July! Let summer BEGIN!
We happened to be leaving for a road trip ON July 4th, so we wouldn't be able to do all of our normal Fourth of July stuff.
Katie begged me to make the "pretzel, strawberry jello, whipped cream dessert" the day before we left. But, she wanted it without the jello.
She doesn't like the consistency of jello. Mikey doesn't like jello either.
They are weird.
I made the requested dessert, but I made the jello in another container so that I could add it separately.
July 4th and OFF WE GO!
We headed down to California to visit the Redwood National and State parks.
Dogs aren't allowed on a lot of national park trails, so Ralph got a little staycation at the boarding place.
As you can see in the photo below, I'm not the co-pilot anymore.
Katie's job was to keep Huzbend awake for the 10+ hour drive.
It's okay that I'm not in the front seat.
I get to sit in the back with this guy.
We stopped at a truck stop at the half way mark to eat lunch.
HOORAY!
Not so hooray.
As soon as we crossed into California, we were surrounded by burnt forests.
After the longest drive ever (at least for the kids), we made it to our AirBNB in Orick, California.
Orick is a small little town located in the center of the southern half of the Redwood parks.
It was a perfect location for our adventure.
The house was about a mile or so, up a hill into the woods on a dirt road.
Talk about socially distanced.
We were greeted by this dude who was busy doing nothing next to the front porch.
The kids wasted no time.
They got right down to business.
Food Network.
To their delight, Triple D was on.
Since we arrived at the house after dinner and it was getting dark, you'll have to wait for pictures of the outside of the house until later.
To tide you over, here is a picture of my gourmet dessert.
This day we were headed to "Tall Trees Grove".
This hike can only be accessed by applying for a permit and only 50 permits are issued per day.
We read that it was a strenuous hike, so we decided to get it done on our first day.
The drive to reach the trailhead took about one hour.
We stopped at a nice lookout along the way.
Katie didn't like the drop off or the bees that were flying around, so she decided to stand on "more solid ground".
We switched up drivers and I took the wheel.
We continued our trek down the road, finally making it to the gate that allowed access to the trailhead.
We had to use our special code to unlock it.
Wow.
Six more miles of gravel/dirt road to go!
At least it was a pretty drive.
MADE IT!
I mentioned the gravel/dirt roads?
Some joker decided to have a little fun with the cars parked at the trail head.
I laughed out loud at this one.
Unexpectedly creative.
Um.
That's a big ass tree.
And, the first one that you see standing upright, takes your breath away.
Okay.
I know that we headed to Redwood National & State Parks to see tall trees, but each one that we saw seemed to be taller than the next.
And, the first one that you see standing upright, takes your breath away.
You realize just how puny you are in the grand scheme of things.
Some of us got introspective; pondering the meaning of our puny lives on this planet.
And then that same introspective person was told by their sibling to emerge from the tree.
Some of us...well, some of us like to annoy teenagers by ruining said artistic photos.
We finally made it down to the actual grove of tall trees and then headed out to the nearby Redwood Creek (that is its actual name) to find someplace to eat lunch.
The river side was too hot and rocky to eat on.
Plus, I was told that certain members of our party did not wish to eat alongside big bugs.
So, we headed back into the trees.
We found a nice bench carved out of a fallen log.
We parked it and ate our lunch.
Problem was we traded the big bugs for mosquitos.
Yuck.
Dang.
Can you find the humans in this picture?
Before we set off to hike through the grove, we took a time out to go back to the river.
It had froggies!
Lots and lots of froggies.
And what do you do when you see froggies?
Try to touch them, of course.
"Here, froggy froggy!"
And, if there are froggies, then there must be tadpoles.
Tadpoles are a lot easier to catch then froggies.
We even found one with mini legs.
Drama tree hug?
Sometimes these big trees fall down.
They're equally as impressive on their sides.
This is the Libbey tree.
Standing at about 360ft tall, it was formerly known as "The Worlds Tallest Tree".
Little did anyone know that the actual World's tallest Tree lived about .3 miles away in the same forest....its name is Hyperion.
We did not visit Hyperion.
It was off trail and the park left it unmarked so people wouldn't visit and possibly harm it.
We used the fence surrounding the Libbey tree to take a family photo in front of a tree that was across the way.
We saw maybe three or four other family/couples that day.
It was really nice to experience this place without a lot of company.
It was like we had the place to ourselves.
The Redwood forests are known to be foggy and damp...just like home!
