West Coast National Park Tour - July 18 - August 22, 2020 [ Thank you for your donations to raise $607 during our hiking pledge drive! | Join AlpineHippo facebook group to share your hikes! ]

Quick Links: Phoenix prepare and GO! Palm Springs and Joshua Tree National Park Big Bear Lake Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks Yosemite National Park Mono Lake Ansel Adams Wilderness Backpack Lake Tahoe Lassen National Park Redwood National Park Crater Lake National Park Bend, Oregon Oregon Coast Mt. Rainier National Park Seattle Area

Hiking Log: Joshua Tree - Fortynine Palms Oasis, High View Trail - 5 miles (900 ft) Big Bear Lake - Bertha Peak - 8.7 miles (1,300 ft) Sequoia - Redwood Canyon Sugar Bowl (7.2), General Grant Tree (1.5) - 8.7 miles (1,500 ft) Sequoia - Heather and Emerald Lakes (11.4), General Sherman Tree (1.1) - 12.5 miles (2,500) Sequoia - Tall Trees, Eagle Rock, Thorpe Log, Moro Rock - 7 miles (1,500 ft) Yosemite - Yosemite Vally, Taft Point - 8.2 miles (400 ft) Yosemite - Vernal and Nevada Falls Mist Trail - 8.5 miles (2,200 ft) Yosemite - Cathedral Lakes - 10.5 miles (1,500 ft) Ansel Adams Wilderness - 1,000 Island and Ediza Lakes - 27.5 miles (3,800 ft) Redwood - Tall Trees - 6.5 miles (900 ft) Redwood - Fern Canyon, Miner's, Beach, James Irving Trails - 13 miles (1,550 ft) Redwood - Boy Scout Trail - 5.7 miles (800 ft) Crater Lake - Garfield and Rim Trail - 4.3 miles (1,100 ft) Seal Rocks - Beach and Tide Pools Hike - 4.4 miles (200 ft) Cannon Beach - Beach Hike - 3.2 miles (0 ft) Arch Cape - Beach and Elk Meadow - 10.5 miles (300 ft) Mt.Rainier - Muir Base Camp - 9.1 miles (4,600 ft) Total: 153.3 miles (245 km) (25,000 ft) In just under a month! Continued Hiking Log: Urban Hike - Washington DC - 10 miles (50 ft) Jug Bay - Southern Maryland - 9 miles (360 ft) Willow Lakes - Silverthorn, CO - 12.5 miles (2,800 ft) Tenerfoot Mountain - Dylan, CO - 3.3 miles (650 ft) Lake Colechuck - Leavenworth, WA - 9.1 miles (2,200 ft) Saur Mountain - Leavenworth, WA - 5.3 miles (1,800 ft) Grand Total: 202.5 miles (324 km) (32,860 ft) In just over 2 months!

Preparations and Drive West - July 18 - July 20, 2020

Day -1 (July 18, 2020) Grandma and Mikey drove us to the airport, which was good because we filled up the whole truck with stuff. We were careful in the airport, wearing good masks, washing hands and using sanitizer. The flight was only 1/3 full, so we did not have anyone within 2 rows of us. We arrived in PHX were CC and Brian picked us up and drove us to the RV. After unloading at their house and getting a few things ready, we went over to Salene and Doug's for a Float-in movie!

Fortunately, the flight was only 1/3rd full and we could spread out.

Day 0 (July 19, 2020) Today was a day of RV chores: wash/wax, air up tires and air bags, replace windshield wipers, check fluids. Then we checked our food inventory, made our shopping list, then hit 5 stores to buy all the goods. We enjoyed a nice evening outside with the misters on and CC made some awesome ribeye / tenderloin steaks. So yummy! I fell asleep on the floor with the cat while watching Pirates of the Caribbean.

After waking up early to wash the RV before the heat set in, it was nice to have a small breakfast!

Float-in Movie!

Nice screen and sound setup.

Palm Springs and Joshua Tree National Park - CA - July 20-21, 2020

Day 1 (July 20, 2020) Today, the RV trip officially begins! We finished up a few chores to get the RV ready, packed it with the clothe and food and were ready to go. I had my first morning of Virtual Scout Camp, working on First Aid, Environmental Sciences, and Citizenship of the World merit badges. We were lucky with a cloudy cool day in Phoenix, it was only 103 today, but no sun. We headed out toward Palm Springs at around 3pm. Thank you CC and Brian for letting us stage out of your house in Pheonix, it was fun to visit and really helped us get ready!! Juju drove all the way because Papa's shoulder still needed more time to rest. I took a nap, then worked on some merit badge homework. When we got to the campground (Palm Springs / Joshua Tree KOA), we jumped in to the spring fed swimming pool. So, nice!

Learning first aid through virtual scout camp.

AlpineHippos ready to go!

Thank you CC and Brian!

Day 2 (July 21, 2020) Today was our day to visit Joshua Tree National Park. We woke up before 5 am to get started with hikes before it became too hot. We drove to the north side of the park to hike the FourtyNine Palms trail through the dry desert, up a ridge, to an oasis of fan palms. Along the hike, we saw many lizards and birds. At the oasis, the air smelled sweet from the palms. The air was cool in the shade. We could see the water from the spring that fed the Oasis. On the hike back, I had to call in to a Zoom meeting for the Citizenship in the World merit badge as part of virtual scout camp. Fortunately, we had reception the whole way and I could participate while we hiked. When we started hiking, it was 78 degrees, when we finished about 2 hours later, it was 98! We drove to the west end of the park to hike another trail through some Joshua Tree forest. To start, we saw a huge jackrabbit. I think it was a Jackalope, but the wrong season for his antlers. At one point, he was facing away from us, but could turn his ears straight back at us. This hike was nice as it gave us a good view of Joshua Trees, as well as Junipers and Pinion Pines. After the hike, we went to the drive-thru at Steak-n-Shake for some burgers. We then drove in to the park and started a driving tour. There were areas of Joshua Tree forests and large boulder rock outcroppings. We did a short hike to see some more trees and found some ground squirrels. We drove down an ORV trail for a while, but the scenery wasn't worth the terrain. We stopped in the park for an hour in the one area that had cell reception so I could call in to my last merit badge class of the day. During the trip through the park, I finished my junior ranger badge work and recieved my badge at the ranger station. We then drove to Palm Springs for dinner. We drove around some nice houses before getting to the restaurant. We ate at nice place with outdoor seating and misters. It seemed pretty trendy. It was 106 degrees outside, but felt ok with the mist. Dinner was very nice and relaxing. We went back to camp, had a jump in the pool and got ready for bed. We stopped to see the comet, and we could just barely see it.

Oasis in the middle of the desert!

California Fan Palms able to grow...

... due to a spring that bubbles up in this area (foreground).

Palms are a contrast to the dry hills!

Me on my virtual scout camp zoom meeting for a merit badge. Glad we had service here!

Jack Bunny!

Are wondering what is a Joshua Tree? Here are some good examples.

Joshua Trees grow big and small, twisty and tall.

The trees grow about an inch and a half a year and live to be 150 to 200 years old, usually spaced like this.

Our first NP of the trip!

After the hiking, we enjoyed a nice, socially-distant dinner outside at a snazzy Palm Springs restaurant. It was 106 degrees outside!

Day 3 (July 22, 2020) Before leaving Palm Springs, we went for a tour of a Wind Turbine Generator (WTG) farm with Palm Springs Windmill Tours. It was an all virtual tour that we could take in our car to see the modern, operational WTGs as well as see exhibits of old wind turbine designs, many of which failed prematurely,to highlight the advancements in technology. During the tour, a local news crew interviewed us about what we thought of the tour and the social distant safety of doing the tour during the pandemic. The interview was fun! The WTGs were huge, 500 feet tall, with the 120 foot long blade sticking up.

News coverage © of KESQ Check out the news story at: KESQ News KESQ YouTube Link

3 megawatt wind turbine.

