Oregon is 165 years old on Valentine’s Day this year! In case you haven’t noticed, I love my home state. I wasn’t born here (or any of the states in the USA, for that matter), but it’s the only U.S. state I’ve lived in, and I love it.
My husband and 5 kids and I recently moved across town, so it’s been a busy winter. This last Sunday, we finally took a break from unpacking and organizing to do one of my favorite Oregon activities: driving to the high passes of the Cascade Mountains to play in the snow. We needed it! The fresh mountain air, the pine trees, the snow… it was invigorating. Last year, we met friends at Santiam Sno-Park in the Santiam Pass. This year, we went to Salt Creek Falls Sno-Park near Willamette Pass. Both are great, but there are some differences. Stay tuned for a few travel tips, and comment below to share your favorite places to go in Oregon in the winter! (Or if you’re not living in Oregon, where would you want to go?)
If you’re not familiar with the Sno-Park system here in the Northwest, it’s pretty cool (pun intended). For one $4 parking pass, your whole family can play all day at any of the designated Sno-Parks in the national forests. Other than that, you do have to pay for (or borrow) the gear: sleds or inner tubes, snow pants, winter gloves, snow boots, hats, scarves, and anything else you need to keep warm. But you’d need all of those but the sleds/tubes if you went to one of the more expensive places anyway, like the pay-per-person tubing runs that pull you up the hill at the ski resorts. And those usually cost at least $10 per person. So I think the sno-park passes are the best bang for your buck, at least if you have as many kids as we do. But be aware that Sno-Parks usually only have a pit toilet for facilities. We used the bathrooms at a gas station in Oakridge on our way there.
Salt Creek Falls Sno-Park has sledding runs that are longer and a shallower grade than Santiam Sno-Park. For that reason, we felt that it’s a little safer than Santiam. But do beware of a ditch off to one side that our kids kept sliding into because they were trying to avoid the snow ramps people had built into the runs on the other side. There is a lot more flat space at the bottom for building snowmen and other typical snow activities, too. Our kids built snow-bears after getting bored of sledding and played in a fort that someone had previously built. But for most of them, the highlight was careening down the hills on an inner tube with one or two of their siblings. Okay, for our 13-year-old, her highlight was filming Chris and me ride down together and flip over at the bottom. My face planted deep in the snow, and she laughed for about 10 minutes.
Salt Creek Falls is also less crowded than the busier Santiam area. We found out last year that Hoodoo Ski Lodge at Santiam Pass is huge! It even has an arcade! In contrast, after playing in the snow this year, we visited the much smaller and quieter Willamette Pass ski lodge. If our kids were overwhelmed at Hoodoo last year, they were underwhelmed at Willamette Pass. But it was nice. Be aware that Willamette Pass Lodge doesn’t allow you to bring in your own food anymore. We may or may not have eaten our packed lunch at a cafeteria table as discreetly as we could because we didn’t know till we got in there and saw the gazillions of signs posted about it (they even wrote it on a white board). We ordered nachos to ease our conscience a bit, ate quickly and played some board games, and gratefully used the real bathrooms before heading home.
Someday, my husband and I hope to book a room and stay a couple days at Timberline Lodge at Mt. Hood. We plan to sit by the giant fireplaces, look at the views of the mountain, and read and write and play card games to our hearts’ content. But until then, my favorite winter activity in Oregon is probably playing at the sno-parks. What is your favorite winter activity or place to go in Oregon? Or somewhere else if you don’t live here? Comment below; I’d love to hear it!
P.S. Happy Valentine’s Day! And Ash Wednesday to some of you. I hope that wherever in the world you are, you feel loved by the people around you. You are definitely loved by God. I’m praying for peace in the world on this day dedicated to love.
This Christmas vacation, we had hoped to go sledding up in the mountains. I even found snow pants for the kids at Costco and snow boots at BiMart. But El Niño is making us wait till later in the winter. For that and some other personal reasons, we decided to make our last family trip of the year be a low-key local one.
Where to go locally that wouldn’t involve a lot of walking, being outside in the cold rain, or a long drive, that we hadn’t already been to? Brownsville! Today we went to the Living Rock Studios and Kirk’s Ferry restaurant in the small town about a half hour away from the Eugene/Springfield area. We all enjoyed them, even our teens and our littles!
I’m actually surprised I’d never been to Living Rock Studios. If you know me well, you know I love rocks! I think I assumed it was a cheesy tourist trap, but I’m not sure why I thought that. It is very Christian-owned and oriented. There are Biblical scenes made out of rocks, backlit for spectacular effect, and there are Bible verses everywhere. But they are all very focused on love, and it had a positive vibe, so it did not feel dogmatic or pushy in any way. Howard Taylor, the man who built it, was a conservationist, and lobbied on behalf of one of the birds on the tapestries hanging on the wall, according to his daughter-docent. The family didn’t seem concerned with how old the Earth is, but just wanted to acknowledge what a beautiful world God created.
The building itself is fantastic. The stone structure is round, with a wheelchair-accessible ramp going up around the edge of it to the upper floor. There are all kind of rocks to see along the way and at the top, including many from various parts of Oregon as well as from around the world. Some you can light up with your phone flashlight to great effect. Others you just admire. There are historical items, too, including the pump organ that the docent’s ancestors played on when they were homesteaders in an old community that is now at the bottom of Cottage Grove Reservoir. Despite being a history teacher, I can get a little bored in museums of local history sometimes. But this place was very interesting, and our tour guide/docent was as much fun as the docent at the Municipal Elevator in Oregon City! Chris plied her with questions about historical events and practices, and happily soaked up her stories.
The admission price is donations only. We put some in the jar, and the kids loved buying beautiful rocks in the gift shop. Everything was very reasonably priced. We got there before noon, thinking we’d only spend a half hour there, but I think we spent an hour and a half! The kids got restless toward the end, but Chris and I could have looked at things and listened to her stories for much longer. She took a family photo of us, and with the Christmas decorations in the background, it’s now our official Christmas family photo! With no kids kicking each other! Here’s the website if you would like to check it out.