We have LOTS of trees that are covered in moss just like this one.
But, what we don't have are creepy nature sounds.
Check it out.....Listen carefully.....
Does it remind you of something?
Damn.
That is a tall tree.
Each tree was more impressive than the next.
Yay! Katie took a picture for me with me in it!
We decided to take a break and sit down for a spell....
Oh wait.
Let me zoom out
There.
At this point in our hike, the forest was getting downright creepy.
There was noone else around and we kept hearing noises that sounded like there was a "thing" following us.
Shiver.
Sasquatch?
An artsy Katie photo.
Last photo-op before heading back to the car.
It felt like it took forever to get back to the car.
Probably because the hike was all uphill.
But, we made it.
And there were no penises on our car windows.
The best part was that the pit toilet at the trail head was NOT super stinky and was actually quite clean!
Huh.
Who woulda thunk?
Before heading back to the house, we decided to pay a visit to the Thomas H. Kuchel Visitor Center.
We got some visiting tips from the Rangers, checked out the displays and purchased some souvenirs.
Afterwards, we headed to the beach to relax and watch the waves.
Hmmm.
Don't get any ideas......
Splishy splashy.
Uh-oh.
Katie seems to be taunting the waves.
"We should brought our bathing suits."
Yeah. We still call them that.
We're old.
Like this guy.
Any time not spent moving means that a slap fest is imminent.
WHAT?
This was unbelievable.
The kids decided that they did NOT want to take their shoes off and run in the water.
But, someone else did!
And, then he kinda misjudged the waves.
Whoops.
So did I.
What a great day.
I wouldn't want to share it with any other humans on the planet.
People were very tired and hungry.
Up the gravel road to the house we went.
These critters were grazing outside when we arrived.
They didn't seem to be too bothered by our presence.
But, were curious as to what all the commotion was.
Ralph would've loved to say "HI" to these two....
The front door of the house accumulated many night time visitors.
This guy decided to hang out on the mat outside the door.
I had to move him so that he wouldn't get squooshed.
He was so FURRY.
I hope he doesn't mind.
Here's a picture of his butt.
I have to admit.
Katie was right.
He was cute.
If you could have a moth as a pet, I would pick this guy.
The rest of the family decided to chill out and relax before dinner.
I decided to go exploring around the house and property.
(side note: someone needs new socks)
It was a cute little place.
We always seem to pick whacky AirBNB's to stay in.
This one was no different.
There was a cool platform/tree house thing out in front of the house.
I climbed to the top to survey the land.
Next, I walked around the house.
Fog has a constant presence here.
That's why the trees are so happy.
At some point, they must've owned some animals.
There was a pen under the side deck of the house with animal names painted on it.
Here is the the back of the house.
Not sure why this was just sitting there on the ground.
Maybe to scare away other animals?
This is the "driveway" to the house.
At the entrance, there was a locked gate.
It was insanely quiet out there.
As I was walking, I flushed this bird.
He scared the living crap out of me.
He must be evil.
Just look at his eye.
IT'S RED.
And, he looks like a pigeon.
This little abandoned lookout was at the end of the driveway.
As I returned to the house, the fog began to roll back in.
It was spooky.
The next day, we ventured out to explore Fern Canyon.
We had to drive on another dirt/gravel road.
I was on drive duty.
Twisty, windy, possibly steep drop off cliff roads are not for Huzbend.
This one was crazy.
At times it was just big enough for one vehicle. It was also full of potholes and had steep edges on the side of the road.
Sometimes trees were actually growing partially into the road and you had to drive around them.
We had read that the parking lot was very small and that there were a few streams that you needed to drive across to get to it.
We decided that we didn't want that hassle.
We parked at a beach campground located about a mile down the road so that we could walk up the beach to the trailhead.
The only companions on our beach hike were the shore birds.
It seemed that someone was here before us with an ATV.
We saw noone on our trek to the trail.
I had to stop for a nature pee.
Huzbend had to take a photo.
HA.HA.
Ohhhh. Someone else had to use the "grass potty".
I had the actual camera.
WITH A ZOOM LENS.
HA. GOTCHA.
We took a left and headed up to the trailhead.
Mikey was happy to have a break from walking in the sand.
It was hard work.
Even down by the surf it was slow going.
On the way to the trailhead, we found a picnic area located near the parking lot.
We stopped to have lunch.
Mikey got done with his lunch pretty quickly.
He broke out his binoculars and scouted out some birds.
Just a crow waiting for us to abandon the picnic table.