The whole area generates 700 megawatts of power with 2,200 wind turbines. Only 1,600 more and they would have 1.21 gigawatts!

Big Bear Lake - CA - July 22-24, 2020

Day 3 Afternoon (July 22, 2020) We drove to Big Bear, which included a 5,000 foot climb right up the mountains from the valley. After setting up camp at the Serrano Campground in the San Bernardino National Forest, we went down to the lake to sit and enjoy the late afternoon. We made pizza and cooked a dutch oven desert. The moon was a sliver. We finally say Neowise as the sky was clear and dark.

The view of Big Bear lake for our afternoon beverage.

Making a dutch oven dump cake - cinamon apples and carrot cake.

Moon!

Neowise comet. 18 seconds of exposure in 2 second increments, dark image subtraction

Day 4 (July 23, 2020) I had my 4th day of virtual scout camp. After class was over, we hiked to Bertha Peak right from the campground. It was a nice hike, with terrain of pine trees and loose dirt and rock. Some of the pine trees had stringy and spirally bark. There were many lizards. The view was very nice! We went in to town to check it out. Since it was about 3:00, it was not very busy, so we had a snack at the Big Bear Lake brewery and walked around some. Next, we went to a beach at the lake to enjoy the late afternoon. It was a bit breezy and the water was cold, so we did not swim, but it was nice to enjoy the view. Back at camp, we had nice Tenderloin steaks for dinner that we grilled over coals in the fire. I managed to get to bed a little earlier to try to catch up on some sleep.

We found the Pacific Crest Trail near Big Bear Lake.

At the top of Bertha Peak with nice views of Big Bear lake.

Big Beaer lake.

Interesting type of cedar tree in our campsite.

Yum yum pine cone! This little guy knocked this green pine cone out of the tree with a big 'thud' and then ran down the tree to start eating it!

Sequoia National Park - CA - July 24-28, 2020

Day 5 (July 24, 2020) I finished all of my merit badge classes, and I did all of the homework, to earn First Aid, Environmental Science, and Citizenship in the World merit badges, all Eagle required. I am pretty excited about that! Papa spent some time diagnosing some problems that we were having with our fresh water system. The fresh tank was overflowing due to the city water connection. The pump pressure was dropping faster and faster. He decided we should buy a new water pump just in case. Fortunately, the Camping World on the way had one in stock. We packed up and headed out toward Sequoia National Park. On the way, we stopped at McFarland and saw the high school and the little store from the movie. I ran cross country last fall, so it was inspiring. When we arrived at the campground near Sequoia, we installed the new water pump. It was deep in a compartment, but not too bad to reach. Turns out Papa was right, some of the motor bolts had rattled free from the pump housing, possibly damaging the pump seals. New one seems to work. We made shepard's pie in a dutch oven in a special burn barrel while we worked on the pump. We planned our hike for the next day, and went to bed.

McFarland high school.

Small grocery in McFarland.

Water pump motor separating from the pump housing. No bueno.

Crimping the wires on the new pump.

Day 6 (July 25, 2020) We woke up early and hit the park. It was a 1.5 hour drive to get to the main area of the park each day. We went to see the General Grant Tree while it was still early and not crowded. General Grant is huge! There were also a number of huge trees around. It was awesome to see the sequoias for the first time! We climbed inside a sequoia that had fallen and was hollow. After Grant, we stopped to talk to a ranger outside and I picked up my junior ranger packet. We drove down a dirt road to get to Redwood Canyon for our hike. We hiked the sugar bowl loop. As we climbed the ridge, there were many giant sequoias. We stopped and had lunch in a grove of sequoias. As we reached the bottom at Redwood creek, I was grumpy and did not want to take the side trail to the falls. I stayed on a log while Papa and Juju explored farther down the trail. While they were gone, a deer came from behind a big sequoia. At first he wasn't too close, but after a few minutes, he started to get closer and closer to me. I started to freak out because I did not want him to get too close. I hid behind a tree as he got even closer. Then I started to cry and he got even closer. I was afraid he was going to bite me or ram me. But, I think he got even closer because I had some candy in my backpack and I smelled like Gatorade. I also thought he got closer because he smelled that I was scared and he wanted to make me feel better. As he got super close, I started to go down the trail toward Papa and Juju and hid behind a bigger tree. Then, Papa and Juju came up the trail just a minute later. When Papa approached the deer, the deer still came close, but more timid, and really just smelled around the log where I was sitting, then he left. After the hike, we drove to through the rest of the park. Along the drive, we saw a bear on the side of the road. A heavy thunderstorm had gone through and blown many limbs and debris on the road. Back at camp, we had just enough time for a quick jump in the pool. We made tenderloin steaks for dinner. They were very good.

Look how tiny I am!

Climbing inside a sequoia!

Look how big the roots are!

Huge Tree near Grant (21 image HDR Panorama).

We are scale for how big this tree is.

Awesome Tree in Redwood Canyon. (18 image HDR Panorama)

Do you think this pine cone came from this tree?

So tall!

Another beauty in Redwood Canyon.

This is the deer that was stalking me.

Moro rock, which we hiked on top of later.

Day 7 (July 26, 2020) We started early again, this time with a plan to hike the Lakes trail to Heather and Emerald lakes. The hike started through forest, but no sequoia in this area. We saw a huge marmot. The trail continued up at a steady rate all the time. Finally, we made it to Watchtower, which was a huge rock with awesome views of the valley below. It also meant that most of our vertical gain was over. The terrain became more rocky and there was a stark contrast between the pale gray rocks and the brown and green of the trees. We continued on to Heather Lake. Along the way, we had to walk on the side of a cliff. I thought I could see a bear in the valley below. Heather lake was clear and green. We could see fish. The view was amazing. We saw a bear scrambling up rocks on the other side of the lake. We made it up some more, and then down to Emerald Lake.As we approached, a marmot was running on some rocks. On the shore, we found a rock to sit on. The view of the mountains behind the lake was beautiful. The lake had a rock ledge that was just a few feet deep, then it dropped off into an abyss. It was amazing to take off our shoes and wade in. Hiking seemed easier later after our feet had cooled off in the lake. We ate lunch on the rock, and laid down for a second on the rock. There were some clouds coming in over the hill, so we didn't stay too long. We took in the views as we made our way back. The hike down went much faster. On the way home, we stopped to see the General Sherman Tree. We hit the pool, then Dinner was tacos and leftover shepherd's pie.

Lush stream area at the start of the Lakes hike.

Beautiful trail through the forest on the way to the lakes.

View from Watchtower (left) with the valley below. (39 image HDR panorama)

Highest point on the trail.

Awesome cliff to hike along. Everything is so big!

Heather lake.

Bear quickly climbing rocks across the lake.

Serene view of the outlet of Heather lake.

Marmot at Emerald lake checking us out.

Water felt so good!

Our little wading ledge in the lake.

Emerald lake and Sierra Nevada. (42 image HDR panorama)

The worlds largest tree (by volume).

Day 8 (July 27, 2020) Today was a bit of a slower day, so we slept in a little. Papa called an outfitter in Mammoth Lakes to buy a bear canister for our backpack before we lost cell reception in the park. We arrived at the main museum and giant tree area and there was no-one on the trail. It was nice to have the area to ourselves and enjoy the huge trees in the cool of the morning. As we walked around a marshy area, we learned about the conditions that help the sequoias grow so big. They take 300 years to grow to near full size, and then live for thousands of years. We saw two marmots playing around. We then went by Moro rock, but it seems everyone in the park was there with a continuous line of people up the trail, so we continued on to the end of the road and hiked to Eagle rock, for nice views of a valley and the High Sierras. We had a peaceful lunch on the trail. We hiked deeper in to the forest and around another marsh with huge trees. Papa wanted to stay on a rock and take a nap with the giants. After the hike, we drove under a fallen tree that had been craved out as a little tunnel. We then tackled Moro rock. At the start of the trail, there was a bear that seemed to be digging up a bee's nest. He then started to run all around to get away from the bees, but then was scared by the people nearby. Finally, he ran down the hill across the trail. He stopped not too far away to eat some berries before he remembered that he was afraid of all of the people around. Hiking up Moro rock was fun, and offered great views. We left the park for the last time, saying bye-bye to the giant trees. We stopped for some groceries and at a local market. There were citrus orchards all around our campground. We went to the pool, where I worked on my diving. We had BBQ chicken and tri-tip, then early bed as we were worn out.

