Day 46 - We finally found the insects

 We woke up to another cool morning with clean, crisp, mountain air.  This really doesn’t get old - a great way to start the day.  The boys were asking for some breaks from the hiking and so Amy and I set off to see the Annie creek trail on our own while they stayed back to work on giving their reviews of the parks we had seen.

We had been warned that the Annie Creek trail was steep to get back out of the canyon and full of mosquitoes.  The warnings were accurate on both accounts, though the mosquitoes seemed much worse than even the warnings suggested.  But there were some nice scenic views even if it was impossible to stop and enjoy them.


We had a long drive today as we again pushed north.  This time we were approaching Portland.  While our initial plan called for a hotel day, we looked mid-trip and discovered that Silver Falls State Park (aka the crown jewel of the Oregon State Park system) was available for tonight so we snatched it up.  They had a late check in so we figured there was no need to rush.


We stopped in Eugene because that was where a Panera was which the boys wanted for lunch.  However, before we got to Panera, we made a stop at the Pantheon of US Track and Field - Hayward Field.  We did the museum tour but it looked like the field itself was closed.  But one of the gates was open so we started to walk in.  We were initially stopped, but when the guy working there found out what fans we were and that this was our only chance to see the field, he let us get a quick picture.  Amazing to look down on the place where so many US track and field moments have happened. Who knows why there's a waffle iron pictured?





After I gawked at the field with the rest of the family waiting, we grabbed lunch and did some grocery shopping. 


Then we got back on I-5 and continued north passing through the grass seed capital of the US (probably the world) - Linn County!  Shortly thereafter we were at camp.  Everybody pitched in and we were quickly set up and ready for the day.  While we were getting dinner ready, we all got to meet a Newfoundland that was super friendly.  He really was a standout dog.


Dinner was a rare treat of burgers and veggie dogs.  Because we had done grocery shopping today and had electricity, things that needed to be refrigerated were an option - a rare treat.  The meal was delicious.





After dinner we started to explore Silver falls.  We did a hike to the South falls which not only included some forest walking, but also the opportunity to hike near and behind some of the falls on the river. While the scenery was spectacular, the trail also included some wild raspberries that were in season.









We returned to camp - Robinson started a fire while I got another treat - a haircut!  We took some showers (with hot water!) and called it a day.  Based on our visit so far, I’d certainly recommend Silver Falls!


7,212 miles

# States/Provinces Visited - 15


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day 2 - 2025 East Coast Adventure - Dolphins and a Water Park in a State Park

Image
 7/19 - Chesapeake, VA to Killens Pond, DE Well the anticipated storm as we went to bed arrived and dumped LOTS of rain on us.  AS such, we had a damp start to morning. Amy woke early and had gone out for coffee (I forgot to pack ground coffee - first discovered mistake) and gas us up. She encountered lots of closed stores that early, but persistence paid off.  We enjoyed bagels for breakfast and then boys explored park while Amy and I packed up trailer. We had a long drive day so we didn't linger.    After a minor detour, we found the route to the bridge tunnel highway. After a quick inspection "are your propane tanks closed?", we were onto the bridge/tunnel.  As our first surprise of the trip, before we reached the first tunnel section, we saw 30-40 dolphins in the water!  Unfortunately, only Sebastian and I got to see them before we drove past.  However, we all got to see many kayakers/boats enjoying their Saturday on Chesapeake Bay. We enjoyed...
Read more

Day 20 - 2025 East Coast Adventure - ANOTHER State Park Pool!

Image
8/6 - Chenango Valley State Park, NY to Little Buffalo State Park, PA We woke up to cool dry air this morning after an amazingly quiet night (especially considering camp has over 100 sites).  We all started our day with oatmeal.   Today was planned as a bit of a casual transition day - we didn't expect much of the day other than to get us to Little Buffalo State Park which would serve as our launching point for tomorrow's big day.  As such, we packed up and got on the road. Because we had yet to find a good maple donut, we continued our search and planned for a stop at Manni's in Binghamton.  Unfortunately, in all my driving, I had gotten lax with my attentiveness and failed to notice the combination of narrow roads and high curbs that Binghamton offers.  As such, I made my left hand turn a bit sharp and took out curb with the Pathfinder.  Before I could react and stop, I looked in mirror and watched as the trailer went airborne with its own bump off t...
Read more

Thoughts after a month back home

Image
It's been a month since I got home.  I wanted to put some notes of reflection on record, but I also wanted to have a chance to re-connect with the normal world before I did.  30 days feels like a good number of days to have the perspective to come to some conclusions on the trip and life in general.  So, here goes. Main notes from the trip     - The USA has a LOT to see in it.  As a family we only entered ten states and really only entered two of them (Idaho and Arizona) in passing on the highway.  We spent almost eight weeks in these eight states and saw snow capped mountains, farmlands, deserts, canyons, rivers, waterfalls, rain forests, sandy beaches, rocky coasts, and volcanoes.  There are many countries that can't offer half of this list.      - Despite having nine weeks to do all the exploring we did, it felt rushed.  We covered almost 7,500 miles in those nine weeks so there's a reason it felt rushed, but when I left, of...
Read more