After exploring the rock studio, we were famished. We headed to Kirks Ferry Trading Post to eat. The restaurant was built around Alexander Kirk’s cabin from the 1800s. He operated a ferry across the river nearby. The restaurant’s website says it is the “oldest standing building in the state of Oregon,” but I can’t verify that elsewhere on the internet. Regardless, it is really cool! The cabin has been preserved (without the roof) and houses antiques, some of them for sale. The tables of the restaurant surround it. Our table was right next to one of the cabin windows. The food was reasonably priced (a perk for our family of 7) and delicious. I recommend the Broken Top Bourbon Burger, and dipping the sweet potato fries into their bleu cheese dressing. (For those of you not from Oregon, Broken Top is one of our picturesque volcanoes making up the Central Oregon skyline) Here is their website if you want to visit:
The last thing I’ll leave you with in the year 2023 is an artist I enjoy and purchased things from this year. I discovered her art a few years ago from an article I’d seen online. But this year I went to her website to see the rest of her art, and happily bought a calendar and a puzzle gift for fellow National Park nerd friends the Sheldons. If I’ve written about artist Amber Share before, I apologize for the repeat. But I love her art! She had the brilliant idea of taking one-star reviews of national parks from TripAdvisor or wherever, and making vintage-style art posters based on them. I love the look of the old WPA travel posters, and I love Amber’s sense of humor! She picked the most ridiculous one-liners from people who obviously missed the point of the park they were at. Her art shows how beautiful and pristine the park is despite the review. Check them out here:
With that, I say good-bye to 2023 and look forward to new adventures in 2024. I may write some reflections on Monday, but until then, have a happy new year’s eve!
Hi all! I’ve been writing this post since September. Busy season is just now subsiding at my office, so I’ll finally finish it! Especially since I just wrote our family Christmas newsletter! (Okay, officially, my cat Arwen “wrote” it again, but I helped) It focuses more on what we’re all up to and into rather than our travels, so I’ll keep this post as a recap and highlights of our trips and activities since the last one. It will probably be the final travel post of 2023. I hope you get some travel ideas and tips to enjoy them! If you know me personally and want a copy of our family newsletter, send me a text/email/Facebook message with your email address. And I’d love to hear in your comments what were your favorite adventures of 2023.
After the Redwoods/Oregon Caves trip I talked about in my last travel post, we went to a few more places in Western Oregon as well as driving north to Washington State. So now our kids have been to two states outside of Oregon! Without further ado, here’s the rest of our adventures from the sunny seasons and into the holiday season. Feel free to skim through them to a place you want to go, or just look at the photos!
Enchanted Forest
The first place we went away from home after the Redwoods trip was The Enchanted Forest. That’s where Chris and I got engaged last year, at the end of a day of theme park fun with the kids. I won’t cover the whole day from this year since I wrote about the place last year, but we had some notable new experiences. We met up there with the kids’ cousins, who happen to be directly related to good friends of mine, because that’s my soap opera life now. Last year we went to the park on a Saturday, but ran out of time to do everything. So this time we went on Monday. It was great! No long lines for rides. We did everything, some things more than once. We saw the summer theatre play this time. “Snow White and the Seven Dorks” has been making kids laugh for decades, and it still does! Some jokes were updated and some were old, but the nostalgia and nerdiness worked for me. Our favorite show, however, was the live band Possibly Irish. We discovered their existence last year but missed the show, and thought “I’m sure it would be neat but it’s fine we missed it.”
This was not the case. The band was way beyond “neat”. They were fantastic! The members may not all be ethnically Celtic and are definitely American, but they are great musicians. The traditional Celtic songs were fun, the instruments played fast and furious, and the harmonies were tight. At one point in the concert (held in a room decked out to look like an Irish pub), every one of our kids was singing along to an old Irish tune that was recently popularized on YouTube. Our oldest two girls bought band tee-shirts, and Chris and I both bought CDs. Here are links to one of the band’s music videos, starring various members of the band at different times, and filmed at The Enchanted Forest. If you like them, they play regularly at the Irish pub in Silverton and occasionally at other venues around Willamette Valley.
Our kids and their cousins watching the fountains at the Jolly RogerSnow White and the Seven Dorks at the Summer TheatrePossibly Irish! Definitely entertaining!
Oregon Coast Camping
Our next trip took us to the coast west of us. We camped with Chris’ parents in the Florence area for 4th of July weekend. That’s the coastal town we’ve all spent the most time in, so I won’t go into detail about it. But after dropping most of the kids off to hang out with grandparents, Chris and I (and the 11-year-old who wanted to go with us) headed north to Cape Perpetua. We wanted to visit Cook’s Chasm. Stopping first at the visitor’s center, we discovered that it was whale season. We walked out onto the observation deck, and guess what? We saw a whale! In all the times I’ve visited the coast, I’ve never seen one, even during high whale season. It was awesome! Chris and kiddo and I were so excited. We saw it come up a few times. After we went back to Florence, we spent the rest of the weekend bumming around with relatives at the campground, the dunes at South Jetty Beach, and Old Town Florence. We ate at Mo’s, of course! And got stamps in our passports. (They have a passport flyer where you earn stuff if you go to all the Mo’s restaurants). Even though it’s just our coastal town that we visit every year, it was a fun trip!
Whale watching at Cape Perpetua Dunes at the South Jetty The bay bridge in Old Town
Mount Hood: Alpine Slides and Timberline Lodge
The next adventure we went on was a day trip to Mount Hood up by Portland. Oregon’s highest mountain, at 11,239 feet/3,425 meters high, has lots of fun things to do in the summer! We went specifically for the alpine slides at Ski-Bowl Adventure Park in Government Camp. Chris wisely convinced me to pre-purchase the pass where we each got two trips down the slides, instead of the pass where we each got one trip and then got to do some things at the other side of the park. This worked out well, because most of the things we could have done with the second pass were things we could do around home. And after the first run down the mountain, we were glad of the opportunity to do it again, because you had a feel for it and could go faster that time. The alpine slides are just what they sound like: long slides down the side of the hill that you go down on little sleds you can control the speed on. To get up the hill, your tickets include the ski lift. We all paired off and enjoyed the scenic ride. It was our kids’ first time on a ski lift. Our 6-year-old, was nervous the first ride up. But then on the second ride up, he kept saying “This is so relaxing!” It was adorable. And speaking of him, his ticket was free! He was just small enough to ride for free with an adult. So he rode down the first time with Chris, and then with me. The rest of the kids had their own sled ride. My favorite part was that on the way down, you’re facing the top part of Mt. Hood, and it was gorgeous in the sunshine! Plus we passed wildflowers in the meadow as we cruised.
