When cold weather hits central and eastern Oregon, Dad says there is only one place to drive where it's always warmer - the Oregon Coast. Per Dad (and me): Due to coastal breezes (strong enough to blow Memoo over) and consistent water temperatures (water too cold to swim in during the summer, but warmer than ice during the winter), the Oregon coast offers winter temperatures that average in the mid/upper 50's (better then Virginia). What Dad always forgets to mention is the fog that comes with the wet warm temperatures - result: lovely winter temps, but you're lucky if you can see the ocean from the beach!
Enough about weather patterns... now on to the fun road trip part:
Mom, Amelia and I have never been to California, so Dad organized a road trip... but first, we made a few stops on the southern Oregon coast. You can read the summary below and see the pictures via this link.
Stop 1: Dune Buggy ride in the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area.
OMG (Okay Mom, Go!) - This stop was as awesome as it sounded. I mean, look at the photo below - it's me in the front seat of a dune buggy! I love cars and going fast - this was just that. It was like going on a 30 minute roller coaster ride that takes place on sand. First we'd shoot up to the top of a 30 foot dune only to pause at the very top and then fall slowly down a vertical, sand drop. Halfway down, the driver would jam the gas, I'd get a face-full of sand and we'd shoot up the next dune! I could not stop smiling (even Amelia loved it).
Stop 2: Tiger Petting at the West Coast Game Park
Day 2 of the road trip started off with a bang (or maybe a neigh). We went to a zoo-ish park where they raise baby big-cats (who were still little because they're babies). We got to pet a baby tiger, a baby Canadian lynx, a baby bobcat, a giant rat thingy, a weasel, and a lot of other stuff. My favorite thing about this place was that they have a herd of 50+ animals (burros, sheep, goats, deer, llamas...) wandering around the park. While Memoo didn't love it (she still doesn't like animals), I loved showing the animals where to get food, where to play and where they should not go (Dad called me a shepard).
Stop 3: The biggest tree we'd ever seen - Stout Grove - Redwoods National & State Parks
Stop 5: Hiking up a stream into Fern Canyons
Okay, that title didn't make this stop seem as cool as it was - this stop was almost as awesome as the dune buggy and game park, it was so much fun. We walked up a creek, while the sheer cliffs on the sides were 30 feet tall and covered creek-to-top with ferns. It was a green wonderland and so much fun. Did I mention, this is where they filmed most of the Jurassic Park 2 scenes? No worries, there were no dinosaurs - that we saw.
Stop 6: More huge trees - Lady Bird Johnson Grove
After a change of clothes, it was on to more giant trees! While our first hike in Stout Grove feature tall and wide trees, this hike was totally different because many of the trees had nooks to hide in - some were large enough for all four of us to stand in and do yoga (or live in).
Surprise Stop 7: ELK!
A whole herd of elk were hanging out on the roadside on our way to dinner. Dad wouldn't let me get too close.
Stop 8: A ghost town
Okay, it was not that amazing - it was a ghost town and not really that exciting - just a bunch of buildings.
Anyway, it was a fantastic trip and I can't wait to explore the rest of California on other trips. You can check out the rest of the photos here.
Peace out,
Phin
Enough about weather patterns... now on to the fun road trip part:
Mom, Amelia and I have never been to California, so Dad organized a road trip... but first, we made a few stops on the southern Oregon coast. You can read the summary below and see the pictures via this link.
Stop 1: Dune Buggy ride in the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area.
OMG (Okay Mom, Go!) - This stop was as awesome as it sounded. I mean, look at the photo below - it's me in the front seat of a dune buggy! I love cars and going fast - this was just that. It was like going on a 30 minute roller coaster ride that takes place on sand. First we'd shoot up to the top of a 30 foot dune only to pause at the very top and then fall slowly down a vertical, sand drop. Halfway down, the driver would jam the gas, I'd get a face-full of sand and we'd shoot up the next dune! I could not stop smiling (even Amelia loved it).
 |
| Check out that smile! We hadn't even started yet! |
Stop 2: Tiger Petting at the West Coast Game Park
Day 2 of the road trip started off with a bang (or maybe a neigh). We went to a zoo-ish park where they raise baby big-cats (who were still little because they're babies). We got to pet a baby tiger, a baby Canadian lynx, a baby bobcat, a giant rat thingy, a weasel, and a lot of other stuff. My favorite thing about this place was that they have a herd of 50+ animals (burros, sheep, goats, deer, llamas...) wandering around the park. While Memoo didn't love it (she still doesn't like animals), I loved showing the animals where to get food, where to play and where they should not go (Dad called me a shepard).
 |
| Here I am showing the animals where to get food |
The trees are huge! Memoo could have stood on my shoulders and we barely would have been as wide/tall as this tree. Did you know Redwoods have shallow roots, that's why they fall over and that it can take hundreds of years for a fallen tree to turn into dirt?!
You know what's more amazing? In Return of the Jedi (the third Star Wars movies), they filmed the Ewok scenes in these same woods! We didn't see any Ewoks, Wookies or Bigfoots though.
Stop 4: A drive-through tree?
Day 3 opened with the most ridiculous adventure of our road trip. Right by our hotel was one of three remaining drive-through trees. This was so ridiculous - you drive through the tree. Let me say that again, we actually DROVE THROUGH A TREE! Crazy. Dad was so nervous he made Mom drive through the tree. The SUV only had about 1.5 inches on either side (with the mirrors folded in). It was so much fun that we drove through about 5 times!
Stop 5: Hiking up a stream into Fern Canyons
Okay, that title didn't make this stop seem as cool as it was - this stop was almost as awesome as the dune buggy and game park, it was so much fun. We walked up a creek, while the sheer cliffs on the sides were 30 feet tall and covered creek-to-top with ferns. It was a green wonderland and so much fun. Did I mention, this is where they filmed most of the Jurassic Park 2 scenes? No worries, there were no dinosaurs - that we saw.
 |
| Here we are starting off - see how dry we were still :) |
After a change of clothes, it was on to more giant trees! While our first hike in Stout Grove feature tall and wide trees, this hike was totally different because many of the trees had nooks to hide in - some were large enough for all four of us to stand in and do yoga (or live in).
Surprise Stop 7: ELK!
A whole herd of elk were hanging out on the roadside on our way to dinner. Dad wouldn't let me get too close.
Stop 8: A ghost town
Okay, it was not that amazing - it was a ghost town and not really that exciting - just a bunch of buildings.
Anyway, it was a fantastic trip and I can't wait to explore the rest of California on other trips. You can check out the rest of the photos here.
Peace out,
Phin
