This year, we decided to go to Oregon for a family vacation this year. No, the blackberries were not as big as expected... But yes, the ocean was just as great!
Day 1: Driving
We stopped for lunch at a park in Twin Falls Idaho and then had a car problem that took 2 hours to fix. John and I both got bad headaches but the kids got free cookies at the car place... We were glad to get to our campsite 7 hours later.
Day 2: Cows and dust!
The free campsite we stayed at was called Barnhouse Campground. It's named pretty well considering the free roaming cows all over. Thankfully, there's a fence keeping them away from the camping spots, but that didn't stop the cow alarm we heard each morning. Pretty sure one of the cows thinks it's a rooster with it's timing. Haha!
Later in the day, we went on a small hike that was by the campsite. This was the dustiest trail I've ever been on! As well as the dirtiest... Each of our kids stepped in a cow pie at least once even though we were being super careful watching out for them!
After the hike, we played some games and the kids made fairy houses. Not a bad first day!
Day 3: Brooke's Birthday!
On Monday, we drove to the airbnb we rented in Yachats, Oregon. It was Brooke's birthday and after quickly re-icing her cake (it melted in the car after driving the two hours it took from Walmart) we celebrated with a few small presents. After cake, we enjoyed the first evening on the beach.
Day 4: Cape Perpetua
We started Tuesday off with the beach right outside our door. Yachats was a small town which was great because it wasn't too busy. The kids had fun collecting shells and looking at all the tide pools.
In the afternoon, we went on a small hike to see the Spouting Horn and Thor's Well. We also went on a short hike to see the Amanda's statue.
As a last minute decision, we stopped to pick some blackberries and made a cobbler that night. My only regret was not buying some vanilla ice cream to go with it! Mmm...
We also bought seafood that night and got some fresh fish and chips, clam chowder, and crab, because... it's the coast!
Day 5: Oregon Coast
We spent Wednesday enjoying the ocean some more. We did a small hike to Hobbit's beach which was great! It looked so cool to hike through all the moss covered trees and the crab graveyard at the end. I will say, if we did this hike again, we would have brought more. Since we were hiking to the ocean, we didn't bring any chairs, snacks, towels, or our shade tent... It was still a ton of fun, but I think we would've stayed longer if we had brought more supplies.
Day 6: Back to Camping
We checked out on Thursday and drove inland to Crater Lake. This was another 7ish hour drive, so all we did was set up camp and eat dinner before going to bed.
It was super hot this day for camping, and it was also really smoky. You couldn't see across the lake at all and could barely see the edge of the island in the lake.
Day 7: Crater Lake
During our day at Crater Lake, we did a hike to a waterfall and a hike to see the Phantom Ship. David was really disappointed to see that it was just an island...
We also stopped at a few lookouts. Thankfully it had rained a tiny bit that morning and we could see a little farther across the lake but still not all the way across.
John and David did the hike down to the shore and got to swim in the deepest lake in North America! Brooke and Aaron were not up for the hike so I stayed with them and Zack in the car.
Day 8: Driving Home
The drive home was another 10 hours in the car, but with how often we do road trips, our kids have gotten pretty decent at the long drive.
For a first time family trip to Oregon, it was definitely a trip to remember! Call me a "foodie" but I can still taste the halibut and fries as I'm writing this. And the blackberry cobbler. Mmm...
No comments:
Post a Comment