But the day didn’t end there. We drove up to Timberline Lodge, a stately CCC-era structure high up on Mt. Hood where the trees stop growing. The older girls bummed around in the large game room with Chris while the younger two kids wanted to “hike” with me up higher. We walked a little ways on the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) and then doubled back to a little glacial valley with snow in it. The kids saw some nice international tourists playing in the snow and joined in, making snow angels and snowmen. Soon we realized that was part of the ski run, and had to watch for snowboarders coming down the mountain. Yes, you can ski year-round here! Chris and I want to go back sometime and spend a whole day writing and hanging out in the big room in the lodge with the center fireplace. Mount Hood is a magical place! We ended the day by eating out at the Tollgate Inn in Sandy, a touristy but affordable, family-friendly eatery/bakery/gift shop (with built-in saloon, too).
Riding the Ski Lift for the SlidesPlaying in Timberline LodgeSnow in summer? Watch out for skis!
Seattle
Our next trip was another overnighter: Seattle! Our youngest had been begging us to see the Space Needle all year. And Chris found out about a free art show for pop culture and anime art. So we decided to go. Finding a place to stay was tricky, because we are a big family and hotels are expensive. I found a couple state park campgrounds with spots, and almost reserved them. But then my cousin James and his wife offered for us to stay with them at their home on the JBLM base south of Tacoma. It was right off of I-5! It was fun to visit them, and kind of neat to go onto the military base. Chris and I had been on one before, but it was new for the kids. And we heard an Apache helicopter fly right over us in the middle of the night!
In the morning, we headed north to Seattle. We got our tickets to go up the Space Needle and then played a bit in the Seattle Center. When I was a kid, the Space Needle was the most touristy thing that my parents ever took us to. They didn’t have much money, but splurged on tickets to the top. So we had to take our kids, too. The wait for our allotted time was fun! There is now a really neat playground under the Space Needle. The kids played there for a long time, climbing and swinging and spinning. We also rode the monorail and ate at a Mod Pizza in the old Armory building. But then our time finally came. We got in the waiting line, which takes a while to inch our way through. Fortunately, there are fun exhibits along the walls on the way, and a great view of a 10-foot-high Lego model Space Needle down below in the gift shop, complete with Lego characters all around the observation deck. We saw Batman and the Joker and many others. This made Chris very happy. Eventually we got to the elevator and rode to the top. The tour guide had a dry humor and had to bellow out information and directions over the crowd, but then we walked out to the observation deck. The experience was overwhelming for some of our kids. The view! The tiny buildings and cars below us! Our usually daredevil 15-year-old realized one of her first limits/fears: heights. After we all went outside to the outdoor deck and then came back in, she and one or two other kids stayed closer to the center while we spun slowly around on glass floors inside. The others laid down on the floor and watched the view change, fascinated. Eventually we left and wandered outside. We found a grassy area with an awesome metal sculpture and settled there to unwind after the exhilarating trip up the structure.
Then we walked to the hotel with the art show. The event was a bit underwhelming for us, who thought there would be more happening. It was really just a venue to buy people’s art, which was cool, but not much to do other than look at art. One guest came dressed up in cosplay, and the event sold expensive bartender-made Butterbeers, but other than that, we just looked at art. There were paintings featuring Star Wars, LOTR, Harry Potter, Marvel comics, anime movies, and shows, Alice in Wonderland, and others. One artist drew them all sitting on the toilet. We did each get a free small print, so that was cool!
From there, we thought about driving north to see the Fremont Bridge Troll giant sculpture, but the kids were exhausted, so we headed home. Unfortunately, our car died as we puttered around the Lake Oswego/Tigard exit area trying to find food. We managed to get the car to a nearby hotel after eating at a Subway, and the next day, Chris’ parents came up with a tow truck to get us. Chris and I were bummed to shell out a lot of money for a hotel, but that was some of our kids’ favorite part of the trip! They never get to stay in hotels. We had to get two rooms, so the kids enjoyed us having two bathrooms for once. The worst part was there was a bar next door to my side of the hotel (Chris and some of the kids had a room across the hall) that had crazy drunk people having fights all night. I eventually called the front desk and they got the bar to quiet people down so I could sleep. The kids with me slept through it, thank goodness! In the morning, we tried to eat at a really neat-looking theme restaurant next to the hotel, but it was closed, so we ate breakfast at Carl’s Jr. Eventually we got picked up and made it home. Our SUV was out of commission for a while and a few more times this year, so the rest of our adventures since then have been shorter and had less kids at a time.
Playing before our time to go upLegos! Seen from the waiting areaOur 8yo hanging from a sculpture where we rested afterwardThe MonorailObservation Deck: So high!Family Selfie!
Fort Umpqua and Florence Area (Again)
I took a week of vacation the last week of August. Mostly I painted the house and caught up on other things, but also had some end-of-summer fun with the kids. I took a few of them to swim at the outdoor Amazon pool while Chris worked at the restaurant one sunny day. The tall scary waterslide was open this year! Our 15-year-old and I tried it. The younger kids had fun just wading in the water. While the older two were visiting grandparents on the weekend, Chris and I took the younger three to Elkton. Where (and what) is Elkton, you ask? It’s a tiny town between Drain (another tiny town, a good ways south of Eugene on old Highway 99) and the coastal town of Reedsport. What’s to do there, you ask? The Elkton Community Education Center! Okay, it’s way cooler than it sounds. There’s a butterfly garden with teenage docents, getting their first work experience. And my favorite part? Fort Umpqua! It’s a replica of the old Hudson’s Bay trading post that was there in the 1800s. We timed our trip well. Upon arriving, we discovered it was the weekend of Fort Umpqua Days, a local festival. This meant good food, tents of trinkets to buy and games to play, and the best part: people dressed in 1800s garb leading activities for kids to do. Our 7-year-old is now determined that we buy an apple cider press. Our 8-year-old made a cornhusk doll. Our 11-year-old bought freeze-dried fruit rings. And Chris got a huge kick out of watching the demonstrators light the cannon. It was loud! After filling up on fresh grilled burgers to support a local charity, we let the kids decide if we should drive home or make a loop by going to the coast.