Medow with sequoias.

Nice sequoia.

So huge!

Marmot posing.

Hiking the High Sierra Trail.

So many sequia by the marsh.

Marmot in a sequoia!

Lush green forest.

Taking a nap on a rock with the giants.

Thorpe's cabin build in a fallen sequoia.

Jack size tunnel.

Car size tunnel.

Hello, beastie.

Black Bear eating some berries.

View of High Sierra from the top of Moro Rock.

Ending the day with a dip in the pool!(Video)

Day 9 (July 28, 2020) We slept in. Then, I made pancakes! We had an easy morning, then packed up to head to Yosemite. On the way, we stopped at a the Bravo cheese factory store. They did not have supper aged cheddar, but we bought some different kinds. After a few supply stops, we finally made it to the Yosemite Lakes campground. We found a site, set-up, then explored the campground and river area. I made a spear with a rock and stick I had in the RV from last year. I was able to make holes in a box with it!

Making pancakes with my bear shirt.

Yosemite National Park - CA - July 28 - Aug 1, 2020

Day 10 (July 29, 2020) Today was our first day at Yosemite. We drove in early as we had a photography class with the Ansel Adams Gallery. The class was great! It was just us with a teacher, and she taught us about framing, composition, and shooting in manual as we walked around the meadows and had different views of the rock walls. We also learned about how Ansel Adams liked to shoot his photography and compose his images. We were able to take some really nice photos from the valley. We then visited the gallery. After the tour, we hiked to the base of El Capitan. Then stopped for a nice view up the valley from valley view and tunnel view. We continued to Glacier Point. The view down in to the valley was amazing in the evening light. We enjoyed an ice cream while looking out at the view. So chocolate fell off of Papa's ice cream bar and, before he could pick it up, a squirrel started to eat it. It had chocolate all over its face just like me! We drove over toward Taft point and hiked out to the point in the late afternoon. When we got there, there was a group with a tight rope stretched across a gap with a 1,000 ft drop. We watched someone walk out and do some tricks. The views were nice and the sun was getting low. We hiked out and I slept in the car on the drive back to camp.

Yosemite Falls.

Yosemite Valley with North Dome and Half Dome.

I took this photo! Valley with Half Dome.

North Dome with Merced River

Upper Yosemite Falls.

Lower Yosemite Falls.

Half Dome with the Merced River.

Climbing El Capitan.

Location where Ansel Adams taught framing of images.

View from the foot of El Capitan.

El Capitan.

Valley view with El Capitan and Half Done in the distance.

Tunnel View of the Yosemite Valley.

Half Dome from Glacier Point.

North Dome, Basket Dome, Half Dome with the upper Yosemite Valley and high country.

Nevada falls in the background.

Mama and baby ground squirrel.

Tight rope at Taft Point.

Tight rope walker.

Hanging out over the valley.

Juju's tree on Taft Point.

Ahhhhh!! People!

Half Dome at sunset.

Half Dome and Nevada Falls at sunset.

Day 10 (July 30, 2020) We drove in to the park early to hike the Vernal and Nevada Falls Mist Trail in the back of the valley. We met some backpackers from Washington D.C. in the parking lot. The hike started off very nice as it was cool and there were not too many people. The hike had a quick rise to a bridge with a first fiew of the first falls. We reached the stair climbing section, which actually felt good to work the legs and lungs. We had some nice views of Vernal Falls. There were many fat squirrels running around. One did some gymnastics on a big plant stalk trying to get a leaf. There was mist rising up from the bottom of the falls, and we could feel it on our faces. We continued up and up. The view at the top of the falls was amazing. The fat squirrels would lay flat on their bellies on the rocks to cool off. We passed emerald pool and continued up. More stair climbing. Again, it felt surprisingly great. At the top, we had lunch in the shade with a view of the top of the falls. We hiked down the John Muir trail. We had great views of the valley we had hiked up, Glacier Point, Half Dome, and Liberty Cap. Papa took a few pictures. I started to say that it was too bad we had not seen a bear in Yosemite. Then, we walked around a corner and there was a bear! He was just off the trail and we had him to ourselves. The bear seemed to be big and was eating something. He looked at us and then started to quickly walk toward us. Juju and I went down the trail. Papa watched him climb a rock, look around, then go back up the hill looking for berries. We made it down the rest of the trail in good time. After the hike, we drove over to a bend in the Merced River, just below El Capitan. We laid down on the gravelly sand and rested for a bit before going in the water. We enjoyed the view up the peaceful river and El Capitan looming overhead. We had some snacks. The water was cool, but after some time to get used to it, it felt good. There was some current to play in. We saw some other people jump off a big rock in to the water and I wanted to check it out. Some girls helped me find the way to climb up and showed me the safe places to jump from. The rock was about 5 feet off the water. The first jump was kinda scary, but I didn't think too much and just jumped. The next 100 jumps were awesome! It was the most fun I had playing in the water. We stayed for hours. Papa got all the way in the water, too. Some ducks came by looking for food. One sat right next to Juju and took a nap, then talked to her friends up the river. We were watching an interesting duck swim slowly up the river, then, all of a sudden, baby ducks came popping up from under water! They were baby diving ducks. One baby was lost, and came screaming up the river, almost running on the surface to find mama. It was a very relaxing way to spend the afternoon after a good hike. We stopped for a few photos from Valley and Tunnel Views with the late afternoon light before going to camp. I took an hour-long nap in the car. We ate 3J's Pizza while watching 'Up' with Russel, the Wilderness Explorer.

El Capitan to start the morning.

Tiny falls.

"What?!"

Hiking the John Muir trail.

Vernal Falls

Bottom of the falls.

Us with Vernal Falls.

Next stop, Mt. Whitney!

Nevada Falls.

Top of Nevada Falls.

Half Dome, Liberty Cap, Nevada Falls.

John Muir trail with Liberty Cap and the back of Half Dome.

Nevada falls.

"Is that a hiker or a little snack?"

He was running around, looking for berries.

I think he is checking me out.

Nevada Falls.

Final view of Vernal falls through the forest.

Our spot by the river to relax and cool off in the afternoon.

Time to cool off in the river! (Video)

Valley view in the afternoon sun.

Day 11 (July 31, 2020) We woke up early and left the campsite before 7. We arrived at the trail head which was at a different part of the park, up the Tioga Pass road. The beginning of the hike was hard and steep. When we got to a fork in the trail, someone told us that the higher lake was not that far, it was a lie. When we got to the first lake it was beautiful because we could see the Cathedral Peak. When we got back to the junction we went to the other lake. Someone else had told us it was the prettiest lake, that was also a lie. When we got to the lake I was tired. The lake was nice itself but we could not see the Cathedral which was the reason we went to those lakes. We had a nice lunch by the lake. When we got back to the trail junction we thought Juju had gone down the trail so we went down. It was 3 miles until the trail head. Suprisingly, Juju came up from behind. She had made a wrong turn, but she caught up. My feet started to hurt. When we got back to the car papa and I wanted to put on flip flops, but, of course, we forgot them!! In the car ride i finished my junior ranger packets. We went to a ranger tent and I got 4 patches. When we got back to the car we found that a tire had a huge bulge, so we had to put on the spare. We drove to the same river and I jumped off the rock. After everyone else left, I wanted to go to the rock again, but i was freaked out about not being able to see the bottom. Papa finally swam with me to the rock and I made it. I jumped a few times. Then, Papa jumped off the rock, too! It felt good to conquer that fear and leave with a good feeling. When we went back to the RV we watched the rest of 'Up' and ate dinner. I went to bed and I was tired because we had hiked 10 miles that day.

