Up the 101

Day 13 - Friday, June 28th 

We woke up at dawn to the Roosevelt Elk less than 10 feet off our back deck.

 

They're such beautiful, peaceful creatures.

Curtis and I watched them graze for over an hour, just enjoying the quietness of the forest, then it was time to load up the car again.  We left our cabin at 7:30 to head north on highway 101.  We took one last scenic drive through the Redwood State Park, then we were off to hit the Trees of Mystery on our way north.

This was a fun spot for the boys because it had a short hike through some Redwoods.  I especially loved the Cathedral Tree.  Maybe Curtis and I will renew our vows here one day.

The hike was followed by a sky tram up to the top of the peak.

The boys loved riding the skytram the most!

They also really loved looking out the deck at the top.

You can see clear to the Pacific Ocean from up there!

 

We rode the tram back down, and hiked back through the woods past the tale of Paul Bunyan, then we were off again.  We decided to take the scenic route up the 101 coast all the way to Eugene, and it was the most beautiful drive!  It was so interesting to watch the scenery change from thick giants to sandy California coasts to rolling hills and lakes to the Oregon Sand Dunes and finally to the beautifully famous rocky Oregon coast.  

We stopped for a very VERY late lunch at Mo's on the pier at Florence, OR.  Curtis and I split bouillabaisse and Cannonball Bowl of famous clam chowder in a bread bowl....YUM!!!!!

After filling our tummies, we headed 10 miles north to the Sea Lion Caves.

I remember visiting these caves as a child with my family, and it was equally as mesmerizing today as it was when I was a little girl.

There were 300 sea lions spawning, and hundreds more down in the cave.

Curtis loved the view of the lighthouse from down in the cave most of all.

By this point, we had been in the car driving for 9 hours and I was getting so eager to see my family.  We were just over an hour away from my cousin, Dave and Crystal's house, where Grandma Becki was meeting is with her sister, Aunt Julie, Uncle Paul, cousins Amy and Dave, and their kiddos Faith, Cal, and Annie.  I could hardly contain my excitement!  I was so excited to see them.  We pulled up to an iced cooler of beer and brats on the grill!

Carson was so happy to see Grandma Becki that he did not let her go for at least an hour.  He eventually realized all the fun the kids were having and decided to join the party.  He and Annie were so sweet together.

The sprinklers in the front lawn went off a few minutes later, and it was party time.  The kids played and played in the sprinklers until they were soaked to their undies!

Cole and Cal were inseparable.

By this time, it was 9:30, and we were all pooped.  We drove a few miles away toUncle  Paul and Aunt Julie's house to spend the night. 

Looking back, we packed a crazy amount of things into today, but it was totally worth it!  Tomorrow I'm up for a sunrise run, then we're meeting the cousins at the park for play before heading north to visit Grandpa and Grandma in Albany.  Today was filled with fun times and great memories to last a lifetime!