Of course, we went to the coast. Looking at the GPS on my phone, I noticed tiny Carter Lake on Hwy 101. No, not Crater Lake; Carter Lake! We just had to stop and check it out, since we’re the Carters! The campground leading to it seemed very family-friendly, and the lake shore had sand and critters galore to please the kids. We figured it was probably warmer there than the beach itself, so we let the kids play until they got hungry, and then went to Old Town to eat at Mo’s for the second time that summer. The bayfront wasn’t enough coast for the kids, so we made it to North Jetty beach right at dusk. Unlike the blue sky at Elkton earlier in the day, the clouds were thick and heavy over the beach by then, so we didn’t stay long. But we enjoyed the last few minutes of beach in the summer.
Walking around the FortChecking out the CannonCarter kids in Carter Lake
Fall Fun
In September, Chris and I took my car up to Multnomah Falls for our anniversary, where we splurged on a delicious brunch at the lodge there. We had also planned to take the kids up to Mount Angel for their famous Oktoberfest celebration that month. But with both cars acting up, we decided to stay closer to home and find some local little Oktoberfest fun. We tried a couple places one weekend in September: Detering Orchards near Coburg with a few kids and later the Public House in Springfield with some of the others. Neither really had much going on in terms of Oktoberfest. Detering had some Polish sausages and beer, and the rest of the festivities were their normal fall activities. That didn’t bother the kids. They fed goats, picked Asian pears, and rode the cow train. Chris was happy with the fancy jars of treats we bought at the farm stand, like candied jalapeños, pickled quail eggs, and black walnut syrup. The Public House always has good food, but there didn’t seem to be much in the way of German fare by the time we got there. There were a couple menu items with Beer Cheese on them that were tasty. But we still wanted a more authentic Oktoberfest. So when October rolled around, we went to the Bier Stein restaurant in Eugene for their celebration. This one was very festive! They have a little German food on the menu usually, but had a special menu for the day. I had the flamkuchen, a dish that I discovered on my second trip to Germany. It was delicious! Chris joined the Stein Hoist competition (at my urging) and got second place. There were also photo ops and supplies for kids to make a pretzel necklace. We did all this after watching the ceremonial keg tapping by a recently retired politician. We still hope to make it to Mount Angel next year, but we’ll probably go to the Bier Stein, too!
For the rest of the autumn, we’ve taken advantage of the sunshine on busy days by hitting little local trails with some of the kids. I hiked to the top of Skinner’s Butte with the 12-year-old while the rest of the kids played at the park at the base. A week later, Chris and I hiked to the top of Mt. Baldy with the 15, 8, and 6- year olds. They had fun playing in big color-changing trees, and Chris had fun lounging on the bench at the top! The next weekend, I took the 15-year-old and her friend to the ice rink at the fairgrounds to try her hand at ice skating for a birthday present. She did great! I guess that one’s not in the sunshine, but it was a new adventure for one of the kids. She thinks the whole family should go this winter. Other sunny day treks this fall have included walking the Weyerhauser Trail at the Thurston Hills Rec Area with the younger two kids, walking the river bike path in Eugene with a few of the kids and one of their friends, and walks to our local city park to see the fall foliage and play under the evergreen giants.
The kids visit their grandparents on Chris’ side frequently, and love playing in their pool in the summer. In the fall, they like running around my mom’s country property. One weekend we did s’mores and hot dogs outside in the fire pit, and for Thanksgiving my brother brought a golf cart for them to drive around. The kids loved that! And gave us parents a heart attack! And now we’re headed into the Christmas holiday season. This last week, some of us from my office went up to Portland for our work’s big Christmas party at a fancy hotel in Portland. They hired Party Alpacas for photo ops! And the lobby had a Neuschwanstein Castle made out of gingerbread. So much fun!
Multnomah Falls Lodge dining roomOktoberfest at the Bier SteinEugene’s riverfront bikepath parkThanksgiving fun with Uncle BenI’ve been there! Can I eat it?Merry Christmas with my coworkers
What were your favorite outdoorsy or travel activities this year? What are you excited for with the upcoming holiday or winter season? Feel free to post in the comments below! Merry Christmas, if I don’t get a chance to post again before then!
Want to be inspired? Watch this video by the BBC about the oldest person to visit all 63 U.S. national parks! Grandma Joy didn’t do it by herself – her grandson started and finished this journey with her, making one of the sweetest travel duos I’ve ever heard of. I’ve been to quite a few national parks, but didn’t think I’d ever make it to all of them. Now I am encouraged that it’s still possible! How many have you been to? What are your favorites? I’ll post mine below, and feel free to add yours in the comments!
Hi everyone! How is your summer going? (or for my one friend in New Zealand and any other readers in the Southern Hemisphere, how is your winter going?) Ours has been busy with work and play. I’m hoping to write the next few posts as travel articles from our activities this summer. Feel free to skim them for travel ideas to take your children (or inner child) to, or read just to catch up with us. Don’t forget to share below in the comments what you’ve been up to. I’d love to hear your adventures, especially fun stuff local to where you live!
First, I’ll catch you up a bit so you know what might be in future posts. Starting with Memorial Day weekend (not quite summer here in Oregon, but it kicks off summer adventures anyway), we saw several big waterfalls at Silver Falls State Park, took a weekend camping trip to some mysterious places in northwestern California and southwestern Oregon, played at the Enchanted Forest theme park, camped at the Oregon coast, ate fun food at Eugene’s Saturday Market (that was as far as we had energy to go that weekend), played in the river at Hendricks Bridge County Park east of Springfield, and explored the fun activities at Mt. Hood. By myself I did a short shady hike in the Thurston Hills Recreation Area one weekend with my friend Jas who was visiting from Arizona. And of course, the kids have had lots of fun playing in the backyard and parks (and on video game devices, of course), watching movies, and doing fun things with relatives (including driving bulldozers at the Dozer Days event at the fairground with my brother). Today I’ll write about that first camping trip. It was epic!
