MT. ST. HELENS, CRATER LAKE, REDWOOD FOREST, & SWEET HOME OREGON

This leg of the trip allowed us to experience the most amazingly beautiful natural landmarks.  A great reminder of the master craftsmanship used in creating our world.  The first of these stops was Mt. St. Helens Volcano in Washington.  It was fascinating to see the kids reaction to this magnificent place.  In fact, Ryder had previously told me that he did not want to go to Hawaii because of the volcanoes there.  For some reason, he has always had a fear of these natural wonders.  However, he was the leader of the pack on our trek up to the site overlooking this Washington volcano.  And it was well worth the small hike and the possibility of losing one or two children to heat exhaustion along the way.  It was a real site to behold.


MOUNT ST. HELENS VOLCANO



Choice, Ryder, Juliann, Tate, and Shiloh

Juliann and Morghen

Ryder

Ryder, Juliann, and Shiloh

Ryder, Shiloh, and Juliann

Juliann, Choice, Tate, Shiloh, and Ryder

Juliann and Morghen

Ryder, Tate, Shiloh, Choice, and Juliann

Tate, Choice, Shiloh, Juliann, and Ryder



Tate, Ryder, Choice, Juliann, and Shiloh

On our way back down the mountain, we spotted the 8th wonder of the world...BIG FOOT!  A gal working at the gift shop taught the kids a phrase to use on their friends who doubt their sighting... "Big Foot doesn't believe in you either".  This was the largest creature we found around this giant Ash Hole.   

Tate, Choice, Shiloh, and Ryder

Juliann

Ryder, Choice, Tate, and Shiloh

Ryder, Choice, Juliann, Tate, and Shiloh

On our way to the next natural landmark, we passed through the OREGON OUTBACK.  This gorgeous countryside lent itself nicely to cow tipping, minus the cows.  Anyway...



Ryder, Choice, Juliann, Shiloh, and Tate

We made it to Crater Lake.  This was without a doubt one of the most breathtaking sites I have ever seen.  Even the kids were flipping out over how blue the water was.  Ryder kept saying, "This can't be real.  That has to be a picture Mom.  This just can't be real."

CRATER LAKE

Ryder, Shiloh, Choice, and Tate



Choice, Tate, Ryder, and Shiloh



Choice, Tate, Ryder, and Shiloh

Juliann

Ryder, Shiloh, Choice, Juliann, and Tate

Choice, Tate, Ryder, and Shiloh

Ryder, Shiloh, Tate, Choice, and Juliann
 

Choice, Tate, Shiloh, Ryder, and Juliann

As much as we dreaded leaving Crater Lake and the serenity that came along with it, we had another amazing place to look forward to.  We were headed to the Redwood National Forest in Northern California.  The National Park itself is so large that we saw everything from coastline to towering forests.  We stopped at the beach for a few minutes to put our toes in the sand.  However, the kids preferred to bury their feet entirely.

REDWOOD NATIONAL FOREST



Tate, Choice, Shiloh, and Ryder



Tate, Choice, Shiloh, and Ryder



Tate, Choice, Juliann, and Ryder



Tate, Juliann, Choice, Shiloh, and Ryder

I fell in love with the redwood trees the moment we began driving through the thick of the forest.  That love affair continued as we walked along the road where they filmed the Ewok March scene for Star Wars and as we drove through the infamous Tour Thru Tree. 

Shiloh

Shiloh and Choice

Shiloh and Juliann

 

Tate and Choice

(Clearly the kiddos haven't learned to read yet in their homeschooling...) hahaha


Choice, Tate, Shiloh, and Ryder

Choice, Tate, Shiloh, and Ryder



Choice, Tate, Shiloh, and Ryder



Ryder, Choice, Juliann, Shiloh, and Tate



Ryder, Choice, Shiloh, and Tate

Shiloh and Choice

Juliann

Tate, Choice, Shiloh, Ryder, and Juliann

Tate, Ryder, Juliann, Shiloh, and Choice

  

Ryder, Choice, Juliann, Shiloh, Tate, and Morghen

Morghen

Ryder, Juliann, Choice, Shiloh, and Tate

Ryder, Tate, Juliann, Choice, and Shiloh

Tate

Shiloh and Juliann

Choice and Tate

Sticking with our theme of breaking the rules, we managed to leave our mark on the largest tree found in the Redwood National Forest. Hopefully the park rangers who find it will be understanding of the message and apply it to the consequence they choose to place upon me. 

