we drove the Yukon. So we switched vehicles, they kept the kids, and Tyce and I headed out. 

We had a long day of driving. We followed hwy 20. Our first stop was in a little town called Vale. We ate at a dariy queen and then got gas. We soon realized two things; 1- not sales tax 2- it's illegal to pump your own gas. Both were surprising to us :)

After Vale we drove straight to Bend. We got there around 3:00. The plan was to stay the night there. We did a little shopping a TJ Max and then decided to just keep driving. Bend is a college town and big cities are just not our thing. We then got on Hwy 97  to crater lake. Because it was winter time the entrance we wanted to take was closed so we had to take the 138 to the 230 to the 62 and take the south entrance to the lake.  By then it was raining really hard and the road was really really winding so it took us longer then we planned to get there. We finally reached the lake just after dark only to find out they had closed everything for the winter. At least Tyce got to see snow.

We couldn't believe how deep it was. The banks were that tall all the way up the mountain.

We continued driving in hopes of finding a motel or some place to sleep quickly. It wasn't until 10:00 when we finally stopped and found a motel in Shady Cove. We were both ready to be out of the car and sleeping in a bed.

Day 2- Sunday, March 9

Since we were way ahead of Tyces schedule, we enjoyed a slow morning sleeping in. We went into Grants Pass to get some breakfast at a drive through in McDonalds and then headed down the 199 into California.

It was a rainy day, but the landscape was beautiful. Everything was so green. We both thought it would be fun to come sometime during a summer and ride a motorcycle through this area.

Because of the rain there were waterfalls on every mountainside. A ranger told us that the week before they had been in a serious drought and in a week the river had completely over flown and caused flooding. (Now that's alot of rain)

You can see just how over full the river had gotten

Once we finally reached California we stopped to walk through a part of the Redwood forest. (we didn't go clear to Crescent city, we cut across and went to the 101).

While we were driving into the park I kept telling Tyce that the Redwoods really weren't that big and I was kind of disappointed.

Once we got out of the car and had to walk a little bit, I changed my mind.

The trees were HUGE!!!!!!

We had so much fun! We were behaving like little kids.

The walk through the forest was beautiful!

We were trying to get a picture to help show just how big and tall the trees really were, but none of them do any justice.

Can you see Tyce? He looks like a little leprechaun :)

This tree reminded us of a scene from Pete's Dragon (Tyce's favorite childhood show) It was the part where Pete hid in the trees so his adoptive family wouldn't find him. I tried to get tyce to go all the way in, but he didn't want to get his coat all muddy.

This is a picture of a Redwood that had just fallen with in a couple days. You  would not believe the damage it did to the other trees and the forest. I bet that was a huge sound when it hit.

Can you see me?

This is a picture of the bass of the tree. Tyce is standing right next to it. It kind of looks like he is back in the distance, but he is right by it.

We finally found the biggest tree in the park. It would probably take 20-30 people to stretch their arms around it.

It was such a beautiful walk to do on a Sunday.

I feel asleep and missed the welcome to California on the way in, so as we were leaving Tyce flipped around and let me take a picture of it on our way out ;)

We stayed on the 101 and headed up to Brookings. We stopped at a visitor center just before the town site to get some new maps and figure out some fun things to see as we drove up the coast. The old man at the center was so friendly. He even sent up home with a perfectly shaped sand dollar to give to our boys. He also told us about this little harbor side restaurant that has the worlds best clam chowder. We were starving so we headed straight there. We were both kind of hesitant going in because the building looked a little run down. We still went in and ordered our clam chowder. OH MY GOODNESS!!! It was sooooooo delicious! I have no idea what they put in that stuff, but it was sooo good.

After dinner we drove around and found another motel for the night, unloaded our stuff, and then headed over to the beach (Harris Beach). It was still raining pretty hard, but we were both ready to stick our feet in the sand.

Don't you like Tyce's attire? He is irresistible! :)

It was so beautiful, but sooo cold. We had the beach all to our selves. Nobody else was crazy enough to be out there. Tyce was the only one brave enough to put his feet in the water.

We found this giant rock that had a hole in it. The waves would crash through it and make the most beautiful sound.

By the time we were done playing at the beach we were completely soaked. We could actually ring out our jackets. It was definitely time for a warm bed!

