Oregon Road Trip: Day Three - rafting the Rogue River

On Sunday, July 23rd, we woke up early so we could head out on the Rogue River.  This was our second Sunday in a row spending time on a water craft.  The two hours on the kayak was a nice prep, but we took it to another level with an all-day rafting trip.  

Here are my river warriors at the office before we loaded up on the van to go to the river.  

The following images are camera phone photos of print pictures taken with a disposable waterproof camera.  They are pretty crappy, but I think you get the sense of this amazing adventure.  

Once we got to the river bank, the lead river guide had Leo help him demonstrate the proper technique to pull some one out of the river and get him back on the boat (by the lifejacket).  

 Here they are heading out.  Serafina was nervous and honestly, I was a little nervous too.  But Leo was just excited.

 During the first half of the trip, we experienced a few rapids and it was fun, like a rollercoaster.  It was very clear our river guide, Rachel, had great control over the raft.  Serafina wasn't totally enjoying it at this point.  She was still apprehensive and I tried reassuring her.  She said she didn't want to continue after lunch, but that wasn't really an option.

We had a nice lunch at a lodge right on the river.  The kids got a chance to play in the water.

When it was time to get back in the raft, they both eagerly got in so whatever hesitation Serafina was feeling must have disappeared.  

 Tom decided to take a turn in the kayak.  

 Leo was so happy.

Serafina really embraced the experience and after every rapid, she would squeal "that was incredible!"

 Leo checking in on Tom.

 Tom had fun in the kayak, but after a couple rapids he decided to join us back in the boat.

Ahhh...that lovely river life.  

The kids also got into the river during a calm stretch of the trip, but it was pretty cold so they didn't last long.  It's a bummer the pictures aren't better.  The Rogue River is absolutely gorgeous,  It was peaceful with lots of wildlife.  I'll always love the Pacific Ocean best of all, but this river really stole my heart.  I can't wait to go back.

Oregon Road Trip: Day Two - hiking the redwoods

We woke up in Arcata on July 23rd, a Saturday, which meant the farmers market was right outside our door.  We wandered around a bit and found this plant seller who happened to be named Leo as well.  Of course, I had to take a picture.  In case it's hard to read, the gray sign says Leo's Plants.  The small white sign says "All plants grown by Leo in McKinleyville Calif. Humboldt County where plants have the right of way". 

We loaded into the car and headed even more north.  Shortly after leaving Arcata, we entered the Redwood National and State Park.   The hike we originally planned on doing, which started in the redwoods and ended at the beach, was partial closed because of damage to a bridge.  So our desitantion was a visitor center in the south end of the park.  On the way, we came across a herd of Elk in a meadow off Highway 101.  They were big and there were a lot of them.  

Serafina was not impressed.  

"But, Serafina, aren't they majestic?"  

"Look Serafina, they are going away into the trees.  Don't you feel lucky you got to see those beautiful creatures so up close?"

Can you tell this is my favorite picture of the whole damn trip?  Her face just cracks me up.  She hates this picture.  

Anyway, after some advice from the rangers at the visitor's center we set off on a hike to find the Corkscrew Tree.  It was fun and beautiful.  

Water break.  

Examining the tree rings.  

I loved how the floor was covered in ferns with the redwoods towering above.  

Leo saw a face in this tree.  

Didn't see a face in this root tangle; it just looks cool.  

Oh look.  A picture with me in it! 

 And then we found it!  Corkscrew tree, which is actually a few trees growing together quite intimately.

 And back out of the forest for a post-hike selfie.

And one taken by me.

 Then it was back on the road again.  Serafina was a bit wiped out.

Both kids fell asleep and missed our crossing into Oregon.  Our desitination was the small town of Merlin on the Rogue River.  

This was our adorable cabin, called the Stillwater, at Doubletree Ranch.  The owner came over to give us a little tour of the Ranch.  He was proud to share with us that his grandfather had built the main house in the 1930s and a Grizzle Adams movie was filmed on the ranch.  

 He also pointed out the trail that lead to the river.  He mentioned there were blackberries along the way but we had no idea just how many were down there.

For a long stretch of the trail, it was blackberries galore.

 My kids loved it.  Oregon blackberries are pretty amazing already, but when you can just pluck juicy ones off the bush and pop them in your mouth...well, that can't be beat.

 Oregon is really lovely.

 My kids are huge fans of any body of water.

 I just loved this spot so much.  Right before the path ends at this little beach, a little wagon sits off to the side of the trail with beach chairs for guests to use.

And that wrapped up our first full day of vacation.  

Oregon Road Trip: Day One - getting there

Here's a funny thing.  When you've poured a lot of money into a major house remodel, you aren't too keen on spending a lot of money on a big summer trip.  Go figure.  But just because we weren't planning to jet off around the globe, that didn't mean we weren't going to have an adventure.  Tom's work had a planned shut down for the last week in July.  Two weeks earlier we sat down and plotted a course for a Southern Oregon road trip.  My kids are great travelers from all the Tahoe trips we do during the winter, but this was a lot (A LOT) more time on the road.  Without over-thinking it too much, we loaded up on Friday, July 22nd and headed north.  

I gave the kids some road trip goodie bags filled with stickers, coloring books and the like.  We also got this scavenger hunt game that turned out to be pretty fun.  

In addition to the usual lunch stops and pee breaks, we took a little detour to see part of the Avenue of the Giants.  Mostly we just drove through the redwoods, admiring their massive size, but we got out to get a closer look.  

 This is right about where Serafina realized this isn't the best idea.  Tom got her down.

We arrived at the historic Hotel Arcata in Arcata, California around dinner time.  

 See...historic.

The hotel was right on the city square so we were easily able to take a stroll and find some dinner without having to get back in the car.  

It was also located adjacent to a nightclub which didn't make for a restful night for the grown ups.  The kids slept right through it.