The canyon trailhead was extremely close to the parking lot.
Maybe a two minute walk?
Poor doggies.
Not allowed.
There were a lot of signs like this warning of the possibility of elk attacks.
This one must be extra dangerous. It has a horn on its head.
Off we go!
Hello Fern Canyon!
Despite the pictures I took, we weren't the only ones there.
The parking lot was full and there were people everywhere.
Yay for waterproof boots!
Katie was enamored with the fuzzy ferns.
We slowly made our way up the canyon, splashing through the stream and balancing on logs.
Even with all the people there, it was calming and peaceful.
You may call me mean, but I was so hoping for a log crossing fail here.
Sigh.
Maybe next time.
Along the walk, there were many small waterfalls cascading down the steep fern walls to the stream below.
The hike was a loop hike.
When we got to the end of the canyon, we hiked up the side of it to head back. to the entrance.
This means that we were up above the canyon and could look down on it.
Some of the view points were not to pleasant for those with a fear of heights.
Not one to miss the chance to splash around in water, Mikey jumped up on and down on this bendy plank bridge.
Huzbend: "Do you have to do that?"
Mikey: "Yes. It is a moral imperative."
We began our trek back to the car via the beach.
The kids were tired, so we took a little break.
It's hard work walking on the sand with heavy boots on.
Especially this crumbly, pebbly sand.
What happened to Mikey's boots you ask?
Well, his boots were too small.
So we had him put them on to keep his feet dry in the creek in Fern Canyon.
Then, he put his sneakers back on for the hike down the beach.
Huzbend soon grew tired of walking with his boots on.
Off they came.
Not much time later, he convinced Mikey to de-shoe and splash around in the water.
Katie wasn't having it.
Here's a close up of the grainy, pebbly sand.
Katie didn't last long.
She soon de-shoed and joined them frolicking in the surf.
The waves were pretty big.
Ak. Don't get too close.....
I don't think we've ever been on a beach that was so gloriously empty.
This was mid-afternoon!
(And, there was a campground about a quarter mile away)
Putting shoes back on after walking barefoot on the beach is always such a hassle.
You can't see it, but right in the middle of that picnic table that they were sitting on was a giant racoon turd. Lovely.
I'm not sure why I remember that detail except maybe because it was funny and gross.
On the way home, we spotted a herd of elk chilling out in a persons side yard.
They seemed pretty content.
They created a mini traffic jam as people pulled over to get a good look at them.
Huzbend cooked up dinner whilst the kiddies watched Food Network (of course).
It was taco night.
Katie had a baked potato.
She's not a Costco carnitas taco fan.
We decided to have a fire and roast marshmallows.
Roasting them up.
Everything-free graham crackers are not all that yummy.
It's much better to make s'mores with everything-free chocolate chip cookies.
MMMMMMMMMMMM
The only problem is that they are kind of challenging to eat without getting marshmallow all over you.
See?
Me: "Would you like a s'more?"
Huzbend:
Something that is always guaranteed....
Katie will ALWAYS want another marshmallow.
There definitely comes a time when Mikey is done with marshmallows.
We moved onto Swiss Army knife whittling.
You have to know how to make your own marshmallow sticks, right?
Both kids got a short review lesson on handling a knife.
We only had one knife. So, they had to take turns.
Katie was impressed with her work.
It was hard for her to stop trying to get it to be "perfect".
Mikey decided to take another turn.
He probably could've sat there for another hour or so.
Too many marshmallows and too much hiking makes for a tired Katie.
Our last full day at the parks had arrived.
Katie's breakfast.
Hmmmm.
Not the healthiest of choices.
We decided to take it easy on this morning and do some scenic driving.
First up was the Coastal Drive Loop.
Our first stop in the drive was this beautiful scenic view.
Katie wasn't so happy with the drop off.
While standing on the cliff top, we caught this hawk flying off to enjoy a little brekkie.
I think it was an eel of some sort.
I could've camped out there all day just looking at the view.
But, it was time to move on.
Katie literally speed walked back to the car.
Mikey felt the need to explore another trail.
We sent him off to investigate.
He reported another beautiful view.
Once again we were on winding, narrow roads perched on the side of cliffs and drop offs.
I was in the drivers seat.
That meant that I couldn't take pictures.
I asked Mikey if he would take some pictures for me.
Katie also had our regular camera.
The following are shots that Mikey captured on the ride to our next destination.
Okay. Not bad.
Katie was in the front seat with me.