Day 3- Monday March 10

Finally we got some sunshine. We went back down on the harbor to do some more sight seeing and get breakfast. There was a cute little breakfast dinner that served the best pancakes. On the Harbor, there were so many fishing boats. Our boys would have loved it.

We found a beach that was covered in washed up wood. The smell was lovely. You had the fresh smell of the ocean mixed with cedar. It was wonderful. 

It felt like we had all the time in the world, so we walked the whole beach looking for shells and things to bring home for our boys. There must have been a driving range near by as well because the water had washed up tons of golf balls.

Tyce thought he was being cool trying to hit a golf ball with his stick he found. Too bad it only took him 15 tries before he finally hit it out there. One time he actually hit it and it went straight up in the air and almost landed back on his head. It was seriously so funny watching him.

Tyce found me this round, flat piece of wood that looked just like a bracelet. I thought it was pretty cool.

We decided to stop back by the clam chowder restaurant and get some soup to go for lunch and get enough for dinner another day.

We started our journey north again.

We stopped at a beach just off the Pistol River. The Old mans from the visitor center said we would be able to find sand dollars there. Well there were no sand dollars, but we did find so sea lions.

We had walked a long way along the beach and decided to take a short cut back to the car. We walked up and over some beautiful grassy sand hills. It reminded me on the grassy hills like you would see in the movies.

While we were driving up the coast we came across a dinosaur forest. We were almost to Coos Bay where we planned on staying for the night so we decided to flip around and go see some dinosaurs. I think we were both really missing our kids and this was something that I knew they would enjoy and would have loved to see. We took alot of pictures for them.

All the dinosaurs were made to scale of the size that they would have been in real life. So of them were crazy huge!

The boys loved Tyce's face in the picture above. We sent it in a text message to Luke Grandma and she showed the boys. They both laughed and told Dad not to be afraid. "The dinosaur isn't real Dad".

There was a stream flowing through the middle of the park. It had some of mu favorite flowers growing in it. Too bad none of them were blooming yet.

Another scary Dinosaur for Dad.

Ducky is my favorite Dinosaur.

This was Tyce's favorite Dinosaur. Tyce dared me to touch it :)

It was really alot of fun. It would have been so fun to share it with our boys. They would have had a great time.

We continued driving to Coos bay.

We pulled off the highway to see the lighthouse in Bandon. It was closed for the public to go inside, but we were able to get some pictures.

Driving to the lighthouse was the first time we had seen any sort of farming since we got past Bend.

It was starting to get late so we found a cheap hotel in the town site and went back past the casino into the old town to find a place to eat. We ate at Shark bites. It was really good, but the service was so slow. We began to discover that people on the coast just move slower then the people in Idaho. We then returned to the hotel, soaked in the hot tub and went to bed.

Day 4- Tuesday March 11

We woke up and had a nice breakfast at our hotel then headed out to find some light houses. We found this beautiful place near (or at) Cape Argo State park. There was a large parkinglot with a grassy area that looked over the water of a cliff. The story goes that a wealthy sheep herding family found the area and claimed it for their homesite. They were only there for a few years when some of the children and the wife died of an illness. The husband was left with the rest of the young family by himself and just a few short months later, the house burned down. He then sold his land to a friend who rebuilt a new home and after a couple year it too burned to the ground. So since then no one has built a home on it for fear that it is haunted. It's sad because it is such a beautiful view.

Tyce found a path that lead through the growth  to the side of the parking lot and decided it was a great idea to investigate. All I could think about was getting attacked by snakes.

We then came upon a gate that was covered and hidden (kindof like whats in the movie "the secret garden". We went inside and found the most beautiful garden I have EVER seen. My Dad and Tyce's mom would have been in Heaven there.

There were ponds, birds, exotic flowers and trees, cobble stone paths and everything. It was HUGE! At least the size of a football field.

There was even a private rose garden with every rose variety on the earth. Everything was labeled and marked to perfection so you know what kind it was and where it came from.

Everything was labeled. I've never seen so much exotic plants in my life. I could have spent the whole day there dreaming.

Flower tree from the movie "Mulan"

Someday I could only dream of having a garden like that to call my own.

On our way back into Coos Bay we were stopped by a draw bridge. Tyce nor I have ever seen one in real life and it was really cool.

They have so many beautifully structured bridges over there. 

On our adventures we saw many light houses and ocean views.

