The West (Day 35)- Trinidad to Cloverdale

It is hard to say goodbye to the Redwoods, but since we aren't staying, I suppose it is appropriate.

If it isn't obvious, my seat is still the back seat.  It makes A1 happy, so it makes us all happy.

The Harold Richardson Redwoods Reserve is especially mesmerizing.  

With the help of the Save the Redwoods League, and lots of determined people, this section of the redwoods will now be protected land.  It was privately owned (and privately protected) until recently, but this section was very purposefully sold to the Save the Redwoods League (to pass the torch to continue preserving it), so that a larger highway can't be built and ancient redwood trees won't be torn down in the process.  

Cheers to hard work and dedication, and to protecting our naked land.

We are staying in Cloverdale tonight, at Thousand Trails RV Park, within walking distance to the Russian River.

The water temperate and the air temperature was ideal.

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This is River Day Part Two, so A1 has doubled her confidence.

This girl is a water girl, and needs swimming lessons as soon as possible.

She is really testing the waters.  

She was upset every time we stopped her exploration and took her back upstream for another float.

She just wanted to keep going.

I think Lewis and Clark have had quite an impact on her malleable mind.

I really wish we had rivers closer to us, rivers that aren't packed with people.  

I would love for this to be a regular thing.

We are savoring every moment of this strange summer.

For the most part, it has felt pretty normal traveling since we have spent so much time in the great outdoors.  I am very grateful for that.

The West (Day 34)- Mad River

We knew we wanted to go to the water and let the kids be kids today (which means less rules and more exploring).

Since there is no shortage of rivers in Northern California, we just had to pick one.

We decided on Mad River since it is close by and has a sandy beach.

Mad River is a 113 mile long river.  It got its name in 1849, when Dr. Josiah Gregg, a settler, lost his temper when his exploration party didn't wait for him at the mouth of the river.

Ha.  Men, and their tantrums that are so unforgettable that they are placed on maps. 

Cheers.

Eric is a dam busy beaver.

 

I honestly don't think we could have had a better time at the river.

I really wish we were staying longer.

The West (Day 33)- Gold Beach, OR to Trinidad, CA

Although it would have been fun to spend more time at Gold Beach we are making our way down south, and need to make sure we have time to see family in Humboldt.  

Gold Beach is just south of the Rogue River.  It gets its name from the gold that miners found in the sand at the mouth of the river in 1853.

The Rogue River Bridge was built in 1932, and is not only Historic Civil Engineering Landmark (who knew that was a thing?) but has also been placed on the National Registrar of Historic Places.  

We are continuing our trek down south on the 101, enjoying the beautiful vistas as we go.

You just have to love isolated Oregon fog pockets.

The exact half way point between Gold Beach and Trinidad is Crescent City.

The last time we were here we really enjoyed the tide pools but the timing today wasn't right.  The tide was too high, not only for tide pools but also for a visit to Battery Point Lighthouse (also listed on the National Registrar of Historic Places).

We will have to enjoy it from afar.

We will be calling The Emerald Forest in Trinidad home for the next two nights as we spend long overdue time with family. 

Let the family reunion/ cousin love fest begin!

💕💕

The West (Day 32)- Waldport, OR to Gold Beach, OR

Driving on the 101 sure is a lot of fun.  We don't get the opportunity very often to be next to the beach and a forest simultaneously. 

I will miss all of the interesting bridges too.

Tonight we are staying at Honey by the Sea in Gold Beach.

We would totally stay here again.  We walked to the beach from our campsite.  

A beach with hardly anyone on it.

I guess that is the nice thing about it being so cold (in comparison to San Diego standards), there are much less people.  Plus we learned our lesson, we no longer bring bathing suits/ have high hopes of getting into the water.

A1 CANNOT wait!

So many intersting things to touch and explore.

I think this is some sort of baby peace offering to the sea.

Oh what a twisted web Mother Nature weaves.

This pretty much sums up our time at the beach today.

It was awesome.  

Although A1 was looking for anything and everything she could get her hands or eyes on, we had our sights set on agates.  Unfortunately we didn't find any, but we had fun looking (and I still came back with a pocket full of rocks).  Somethings never change, I almost got ran over by a car in Mexico as a child while crossing the road with a pan full of rocks.  

(Rest assured, today had no element of danger.)

So not roughing it, we are having thai for dinner.