This summer my family of four embraced the opportunity to go on the longest adventure yet. We piled all of our gear into the car and headed west for a 25 day National Park tour. We camped 19 of the 25 days and ate out 5 times. It was glorious. In estimating, it may have been cheaper to leave home than stay at home and spend money. For memories sake I am going to document our days here:
July 2, 2018 Drove from Missouri to South Dakota. Stayed in a log cabin in Oahe Downstream State Park in Pierre, South Dakota. Witnessed a beautiful thunderstorm over the lake. My sister informed us it was the biggest storm in the country.
July 3 Hiked Devil’s Tower. Camped in Itch-Ke-Pe Campground on the banks of the Yellowstone River in Columbus, Montana. (Thank you Columbus, Montana for allowing campers in your city park.
July 4 Visited REI in Bozeman. I bought a new sleeping bag and other gear we would need for backpacking. Camped at Hungry Horse Resevoir in the Flathead National Forest of Montana, right outside the west gates of Glacier National Park. Watched a deer eat french fries out of a man’s hands.
July 5 Entered Glacier National Park. Hiked Apgar Lookout Trail. Camped at Apgar Campground. Attended Evening Ranger Program on keystone species.
July 6 Rode shuttle to Logan Pass. Saw two moose. Hike Hidden Lake Trail (Buzz’s favorite hike ever). Snow fields still present. Saw a grizzly bear so close I accidentally ran. Slid down snow mountain on butts. Attended evening ranger program on big cats. Tucker and Buzz become Junior Rangers of Glacier National Park. Camped at Apgar again.
July 7 Hitchhiked to Avalanche Lake Trail. Buzz and I rode with Danzig Jenz from Arizona. Brian and Tucker road with a lady from Seattle. Hiked Avalanche Lake Trail. Hitchiked again. Buzz and I road with a night photographer. Brian and Tucker road in the back of a fancy truck. Drove the Going to the Sun Road. Left the United States. Stayed at the South Country Inn in Cardston, Alberta. Ate at Sauce Pizza Restaurant (delicious!).
A Slice of Glacier National Park
July 8 Drove Crow’s Nest Highway. Grocery shopped in Canada. Stayed in a British Columbia Provencial Park Campground.
July 9 Crossed border back into Washington, United States. Rode ferry to Port Townsend. Grocery shopped in Port Angeles. Arrived at the Hoh Rainforest of Olympic National Park. Camped in the Hoh Forest Campground.
July 10 Moved campsites to the most amazing (B62). Hiked Hall of Mosses Trail and Spruce Trail.
July 11 Backpacked the Hoh River Trail to the Olympic Ranger Station. Spent the night on gravel bar along the Hoh River. Saw the Milky Way.
July 12 Backpacked out of the Hoh River Trail. Took bathes in the river. Saw a Roosevelt Elk (14 Points) in the campsite.
Backpacking the Hoh River Trail
July 13 Filmed an episode of the Buzz Cooking Show. Tucker and Buzz earned Junior Ranger Badges for Olympic National Park. Visited Ruby Beach on the Pacific Ocean. Stayed at the Seaquest Motel in South Bend, Washington.
July 14 Visited Astoria, Oregon. Rode the trolley and did laundry at the laundry mat. Watched a sunset at Cape Lookout Beach. Buzz made a friend. Camped at Hebo Lake Campground.
July 15 Woke up early at Hebo Lake. I walked around the lake to view hundreds of morning salamanders. Caught morning low tide at Yaquina Head tidepools in Newport, Oregon. Toured Yaquina Lighthouse. Saw surfers, seals, and whales. Ate at The Chowder Bowl in Newport (delicious!) Buzz got a free licorice ice cream cone. Saw Devil’s Punchbowl. Went back to Yaquina for hightide in the evening. Left the coast and headed inland. Camped at Island Campground in Umpqua National forest. Saw a flock of wild turkey.
The Northwest Coast
July 16 Woke up early. Drove to Crater Lake. Got the most amazing campsite (D13). Chilled all day. Tucker hiked Annie’s Creek Loop Trail. Attended evening ranger program: Trees R Us.
July 17 Hiked a mile into Lava River Cave. Grocery shopped at Trader Joes in Bend, Oregon. Went to REI in Bend. Saw a dust tornado and wildfires. I exchanged my sleeping bag (the Big Agnes didn’t keep me warm) for a Nemo Viola 20. I really like it. Stayed again at the best campsite ever in Crater Lake. Attended an evening ranger program: Of Whispers and Wings.
July 18 Whitewater rafted the Upper Umpqua River. This was one of our splurges. It costed a pretty penny but was a great time. Stayed another night at Crater Lake.
July 19 Drove around Crater Lake. Hiked all the little hikes. Took the Crater Lake Boat Tour. Buzz and Tucker earned Junior Ranger Badges for Crater Lake National Park. Attended the evening ranger program: Photography in the Park.
July 20 Left Crater Lake. Visited a paddle building shop (Sawyer Paddles). Drove to Redwood National and State Parks. Hiked Stout Grove. All camping was full so we stayed at a pretty crappy Quality Inn in Crescent City, California.
July 21 Saw the Crescent City Lighthouse. Tucker, Brian, and Buzz played at a castle playground while I scored us the coolest campsite ever in Florence Keller Park outside of Crescent City, California. It had a giant redwood stump. Hiked Damnation Creek Trail to the beach. Filmed a Buzz Cooking Show.
Banana Boats in the Redwoods
July 22 Decided to stay another night at the stump campsite because it was just so amazing. Hiked Circle Trail and Trillium Falls Trail in the Redwoods. Visited Gold Bluffs Beach at sunset. I dropped my Canon camera into the sand and she died. It’s a blessing. I will share about my new camera in a future post.
July 23 Hiked Lady Bird Trail in the Redwoods. Joined a guided hike that was in progress. Buzz earned his Junior Ranger Badge for Redwood National and State Parks (Tucker already has his from a trip many years ago). Ate Mexican at La Hacienda in McKinnleyville, California. Tried to drive east but the beginnings of the Shasta fire diverted us to a one lane road in the middle of Humboldt County, California. (That fire became catastrophic for Northern California. We arrived within two hours of the highway closing.) Stayed at a Hampton Inn in Red Bluff, California. Swam and swam and swam in the pool.
July 24 Drove east across California. Ate at Steak N’ Shake. Drove The Loneliest Highway across Nevada. Camped at Cave Lake State Park in Eastern Nevada.
July 25 Drove East. Ate at Moe’s BBQ in Eagle, Colorado. Stayed at the Chaparell Inn in Burlington, Colorado.
July 26 Drove East. Ate at a great little pizza place in Topeka, Kansas. Made it home safely after about 6,000 miles over 25 days.