Oregon Coast

After our night next to the semi, we continued our drive into Oregon and over the "mountain passes".  It was really strange to be climbing and reach the summit of these passes at 2000 ft. Maybe I could handle trail running at these elevations (but let's be honest, uphill isn't my favorite at any elevation).

We took a break once we reached the coast to skip rocks
and enjoy the view

excited to be at the beautiful coast in Bandon

 

a happy crab fisher we met on the dock

There was a cute little boy fishing for crab (or do you call it crabbing or trapping or something?) with his family as we walked along the dock.  I heard him asking his mom, "Can I ask her now?", as we were walking by.  She reluctantly told him okay and then he immediately approached Jared & I, asking if we wanted to see his crab.  It was really cute to see how excited he was about his catch and how proud he felt in sharing it with strangers.

taking the slow tour of Bandon

We stopped for the night at the Tugman Campground of Eel Lake. It was nice to stop and even nicer when we found out we had picked a free day to stay at the campground.  I thought the camp host was joking when Jared pulled up and asked how much it was for the night.  The best part is when we pulled into our spot, the people next to us were setting up their campsite, tents, etc.  We pulled in, changed clothes, went for a beautiful run along the lake trail, came back and made dinner, ate dinner and cleaned up.  All the while our neighbors were still setting up camp.  One reason I love the RV for camping.  The next morning we unplugged and were on our way to church in Reedsport.

At the campsite following our run

After church we continued up the coast and decided we'd drive to Tillamook for the night before heading to Portland the next morning.

Oregon has amazing sand dunes along the coast -
we were a little envious of all the ATV's

  

Before reaching Tillamook, we stopped at Cape Lookout to go on a little hike before dinner.  The views were really amazing.

looking down from the trail

awesome break in the gray from the setting sun

obviously a tripod would have
been useful here

We stayed in Tillamook that night - Jared was hoping we could park in the lot of the factory before our tour the next morning, but those hopes were dashed when we saw signs stating no overnight parking.  Apparently he wasn't the first with that idea.  So we just parked down the road and were among the first in the factory the next morning for the self-guided tour.  It was a little disappointing - apparently the Jelly Belly Factory gave me high expectations.  We enjoyed the cheese sample bar and then surprised to find all of the products they sold in their factory store were more expensive than the grocery store.  We're not really sure how that works... we were at the factory... no middle man... just a tourist trap, I guess.

We made the short drive to Portland after the cheese factory.  Once we reached the city, I walked around and did a little shopping, etc. while Jared worked in the RV.  There were some great finds at Buffalo Exchange and I heard a lady on the street talking on her phone about just seeing the guy from Portlandia.... so apparently I had just missed Fred Armisen.  I've never seen Portlandia, but I'm assuming they do film it in Portland. Or maybe he was just doing a little research.  Either way, he's hilarious on SNL.  I think his impersonations of Pres. Obama, Governor David Paterson and Joy Behar from The View are among my favorites. 

Apparently the only photos I took in Portland were at the International Rose Test Garden.... where sadly, the roses just barely started to bloom.  Yet again, we have an unusually cool spring to thank for that. (I was thinking of you, Amber. I knew you'd be disappointed if I didn't at least check it out.)

That evening we drove over to Vancouver to see Jared's good friend, Jay.  We visited with Jay & Liz and their adorable girls and then went to dinner with another mission buddy & his family.  We had Indian food and enjoyed the stories of Jared, Jay & Adam from their days in India.  Once again, I neglected taking any pictures. :(

on the road....

We took a day to get the refrigerator fixed in Sacramento... sure Ardel Brown had the RV for two weeks before the trip, but I guess two weeks just didn't cut it for them.  If they would've just taken one more day, maybe they would've fixed it correctly.  (as the sarcasm might suggest, I've been less than impressed with the dealership where we bought the RV)  

Luckily the Camper World in Sacramento knew how to do the job right in one day.

And even luckier for us, Beka & Bill let us crash last minute.  Even amidst packing for a trip out of town the next day and Tama being sick, they still welcomed us. (what are bff's/family for, right?)

Tama loved Jared instantly -
 as all children do

Isn't this kid the cutest?

So after getting the refrigerator fixed, we continued north.  Around dinner time I started craving pie (we'd already missed two great pie places in Utah and we both were ready for some yummy dessert)  Jared did a little googling and soon we found a cafe down the road to get our fix.  We stopped in Weed, CA (and yes, the 'I love Weed" t-shirts were tempting - it's just funny) to check out the Hi-Lo Motel, RV Park & Cafe. 

Classy, no?

 We stopped in to pick up a pie... having so many choices, Jared had the great idea of making our own pie with one of each slice.  We got a dutch apple, banana cream, mixed berry, coconut cream, chocolate cream and strawberry.  Jared loved the strawberry and I loved the coconut cream - but we both agreed that the banana cream was the absolute best.

Our pie medley

After limiting ourselves to one piece, we continued to drive a little further until we were both too tired.  So we pulled over and parked with some big rigs.  It was the worst night's sleep we've both had.  I'm pretty sure the semi next to us had a refrigerated trailer, so the generator was running all the night.

Yosemite

Yosemite is one of the most unreal places in the world.  You're driving through small towns of California - like Oakhurst & Fish Camp - enjoying the piney forests and small town quirks, and even as you reach the entrance to Yosemite the surroundings are still rather unassuming.  But then as you continue on toward Yosemite Valley, it suddenly changes.  And once you reach the other side of the tunnel, you understand what the hype is all about.  It is breathtaking.

Before driving down to the valley, we stopped at the Mariposa Grove and walked the trails to view the Sequoias.

