Category: WanderLog

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Video WanderLog

Vancouver, British Columbia to Whidbey Island

This Week on Instagram Sept 27 - Oct 3 2014

Travel Dates: September 27 – October 3, 2014

We did it! We crossed the border into Canada! Definitely more details coming later, but we enjoyed the beautiful city of Vancouver, B.C. for 4 days before heading to Whidbey Island and relaxation at Deception Pass State Park. Lots of trees, our hammock, some hiking, school, and not much else going on. It’s perfect!

This weekend, we will be watching and listening to what we LDS folks call General Conference, a two day conference where we hear from church leaders. The event is open, and you can watch it live or view archives at lds.org or the church’s Youtube channel.

We also managed to skip a Wandering Update from Mt. Rainer, so check that out as well!

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WanderLog

Portland, Battle Ground, & Lake Alder

Travel Dates: September 13-19, 2014

What a great week! I’m pretty sure I always say that, but I really mean it this time. 🙂

We finished up our time in Portland, Oregon with a visit to the Campfires & Candlelight event at Fort Vancouver, celebrating Rachel’s birthday, and a visit to OMSI.

After leaving Portland, we visited some family in Battle Ground, WA met up with new traveling friends in Morton and then settled near Lake Alder for some awesome R&R. Laying in the hammock has never felt so good!

This Week in Instagram Sept 13-19 2-14

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Video WanderLog

Grants Pass, Medford & Video of Hiking Wizard Island at Crater Lake NP

Travel Dates: August 23-29, 2014

Every week when I do these posts I think, “Holy crap. We get a whole lot done in one week. We’re nuts.” Every. Single. Week.

This Week on Instagram Aug 23-29 2014

Ashland, Medford, and Valley of the Rogue Oregon State Park hit a chord with me. The area is beautiful – towering mountains, golden hills, interesting people, fun outdoor things to do, and some culture. Oh – and a Costco. That always ranks a city high on my list.

We celebrated Andrew’s 7th birthday with a day at the pool, the kids and I visited the Science Center in Ashland, we got a ton of work and errands run, Sam and I attended temple sessions (separately), and we even made it on a DATE. This is epic you guys. A friend’s parents babysit our kids for 6 hours so we could take a jetboat tour up Hellsgate Canyon. It was awesome. Both the tour and being sans kiddos.

We ended the week with a gorgeous drive through southern Oregon up to Crater Lake National Park. This park has pretty much hit the top of my favorites list. I loved everything about it. We loved exploring some of the trails and scenery off the rim, as well as a boat tour of the lake and a hike up to the top of Wizard Island (such a cool name btw). It was a great week!!

Here is our most recent Wandering Update taken from the top of Wizard Island (sound warning – it was windy and he took this with his cell phone):

 

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WanderLog

Leaving the Redwoods and Heading to Oregon

Travel Dates: July 16 – 22, 2014

As we were driving the scenic highway in Jedidiah Smith Redwoods State Park the kids in the backseat were getting a little carsick. The rode was pretty narrow and unpaved, but it wound through some beautiful Old Growth Redwood Trees and Sam and I (at least) were enjoying the drive immensely.

From the backseat Andrew pipes up, “Mom? Dad? Why are we driving this way? I wish we had gone the other way home.”

“For a blogpost,” I answered immediately.

“For kicks and giggles,” Sam chimes in at the same time.

“Because we can,” we finally decided.

Andrew replied with, “You guys never make sense.”

This Week on Instagram July 16-22 2014

We finished up our stay in the Redwoods and along the coast with a visit to Crescent City, CA and Jedidiah Smith Redwoods State Park. Having thoroughly enjoyed our time, we decided to get out of the fog a little and headed inland to camp at the Smith River National Forest area and then head on to see the Oregon Caves National Monument. We landed in Valley of the Rogue State Park near Medford and Ashland for the weekend!

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WanderLog

Hanging out in Petaluma, California

Travel Dates: July 20-16, 2014

From the shores of Lake Tahoe to the familiar town of Petaluma, CA we’ve done some driving this week! We spent the week divided between the local KOA and the beautiful farmlet of Ann & Dave.

Sam and his brothers helped with dad’s new roof, Jess relaxed in the hammock next to the chickens, and the kids were able to spend sometime playing with friends.

We also managed to squeeze in a Jr. Ranger Badge at the John Muir National Historic Site and visit a local “Glass Beach” where the kids hunted down treasured pieces of tumbled smooth glass.

This Week on Instagram July 20-26 2014