ADVENTURE #5 PART D: ANOTHER MUSEUM

Now it was time to head for Elk Grove and return these Grands to the parents. It had rained hard yesterday evening and through part of the night. We prepared out dinner and ate inside the RV. Ahhhh, luxury. Fortunately it had dried up by this morning and we were on our way. 

Now in California and we find a surprise museum.

At the old school house, Lucy is the happy teacher...

I am the eager student ...

...and Jaydon —- well...

At the jail we thought we might drop them off for respite for ourselves.

Even though it seemed they had plenty of company they convinced us to set them free.

I found a thing of interest. 

We completed our walk around the (free) county outdoor museum and had a peek inside (where I saw that bike) and met the man who was the volunteer caretaker today. He suggested we take a short drive off our route for some interesting “sculptures”.

And this ended Adventure #5. 

ADVENTURE #5 PART C: LAVA BEDS

Jaydon has a school project to do the the spring session. It is to involve a California monument or something about some historical site in California. Again, if not for the Grands we may not have ever gotten to the Lava Beds.

Though this is a National Monument, the part about he Indian war and Captain Jack’s Stronghold is very much part of California history. Sarah checked with Jaydon’s teacher and she said it sounds great for his project.

Rather than try to explain about it, I am posting very interesting information from the Park Brochure. You will see once again, how the whiteman treated and misused the Native American Indians.

The four of us spent a lot of time here at the Stronghold hiking over (very) rugged terrain, stumbling as we went, looking into the caves where the Indians would hide in wait, and imagining being there during the fight.

Near our camp for the night was the visitor center where we learned of several caves that people could walk through. Most needed helmets and other protective gear, but there was one near our camp that we could explore. 

It was dark in there but we each had our headlamps!

The cave exploration turned out to be one of Lucy’s highlights! Jaydon liked it too, but Captain Jack’s Stronghold was a winner for him.

Another full day comes to a close.

Adventure #5 PART B: LOGGING

After our stay in the delightful campsite at Seaqest State Park on Silver Lake near Mount St. Helen’s we moved on into and through Oregon. Second night of camping ws in the very south part of Oregon at Collier State Park. We arrived late in the evening and just barely were able to take a walk with our flashlights around the campground, have dinner, and snuggle into our beds.

In the morning there was the Logging Museum to explore. And what a museum it is! From our campsite we walked a trail, crossed a bridge and arrived at the museum. 

All outdoors and self guided, the museum offers the history of logging in the Pacific Northwest. I found this so very interesting and if not for taking the Grands on this adventure, I cannot imagine how else we would have come upon it. There is an information board for each era that is depicted on the lower part of this board.

Once again, I had taken a TON of photos and worked at culling them to a few. The Grands definitely enjoyed walking, running, finding big pine cones, and taking photos of the logging things on display.





Interesting story about the tug boat use for logging, and the how the worker unloaded logs from trucks. Enlarge and read the info.









And of course, the loggers needed homes. Built with logs ;’-)

This museum is much more extensive than any of us thought it would be, and so interesting to visit each era’s advancement in the logging industry. We spent a lot of time here before heading back to camp for our departure for more adventure.

FALL 2019 ADVENTURE #5: Time with the Grands

PART A

I barely got home on Monday night for enough sleep to repack my stuff on Tuesday morning for our departure for this next adventure  If I forgot  anything it will have to be forgiven!!

Sarah had returned home with the youngest, Kate, after a few days stay up in Washington. The two older ones (Jaydon and Lucy) stayed on with Grandma while I was on the bike tour. The four of us were now ready for a drive and camp trip in the RV.

First stop was Mount St. Helen’s Interpretive Center where we watched a video of the 1980 volcanic explosion.

We walked the trail that took us under the highway to the center.

There were photos and a diorama on display to show the extent of the volcano.

We got as good a view as was available and Jaydon experimented with his new camera. First time taking photos I think.

Leaving the Mountain’s views,  we continued on our drive and came upon a covered bridge.

This was not a drive through bridge as it was set up for educational purposes with signs, photos and boards throughout. 

We did however, get to walk through it and were a bit amazed at the amount of pigeon doo that piled up on parts of the flooring ;’-0.

While Jaydon continued taking some photos, Lucy practiced using the binoculars to view the birds on the lake.

Arriving at our campground for the first night we had dinner in camp and were ready for bedtime.