Jared next to a fallen Sequoia

It may not look too crazy here...
but look at Jared in the next photo

It is HUGE

Campsite #1 that night

After hiking around for a bit and having dinner... we decided to just camp in the parking lot for the night.  All of the campsites in the park were full and any towns near the park didn't look too promising. We didn't see any signs in the parking lot that showed no overnight parking, so we thought we were okay. (I will admit that the "rule-follower" in me was a little nervous about getting in trouble - but by that time I was tired enough to not care.)  Once it got dark we started watching a movie and getting settled for the night... and then there was a knock at the door by the ranger.  He said he was going to lock the gates and we weren't allowed to park there.  Luckily he directed us to a lot not far from the entrance of the park and we camped there for the night.  Another free night

Campsite #2 that night

 The next morning we woke early to drive down to Yosemite Valley and hopefully get a campsite for that night (they get full at least 3 months in advance - our advice, plan ahead with reservations if you're headed to Yosemite).  After passing through the tunnel, this was our view of the valley.....

Yosemite Valley
El Capitan on the right and
Half Dome in the distance covered by clouds

I was sick at this point -
as if the picture doesn't make that completely apparent

See the brown spot in the middle....
that's a bear we saw from the road on the drive 

One of the falls...
let's say it was Bridal Veil, since I can't remember for sure

I'm childishly amused by burning sticks in the campfire ...
and Jared humors me with pictures

Once we reached the valley, we both had some work to do.  We put our name on the waiting list for a campsite and then worked in the RV while we waited to hear about a spot for the night.  Luckily we got a spot, so we set up camp around 4.  Oh, the great thing about taking an RV camping is that setting up camp involves putting the RV in park... and that's about it when you don't have water/electrical hook-ups.

I'm a big fan.

Notice the huge rock face in the background
 this valley is spectacular!

 Although we were happy to get a campsite for the night, we were sad to learn that the hike to Half Dome was closed.  There was still snow and ice at the top, so the cables aren't even set up yet.  The ranger let us know that ice + granite = death.  Always a good thing to remember.

Since we were initially worried we might not get to hike it since the permits were sold out when we tried about 2 months ago, we felt a little better knowing it was totally out of our hands at that point. But we mostly felt sad the Yosemite portion of the trip wasn't going as planned.  I was sick and feeling rather miserable - coughing and blowing my nose every 5 seconds.  And don't let the sunny skies fool you, the weather was cold... in the 40's during the day. :(  

Nearly everywhere we've gone so far we've heard, "the weather is unusually cool for this time of year."

I'm still really glad we went and look forward to going back sometime... when it's warm, the snow is gone and I'm not sick. 

El Capitan - revered among rock climbers

Our parting view of the valley

Zion's

Sunday morning we packed up at Bryce - checked out a few last views of the park and headed to church at the Panguitch Lakes Branch.  We met up with Normon and his family once again and had a great time getting to know more of the McKee's.  After church and lunch at the McKee's, we drove down to Zion's.  Before finding a place to camp for the night, we did the Canyon Overlook hike.  The views were incredible and we were all entertained by the laws of physics.  If you throw something (relatively light) off at the top, the drafts blow right back up and on to the rock.  We tried leaves and branches first.  We saw someone pour water over the ledge - which was really cool.  And finally Richard gave it a real test by tossing his baseball cap over the edge - yes, it made it back to him.

A balancing rock - gravity won

Zion's Canyon Overlook

Hiking the Emerald Pools Trail

Massive Rock Walls at the Emerald Pools

Jared - giving life counsel to Axel and Evelyn

After going on a couple hikes with the Lee's, we had lunch and then they headed back to Idaho.  Jared and I decided to start on our way to California that night as well.  We were debating about where to stop for the night and after hitting some Memorial Day traffic, Barstow looked like a good option.  Who doesn't look forward to a classy joint like this?  But any place with hot showers and lots of water sounded like a good idea.

Bryce Canyon

Our first stop was Bryce Canyon - named after my third-great grandfather, Ebenezer Bryce.  I've been wanting to explore Bryce for years, but it never worked out until now...

We drove down late Thursday night, slept on the side of the road in Panguitch and then went to Jared's dad's cousin's house in the morning.  He worked for the Fish & Game Dept. and gave us the inside scoop on the area..... 

Our campsite in Bryce - sure it doesn't look like much here, but it was a short walk to some serious beauty

Red Canyon - Jared, Mandy, Cousin Normon

 After setting up camp at Bryce, we met up with Normon to take his ATV's through Red Canyon. It was amazing!  The weather was perfect and the views were unreal!

Jared's sister, Heidi, drove down Friday night with her family and stayed with us for the weekend.

Isaac, Owen & Evelyn

 We took a hike in the morning that overlooked Bryce Canyon and then drove down to Tropic to see Ebenezer's homestead.  We're still not sure we found the right house - people in town didn't seem to really know for sure which house it was and the visitor's center was closed for Memorial Day weekend.  It was a little disappointing, but maybe we saw the real one... I'm sure I can just google it.

Hiking with the Lee's

Isaac in the hoodoo window

Mandy at Bryce Point overlooking Bryce Amphitheater with a sign about Ebenezer & Mary Bryce

Mandy & Jared at Bryce Point

I don't think the pictures really do it justice - if you haven't been to Bryce Canyon, it's a must.  It really is amazing and unlike anything else we've seen.  The temperatures were colder than I expected and although everyone said it was unusually cool, it's also 8000 ft at the canyon rim.

This mountain made me wish I would've paid more attention in Geology (Beka and I just had too much to discuss during class).  But isn't this amazing?!? The mountain literally changes from red to black.

 One other place you really should check out if you go to Bryce is the Bryce Wildlife Museum.  They have over 900 animals (stuffed) from all over the world.  Normon took us there; Jared & I were both more than impressed and really enjoyed it.  Also, you can check out Normon's photography in the gift shop here or at Ruby's Inn.