Half Dome in the late afternoon from turn-off in the park.

Half Dome in the morning from Olmsted view point on Tioga Road.

Who do you see?

Let's do this!

Cathedral Peak from Upper Cathedral Lake.

Our snack spot at the Upper Lake.

Young marmot on the way to the lower lake.

Cathedral Peak from Lower Cathedral Lake.

Shoreline of Lower Cathedral Lake.

Our view for lunch at the lower lake. Not bad?

AlpineHippos at the lake!

Last lake view.

Underground spring bubbled up here, with a view of meadow and dome below.

One last jump! (Video)

Sunset on Half Dome.

Mono Lake and June Lake - CA - Aug 1 - Aug 2, 2020

Day 12 (Aug 1, 2020) Today we drove across Yosemite, going over Tioga Pass to the East.We had to wait 45 minutes to get in the park since we arrived at 10:00. Other days there was no wait when we went through at 7:00. We stopped at Tenaya Lake for lunch and ate on the shore. The scenery was beautiful on the drive. As we gained in elevation, there were more alpine meadows. We reached 9,945 ft with the RV at the Tioga Pass entrance. We set up camp in June Lake RV resort. The lakes nearby were full of people swimming, boating, and picnicking on the beaches. We went to Mammoth Lakes to pick up the bear canister, permits, and supplies at a sports store. Back at June Lake, we had some Hawaiian take-out food and ate by the lake. We drove up to Mono lake to see the limestone formations at sunset. It was interesting, and the sunset was nice. I played with the rocks and weird sand. There were little flies all over. Papa and Juju were taking many photos. I took some, too. Back at camp, we finished packing all of our backpacking gear, including stuffing the bear canister in to Papa's pack. I am nervous, but excited, for the backpack.

Tenya Lake for lunch.

One last view of Half Dome.

Mono Lake limestone formations.

Odd lighting.

Sunset colors.

Backpack - Ansel Adams Wilderness - Inyo National Forest - CA - Aug 2 - Aug 4, 2020

Day 13 (Aug 2, 2020) We woke up early to get to our trail because a lady at a store had told us to get there before 7 to get a parking spot. Juju helped us get out the door early and we had breakfast in the car. We started our backpack and the first 3 miles where very very hard on our legs as we had to climb about 1,500 ft. I had a 27 pound pack and Papa had 48 pounds. On this part of the trail, we had amazing views of Mt. Ritter and surrounding peaks, Shadow Lake, the valley below, and the rolling granite mountains. We had to stop every 3 miles because I needed to rest. We sat on a rock on the edge of a cliff to enjoy the great view while we ate lunch. The trail we were on was the actual Pacific Crest Trail. We hike it for about 10 miles. This marked that 3 out of 4 of our backpacks were on the PCT at some point. It followed a high route that meandered through meadows, forest, aspens, tall brush, and had a number of stream crossings as water came down from San Joaquin Mountain. The trail finally curved toward Mt. Ritter and 1,000 Island Lake, or destination. We had to hike up some tall steps and I was very tired. We reached an area of waterfalls and small lakes. Papa said it was the most beautiful set of lakes, river, and waterfall that he had ever seen. Finally, we made it to Thousand Islands Lake. The lake was at 9,800 ft. The hike was 10 miles with 2,200 feet of gain. Papa had me wait at a camp site while he looked for a better one. He came back without his pack and we went to the new site. It was a good campsite because it was set back from the lake with some trees for shade, there was an area to go to the bathroom behind the site and we had our own beach in front. We pitched our tent and filtered water from the lake to refill our camel backs. We played in the lake and then Papa took a shower using his solar shower. It started to get cold, so we put long clothes on. I used the backpacking stove to cook all of our food. For dinner, we had chicken and dumplings and beef stroganoff. It was so so yummy. We ate on 'coffee' rock, looking out over the lake, across to Mt. Ritter above. We had raspberry crumble for dessert, which was also super yummy. We hid our super fat bear container so a bear would not move it too much. We went to bed and played cribbage. The moon was so bright it woke me up many times.

Just starting the hike and the climb.

A view south of the Sierras.

The wilderness we will explore. Shadow lake with Lake Ediza hidden in the hills behind. Mt. Ritter is the peak to the right. Hidden behind the rolling. granite hills to the far right is Thousand Island Lake. Garnet lake is hidden in between.

Making our way along the High Trail.

The layers of the mountains had many colors.

Thousand Island Lake outlet waterfalls and ponds, with Mt. Ritter above.

Our Camp at Thousand Islands Lake.

Our little beach.

Filtering water.

Wading in the lake.

The cove with our camp in the trees.

Nearing sunset on our first night.

Day 14 (Aug 3, 2020) We woke up at 5:30 am and packed up our stuff. Then we make breakfast, which was eggs and bacon, oatmeal, and some leftover raspberry crumble. We ate on coffee rock and enjoyed breakfast with hot chocolate and coffee. The lake was glassy smooth and we could easily see the reflection of the mountains. As the sun rose, the colors on Mt. Ritter changed from orange to bright yellow. In the cool morning, we felt relaxed and lucky to be there. We were in the middle of California, in the High Sierra's! We started our hike and we had to go up over a pass above 10,000 ft. To start the morning, my spirits were high. We saw some Pika building a nest and we got to watch one eat for a while. He was unusually comfortable being close to us. His friend made some calls and he called back, using his whole body to go 'squeak!' We passed Ruby Lake, a small alpine lake in a bowl at the base of two steep ridges, and finished the climb over the pass. We stopped at Garnet lake and had lunch on a nice rock overlooking the lake. After going around the outlet to Garnet lake, we went up again, over a second pass above 10,000 feet. We descended down an area of rocky rubble, then across a meadow, and down in to a forest. On this part of the trail, we were on the John Muir Trail that goes from Yosemite to Mt. Whitney. We went down and down and it seemed like forever before got to the trail junction with the trail to lake Ediza. On the way up to Ediza, we had to go up some steep rocky areas with steps that only the donkeys could climb. We even had to go through a donkey poop canyon. We were passed by a few people going to the same lake and I was nervous we would not find a good campsite. I asked Papa to go ahead and find us a good one. He told me where to go on the map and said there was a river crossing that might be scary. He told me to wait at the river if I was not comfortable crossing. A large group of people passed me and then we arrived at the river crossing. Little did I know, Papa was just on the other side, waiting for me, but when he saw the large group of people, he went on to stay ahead of them. Some of the large group took off their boots to cross the river, but some jumped across on some rocks. They showed me the way and I went ahead and did it myself. I was walking along the edge of the lake and then I saw Papa wave as he was coming back down the trail. He was very happy that I had made it across the river on my own, as it saved him from going back another mile to get me. He showed me to the campsite he found, it was a long way around the lake, but it was another good one. We had a spot in the trees, with a path to our own beach and some rocks to use as 'coffee' rock. We pitched the tent, filtered water and had a snack. We waded in the water. Papa took a shower and I took a little nap. We explored around the lake and found a group of some kind of 'alpine' prairie dogs. They stood up and barked warnings as we arrived. They ate the grass and there seemed to be some younger ones around, too. They were so cute! We cooked dinner up on the rocks by the lake. We had chicken and mashed potatoes and chicken and dumplings. We made some chocolate cheesecake for dessert, but saved most of it to have with breakfast, as we did not have much food left. When we went to bed, we played cribbage and I won this time. Papa went out of the tent to try to take some night photos before the moon came up.

Sun just starts to rise.

Sun warming the tops of the peaks.

Warm sun reaches us on the lake.

Breakfast on 'Coffee' rock.

Reflection in our cove.

Meadow and lake as we climb up from Thousand Islands Lake.

Pika squeaking back to his friend.

