Las Vegas

We have been having a wonderful time in Las Vegas, but every time I try to upload photos, the computer refuses to add them to the blog. I guess it’s true….what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.

Santa Barbara

For the last three days we have been visiting Michelle’s cousin’s family in Santa Barbara. We parked our RV right on the street in front of the house and plugged in to the house’s power. Ellen and Brian were wonderful hosts and showed us all the sites around town. We also enjoyed some good food, excellent wine and great company.

The kids finally got to the beach, although there were no waves for surfing to be found anywhere.

Keegan and Conor with cousin Matt at the beach.

Brian, an artist and the creator of Story People, showed us his studio and discussed creative concepts with Patrick and the rest of the kids.

Ellen with Matt and Gabe

Michelle having a whale of a time in the park

Conor learning to ride Matt's unicycle

As we were getting ready to go, we noticed one of the local telephone poles wanted us to stay (it reached out and touched us!) and had punctured the side of the RV

After applying some ever present duct tape, we were off to Las Vegas.

Sequoia National Park

Adjoining the King's Canyon NP is Sequoia National Park, named for the famed trees within its boarders. Some of these trees are more than 3,000 years old and are huge. If you look at the bottom of these trees you will see people to give you a sense of how large the trees really are.

The General Sherman Tree is the largest living thing on the planet.

On our hike up Bear Mountain, a Sequoia had fallen and they made a walkway through the tree rather than remove the entire tree.

Keegan found a hollow fallen tree and was able to walk around inside.

We had forgotten that it was a weekend and when we arrived we were lucky to get a campsite at the Dorst Campground within the park. Our RV was on the road and our site was about 30 feet below. We were lucky enough to have a couple of deer come and visit the site while we were there.

And they got pretty close.

Down the hill from us was a stream cut into a canyon where we went for a swim - all except Michelle who could not join in because of her foot.

King’s Canyon National Park

After leaving Napa, we were off to King�s Canyon and Sequoia National Parks in Southern California. King�s Canyon is one of the largest wildernesses in the country and we camped in the Grant�s Grove Campground within the park our first night in the area.

Sterling Winery

The Sterling Winery offered a tour that the kids could go on. The winery has a gondola ride up to the main winery and a self guided tour, great views and tasting rooms.

After the tour, we said good-by to Michelle's parents and they headed North, while we headed South.

Napa Wine Train

Dinner our second night in Napa was on the Napa Wine Train, a vintage seven car train that travels the length of the valley. The train had several bar cars, a murder mystery car and a private dining car. The meal was good, but the wine could have been better.

Robert Mondavi Winery

Our first trip to a winery was Robert Mondavi�s vineyards. Unfortunately, underage children were not allowed so the kids stayed in the RV watching videos. We visited the vineyards and the processing facility and ended up in the reserve tasting room - very nice.

The grapes were not quite ready for picking!

Auberge Du Soleil

The adults enjoyed a fine dinner at a French restaurant, Auberge Du Soleil, overlooking Napa Valley. The food was excellent and the company ever better.

Campground at the Napa Marriott

Before we went looking for another campsite, we stopped at the Napa Marriott to hook up with Kerry and Micki Clark, Michelle’s parents. They had been given a suite at the hotel and we were invited to join them. So we left the RV in the parking lot and based our Napa travels from the comfort of a spacious hotel room (and the kids loved the pool!)

Our hospital visit

Our morning on Lake Berryessa was cut short when Michelle opened the refrigerator in the RV and a bottle of champaign fell out, smashed on the floor and cut her foot fairly deeply. The kids raced into action and got Michelle bandaged while Patrick cleaned up the mess on the floor. We canceled our boat and headed off to Queen of the Valley Hospital in Napa. I was very impressed by the emergency room at the hospital. Maybe it was just a slow day, but I have never been in and out of an emergency room in less time.

Harry Potter Update

We purchased Harry Potter and the half-blood Prince mid-day on Saturday the 16^th, the first day it was available and only listened to it when we were driving and maybe a little at night before bed. Shortly after crossing the California boarder on Tuesday evening, we had completed the 17 CD set and all enjoyed it immensely. Two questions quickly arose: When will the 7^th and final book of the series be published and can we listen to the CDs again!

Lake Berryessa, California

Our first night in California was Lake Berryessa Maria and Resort, just north of Napa. While we were crammed in to a parking lot style space, it was out on a pier over the water and we were surrounded by boats. In the morning we planned to rent a bowrider and tour the lake, but something came us to change our plans. More about that later�.