For Father’s Day this year, Chris really wanted to take the kids to some mysterious places: the Trees of Mystery, Oregon Caves National Monument, and the Oregon Vortex House of Mystery. We ran out of time to do that last one, but replaced it with something even more fun.
We’d planned to drive down to California on Saturday, but then our church decided to do a picnic that day at our friend’s beautiful property where we got married last fall. The kids would mutiny if they found out we’d be gone and miss a chance to play there, so we pushed the trip back a day to Sunday/Monday. Early Saturday morning, we headed south on I-5 from our home in the Eugene/Springfield area. We made it to Crescent City, California, in time to eat, drive through the redwoods and play in the river at Jedidiah Smith State Park. We also saw the rocky ocean from the Battery Point Vista Area. Seeing the horizon over the ocean filled my soul with joy as the last few years it had been foggy whenever I had visited the Oregon coast.
California Coast
While we were in Crescent City, Chris decided to buy some supplies at the Home Depot so we could roll up the sleeping bags into the tarp and strap them onto the roof of the car. This helped the kids be less cramped in the 8-passenger car (leading to less fighting). Unfortunately, it rained on us the next day, so drips of water crept in on the straps and fell on us. Since that trip, Chris has obtained the supplies to attach a real cargo box to the top of the car. Our backup plan is to buy a 15-passenger van so each kid will get a bucket seat to themselves and can store luggage below them. You think I’m kidding, but you try driving very far with 5 siblings ages 6-14 who live in a cramped house!
We finally made it to our first real destination: the Trees of Mystery! If you haven’t been there or heard of it, it’s a great tourist trap. My ex-husband and I stopped there on our honeymoon over two decades ago, but back then it was a bit overpriced for what there was to do. We snapped pictures of us in front of Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox, used the bathrooms, and called it good, figuring we’d shell out the money when we had kids. We never made it back. But Chris had fond memories of it from his childhood, and really wanted to take our kids. Totally worth it! They’ve added a lot of great things to do without adding that much to the price of admission! In addition to the trails of amazing Redwoods with apt names such as the Elephant Tree, Octopus Tree, and the grand Cathedral Trees, now there is a trail in the sky made out of swinging bridges and an aerial tram that takes you up a mountain to see the ocean from up high. Totally worth the ~$25 admission.
Obligatory Paul Bunyan photoOur 6yo may or may not have understood oxen anatomyEither the Elephant Tree or the Octopus TreeSky TrailRedwoods canopyView from the top of the aerial tram
The kids enjoyed the park almost as much as we did. But they were even more excited to see the beach and to camp, so on we went. We drove back up toward Crescent City and pulled off at a beach along Highway 101. Dark grey sands beckoned us out to the driftwood and rocks to climb on. The sun was out, we could still see the horizon, and the kids had a great time collecting shells and rocks and relaxing. We pressed on after a while so we could get back up to Oregon in time to camp at the site we’d reserved.
Laughing Alpaca campground near Cave Junction was quite an experience. The tent camping isn’t in regular sites: you pitch your tent wherever you want to in a big shady lawn. When we got there, the sprinklers were on, giving us a bit of anxiety. But they’d left the sprinklers off in the corner by the river with the fire pit, ping-pong table, and odd vertical playground hung on a giant strap. So we set up by the fire pit. We never did find the clubhouse with the game room and the kitchen room looked closed, but the alpacas next to the property were cute! And the price was affordable. After setting up camp (3 tents) and letting the kids play, I drove into town to get dinner. Most places were closed or about to, so I went to the grocery store to try to find fire supplies and hot food. I ended up with matches, marshmallows, and greasy flaky foods (pizza pockets, corndogs, and burritos) that hit the spot. We found just enough wood in and around the fire pit to make a fire big enough for a quick round of s’mores. The owner had told me that we may hear the tigers from the nearby Great Cats World Park at night, but we didn’t and we slept well.
S’mores and glo-sticks, what more do you need?
I woke up in the morning to the sound of water hitting one side of the tent. Assuming the sprinklers were now on for this side of the field, I got up to check it out. Rain! We tore down camp as quick as we could, which was not very quick at all with 5 kids and 3 tents. We got into town in time to buy breakfast sandwiches at the Subway and stop in the Illinois Valley visitor’s center to buy our cave tour tickets, which is highly recommended to do before the 45 minute drive to the national monument (after we got there, the wait for people who needed to buy tours there was super long!). There they gave the directions about what we needed to avoid wearing/carrying in order to keep the bats safe from disease.
If you want to go to Oregon Caves, please be aware that they have strict codes now because of a disease making its way around the world. Read their website carefully. You can’t wear/carry anything that has been inside another cave. The staff at the Oregon Caves visitor’s center gave me a free locker for my camera case, had me wipe down the camera, and recorded what cave I’d taken it in. They did a double take when I said it was the Buddha caves in Bamiyan, Afghanistan! I think that was a new one for their list. And I got a button that said something to the effect of “I’m saving the bats,” which I gave to our 12-year-old since she’d wiped down her shoes because she couldn’t remember if she’d worn them in the lava tube cave we explored last summer. Side note; Chris volunteered to be the person who stays in the back of the line through the cave and make sure there were no stragglers, so he asked if he got a pin, and the ranger gave him one that says “I was vaguely responsible at Oregon Caves.”