So Cute! (Video)

Garnet lake with our lunch spot below Mt. Ritter.

Outlet creek at the bottom of Garnet lake.

Pass summit at 10,000+ ft with the rocky area, meadow, and forest below.

Our camp at Lake Ediza.

Lake Ediza near our camping area.

Playing around by the lake.

Alpine Prairie Dog!

Sun setting behind Mt. Ritter.

Cooking dinner.

Stars over our tent.

Day 15 (Aug 4, 2020) We woke up at 5:30 am and packed up our stuff. I cooked all of the breakfast, which was eggs and bacon and the leftover chocolate cheesecake. We ate on coffee rock. Papa's coffee wasn't the best as I spilled some when opening the packet. We watched the top of the peaks start to glow with the rising sun. The sun came up and warmed us up on the rocks. Since we had to hike to the back side of the lake to camp, the sun was in our eyes. We decided to finish packing up and hike to the other side of the lake. We found a nice rock in the shade to sit on. With the sun behind us, we had a very nice view of the mountains and the reflection in the smooth lake. We got out the stove and I made Papa another coffee. We sat on the rock and enjoyed the view and talked for about an hour. It was very relaxing, with the cool rock in the cool morning. We talked to some of the hikers that passed on the trail nearby. We finally hit the trail and made our way down pretty quickly in the beginning. We were talking all along the way. We made it across the river crossing without incident, then, we made it down all of the steep sections I hated the day before. We made it to Shadow lake and stopped for lunch. It was also a nice lake. I had to go potty, so I hiked up the hill away from the lake and dug my hole. The trail down from Shadow lake was very steep, so I took my time. A hiking wiener dog came up the trail. The owners said he liked hiking and could make it up the steep rocks and steps. It seemed to be a very hard hike for a wiener dog! We had nice views of the big water falls coming out of Shadow lake. We also saw a number of twisty bristle cone pines. They could have been very old as the oldest tree in the U.S. is a bristle cone somewhere in CA. My feet started to hurt on the steep downhill. Finally, we made it to the bottom of the valley and to the main creek. We followed the creek on the way out and made better time. I was ready to finish the hike! We had a final climb up to Agnew Meadow. While climbing up the hill, at around mile 25 for the trip, I told Papa that all of the hiking was worth it as I really liked the lake views and the camping. It had been a great trip. I felt guilty about being happy to be making it home as I had had fun on the backpack. We finally made it to the parking lot! As we arrived to where the car was parked, a crew was putting up 'no parking' signs all along the road, including where we parked. We drove to Mammoth Lakes to find some lunch. Not many places were open, so we got burgers at Carl's Jr. and started driving to South Lake Tahoe. We had a scenic drive up and down the mountains to Tahoe. We finally made it and met Juju at the RV! We had sheppard's pie that she had made for us. I took a nap in the hammock. We cleaned up and had a nice fire. Then, we were very ready for bed!

Sun starts to rise.

Mt. Ritter aglow.

Our cove begins to warm up.

Sunrise at the lake.

View toward the outlet with the rising sun.

Easy creek crossing (not the hard one) on the way around the lake.

Mt. Ritter above Ediza.

Alpine prairie dog eating some greens.

Making Papa some coffee on the cool side of the lake.

Beautiful view.

Awesome reflection.

Bristle Cone Pine on the way down from Shadow Lake.

Waterfalls coming down from Shadow and the lakes above.

We made it! Our trip stats.

Day 13-15 (Aug 2-4, 2020) Meanwhile, after we left for the backpack, Juju spent much time cleaning the RV before leaving June Lake. She stopped at the Lee Vining Mobile gas station and had fish tacos while overlooking Mono Lake. The food there was well renown. Then, she drove to Carson City, NV to see about getting new tires for the car and gas for the RV at a savings of $50 compared to CA prices. She continued on to the campsite at Tahoe Valley Campground in South Lake Tahoe, where she backed the RV in to the spot by herself. The next day, she worked some in the morning, then took a scenic boat ride on Lake Tahoe. It went to Emerald Bay, where there is the only island in the whole lake and an old estate with a castle. She also saw some of the more swanky neighborhoods from the water. She walked all around town and back to camp for a total of 7 miles. On the last day, she worked some more, then rented a bike to check out more of town and ride to the Edgewood golf course, home of a celebrity golf tournament, in Nevada. She enjoyed a great lunch. She went back to camp to make dinner and be reay for our arrival.

Lake Tahoe - CA - Aug 4 - Aug 6, 2020

Day 16 (Aug 5, 2020) We had a slow morning, which was nice, since we were tired from our trip. We re-organized and put away all of our backpacking gear that had been spread all over the RV. I rested in the hammock for a bit. We went to a beach to enjoy the lake. Juju was nice enough to let us hang out at the beach while she took the car to Carson City, about 40 min away, to get new tires put on the car. We ended up at a semi-private beach and ate fried chicken while enjoying the view. The lake was so clear. The water was chilly, but fun to play in. I swam and floated on a noodle for hours. Papa came in for a while. It was super cold getting out because of the evaporation and it was so dry out. The car looked good with the new tires. We drove around South Lake Tahoe and went in to the mountains west of the lake for some views. Per tradition, we went out to a nice restaurant to have a big steak after the backpack. We had outdoor seating. Papa had a real Trader-Vic's old 1944 Mai Tai. I ate some clams for the first time! The first one was hard to eat because it was different than I thought they would be, but they were good and I was ready to try them again another time. The steak was very good!

Here is the spare tire going on the car after we hit a rock and it made this bulge in the old tire.

Lake Tahoe is so clear.

The beach was very nice.

Lake Tahoe from the mountain nearby.

This is the only island in the entire lake.

Here goes the first clam!

This is my well-earned steak after the backpack.

Lassen National Park and Drive to Redwood - CA - Aug 6, 2020

Day 17 (Aug 6, 2020) We had a 9+ hour drive from South Lake Tahoe to Redwood. We drove in to Nevada, another new state for me! We cruised down the central area of Reno to see some of the old casinos. No one was around at that time of the morning. We crossed back in to California and headed to Lassen Volcanic National Park. There were some cool geologic features, including a mud pot, which is my favorite. The area was part of a super volcano that exploded 600,000 years ago. The main mountain, Lassen, erupted in 1915, blowing out the northwest side, leveling forests and homesteads. I finished my junior ranger badge and we hit the road again. We had to go up and down a number of rolling passes on the way to the beach. Progress was slow on the narrow, winding roads. We made our traditional 3J's highway pizza as we zipped down the mountain. We also watched a highway movie while we ate. We finally made it to Redwood, where we quickly set up and went to bed.

Downtown Reno.

Circus Circus.

Mud pot! (Video)

Warm water turns the creek green.

Lassen Peak above lake Helene (formerly Saphire).

Pretty wildflowers.

Hillside scarred with geothermal activity.

Making 3J's highway pizza!

Watching a moving on the highway.

Redwood National and State Parks - CA - Aug 6 - Aug 10, 2020

Day 18 (Aug 7, 2020) Today we had a permit to get to the Tall Trees trail in Redwood National Park. We started early, and decided to walk through the Lady Bird Johnson grove on the way because it was early and not busy yet. There were some big trees and some big stumps to play around. There were ferns and thick vegetation under the trees. Papa explained the various types of ferns and plants in the rain forest like environment as it was similar to what he was used to growing up in Washington. The fog from the ocean filtered through the trees. We had to drive past a locked gate for which we had the combination as part of our permit. After a long drive down a logging road, we reached the trail head. The tall trees hike led us down the hillside to Redwood Creek and we followed a loop around some really tall trees! We also explored more of the rain forest vegetation and I was very curious about nettles. Halfway through the hike we hit a milestone of 100 miles hiked for this trip! We went out on to the bank of the creek and had lunch in the shade of some redwoods at the edge of the forest. We explored around the creek for a while and I discovered a hermit crab in a long, tube-like shell. We continued back in to the forest. There were some maple trees with moss hanging off of them. The redwoods were enormous. There were some fallen trees that gave us a good view of how tall they are. After the hike, we went to the visitor's center and I talked to the rangers. We got a tip about a good seafood store, so we rushed over before they closed. I really wanted to get some clams to make at camp. They didn't have clams, but we got some halibut cheeks, rockfish, and smoked albacore and salmon to snack on. Back at camp, we cooked the halibut cheeks and rock fish on a cedar plank over a fire, that included some cedar wood. We had a nice snack of cheese and smoked fish. The halibut cheeks were very tender with a nice cedar smoke flavor. We baked a chocolate raspberry dump cake on coals on the fire. While the dump cake finished baking, we went over to the beach to watch sunset. I jumped and dove in the sand, explored some rocks, and played with the waves. The sunset was beautiful. By touching the Pacific ocean, we completed a milestone in our journey across the country, which started at the Atlantic ocean in Acadia National Park in Maine over a year ago.

