Cape Kiwanda II

We liked Cape Kiwanda so much, we went back later that same week with Ethan's dad and sister, Elise.  It's amazing what a couple of days will do.  It was much colder this day, with a lot of wind.  We couldn't drive as far on to the beach as we could earlier that week.  When we went on Monday, we drove right up to the sand dune.  On Saturday, we tried to drive close to the sand dune and almost got stuck.  

 But here they all are, braving the wind, the cold, and the sand blowing around them.  Luckily, it calmed down later on in the day leaving us with more pleasant weather.


Cape Kiwanda has this main sand dune that everyone climbs up and slides down.  It is very big, and very tiring, which is why I only climbed up there once.  You can see this main dune in the picture above.  But to the right of this, out of the picture, is another, taller sand dune.  I didn't dare climb it knowing how hard it was to climb the smaller one.  On Saturday, though, I promised myself I would give it a try.

It's tough climbing through all that squishy sand.  And yes, I crawled on my hands and knees through that little hole in the brush.  Maybe I didn't pick the best path to climb up that mountain, but, I'll admit, it was a little fun.

And success!  I made it and found some amazing views.  It was totally worth the effort, although I was a bit dismayed to see I needed to climb up and over even more sand to get to get over to the lower dune where my family was playing.  More views from the top:

Poor Libby.  Haha, it was so tough to climb that dune!  All the kids worked hard that day.  And you better believe they slept pretty well that night too!

 This is the view from the top of the lower sand dune, looking toward the higher sand dune.

After sitting up there for a while, savoring the view, I finally slid down.  This day we thought to bring a couple of snow sleds with us.  It made for a pretty exciting ride down. . . and lots of sand in your face.

Cape Kiwanda I

Way back in February we visited Cape Kiwanda for the first time.  It's a very fun beach, close to Pacific City.  We found a little spot where you can drive right down to the beach.  Even though it was February, it was a nice 66 degrees, with no wind.  It really was a beautiful day and every one had a great time.

The best thing about this beach is the huge sand dune.  Ethan and the kids loved climbing up and sliding down.  

The sand was really squishy in this spot.  I told Hudson to make a scared face, like it was quick-sand.

Saddle Mountain

For our anniversary, Ethan and I wanted to spend some time in the mountains.  We decided to hike Saddle Mountain.  Well, it's more like Ethan decided to hike Saddle Mountain.  I was a little unsure.  I had heard it's pretty steep and that was intimidating.  But Ethan was pretty excited to do it, so off we went.  

I wasn't too nervous until we got to the trailhead.  The parking lot was actually pretty packed and everyone headed up or coming back down seemed like they were younger than me, way more fit than me, or both.  And sure enough, the trail started off with a nice steep slope and pretty much held that the whole time.  There were brief moments of almost flat, or not quite as steep, but for sure, with climbing about 1600 feet in elevation in about 2.5 miles, there was a lot of up.

It started off in a nicely shaded forest.

And with all that steep climbing, you quickly come to some nice views of the surrounding area.

The mountain is protected as a State Natural Area and know for it's many wildflowers.  This is a Chocolate Lily.  Some of the plants on Saddle Mountain are rare.  Here is a quote from the pamphlet we grabbed at the trailhead:

"Saddle Mountain State Park is a rare living example of the northern Oregon Coasts Range's ice age past.  Grasslands were once much more common in this area.  Since the last ice age, much of the grassland of the coastal mountains has given way to forest.  Over time, plant species became isolated in fewer and fewer grassland pockets.  Some of the plants on Saddle Mountain's grassy slopes are rare because of the habitat loss.  Only a few coastal grassy "balds" remain that host the rarest species found on Saddle Mountain."

Pretty cool, isn't it?

Here's a picture of the two of us around the point where we left the forest behind and entered the grassy basalt mountains. I'm not doing too bad here.  But we were only about half way through the hike.

Isn't it just beautiful?  The trail itself is actually quite dangerous.  A lot of steep drop offs and rocky, gravely, slippery trails.  Definitely not a hike you want to bring young children on.  I think the youngest kid I saw was probably about 10 years old.

Saddle Mountain is shaped like, well, a saddle.  You go up, up, up, and then you step down quite a ways into the middle of the saddle, then, even though you are quite tired already, you have to hike up the steepest part of all to the top of the mountain.  Ethan made sure to let me know this when we started so I could be mentally prepared for this little dip.  He didn't, however, mention that the worst of it was at the end.   It was tough!  Super tough!  Ethan was so patient with me as I slowly trudged up the mountain.

Success!  I made it!  Here's the view from the top.

And here's me all red-faced from the huffing and puffing I had to do to get there!

Look!  You can actually see the ocean from here.  It's that white line you see past all the mountains.  Facing North you can see the Columbia River.  It was pretty cool.  And definitely worth it.  I loved all the gorgeous views, grass hills, wildflowers, and especially my company.

Now it was time to head back down.  I knew about the saddle going up, but I didn't think about having to hike the saddle again on my way down.  I was so bummed!  I was already exhausted.  But I kept plugging along.  And of course, coming back down the steep mountainside isn't really all the much easier than going up it.  Oh, my poor knees!  

But I did it, and I survived to tell the tale.  And it was great.  It was so nice to be out in the wilderness with my husband.  Can you believe it's been 12 years?  I can't.  Time sure does fly by quickly.  But, at the same time, it feels like we've always been together.  

And now, thanks to his insistence, I can now say I've hiked Saddle Mountain.

Homeschool Wins

A list of fun homeschool wins:

 You can wear your pajamas.

 Reading time . . . turns into snuggle time . . . turns into nap time.

 Nature studies at the park.

 Nutrition class is yummy.

 It's a nice day?  Well, shoot.  Let's school outside.

Big kids voluntarily teaching the little kids.  

Beacon Rock State Park

A couple of week ago we were able to take off on a two-night camping trip to Beacon Rock State Park.  This park is in Washington snuggled up close to the Columbia River.  This is only the second time we have been on longer than a one-nighter with our own little family.  It takes so much work to set up a campsite!  Why not stay for as long as possible? 

The view looking up from inside our tent.  How fun to just lay there, staring up at the tree and the blue sky.  The weather was perfect.  Not too hot, not too cold.  

My super happy campers.  They were loving it.

From the campground, there is a nice, 2.5 hike to Hardy Falls and Rodney Falls.  Our kids were great hikers.  Libby even found some hiking poles to use along the way.

There is also a nice view of the Columbia River from the hike.

Libby decided it was best to carry her hiking sticks in her belt loops so she could pick up even more sticks.

Looking at Hardy Falls.

This picture above is of Rodney Falls, the section they call the Pool of the Winds.  The water pours down into this little pool, surrounded by rock, making a constant rush of wind from the opening.  It was very cool.  My picture definitely doesn't do it justice.  You should Google some better pictures.

Later that day we found a little spot to get down by the Columbia River, close to the Bonneville Dam.  To our surprise, there were sea lions fishing in the river not too far from us.  We didn't realize they came up the river so far but a local told us the sea lions have been doing that for a little while now and it's causing quite the controversy.  Fisherman don't like the sea lions taking the fish, but no one wants the sea lions hurt.  Apparently, relocation doesn't work. They just come right back.  But they were fun to watch for a little while.

We all had a blast.   The kids all told me they wanted to camp a lot more!  They also asked if we could stay longer, but unfortunately, we had to get back home.  We definitely need to plan another trip soon!