Seeing the cave was worth it all. I didn’t get to go far because our 6-year-old got cold/tired/spooked because he’d gotten wet in the rain in the parking lot, and didn’t really like the lava cave last year either. So he and I left at the emergency exit about 1/4 the way in, and hiked down the hill to the visitor’s center to warm up in there with hot cocoa. Even the hike was pretty, with mist hugging giant Douglas Fir trees and blooming wild rhododendrons. Chris and the girls went on and saw the epic cave rooms, formations, and flowstones I’d seen once before, including the naturally elegant Drapery Room. The cave isn’t a lava tube cave like most of them in Oregon or a limestone cave like Mammoth Caves National Park, but a marble cave. Truly a marvel. One of the interesting parts of it is the creek. Inside the cave, it’s known as the River Styx. When it exits the cave into the area around the Chateau (lodge) and the visitor’s center, it becomes Cave Creek. It makes two pretty waterfalls on either side of the driveway and then disappears into a pool by the Chateau. But back to the creek: it resurfaces inside the Chateau, running in a little channel through the middle of the dining room. The Chateau is currently closed for renovation, but I’ve seen it before, and it’s really neat. Random fact: Did you know that the View Master toy was invented with the Oregon Caves?
The ranger and the nice Polish family on the tour with us Peaceful escape from the cavesWho knew View Masters started here?Cave Creek next to the Chateau inspires contemplation. Until everyone is cold, tired, hungry, and ready to leave the park.
After the caves, we ate “hot eats” at the Dairy Queen in Cave Junction. They were quick and got our large order perfectly. While the kids sat in the van afterwards with their “cool treats”, Chris and I walked across the street to check out the Taylor’s Sausage restaurant/store that friends had told us about. We figure we’ll eat there if we come back without the kids someday, but for now we made do with buying elk, venison, and alligator jerky.
We had planned to go to Gold Hill after the caves to tour the Oregon Vortex / House of Mystery, a local tourist trap that is interesting to see once (and only once). I’d been there once with my ex and didn’t need to go again, but our kids wanted to see it because it’s one of the inspirations for the cartoon Gravity Falls. Unfortunately, we were running out of time. But Chris and I had one more idea of a place we could surprise the kids with on the way home.
A short drive off I-5, we made it to Wildlife Safari in Winston a mere 15 minutes before closing time. The wonderful staff there let us in to roam around the “Village” area. What a great use of 15 minutes! We saw all kinds of animals. The lady running the camel-riding station brought the camel over to the landing so the kids could pet it. And the dog and cheetah buddies in the cheetah pen snuggled and wrestled for us to enjoy. Chris had taken the kids there for the safari drive during the early days of the pandemic, but they didn’t get to see the village part. The kids want to go back with more time.
We stopped at Roseburg to get giant ice cream cones at Sherm’s Thunderbird grocery store (Southern Oregon’s answer to Winco, but with a gazillion flavors of Umpqua ice cream at the front concessions counter and great prices). We’d had it a few weeks earlier when we drove to South County to visit my old church in Riddle I attended when I lived in Myrtle Creek over a decade ago. Unfortunately, our luck ran out for the day. On Mondays, they close the ice cream early to clean the area. So we bought candy in the store and drove the rest of the way home.
While we didn’t get to see every mystery spot we wanted to on that trip (there’s also Confusion Hill farther south in California, another inspiration for Gravity Falls), we had a lot of fun. And this last weekend, we drove through the first inspiration for the show according to its creator, the Oregon town of Boring. But that’s another story for another day. On this trip, the trees, beach, and caves were enough for us.
Happy summer from the Carters! Leave a comment below with what fun you’ve been having this season.
Happy Summer! We’ve been on a couple trips lately, and I hope to write about them soon. But in the meantime, I’d like to share a couple of recent news stories that will inspire you. These are a few weeks old now. I’d meant to share them earlier on. But if you haven’t heard about them yet, they are well worth taking a look!
This first one is about a plane crash I’d read about before this article came out, where they found evidence at the crash site that gave authorities and rescue teams hope that the children survived it. And they did! After being in the Amazon jungle for 40 days!
This next story is about an Afghan girl living in Washington. Her family went hiking in the mountains, and she got lost. But her instinct and strength kept her alive until rescuers found her. Read on to find out how she did it.
In my last post, I said I’d tell about our spring break day trip soon. I wanted to share about the Piano Queen first, and decided to let that post be short and focused. But here’s our trip for you, in case you want road trip ideas. I’m having fun seeing my favorite Oregon places with new eyes as I play tour guide for my stepkids. And I want to practice writing more travel-article-style posts as I do that. I loved reading the family trip ideas in the recently-defunct Springfield Free For All newspaper, and want to continue that awesome family’s legacy. Enjoy! (Note – it took me a month to write it, but here it is! With a bonus waterfall trip listed at the end that we took last week)
Spring break was as rainy as a Western Oregon spring break usually is. I had to work during it, so that was fine by me, but by Saturday we were (okay, I was) desperately needing to get out of Dodge. We needed to head north to pick up one of the kids from my stepsister’s house, so we thought of places that direction. With the weather forecast, we knew it would need to be a place where we didn’t need to stray far from the car. We settled on the Columbia Gorge. The kids had never been there. I’ve been there lots of times, but I don’t think I’ve written about it much. And I’m trying to practice writing travel article-style posts. So here you go!
I decided to drive Highway 99E from Salem to avoid I-5’s vacation weekend traffic and get a bit more scenic route into our day. In Brooks, I pulled through the driveway of the old Brooks Elementary School where I used to work so the kids could see it. It’s now an Oregon Child Development Coalition facility. Our first actual stop was in Hubbard, where my stepsister lives. We got gas and pulled through the “From Russia With Love” coffee/food cart to get some lunch for the adults (I’d packed generic lunchables, fruit, and other snacks for the kids). The greater Woodburn area has a community of Russian Old Believers that settled here long ago, so it makes sense there’s a Russian fast food place! They were out of some things because of Lent, but the dumplings and potato dish were delicious. At my stepsister’s house (on the edge of town, almost in the country), we played with my niece, nephew, dogs, and goats. The baby goats had grown a little since we saw them at Christmastime, but they’re still small and adorable! Our 6 year old couldn’t pick up the baby goats, so he carried around my stepsister’s mom’s Pomeranian instead.
