Big Tree and Beach

9-12

Alanna found a salamander to play with by the camper. She kept calling it a salmon. :) I tell you what, this girl is pretty fearless when it comes to picking up bugs, creepy crawlies, snails, slugs, and/or touching animals. She definitely paves the way for Charlie to put his brave face on and follow Alanna's lead. I know I have noted that here before, but the trend is still continuing.

After breakfast, we drove down to Big Tree only to find that the road was closed for a half marathon. We accessed the Big Tree trail from the other end of the road which got us close enough to walk on the road for a bit before coming to Big Tree. It was nice to have free reign on the road. We were able to see things slowly instead of at 40mph from the car window. Once we got to Big Tree, we had a snacky lunch and played for a bit. One thing I appreciate about our kiddos is that we really count on them to make up their own fun when we are out camping, and 99/100 times they do an excellent job coming up with games or things to do using only what is around them.

Since we were walking on the road, we took the stroller with us. On the way back to the van, Alanna was the one who faded, but once Alanna got into the stroller, Molly wanted in as well. Using a sweatshirt as an extra back rest, I put Molly down below in the basket part to ride while Alanna rode in the seat. I cannot tell you how crazy proud of myself I was for figuring out how to make a single stroller into a double. Embarassingly proud, people. Humor me.

After the redwoods, it was time for the beach. Note the different look from the sun on our faces in the above picture to the gray, overcast skies in the picture below? The marine layer did not burn off very easily that day. Go a mile inland and it was sunny. Coastal problems! This beach is a black sand beach where the sand is also a lot more coarse than traditional white sand beaches. It almost looks like it's muddy in some of the pictures, but it's just wet black sand.

Like I said, this is maybe half mile straight inland from the coast and the sunshine was pouring through the marine layer creating these fabulous sun rays through the trees. It was amazing!

What a postcard! (And Matt! Is that a huge owl's nest on top of the snag on the left?!)

Camping Cuties :)

Our last day was spent hiking to Stout Grove via the bridge that crosses the Smith river from July-September. It connects Jedediah Smith state park and Stout Grove - so handy! We spent several hours in the grove, which is probably our favorite grove of redwoods, and playing in the river. Matt finished packing up the camper while the kids and I played in the water throwing rocks, building dams, and chasing frogs. We had lunch by the water before heading for home around 2:30. The weekend was much, much too short for my liking, but we had a great time nonetheless.