Crater Lake National Park

Our major stop in the state of Oregon was Crater Lake National Park. This is the deepest lake in the country and the water is an amazing blue color.

The lake was formed when a volcano erupted 7,700 years ago and filled with water. Inside the lake is an island called �Wizards Island that you can take a boat to, but we passed and moved on to California (and listened to Harry Potter)

Keegan found a tree to hang from on the edge of a 1,000 foot cliff (don�t worry mom, I didn�t let him get too close!)

They were so glad to see us pass through, they named a hill in our honor.

Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area

A quick stop along the highway and we found ourselves at the Oregon Dunes, a national recreational area. Here we hiked up the sand dunes while all sorts of ATVs, dirt bikes and dune buggies raced all around us. Everyone agreed: Kerry and Liam would love this place.

While going up was a chore ...

Going down was more fun!

Oregon Coast

Based on conversations with someone we met in Washington, we changed our plans and drove down the Oregon coast on the way to Crater Lake National Park. We spent the night in Newport after a day of driving listening to the new Harry Potter book.

The beaches were extremely beautiful although we did not go swimming.

Mount St Helens

In May 1980, the volcano in Washington that had been active blew its top and made headline news. The eruption caused the top of the mountain to explode and cause the largest avalanche ever recorded. It flatted hundreds of acres of trees and lava to boil out. The heat reached over 500 degrees and melted the glaciers on the mountain resulting in a mud slide that buried the valley in more than 300 feet on debris which remains today.

Today a new lava cone is building and is currently higher than the Empire State Building. It is growing at a rate of a dump truck full of lava every three minutes. We saw two excellent movies about the eruption and got to listen to a ranger talk given by a guy who was camping in the area when the volcano blew.

Harry Potter Update

Today is the day! The new Harry Potter book is available. We stopped at a Barnes and Noble Olympia, Washington to download some email, upload some replies, add a few blog entries and of course pick up the new Harry Potter book in print and on CD.

We finished listening to five previous books two days ago and, while it's been nice to listen to music for awhile, everyone ready for the next installment of this saga

Birthplace of Kurt Cobain

On the way out of Washington state, we passed through Aberdeen as requested by Patrick. Kurt Cobain was the lead singer of the rock band Nirvana, Patrick�s favorite. We wanted to stop for lunch, but there was a power outage in town and we had to continue on.

Olympia National Park

Our first stop in Washington state was Olympia National Park. We first stayed at the Log Cabin Resort on Lake Crescent. If you ever do there, ask for site #9, it is the best in the park and right on the lake. There was an antique boat club staying at the resort and we had all sorts of cool old boats passing by on the lake

We rented canoes and traveled around the lake until we found some people jumping off cliffs - so we joined them. Unfortunately, Patrick and Michelle were not with us.

We left our grill on a bit too long and the top handle melted off!

The campground also had a ranger presentation that the kids really enjoyed. It started with a talk but then they played a game where each person was an animal fighting for food, water and shelter. Each item was written on an index card and spread on the ground for every one to grab (find of like musical chairs) although there were not enough for everyone. Needless to say, at the end of the game, my children and wife along with one other guy were the only people left standing!

Next we drove up to Hurricane Ridge for a short hike and some beautiful scenery.

Beautiful wild flowers can be found everywhere

Beautiful wild flowers can be found everywhere

Another stop in Olympia National Park was the Olympic Hot Springs. It took an 8 mile drive into the wilderness and then a 2.5 mile hike deep into the woods, over several streams to find several springs that people have used rocks to build small pools to sit in and enjoy the naturally hot water. We met a couple originally from Brazil but currently living in Portland and shared a pool with them before hiking back to our car.

Hiking to the hot springs across a narrow bridge over a stream

Walking in the woods, we see all types of wildlife, including this rather large Banana Slug, a favorite of Conors.

Hoh Rain Forest in the Olympia National forest was another highlight of the trip. After an 18 mile trip into the forest, we took a short � mile hike on the Hall of Mosses Trail. The trees were huge. Here we show that we are "tree huggers".

This tree stump was large enough for all of us to fit into!

Keegan found many trees that were formed on top of fallen trees and when the tree decomposes, a cave is left behind perfect for a monkey boy.

The park also boarders the ocean and has many sea stacks - a rock outcropping left over from erosion. The kids had a great time exploring.

Star fish, sea anemones and mussels were abundant in the tidal pools.

Michelle thought she died and went to heaven with all of the round smooth rocks all around her.

Keegan watching the tide go out.