Driving up 99E landed us in Oregon City, so we checked out the Municipal Elevator. Evidently, there are only 4 of these in the world. This one’s been there since 1955 (replacing a wooden one before it), and is North America’s only “vertical street.” Nowadays with cars, one can just drive a block or two out of the way to get to the roads above the cliffs. But that’s no fun. We started at the top, walking around the observation deck first before taking the ride down to the road with the bridge. You can see Willamette Falls over downtown Oregon City. My husband’s favorite part of the whole day was listening to the docent who sits at the top of the elevator, waiting eagerly for tourists and kids to tell stories to. Her true story about a sternwheeler riding the rapids upriver was somehow even more incredible than her Sasquatch one.
From Oregon City, we hopped on I-205 and then I-84. We got off in Troutdale to start our journey up Historic Highway 30 there, but in retrospect, we should have started at Lewis & Clark State Park a little ways away so we could stay we started at the very beginning. But driving through the lush forest up to the cliffs of Corbett made us forget any loss. We stopped first at the Women’s Forum overlook to see the Crown Point Vista House from afar, shrouded in foggy mist.
The Vista House is a small but majestic art nouveau building, created as a rest stop observatory for travelers and a memorial to the pioneers. It’s over 100 years old and just as relevant now. It sits on Crown Point, a basalt promontory once known as “Thor’s Heights.” (See https://vistahouse.com/history/ for more information). We raced there from our car to beat the rain. Once inside, we stamped our homemade national park passport/travel journals at the visitor’s desk, and went downstairs to look at the exhibits and gift shop. Tip: the espresso stand has some overpriced candy, but also 15 cent huckleberry taffy! I stocked up on that, and when the rain subsided, the kids raced upstairs to the visitor’s deck. The views of the Columbia Gorge there are epic. But our youngest two mainly enjoyed sliding down the little ramps on the back side once the rains stopped.
After bumming around the Vista House, we drove to Latourelle Falls. This is the beginning of the Waterfall Corridor, a section of Highway 30 with tall waterfall after waterfall gushing down the sides of the cliffs. Most visitors skip the historic highway and stop at Multnomah Falls via the pullout from I-84, but I love the more intimate journey of Highway 30. The highway itself is a marvel, the first scenic highway to attain National Historic Landmark status, and this section of it is spectacular. Latourelle Falls is tall and graceful, but my favorite part of it is the octagonal basalt columns fanning out behind it. We just walked up the hill a bit to a great viewpoint, but if you have time, I recommend continuing on the steep trail to another waterfall up above it.
The next stop we made was Shepperd’s Dell Falls. This lesser-known stop along the historic road is my husband’s favorite in this area. It cascades down cliffs in several tiers and makes its way down a steep ravine below the highway bridge. According to a guy I briefly dated (the one person I met from e-Harmony, whom I call Waterfall Dave because he loves hiking to waterfalls even more than I do), the falls were named after his grandma (or great-grandma?). Online you can find that they were named for the wife of George Shepperd, who owned the land and donated it to the public in 1915. My favorite part of it is the gorgeous stonework lining the path, made from the same stonework as on the bridge.
Next we arrived at Wahkeena Falls. It is made up of a long but shallow series pf cascades below a tall, steep section up the hill behind a stone footbridge. Three of our kids chose to make the trek up to the bridge, enjoying getting sprayed by the larger fall. By this time, it had stopped raining for good, and we enjoyed the rest of the watefalls without getting wet (except by choice).
Finally we made it to Multnomah Falls, the crown jewel of the Columbia Gorge waterfalls. Unfortunately, the parking lot along the historic highway was packed, so we pressed on, stopping at Horsetail Falls, which looks like, you guessed it, a horse’s tail. We drove on to the next place to get onto I-84, doubled back, and parked at the larger parking lot for Multnomah Falls. In the summer, you have to get a pass in advance to park there, but that early in the year, we didn’t need it.
Two of the kids hadn’t gotten out of the car at the last three waterfalls, opting to stay inside and play video games. But here at Oregon’s highest one, we forced them outside for the grand finale of our day.
By this time, though, they were all a bit over waterfalls. Chris and I managed to get the kids all in one spot for some stranger to take a picture of us in front of the lower cascade with the bridge over it, which was like herding cats. They are definitely not all smiling in it. (The only time I’ve ever managed to get that photo was as they were all descending into their first cave, one of the lava tube caves in Central Oregon). They were, however, excited to go to the big gift shop and concession stand in the official Multnomah Falls Lodge.
The Lodge itself doesn’t look like much from the outside or from the main public areas (gift shop, bathrooms, etc.), at least compared to some of the other great lodges of Oregon like Timberline and Crater Lake. But Chris and I took turns exploring upstairs to the restaurant while the other supervised the kids in the gift shop. It looks amazing! And romantic, with sweeping views of the waterfall. We made a mental note to come back and eat here sometime for an anniversary or something. Without the kids.
We got concessions food for the kids (and a swirl ice cream cone for me… it’s tradition there! No matter how cold and grey it is out!) and headed back toward Portland. In Clackamas, we tried to stop for food for us grownups at the German restaurant Gustav’s, but it was closed for good. So sad! Then we tried the big restaurants by the mall, but Claim Jumper had a three hour wait. We ended up in a quiet but delicious Thai food place in a strip mall. The kids got potstickers and boba tea, and Chris and I got curry.
Late that night we arrived home, full of food and nature’s beauty. This year’s winter was extra long and dark and wet, and even though it was still dark and wet that day, I realized how much I’d needed to escape into God’s wonderful creation. We didn’t get to go very far for spring break this year, but one day in the Columbia Gorge made it feel like a vacation.
What are your favorite memories of the Columbia Gorge?
A good few weeks later, we finally got spring weather. Some warmth and even a little sunshine. Last Saturday, we took Marcola Road through the Coburg Hills to Sweet Home, and hiked the McDowell Creek waterfalls trails. They are so beautiful this time of year! Gushing waterfalls framed by green moss and ferns. Trails lined with trilliums. The kids had a great time climbing up stumps and waterfalls, walking on logs, squeezing into cavernous evergreen trunks,eating sorrel, and looking at the blooming trilliums. Afterwards we ate on the patio of The Point restaurant overlooking Foster Reservoir. I’m so grateful that spring has finally sprung! Today I’m up in Mt. Angel with my writing buddies, having a little writing retreat in the guest house of the Abbey, with views of the mountain ranges and the valley below us. How are you enjoying this beautiful spring weather?