We then came across a sign that said "Sealion Caves". So of course we had to stop.

First you go into the gift shop and pay for your pass then they send you outside to walk down this long path on the edge of the cliff. It then dead ends and you climb into an elevator inside the mountain. I can't remember just how far down you go, but It was a long long ways down. Once the elevator stopped and the doors opened, you are over come by the most horrendous smell. A mixture of ocean rot, poop, and dead fish. Not only was the smell horrible, but the noise was so loud. As you exit the elevator they have a flat open room of the cave to watch informational videos and see sceletons of old lions and talk to the guides. Then you walk over to the gated ledge of the cave and see what it making your senses go crazy

They were amazing! There was hundreds of them just pilled up on each other hooting and hollering. I just couldn't believe so many of them were in this one spot.

No this is not a real one. I guess Sea Lions can be very vicious. 

The best feeling ever though was when you went up the elevator and the doors opened to the outdoors and you could take that first breath of fresh air. It will be something I will never forget!

It was a great stop!

Another first was driving through a tunnel through a mountain. I was really cool, but all I could think was "I really hope there's not an earthquake right now " :)

We stopped and found another beautiful beach to play at and find some sea shells of the boys. We really did hit the jackpot! There were tons. They were small, but there were lots. We also finally found us our own sand dollars. The water was so cold. Our feet couldn't take much time in the water.

It was a great way to spend the afternoon.

We finished our travels up the coast to Newport by stopping at a couple more beaches along the way, Ice cream a Dairy Queen and just enjoying each others company.

When we found a hotel in Newport near the beach, then drove and found a 50's style restaurant to eat dinner. It honestly was probably the best burger I've ever eaten. I wish I would have written down what the place was called.

After dinner we drove back to the hotel and then took a nice stroll down to the beach. We had been so busy every night trying to find a place to stay that we never got to see the sun set on the beach. Tyce made it a priority tonight and it was Beautiful!

I will never forget laying on the beach and watching the sunset with my best friend!

Day 5- Wednesday March 12

It is another Beautiful day. We went over to the boardwalk on the bay in Newport to  see the ships, the shops and visit some museums

We also found some more noisy sea-lions.

Our kids would have loved them.

The ships were amazing. We took our pictures next to the ones we thought our kids would like the most.

Once it opened, we went into the Ripley's Believe It Or Not and the Wax Works Museums. It was so much fun. They really have alot of amazing things to see. The wax people look so real.

The third museum we went to was an underwater sea museum. 

All it is is a large room that's under the water that they've captured fish and trapped them close to the glass. At first we were kind of disappointing, but then they had a diver come down and teach us about each of the fish and give us a little show.

Tyce's favorite

The diver did a great job! It was so much fun to see. There were SO many different fish and creatures!

We thought the boys would love the Tiger fish

We then went on the hunt to find a lighthouse that we could actually go into. Everyone that we had found up until now had been closed. We found this quaint little one that over looked the bay bridge in Newport.

For being built in the 1800's, it was kept very authentic.

View from the upstairs window

They had done some remodeling to it to keep it safe for visitors, but it was great to see the old time originality of the home. They had so many kids living in the small house and had so little to live off of. It amazes me how people back then were able to live and life fully.

The lighthouse was our last stop before heading back towards Idaho. We had to say goodbye to the coast.

We kept driving late into the night stopping once at a mall to get Rhev a swimming suit for his birthday next week. It was so late by the time we got through the desert and found a hotel that I don't even know what town it was the we stayed in. We were both just ready for some sleep before another long day of driving.

Day 6- Thursday March 13

These pictures pretty much sum up our final day of the journey. IN THE CAR. We drove and drove and drove. If you've ever been through the middle of Oregon the you know that there is really not much for you to even look at as your driving. But we did have a great time being together. 

We stopped one last time in Oregon to get some more gifts for the kids (so we didn't have to pay a sales tax) and get gas then we stopped in New Plymouth to meet up with Kreal. Rhev had left his baby puppy at their house and luckily they found him.

I think once we finally made it home Rhev was almost more excited to see baby puppy then he was to see Mom and Dad. It sure was great to get those hugs around our necks. It was nice to get a little break from the kiddos, but I was such glad to be home and have them back! They are what make life an adventure.

I'm so lucky to have Tyce for forever. He is my best friend. We are so happy together. I can't wait for the adventures life is going to give us.