Huge Redwood stump.

Redwood trunk!

Redwood tunnel on the trail.

Redwood creek with redwoods towering over the normal trees.

Redwood creek and Redwoods.

Hermit crab in his tube.

Mossy Maple.

Tall tree section along the creek with some fallen Redwoods. (21 Image HDR Panorama)

Touching the Pacific!

Pretty Sea.

Climbing the stump in our campsite.

Cedar plank cooking halibut cheeks.

Making the dump cake.

Cool wave rooster tail! (Video)

Sunset on the beach.

Sun almost gone.

Day 19 (Aug 8, 2020) We woke up early and headed back in to the park. We planned to hike through redwood forest down to the beach and through a fern canyon as part of a 13 mile trek down the Miner's Trail, along the beach, and up James Irving Trail. The hike started in a meadow where there were some elk grazing. We hiked amongst some very large trees and lush vegetation. It was very nice to be spending so much time with the giants. We reached the beach and walked out to the firmer sand by the surf. There were some seals playing and fishing in the waves. A number of fishermen were catching fish from the beach. A Bald Eagle flew over, he was huge, and was just looking around. Maybe I could have been a snack. We sat on a drift wood log and ate lunch. Some pelicans were eating lunch, too, by dive-bombing in the water behind the waves. We made it to the fern canyon. It was amazing and very pretty. Many ferns growing on the walls of steep cliffs in a little gorge where a small creek flowed. Unfortunately, there were many people here as there was a road that allowed people to walk 0.1 miles instead of the 6 miles we had done to get there. It was a long walk back, but when we got to the car, I was happy. The walk back included more giant trees and ferns as we walked through the forest. On the way back to camp, we stopped at the beach and played for a long time. Never ever turn your back on the ocean. I was knocked down or really splashed by a few waves when I was not paying attention. The water was pretty cold and rough, so I did not want to get sucked in. Papa and Juju sat in their chairs and watched most of the time. Papa came with me and got wet for a while, too. When we got back to the RV, we used sea water to steam some some yummy yummy clams. We made some sausages with croissant rolls wrapped around them over the fire. We also had some marshmallows, but they were sticky and did not roast well.

Elk grazing in the meadow.

Huge Redwood trunk.

Redwood forest with ferns.

Sunlight filtering through the fog.

The Redwoods get 90% of their water from the fog.

Tall trees in the mist. (12 image HDR panorama)

We made it to the beach!

Bald Eagle checking me out.

Pretty neat narrow fern canyon.

Fern canyon.

My little buddy, the banana slug.

Here comes the banana slug! (Video)

Juju gives perspective to the trees.

It is fun to walk on the fallen trees.

A nice Redwood we can see from top to bottom. (18 image HDR panorama)

Goldfinch! - Washington's state bird.

Pretty big waves crashing on the beach.

Eating clams at camp.

Day 20 (Aug 9, 2020) We woke up and had some eggs, sausage and biscuits with jam. We packed up the RV and left to go to another campsite at the north end of Redwood park. On the way, we went to a place where we could drive through a tree. We went on a hike and I was grumpy for the first half because I was tired. We saw a water fall and huge tree named the Boy Scout Tree. On the way back, I was more happy and talked to Papa about banking and taxes. We stopped at the Smith river on the way to the RV. I had a lot of fun swimming and jumping off rocks. We went home and had some left over shepherds pie. Juju bought some new marshmallows and I made some yummy yummy ones. Our other marshmallows had become sticky, probably from getting too hot in the RV, so they would not roast correctly. Then, I went to bed.

Very nice Redwood.(18 image HDR panorama)

Big Tree!

The RV puts the trees to scale.

We drove through a tree!

Another huge log.

The Boy Scout Tree.

Very nice forest to hike in.

Crater Lake National Park - OR - Aug 10, 2020

Day 21 (Aug 10, 2020) We woke up in Redwood and said goodbye to the big trees. We crossed in to Oregon, a new state for me! It also meant that we finally left California. We had spent three full weeks in CA, and now it was time to move on. We drove in to Crater Lake National Park. We parked the RV at a turn out before the visitor's center, since we thought the parking lot might be full, which it was. We looked out over the rim of the crater and were amazed by the view. The lake was so blue! The view in to the crater was very beautiful, with the bright royal blue water, green trees, white rocks, and reflection of the rim around the lake. We found a nice alcove along the rim to have lunch in the shade while we admired the beauty. We hiked up Garfield Peak, which offered even better views the higher we went. After the hike, we drove around to some other view points, but there must have been something with the view angle at our first stop as the blue wasn't as bright. On the drive down the mountain, we stopped at a Pacific Crest Trail crossing. We have at least seen a part of it in all three states. We made it to camp and met CC and Brian (from AZ)! They were on their own RV tour of Oregon. It turned out that we saw them on our last day before going to CA and our first day out of CA! We had a nice picknic snack of cheeses they had bought on the coast and smoked fish and oysters we had bought. We could see the milky way for the first time on the trip.

Crater lake with the cinder cone, Wizard island.

Crater lake Ansel Adams style.

Hippos at the lake.

Crater Lake. (45 image HDR panorama)

Another attempt at Ansel Adams style framing.

Me with the lake.

Crater Lake National Park.

First oyster!

CC and Brian!

Bend - OR - Aug 11, 2020

Day 22 (Aug 11, 2020) We were going rafting! I was very excited, but a bit nervous, too. The rafting company was doing a good job with social distancing, mask wearing, and only one group per boat. We went down the Deschutes River. It started off as a nice float. We learned that there were big lava flows still visible along the river and the river bottom was lava, so very sharp if we fell in shallow water. When we got to the rapid section, we got out of the raft and surveyed the rapids while the guide told us how to go down them. They were pretty impressive! Going down the rapids was really fun. On the first wave, I was blasted backwards and had to re-adjust without falling in. Ms. CC took a big wave! We had to paddle our way through the rapids. We were supposed to keep paddling even if we were too high on a wave to reach the water. Papa was just riding along. We got through without crashing! My leg was shaking after the rapid. In another float section, I jumped off the front of the boat, leading the way for the kids in other boats. I rode rodeo style down the next rapid, riding on the front and holding on. After rafting, we parked at the Deschutes Brewery and walked through town to get to the Deschutes Brewery Pub for some lunch. Along the way, we saw people surfing on a standing wave in the river. There were also many people floating on a separate rapid section in tubes and rafts. Before we got our table, we stopped in to the Crater Lake Distillery and CC, Brian, Juju, and Papa had some cocktails and whiskey. Juju seemed to like her Hatch Green Chilly vodka drink with vanilla and lime. Papa tried three different whiskeys made from distilled Black Butte Porter. Lunch at the brew pub was good, everyone seemed to like their beers, including Papa's bitter and, of course, Black Butte Porter. We walked back to the brewery, where they had some small samples of a few more beers and bought a few things to take home. We stopped to get some coffe and went to CC and Brian's camp. It as a great little camp in town, with some restored 1940's and 50's trailers that could be rented. We went to the outdoor Crux Fermentation Project, and enjoyed a nice time in the beautiful afternoon. Papa had a PCT Porter. We met up with CC's nephew who lives in Bend for dinner at a nice, outdoor pub. Back at CC and Brian's camp, we cooked some marshmallows before driving back to our camp.

