Kona, Hawaii Day 1

November 4th - We finally made it to Kona, HI after a flight to Juneau from Gustavus, rental car and hotel (one night), testing (Abbey took 2 SAT Subject Tests), AK Air to Seattle, one night in Seattle, and a flight w/ layover in San Francisco to Kona!  Yes, we have arrived!  Getting anywhere from Gustavus is an adventure in itself!

Our vacation officially began on Monday morning when we awoke to 80 degree temps and a 180 degree view of the Pacific Ocean from our bed!  We are staying at a friends house for the month - a little slice of paradise on the Big Island.

This a.m. Tom and I drove into Kona to pick up groceries and supplies (snorkel gear and sunscreen) at Costco.  Abbey and Emily stayed at the house to begin the weeks school assignments. We spent the early afternoon setting up the house and then we were off to the beach.

Tom purchased the "Big Island Bible" - Hawaii, the Big Island Revealed and hasn't put it down all day.  It's a must if you want to get out and off the beaten path.  The author gives you the skinny on all the local hot spots, including the little known snorkeling beaches and 4-wheel drive access roads to cool sights.  This afternoon was spent at the Mauna Kea Beach.  It's a resort, but they allow 40 visitor vehicles to use their parking lot to access the beach each day.  It's a lovely, sandy beach great for swimming and boogie boarding.  We forgot the boards so had to body surf!

The day was full and in the evening I collapsed in bed at 7:45 p.m.  Tom and the girls were not far behind at 8:30 p.m.  Tomorrow we head to Sapphire Cove for some epic snorkeling!

Newberry National Volcanic Monument

Administered by the Forest Service, this little gem is tucked away in Deschutes National Forest located in central Oregon. It is both seismically and geologically active. The summit of the volcano holds two sparkling lakes, one by which we camped - Paulina Lake. We arrived in the late afternoon - just in time to stop by the visitor center, set up camp, and go hiking on the obsidian flow.

The monument provides visitors with an up close and personal look at the youngest lava flows in Oregon - only 1300 years old. Driving puts you in the 17 mile caldera at the summit of a 500 sqare mile volcano. Current geologic data shows that the magma may only be 2 to 5 kilometers deep!

Emily and I enjoyed a wonderful sunset and campfire on the shore of the lake. The next day, we continued our explorations driving up the very steep road to the top of Paulina Peak - at 7,985 ft., it's the highest point on the caldera rim. We saw lots of basalt flows, cinder cones, and obsidian flows.

Crater Lake National Park

Sept. 6th, 2011

Today was my 45th birthday! I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate! It's hard to believe that Tom and I met here a little over 21 years ago when we were both interpretive park rangers. Now I am here sharing this wonder with our 11-year old daughter!

The weather was exquisite and we spent most of our day exploring short trails around the rim of the caldera.

Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the U.S. It was formed when a volcano, called Mt. Mazama, erupted and collapsed into itself 7,700 years ago. Over time, the caldera filled with water to create the 1,934 feet deep, blue lake. The deep blue hue can easily be explained by physics, but it is due to the fact that the water is deep and clean.

Only one trail leads to the water - the 1.1 mile, strenuous Cleetwood Cove Trail. Emily was game (even though we would have to hike back UP the trail)! We embarked on this adventure around 2 p.m. easily hiking down the severely switched-backed, sun baked, dusty trail. Once at the bottom, the crystal clear cool blue water beckoned us. So . . . . without much hesitation, we jumped in with all our clothes on! The cold bite of the water was invigorating and so was the fact that we were swimming in an ancient volcano! A great day indeed!

Redwood National and State Parks

September 5th, 2011

We drove to Redwoods last night after exloring Oregon Caves - about a 2 hour drive. We were very fortunate to have friends in both parks who invited us to stay in their homes!

This morning we started early in Crescent City, CA with a quick stop to the park visitor center. Emily picked up her Jr. Ranger book and was ready to go explore! I had been to the Redwoods years ago with Tom and Abbey, but this was Emily's first trip. I was so excited for her.

Redwoods only grow in a narrow strip along the Pacific Coast of California and southwestern Oregon. They are the world's tallest trees and can weigh up to 500 tons and stand taller than the Statue of Liberty. Having been extensively logged in the mid-1800's, only about 40,000 acres are left in the world. We explored both old growth and new growth groves.

First we drove down the coast to Prarie Creek Redwoods State Park. We started our exploration on the Trillium Falls Trail - a two mile hike through beautiful old growth redwoods, crossing no less than 10 little footbridges over soggy creek beds and small waterfalls. The shady trail was a welcome relief from the burning sun! It took us some time to enjoy the hike because at the beginning and end we were greatly distracted by hundreds of plump, ripe blackberries weighing down their branches all along the trail! Yum!

In the afternoon, we started our journey back to Crescent City and took the Howland Hill Road back to the main highway. The road was a windy, narrow gravel road that took us into the heart of Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park. There we got up close and personal to some of the biggest trees in the redwood forest. It truely was a magical day.

Oregon Caves National Monument

Sept. - 4, 2011

Yesterday, September 3rd, we drove all the way from Cape Disappointment, WA to Grants Pass, OR. It was quite a drive!

Today we explored a wonderful little gem located in southwestern Oregon called Oregon Caves National Monument. Just getting there was an adventure as the road up to the cave was very steep and slow going. I would liken it to driving up the rollercoaster tracks on Space Mountain in Disneyland! A stomach churner indeed! In fact, the road was built just to reach the high-elevation caverns!

Perched on top of the mountain, near the entrance to the cave, was the Chateau. A beautiful, rustic hotel built between 1932 and 1934 of local materials - marble rock work, massive Ponderosa pine pillars, and beams of Douglas fir. It is now a National Historic Landmark and very much the "centerpiece" of the mountain top! Emily and I took time out for an ice cream treat in the coffee shop!

At 12:30 p.m. we met up with our small 15-person group and began our tour of Oregon Caves. For the next hour and a half, we walked in the footsteps of those who had first discovered the cave over 100 years ago. We could only imagine what they experienced - a half mile of belly slithering through a labyrinth of dark, wet, cold marble of passages twisting in all directions. We appreciated our ranger guide and all the lights that highlighted unique cave features. At one stop, we even spotted a few cave creatures - cave crickets, two harvestmen (spider), and a Townsend big-eared bat. We even saw ice age fossils of a bear!

After the tour, we managed to get in a hike on the Cliff Nature Trail. A 1.5 mile loop through the most aromatic fir forests we've ever smelled!

Cape Disappointment

Emily and I finally arrived at Cape Disappointment State Park after two days of travel - by ferry, plane, and auto. We set up camp first thing, then went off to explore. The sound of waves crashing against the rugged Washington coast lured us in that direction. Most of the evening was spent chasing waves and rock climbing!

In the early a.m. we hiked up to the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center and then on to the Cape Disappointment Lighthouse. The center provided us with wonderful opportunities to learn about the winter of 1804-05 and from the lighthouse we could begin to imagine how the Corps of Discovery must have felt when they finally got their first glimpse of the Pacific Ocean.

It was a wonderful day! On to Ft. Clatsop National Historic Site.

Smithsonian Museums

Today was the first of many for Tom, Emily, and I as a family of three. We got along just fine! Despite the hot, humid weather we managed to visit the Natural History Museum, American History Museum, and the Air and Space Museum. After a brief evening swim, we collasped in bed!