Be Better Band



Be Better Band



Tate, Ryder, Shiloh, and Choice



Choice, Shiloh, Ryder, and Tate

Ryder

Tate

Choice

Shiloh

 Site of the Ewok March in Star Wars...

Ryder, Choice, Shiloh, Tate, and Juliann

Ryder, Choice, Shiloh, Tate, and Juliann

Ryder, Choice, Shiloh, and Tate

Ryder, Choice, Shiloh, and Tate

 Albeit far too short, this even allowed for a much needed break for Morghen.

Morghen

Okay, I'll admit, I too enjoyed a little R & R.



Choice and Juliann



Shiloh

Ryder, Choice, Shiloh, and Tate



Tate, Ryder, Choice, and Shiloh

Tate



Ryder, Choice, Juliann, Shiloh, and Tate

As we left the park, we said goodbye to the friendly local bear...



Tate, Ryder, Choice, and Shiloh



Tate, Ryder, Choice, and Shiloh

and Paul Bunyan...

Ryder, Shiloh, Tate, and Choice

Shiloh, Choice, Tate, and Ryder

and his Blue Bull, Babe.

Shiloh, Choice, Tate, and Ryder

SWEET HOME OREGON

Our last stop on this part of our journey was to visit our dear friends in Sweet Home Oregon.  Danny and Shalene have been close friends of ours for years.  Andrew and Danny spent time together playing basketball, ditching hours of church to chat in the hallways, and attending Ted Nugent concerts.  Shalene and I were able to join them occasionally for things such as spring training baseball games, birthday parties, or backyard barbeques.  Andrew's passing was hard on his friends, and Shalene and Danny were part of that group.  They have been there for the kids and I consistently over the past couple of years and we wanted to pay them a visit and let them know how much they mean to us.

Danny works for the forest service in Sweet Home.  With his knowledge of the outdoors around their area, he took us all throughout the gorgeous mountainside.  Knowing Ryder is a rock collector, Danny and Shalene planned a special outing to an old gold mine in their area for Ryder to find a rock with gold flakes in it.  We all went together on this hunt for gold.



Tate, Juliann, Ryder, Choice, and Shiloh

 

 

Choice, Juliann, Caiden, Ryder, Choice, Danny, Kayla, Shalene, and Shiloh

Juliann and Choice

Juliann and Choice

Juliann, Ryder, Shiloh, Choice, Danny, Caiden, Shalene, Kayla, and Tate

  Their sweet little kiddos, Caiden and Kayla, were so adorable with my kids.  They were excited to share their home with us for a few days and allowed us to feel right at home with them there. 

 

Ryder, Shiloh, Choice, Caiden, Kayla, and Tate

Ryder, Shiloh, Choice, Caiden, Kayla, and Tate

Choice, Shiloh, Ryder, Caiden, Kayla, and Tate

Choice, Shiloh, Ryder, Caiden, Kayla, and Tate

Juliann and Choice

 They even shared their dress up clothes with us.  Shiloh gravitated toward the firefighter costume in remembrance of her Daddy.

 

Shiloh

Tate chose to go with a much more modest selection...

Tate and Kayla

 It was a special opportunity for Ryder especially to be able to spend time with one of his Daddy's friends.  Danny was patient and kind with the kids and gave them time with a male that they are so desperately seeking.  Thank you Danny.

Ryder and Danny

 And thank you Shalene for being such a great friend and example to me and leaving me with this parting advice...

 

Juliann



We left Sweet Home and headed back to Portland to conclude this leg of our trip.  All good things must come to an end I suppose.  So, we are headed back home for a short time to take care of some family events and pick up the bus. 

Ryder

Juliann and Ryder

Ryder, Tate, and Shiloh

 

Juliann, Ryder, Shiloh, Tate, and Choice



Juliann, Choice, Ryder, Shiloh, and Tate



I wanted to share a few pictures of my base jump from Twin Falls Idaho that I just received from a photographer who witnessed the jump.  Thanks Luanne.



Juliann

Juliann

Juliann

 I echo the words of Helen Keller...

 

"LIFE IS A DARING ADVENTURE OR NOTHING AT ALL"