The Black Butte!! (Lava Butte, outside of Bend, OR) Inspiration for the name of Papa's favorite beer.

The big rapids on the Deschutes! (Video)

Rodeo style! (Video)

Rafting was awesome!

Swimming in the river was fun, too!

Papa with his Black Butte Porter in the Deschutes Brewery.

Lunch at the brewery.

The brewery!

Oregon Coast - OR - Aug 12 - 16, 2020

Day 23 (Aug 12, 2020) We packed up and left the mountains to head to the coast. The drive through the mountains and along the Willamette and Umpqua rivers was nice. Near 101 we stopped in Reedsport, a small town to eat lunch outside on the river. I had clam chowder in a sour dough bread bowl. I liked the clams this time! Juju's fried halibut sandwich seemed really good, too. Reedsport is home to the regional chainsaw wood carving championship, and there were some really great sculptures on display. We stopped at a wood carving studio, and saw some artists in action. We got to try an old fashioned two-person saw. We headed up the coast and stopped to play in the dunes. We rented a sandsurfing board. Surprisingly, I did pretty well for my first run. I tried some steeper slopes and crashed and burned a few times. The sand is pretty hard! We exchanged the sandsurfing board for a sled to give that a try. It was really fun, too. I had an epic crash at the bottom of a steep hill. Papa couldn't stop laughing. Papa even tried the sledding and managed not to hurt his shoulder. We continued up the coast, which became rocky and beautiful. We set up camp and enjoyed sunset on the beach. We then steamed some dungeness crabs to eat by the fire I built with the ocean and sunset view.

Lunch on the Umpquoa river.

Sand dunes.

Sandboarding! (Video)

Sandsledding! (Video)

Enjoying Dungeness crabs at sunset with the fire and stars.

Milky way from Seal Rocks with a shooting star.

Day 24 (Aug 13, 2020) We walked on the beach in the morning and Papa and Juju had some lattes on a rock. We explored some tide pools, but went back to camp for breakfast to wait for lower tide. We made bacon and eggs outside and ate with our nice view of the ocean. Back down at the beach, the tide had gone out, so we found some nice tide pools on the south side of seal rock beach. There were some huge anemones. The flexed and closed up when we tickled them. We didn't find any more interesting things around the seal rocks area, so we hiked up the head at Elephant rock and went down to the beach on the other side. We found some much bigger tide pools there. We found starfish! There were a number of them eating muscles on the rocks. I got to touch one. If the wind wasn't so cold, it would have been tempting to swim in some of the pools to see the life up close. There were some jelly fish that washed up in the final waves of the low tide. Some small, translucent sea snails came racing across the wet sand to nibble on them. The snails left little tracks in the sand. On a big rock, we saw a mama loon fly in and feed it's three babies that were sitting on a ledge. We went in to Newport to find an outdoor restaurant to have some lunch. We got some more clams and I loved them! We were entertained by sea lions while we ate. The big fat ones slept with their heads in the air and their necks tilted back. We stopped by the Rouge brewery on the way out of town and Papa bought some odd beers called Batsquatch and Outaline. After lunch, we drove down to Thor's Well, which was a formation in the lava rock on the coast with a cave to the sea. The waves made water go up the well, then get sucked out like a big drain. It was crazy windy and it almost blew us over. We saw another area with a blow hole there, too. Back at camp, I made a fire and we steamed some more crabs. We watched the sunset, then enjoyed our crabs next to the fire, with the sunset colors and stars above. Pretty amazing! We had some chowder from Mo's and made s'mores, too.

Sea Anemones.

Our beach, Seal Rocks.

Touching a starfish.

Nice young starfish.

Orange starfish, too.

Cormorant feeding babies.

Sea lions sleeping, although they won't stop making noise!

Clams for lunch in Newport.

Thor's well.

Thor's Well in action! (Video)

Blowhole! (Video)

Sunset at Seal Rocks.

Almost all gone!

Seagulls know where to fish.

Day 25 (Aug 14, 2020) We had a nice morning walk on the beach, with lattes and coffee cake for Papa and Juju. I explored the edge of the water for a while. We made breakfast back at the RV and enjoyed it in the cool morning, overlooking the ocean. We packed up and headed up the coast toward Cannon Beach. We stopped at a wood carving gallery just north of Seal Rocks. There were some awesome carvings of sea life. Some were huge! We met the artist, and he said he carves them with a chainsaw, then uses a grinder to do the final shaping. We liked a salmon sculpture made from real redwood, so we bought it! We drove across the big bridge at Newport and passed through some nice beach towns. We arrived in Tillamook! We picked up some Hawaiian food and BBQ from food trucks and ate at a small brewery so Papa and Juju could try some of the sour beers. Apparently, the beers were good as they bought some to have for later and as gifts. We went to the Tillamook factory, and fortunately, Juju had made reservations! We got to see how the milk is turned in to curd, then cheddared in a fancy machine. It is pressed in to 40 lb. blocks, which are pushed out of a machine in to bags, where they are packed for cold storage to age. The aged blocks come out of cold storage, are opened, sliced in two directions to make 2 lb. loafs, shot in to wrappers, put in to a vaccuum sealer octopus, and put in to boxes for shipping. Workers slice off parts of the blocks that fail inspection as being too heavy. The scraps and rejects are turned in to shredded cheese. If I worked there, I would eat the scraps! We had a bonanza at the cheese shop, buying many small blocks of aged cheddar, up to 7 years old. On the way out, we had some fried cheese curds, and some ice cream, of course! They didn't allow us to eat around the factory, so we put the ice cream in the RV freezer and drove until we found a nice beach. We enjoyed the ice cream on a driftwood log, watching the ocean. It was so creamy and goo-ood! The drive along the coast turned more rugged and mountainous. It was beautiful. We arrived in Cannon Beach and it wasn't too late. We walked from the RV camp to the beach, and saw Haystack Rock! We played in the sand and relaxed for a bit. We had some more clams and I had a huge ribeye steak with a loaded potato at an outdoor restaurant (Driftwood) in Cannon Beach.

Our salmon carving from redwood with the artist.

Packing the cheese!

The Tillamook factory was awesome!

Haystack Rock off Cannon Beach.

Sand tunnel.

Me with Haystack.

Steak!

Day 26 (Aug 15, 2020) We woke up early to go out to the beach for low tide. We stopped in Cannon Beach at Papa's favorite donut shop to get some donuts along the way. We were some of the first to arrive at Hug Point Beach Park. First, we walked north to see some caves that had been carved out by the waves, and we walked on the old road that cut across the rocks, which was the only access to Arch Cape when it was founded. The beach was foggy, and the sun shined in beams through the trees on the cliffs. We found some sea life on a rock in Arch Cape, including some starfish. Juju touched one and I made some sea anemones curl up. We walked down the beach to try to find arch. The tide was getting too, high, so we didn't see it, but we did see a bald eagle. We ate the donuts on the beach, sitting on a piece of driftwood. As we walked the beach, we saw many crab parts and some sand dollars. When we went to leave the park, the parking lot was jammed! It was going to be 100 degrees in Portland, so everyone came to the beach! We drove to Oswald State Park to try to hike to Short Sands Beach. All of the parking was already over-full. We went up to the Elk Flats Trail and walked through the rain forest toward the beach. A huge fallen tree blocked the trail on a steep hillside, so we couldn't really go farther. On the way back, we stopped at Devil's Cauldron overlook. After having a quick lunch, we went back to Arch Cape to talk to the Domans at their beach house. We had a very nice talk to catch up on recent and past experiences, socially distanced on their deck. We borrowed a boogie board and went to the beach for a bit. I tried to go boogie boarding, but the water was SO COLD! I tried to get used to the water for a while, and Papa came in, too, but I couldn't get used to it enough to swim. I was a little bummed out as I had been looking forward to it. We enjoyed resting on the beach for a while. Mr. Doman said the water was only 55 degrees, so it was too cold! We went out on the beach at Cannon Beach and made a fire for dinner. We roasted some wieners, had some s'mores, and watched the sun set and stars come out over the fading dusk.