Happy spring! Or at least I think it’s spring. Today is the last day of the kids’ spring vacation, and the season officially started a week and a half ago, but it’s still cold and stormy here in Western Oregon. This weekend saw a couple feet of snow in the mountain passes, and hailstorms here in the valley. But did we let that stop us from taking the kids on a fun day trip yesterday? No way! I’ll tell you a bit about it in another post if I have time this week.
But first, I’d like to highlight the story of a woman who had an amazing life journey, ending this last week at the age of 99. I’d never heard of her before I found this article in BBC news. I’ll let the article tell you most of the story, because it does a great job. Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guebrou left the capital of Ethiopia to attend school in Switzerland as a girl, became a pioneering pianist, became the first female secretary in Ethiopia’s ministry of foreign affairs, lived in exile on a Mediterranean island during Mussolini’s occupation of Ethiopia, and lived as a barefoot nun in a remote part of the country for most of her life. She endured tragedy and triumphed over gender inequalities. She played for the emperor as a young girl and now her music is a part of the culture in Ethiopia. Known there as the Piano Queen, I hope her legacy will live on. The first link below is BBC’s article from this week about her life, and the second is one of her most famous songs, The Homeless Wanderer.
Happy International Women’s Day! This is a great day for celebrating the various journeys of women.
We have come so far in so many ways, from individual accomplishments to changing the world by banding together. There are still inequities and glass ceilings, but barriers continue to be broken, too.
A fun example of this is women’s sports. A couple weekends ago, I took my husband and kids to their first college basketball game. The Oregon Ducks women’s team, of course! Even without my favorite players from a few years ago (Ionescu, Heber, and Chavez), they are still great. Chris was very impressed with Paopao’s 3-point shot skills, and he isn’t even into basketball! Afterward, I was waiting outside the Matthew Knight Arena with the two youngest kids while Chris brought the rest out. A volunteer worker who was directing people out there commented that some big tournament or other would probably be held there because Eugene tends to bring in so many fans for the women’s teams. And then she said that after women’s games, she has to ask people to come back for the men’s games! I’m grateful to live in a place that values the women’s team as much or more than the men’s, at least in that sport. And nationally, the USA recently passed a bill to ensure equal compensation for U.S. women competing in international events. About time, since the U.S. women’s soccer team has won four world cup medals and four Olympic gold medals. Go, team!
Unfortunately, women in many places are still oppressed or facing devastating challenges. In Iran, hundreds of women and men have been killed in recent months for protesting after a woman died in custody of the “morality police” for not wearing her headscarf correctly. Women in Afghanistan have recently lost most of the rights they had gained back in the years between the current regime’s rule. Women in parts of Ukraine are carrying their children to safety out of the war’s reach, and same for the survivors of the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria. In Burkina Faso and other countries, women have been abducted in mass kidnappings by jihadist groups. And the list goes on. These are not the kinds of journeys that I want to read about.
What can we do? A few things. Pray for women who have fled difficult places and for the ones who have stayed. Donate to charities and organizations that are making a difference in their lives and in the world. Follow news stories of their challenges and others, so they are not forgotten. Speak up for what is right, regardless of your gender. We need brave women and men to make a difference. I haven’t heard an update on the Afghan professor who was jailed for protesting the banning of women from university there, but he gives me hope.
The people who give me the most hope, though, are my former students and my new children. There are those that I taught in Afghanistan, many of whom are now spread around the world attending university or practicing their careers. They have not given up on the world or their home country. Using their talents, skills, gifts, and dreams, they are making a difference in their spheres of influence, showing the world the power of love. Then there are the kids from the military school. I see them finding their way in the world, too, pursuing their careers and raising families. One of them wants to be a teacher to give hope to the next generation.
And my adorable stepkids? Well, while everyone was getting ready for school and work this morning, I commented that I was wearing purple and green for International Women’s Day. Our little boy, age 6, looked at his sweatshirt and proudly announced that he was wearing green. His four older sisters are already making their mark on the world with their art.
How are you or the women in your life celebrating International Women’s Day or making a difference in the world? Leave a comment below if you would like.
Teaser: In a future post, I’ll write about my mom’s journeys. She’s taken some amazing ones in her life, and brought me up to be an adventurous woman! Thanks to my friend Caitlin for the idea!
For those who have been following my blog or Facebook for a while, you may remember my friend Haylie Hanson’s fun STEM-themed fantasy books that I’ve promoted. Well, the final book in her trilogy is on its way! And the cover is revealed today! Below I’ll have some great info and photos from Haylie and her publisher, Uncommon Universes Press. And yes, you can pre-order them! And get free stuff! Keep reading for more:
What happens in this book? (Official blurb)
Callie’s Light Cores are gone. She’s imprisoned in a desert world. Her Seer Toran blames her for the death of his sister. Oh, and the Queen Beyond the Stars is one step closer to destroying the multiverse.
So, things are just great.
Callie must find the remaining Light Cores before the Queen’s evil Shadowmancer minions do. But this world’s Light Core is hidden at the center of a homicidal death maze that only a Luminaut can conquer. Figures, right?
To make things more fun, formerly evil, mostly undead (and still smoking hot) Nate Ormandi arrives to help Callie and her friends. And he’s got Toran’s very much alive sister with him. Surprise!
However, as Nate and Callie work to conquer the death maze, Toran keeps leading them into traps. Is Callie’s grumpy Seer trying to get them killed, or is someone else pulling the strings?
Time is running out. The Darkness is stronger than ever. As the line between enemy and ally blurs, the last Luminaut will face a terrible choice, one that will change the whole multiverse forever.
I can’t wait to read this! You can read it soon by pre-ordering your own copy.
Now for the free stuff! If you pre-order your copy, that is! It officially comes out on April 20, 2023.
Haylie Hanson writes YA fantasy about quirky kids with superpowers, portals to magical new worlds, and finding your destiny–also, robots are involved. She dreams of having adventures in a galaxy far, far away, but she’ll settle for those closer to home, especially if a dirty chai is involved.
The Compass Rose Queen 