We just finished our annual family RV trip out west and had a great time. We started in Oregon and headed south to California to visit family and friends. Our RV sleeps 8 so we were able to be comfortable and let the kids have some space. The kids are amazing with all the electronic equipment now and they can enjoy themselves along the way. We try to let them play and watch some movies, but we really want them to enjoy the scenery.
The mountains were nice again, beautiful to see but we discovered there has been a wild fire burning in southern Oregon for about a month. It was extremely smoky going through Grant’s Pass and coming back, and we felt badly for the residents there. We were only in it for a couple of hours each way and it was uncomfortable. We couldn’t imagine living there and having to deal with it non-stop. It made us conscious of being careful and not igniting anything while we were camping.
We spent the first evening in Anthony Chabot State park just outside of Oakland. It was cooler than we expected at night but the kids loved it. We heard a lot of animals and birds in the evening and the highlight was building a fire and roasting marshmallows. The next morning, we visited with some family in the area and then headed to Carmel to visit Herm Edwards and his family. We hadn’t seen them in quite a while and our kids enjoyed getting to play with Herm and Lia’s two girls.
The next morning, we headed up the coast on the 101 Freeway and saw some great views of the Bay Area and the Pacific Ocean. The highlight, though, was riding through Redwood National Park. We saw a herd of elk right away and stopped to take pictures. Then we went hiking on the trails in an effort to see some of the big trees. And we saw some huge ones. Great opportunity for our kids to experience some of the things they have read about.
The toughest part was the drive back from the park to Eugene. There were about two hours of winding, mountain road to navigate. It was beautiful, really breathtaking, but a challenge driving. Then we got back into Oregon and the smoke from the wild fires seemed worse than when we went through a couple of days before. But we made it home safely and were very thankful to be able to see God’s creation and His handiwork. It’s always special building those memories with our kids.
