Mt. St. Helens

 We took a spontaneous, road trip to Mt. St. Helens last weekend.  We drove to the Johnston Ridge Observatory, which takes almost three hours, with the intent of doing some hiking.  The last time I did any hiking around MSH was when I summited her with the girls' XCR team while being pregnant with Tessa!  And the last time Ben and I had visited the Johnston Ridge Observatory was when McKinley was six months old!  It was so good to be back!  The Observatory was closed but the trail was calling our names.  We hiked four miles to Harry Truman's Ridge, and it was some of the prettiest terrain and views we've ever seen.  Even towards the end of the wildflorwer's peak blooming season, the Indian Paintbrush, Lupine and Fireweed were everywhere!  When we arrived at Harry's Ridge, we had breathtaking views of Spirit Lake (and Mt. Adams in the distance!).  We even got to see the longest dust devil cloud generate right in front of us and smoke rising from inside the crater!  While we were hiking, trail runners were finishing up the Backcountry Rise race that began at Coldwater Lake and ended at Johnston Ridge.  We had so much fun cheering them on as they passed us on the trail.  To cap off our family adventure we stopped for frozen yogurt before heading home.

An overlook before Johnston Ridge.

August 2010

July 2013

Nottingham

We took our first, real tent-camping experience as a family of six into the Mt. Hood National Forest before the 4th of July.  On the way to our campground we picked cherries in Hood River, and the kids chased pigs and goats at the petting farm.  Nottingham campground is a hidden gem right off highway 35 and the tent sites run along the E. fork of the Hood River.  We were fortunate to be able to have a camp fire to cook our dinner and roast marshmellows, as the fire ban took effect the next morning.  The following day we went on a hike to Umbrella Falls, traversing through lush meadows and dormant chair lifts, finally seeing Mt. Hood peak through.  When we got back to Nottingham, the kids enjoyed playing in the river while we packed up.  Ben and I have so many wonderful memories camping with our families, so it was pretty special to contiue that tradition with our own family!

Smores!

The next morning, Pup & Kinners were the first kiddos up.

Umbrella Falls

Mt. Hood

The girls wanted to forge the river to explore "Wildcat Island."  (We had just finished reading Swallows and Amazons!)

Pup in a floppy hat.

Ghost Forest

 On June 25, 2021 we drove to the Neskowin Beach Recreation Site to witness a phenomenon that only occurs during super, low tides....the Ghost Forest!  It was a -3 tide, and rising out of the sand and seawater were about a hundred decaying stumps.  These petrified trees are the eerie remains of a towering Sitka spruce forest which had fallen into the tidal zone after a massive earthquake in the 1700's.   The Ghost Forest was a merely a legend for some time until a brutal storm eroded the sand and exposed the natural wonder beneath in 1997.   We plodded through the fog, well beyond Proposal Rock, and explored this ancient forest before turning back to go on a hike.  Our hike was equally monumental because Landon hiked the entire two miles by himself for the very first time.  He had found a hiking stick just his height at the trailhead and made up his mind to do it.  I had the privledge of accompanying him and encouraging him and educating him, and it brought me so much JOY!

There is ALWAYS time for some gymnastics!

Proposal Rock

SO proud fo this guy!