Number of Miles Driven: 238

Drive Time: 10:45 am to 7:00 pm (stops at Trees of Mystery)

States Driven through: CA, OR (2)


We all slept in a little bit today and it was well needed after our long day yesterday and our late night. Everyone seemed to be in better moods and the morning started off great with everyone pitching in to load the car. Andrew, Carolyn, and Matthew were actually excited to help carry bags to the car and get ice (always my favorite thing to do when I was a kid in a hotel). Even though we didn't eat breakfast, it still took us about 1 hour and 15 minutes to get ready and everything packed (you'd think we'd be faster at it by now..). Carolyn was with Michael when he was checking out and the front office staff specifically commented how polite the kids had been when they came to ask where the ice machine was. It was certainly nice to hear after the day before! Well done Andrew, Carolyn, and Matthew!


We met my Dad for breakfast at a local joint called Hot Brew Bistro. It was very good and a lovely way to start the day - full bellies AND good attitudes. Andrew and Carolyn’s pancakes were bigger than their heads and they were only able to eat about half their plate. I had a skillet dish with potatoes, cheese, sausage, peppers - yummmm! Matthew and Dani also had pancakes and ate them up while my Dad had the Mexican Omelette special (the chef is from Mexico) and Michael had a pancake combo. We even got Mimosas - like I said, a nice way to start the day. 


We got on the road around 10:45 and headed North. My Dad was headed straight to Gresham to Jeremy’s house and we were headed to Prospect, OR (to see Crater Lake on Friday), but our paths were the same until we crossed into Oregon. We decided to stop at the Trees of Mystery in Klamath, CA (about 1.5 hours north of Fortuna). I assumed it would be a cheesy tourist trap (like a Ripley’s Believe it or Not) but something the kids would like. Turns out, it was a great little stop with some cool sights and some fun activities for the kids. Greeting you as you pull in is a huge statue of Paul Bunyan and his blue ox, Babe. I’m not sure how (or even if) Matthew heard of Paul Bunyan, but he kept asking to see the Giants when we got to California. We’re not sure if he meant the giant redwood trees, Bigfoot, or Paul Bunyan, but seeing the statue of Paul Bunyan seemed to be sufficient for him. He ran up to it and excitedly climbed on his foot to take a picture. The others seemed equally impressed. After entering the park, you go through wooded trails with really unique trees - trees growing horizontally, lightning bolt shaped trees, trees that grew root systems around and on top of fallen trees, etc. Turns out that some of the trees had been featured in Ripley’s Believe it or Not. 









This was neat because it was a slice of a tree that gave major milestones to show its age. For example, The center ring dates back to ~1,000 AD and they associated that with the Crusades, etc. 


A snake carved by a chainsaw


One of my favorite spots was called Cathedral Trees and it was a family of Redwoods that were growing straight up next to each other and had been dedicated to the builder of the Golden Gate Bridge (Joseph Strauss). There was plaque with a beautiful saying that alluded to the beauty and magnitude of the trees and how you feel God’s presence amongst them. That saying resonated with me so much because all the redwoods we’ve seen have been so impressive and it’s hard to think of anything but God’s creation.


Cathedral Trees


In addition to seeing some unique redwoods, there was also a gondola ride that took us to the top of the redwoods, and there was a fun treehouse experience with several wooden/rope bridges between trees. Each experience left us all feeling a little overwhelmed with the height. I often walked behind Matthew on the suspension bridges and he would turn around and yell at me “don’t jump!” or he’d request that I not walk onto the bridge until he was fully across. I’ll admit, even feeling someone behind you who was only walking left you feeling unsteady - even though the sides were protected by high nets. 













Exhausted after lots of walking through Trees of Mystery

We were at the Trees of Mystery for about 1.5-2 hours and it was the perfect stop because the kids enjoyed the fun experiences and it gave them an opportunity run around and get some energy out before getting back into the car for the remainder of our trip to Prospect, OR. By the time we left, the temperature had risen to 85 degrees and the sun was coming out so it was turning into a beautiful day (it had started at mid-50’s and was drizzly)


There were several more twisty points on this mountainous drive that left us all a little nauseated, but the scenery remained beautiful. Once we veered more east away from the Pacific coast, we were surrounded by green mountains and our roads often followed the curvy paths of the rivers. The rivers were so clear that we could see the rock beds beneath them even though we were quite high. The water rolled over the boulders and created little rapids all down the river and it was absolutely beautiful nestled between the deep green tree-covered mountains. We even stopped at a pull-off so I could try to capture the beauty with a picture because I knew taking a shot behind the windshield while driving wouldn’t do it. It looked like it would have been so refreshing (on the other hand, perhaps freezing…) to jump in the slightly rolling river. 





We grabbed McDonald’s (I know..I know..the kids can’t seem to get enough…) before we got to Prospect because we knew our dinner options would be limited - it worked out great and we somehow managed to get out of there for less than $25 and a free Cookies-n-Cream McFlurry (they had accidentally made 2 for the previous customer). 


We got to Prospect around 7 pm and the front staff at the hotel where we were staying were exceptionally nice and told us all kinds of things to see/do. The hotel also has a bed-and-breakfast component, so it’s on a large piece of land with yard games and a horse stable. The sun was still shining bright, so we thought taking a short hike with the kids would help them burn off some energy before bedtime. First, we saw the horse they keep on the grounds and the kids played a short game of horseshoes. 




Then we drove a little down the road to a hike with two sets of waterfalls and giant boulders that line the main river through town. The waterfalls were so beautiful, but our kiddos were more focused on who was going to get to lead the family to the next site and how they were going to blaze a new trail to get us there. Andrew specifically put on his three junior ranger badges to prove he was qualified to lead us down the trails. At one of the waterfalls, Carolyn took a quick peek at the waterfalls and then began talking about who knows what. We told her to stop talking so she could just enjoy the moment. We told all the kids to just sit and try to hear all the sounds (e.g., the sounds of the two waterfalls, the rapids, the wind, etc) and we even had them say a prayer. We then put on our psychologist hats and tried to explain the concept of mindfulness and just appreciating the beauty of silence and being aware of the present moment. We tried to do it little kid language…but they didn’t care. The pacified us by sitting there quietly, but that’s as much as we could get out of them - ha! However, Matthew did try to take our request seriously. He sat down right when asked and folded his hands together in a prayer. He later told me he prayed for the waterfalls and a safe trip - melted my heart that he was able (and willing) to engage in that experience. 






We got back to the hotel around 8:15 and everyone took showers again. We’re not normally an “every night” shower family (at least for the kids), but they’ve needed it after all these dusty trails they’ve been walking and trees they’ve been climbing. Michael encouraged me to work on my blog on the wrap-around front porch of the bed-and-breakfast, so I enjoyed about 45 minutes of silence on porch in the cool evening; but the internet didn’t really work so I still couldn’t upload any photos to posts (thus, why these posts are continuing to be posted late). 


We had an early departure the next morning for Crater Lake before heading to Jeremy’s house in Gresham - I was especially excited for the Oregon phase of our trip because I've never been to the Pacific Northwest and we get to visit family we never see!!


Next Stop: Gresham, OR (with a stop at Crater Lake)