So Huzbend and Mikey had a good ole time taking photos of themselves.
Um. Hmm.
Okay. Not bad.
This one is pretty good too.
Not sure what happened here.
It was time to head to our next scenic drive, the Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway.
This parkway is an alternate to the main route down the coast and passes through old growth forest in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park.
It's hard to capture the grandeur of the trees as they are whizzing by, but Mikey tried.
Or maybe he wanted to point out that Huzbend hadn't shaved in about 5 days?
He managed to take this shot of the front seat.
This must be an example of what it was like to see the scenery whiz bey.
He took some video as well.
Our plan was to stop at the Prairie Creek Visitor Center for lunch and a hike.
There were some turkey vultures circling the field that we had parked next to.
I just couldn't get a clean picture of them.
Prairie Creek is one of the places where you can see a large elk herd.
There are many signs teaching about the herds as well as warning you to stay away from them.
They had examples of life size female elk as well as their calves.
We ate a quick lunch at a picnic table outside of the visitor center.
We took a trip to the bathroom and visited the displays in the visitor center before heading off on our hike.
I just noticed that Katie has her bandana wrapped around her face in this picture.
My guess is that she is hiding from bugs.
If she kept her bandana up, she wouldn't have gotten to see the big trees.
(Besides it being dangerous to walk when you can't see)
Some of you may be wondering...what's the difference between a redwood tree and a sequoia tree.
Redwood Trees: are the TALLEST tress in the world and their trucks are slender.
Sequoia Trees: are the LARGEST tress in the world in volume and have an immense trunk size and weight.
We found a burnt out hollow tree on the trail to explore.
On the bark inside we found this guy.
I was implored to take a picture.
I'm not sure why gnats bother Katie, but centipedes don't.
As you spend time walking among these trees, you start to get used to the height of them.
Like, it feels that all trees are this way.
It really just sets you up for disappointment.
Because when you leave, you realize that all other forests are plain in comparison.
Taking panoramic photos helps you get an idea of the scale.
For example, taken from this angle this photo shows just your normal average everyday forest.
Taken from here, you can get a sense of how tall the tress are.
Even the roots of these suckers are huge.
The trail ended at Big Tree.
The sign didn't lie.
The tree was big.
Actually, this is only the 13th largest tree in the Redwood parks system.
It's top fell off at some point.
What it IS most known for is being the biggest tree in the parks that is the easiest to reach.
It's a 5 minute walk from a parking lot (although we didn't take that way).
It's also in pretty much everyone's photos from their visit to the parks because it it so easy to reach.
We are not excluded from that number.
There really weren't that many people there.
I was able to get this shot of the family enjoying the view and a cute sign that they had near the tree advertising directions to more big trees.
Before we moved on, a nice couple offered to take a photo of us in front of the tree.
Mikey caught a glimpse of this tree off in the distance from the trail.
and quickly burst out into hysterical laughter.
The tree had a penis.
Mikey did a little off trail adventuring.
Katie volunteered to take a picture of myself and Huzbend.
Nice job!
This picture really doesn't do it justice, but this is a grove of tallish trees on an island in the middle of a river. The river had split to go around it the island.
If there were fairies or elves anywhere in that forest, they would have been on that island.
Phew.
After hiking for a few hours, we decided to rest and recoup at the same picnic table we ate lunch at.
Oh, but we weren't done yet.
ONE MORE HIKE!
(said myself and Huzbend, but not the kids)
We hit up a short hike to Trillium Falls on the way back to the house.
There was plenty of parking and the hike itself was pretty simple (but was overcrowded).
It lead to a cute little waterfall, but it was not much to write home about (although it did make it into my blog).
Our last night in the Redwood National and State parks was spent enjoying the company of Guy Fieri.
We had to leave early the next morning to beat a road closure.
Rte. 101, the main route up the coast, sees a fair share of landslides.
One section of the road just collapsed into the sea at one point.
They had to close the road to do work during the day as the fog makes it very challenging.
Speaking of fog.....
There are plenty of touristy things to do along the main road.
We stuck with non-kitschy entertainment this time around.
We were able to make it past the section of road before they shut it down.
Bye, Redwood National and State parks!
The ride home felt longer than the ride there.
We got stuck in a bunch of traffic.
Boo. Stinky.
Each year, our local summer fair has a "donate food / get in free" deal.
This year, they did it before the actual opening date of the fair so that there wouldn't be crowds of people at the gates.
We went ahead and donated food to get some free tickets.