View north of Arch Cape from the original access road.

Arch Cape in the mist.

The original access road to Arch Cape that could only be used at low tide.

Sun through the mist.

Sea anemones are so squishy!

Rainforest hike toward short sands beach.

Point near Cape Falcon.

The sand is nice and cool.

The Domans and their nice beach house.

Beach fire at Cannon Beach.

Eating our dinner.

Sunset with the stars.

Day 27 (Aug 16, 2020) Low tide was very early in the morning, so we woke up early, grabbed some more donuts and went to Arch Cape. We found the arch this time! We said goodbye to the Domans and packed up to leave the coast. We stopped in Astoria where we went to the Oregon Film Museum. Goonies and Kindergarten Cop were filmed there, along with many others. We got to make our own short films! We had some lunch in a park and continued the drive. We made it to Washington! We drove up near Mt. Rainier and set up camp. We made a big chicken pot pie on the fire to energize us for our hike. Annika and Kai came down to camp with us! It was fun to hang out with them for dinner and by the fire. Ms. Annika set up her new van for camping, it was cool!

Shrimp washing up on the beach.

Starfish.

The Arch! for Arch Cape.

Reflections at Arch Cape.

In jail with the Goonies!

Chunk!!

Data's gadget suit.

Can you guess the movie? (Video)

Annika and Kai camping with us!

Mt. Rainier - Aug 17, 2020

Day 28 (Aug 17, 2020) I was really looking forward to our hike up to the Mt. Rainier base camp, Muir, because Ms. Annika, Kai, and Mr. Bob were coming! This was going to be one of our harder hikes, but I was happy to do it and not worried at all because we would have some other people to talk to. Following tradition, we woke up super early to get to the parking lot by 7am. It was a beautiful morning, with a cloud covering the top of the mountain. We started up the nice trails by Paradise Lodge. Bob said it was 'first hour, worst hour' to set a good pace on the non-snowy part. We saw many marmots and had great views as we made our way up to Paradise point. Not too much farther past the point, we reached Pebble Creek and the snow started. Hiking up the snow was hard as we had to dig our toes deep in the snow. I slipped at least a million times. We climbed and climbed, with never ending snow field in front of us. The mountain looked awesome. We could really see the glaciers. At 1,000 vertical feet to go, Bob turned us loose for a free-for-all to the top. Papa took off and Kai and I followed Bob for a while longer. Bob made us pass and Kai reached Muir second and I third, followed closely by Juju, Bob and Annika. It felt great to be at Muir. The view was awesome. We could see Mt. Adams, Mt. Hood, and Mt. St. Helens. The base camp was cool and we saw some people that were camping to try to summit the next day. It was really windy! We hid behind a hut and could feel the pumice in our teeth. Mr. Bob and Papa continued up to Muir peak, where they had a nice view of Muir, the Cowlitz glacier, Nisqually glacier, and the summit. After a nice break and some snacks, we headed back down. The snow was steep and slippery, so we could boot ski! This was awesome! I kept saying this was the highlight of the whole trip!! I could slide down many feet with each step. I crashed and burned a few times! Fortunately, Papa didn't fall down at all. It probably would have been bad with his busted shoulder and the nice camera he had strapped to his pack. The skiing was tiring, and made my legs burn, but it was still fun! We finally made it to Pebble creek and made our way down the trails. The views of the mountain all the way down were amazing. It was a bright and beautiful clear day, probably one of the best days to do this hike. We came across a few more marmots. One tried to eat Mr. Bob's sunglasses for a snack and Papa could rub one on the back with his hiking pole. We made it down just in time to eat at Whittaker's. The burgers were awesome! This was the first hike of the entire trip that I didn't complain at all!

Mt. Rainier from the Nisqually overlook.

Mt. Rainier with a dynamic cloud on top.

Panorama of Mt. Rainier.

Fighting Marmots.

Boooiiinngg!

This rock is so warm!

View up the Nisqually Glacier.

Wind whipping at the top.

Motley crew ready to go!

The dudes.

View up the incredible ice falls.

Climbing the last section before the snow field above pebble creek.

Up the snowfield we go.

View from Camp Muir.

Mt. Adams, Mt. Hood, and Mt. St. Helens are in view from right to left.

Everyone at Camp Muir.

Panorama view from peak near Camp Muir, including the camp, Cowlitz Glacier, and Mt. Rainier Peak.

Boot skiing! (Video)

Heading down the snow!

Awesome Nisqually Glacier.

Mountain clear and beautiful on top!

Beautiful day on the mountain.

This big guy is Mr. Bob's friend...

... running off with Mr. Bob's sunglasses, so tasty!

Can't get enough of the mountain.

More mountain.

Mountain and meadow.

Wild flowers with the Mountain

Seattle Area - WA - Aug 18 - 22, 2020

Day 29 (Aug 18, 2020) We packed up from Mt. Rainier and drove up to Issaquah to see Mr. Agnew. I got to check out his earth-moving equipment. We then drove up to Jake's in Bothell. It wasn't rainy, so we washed the RV and started to pack. Alannah and Josh came home with Stacy, and I got to play with them some before we headed out to go to the pool.

Mr. A with J's of Thunder!

Day 30 (Aug 19, 2020) The weather was going to be nice today, so we went downtown to the Seattle waterfront. Pike's Place was open, but there were not many people and many of the vendors were not there. We were able to see the waterfront with out the viaduct, it is much more open! We checked out some of the shops on the waterfront and we tried a sourdough pancake from the Alaska Bread Company. The sun was out, so lunch outside at Elliot's was beautiful. Back at Jake's we loaded up the boat and headed out to Lake Washington. We stopped to swim for a while, and I dove off of the swim platform. Jake showed us how to wake surf. When picking him up one time, a huge wave went over the front of the boat! We docked down by Kirkland and ate some burgers on the boat to make for a nice evening.

Moore Coffee by Pike's Place.

Pike's Place Market.

Big pig, like me!

My fish market.

Making cheese at Beechers.

Seattle waterfront with out the viaduct.

Gum wall, eeeewwww.

Eating lunch on the pier.

Ferries are awesome!

No viaduct!

Jake surfing the wake.

Mt. Rainier from Lake Washington.

Everybody on the boat!

Day 31 (Aug 20, 2020) We continued organizing and packing. We drove over to North Seattle area to visit Max, Jen, and Taz. We met in the front yard and they bought pizza so we could talk while socially distant. Next, we drove down the highway to pass downtown and head over to Bellevue. We visited with some old friends of Papa's, Kristi and her family, and Jenny. We drove through the old neighborhood and saw the old house. It looked exactly the same! When we got back to Jake's, we made a blackberry pie in honor of Grandpa's 77th birthday. Mr. and Mrs. Story came over, and we enjoyed a nice time hanging out with everyone!

Kristi and her family with Jenny.

A traditional blackberry pie for Grandpa's 77th birthday! (too bad he can't eat it virtually!)

Working on Jake's yellow 77 step side Chevy pickup.

Day 32-33 (Aug 21-22, 2020) We finished all of the packing, which included making a custom box to bring home the wood carving. We parked the RV at the storage facility and hid the car behind Jake's 57 Chevy. With everything put away, we could finally hang out with everyone and I helped Jake some more with his truck. I even got to run the Bridgeport mill. After dinner, Jake drove us down to our hotel. Juju's cousin Donovan came over to hang out for a while. Early the next morning, we were on the plane, flying home! We had nice views of Mt. Rainier and Glacier Peak as we left.

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