At the drop off, they had the opportunity to visit some food trucks to purchase fair food.
Mikey has always wanted to try a scone.
Fischer's scones are a big deal in fairs out here.
He says it was delicious.
The problem was that we found out that they have dairy in them.
Whoops.
Ralph was happy to be home from the boarding place.
We have a hydrangea in our backyard that is this awesome blue color.
I try to take pictures of it when it's in full bloom, but the blue color just doesn't come through.
It always looks purple.
See?
This is closer to what what it actually looks like.
Funny how perception differs just by using a different camera.
Katie's baking kit this month was everything-free pretzel bites.
There were salty ones....
...and cinnamon-sugar ones.
Everyone thought they were both really yummy.
Ralph was so sad that he didn't get to try them that he cuddled with my shoe.
They broke out an old Y-Rider.
Katie gave it a try.
That same day happened to also be Huzbend's 48th birthday!!!
Mikey made him this "Spoiler Alert" hat because Huzbend loves to give a bit too much detail when he's talking about movies and ruins them.
Huzbend made cheese-less pizza for his birthday meal so that Mikey would eat it.
(Katie probably had a potato)
It wasn't toooooo bad.
It just felt like something was missing.....
He had multiple desserts to enjoy.
Here's his banana cream birthday pie.
The next day we spent some hours pulling weeds and mulching for Whale Scout.
Katie found a plant that still had its seed attached.
Mikey decided to take up jogging.
He injured himself in the first quarter mile and returned home to watch Katie play Link instead.
Katie was a Program Aide in a weeklong local Girl Scout Day Camp.
She helped out with a group of middle school aged scouts.
She had a great time, but decided that that age group has too much drama.
She decided that she would help out at the cooking station instead next year.
Mikey spent that week busy with Minecraft Modding camp.
After Katie survived her Girls Scouts and Mikey had a good time coding, we were off to join our neighbors camping for the weekend.
It was great to sit by the fire and laugh and interact with other human beings.
Breakfast.
I'm pretty sure all she ate was bacon.
I think we'll have to start annoying her even more about her breakfast choices....or lack of them
They have a pool at this campground.
(It's an RV place, but they do allow tents)
It was the first time in a long time that the family (except me) were in a pool together.
Katie spent most of her time playing with a toddler.
Mikey and Huzbend spent their time wrestling and chicken fighting.
It got close to 100 degrees on this day.
Katie used the sun to help dry off.
Surprisingly, she did not melt.
Mikey also enjoyed the sun for a bit.
Katie mostly hung out with other teens and talked anime and other things.
Mikey was kind of the odd man out.
Not really fitting in anywhere.
After contemplating life on the top of a huge boulder.....
...He decided to play a game of "Throw Throw Burrito" with the menfolk.
He held his own.
We took time to celebrate all the July birthdays.
Although we missed some years, we've been doing this camping thing a long time.
Here are the same kids circa 2013.
And, now.
The oldest of the kiddos will be seniors in high school in the fall.
Believe it or not, shuffle board is a thing when we go camping with neighbors.
We grab our beverages and hit the court.
Adults....
...and kids compete for shuffle board glory.
Look at that technique. That form.
I have no idea what I'm talking about.
A bit of cathartic fire gazing.
We brought two tents this time.
The kids took one and the adults had the other.
Snoring still happened.
It was a fun trip, but most likely the last neighbor camping trip.
The oldest kids should be visiting colleges next summer.
Wow. Time flies.
The last week of July, Katie went to Digipen for an "Intro to Programming" summer camp.
All kids attending had to be vaccinated and wear a mask.
I guess drawing pictures of Slimes from Slime Ranchers was part of the camp?
I don't know.
Meanwhile, that last week of July, Mikey was enjoying a Dungeons and Dragons camp.
Being the week of his birthday, he decided that he wanted to have a mid-week friend D and D session at our house instead of a party.
We let him open an early birthday present.
A Dungeon Master robe from Grandma.
Friend D and D / Birthday Celebration.
The next night, we went to a pop-up summer drive in movie to see Hook.
The following set of photos entitled "Siblings" are offered with no commentary.....
Finally, his actual birthday came and he was able to get his first COVID vaccine dose.
Ow.
Yay for 12!
Happy Birthday!
After cake pie, it was time for presents.
We made him wait until last to open the Legend of Zelda game he was most waiting for.
Just a little excited.
Mikey's birthday brought July to a close, but we weren't done with summer yet!
