On Friday, the kids and I headed south to Takilma, Oregon to start our vacation, staying at Out and About Treesort.
We stopped and had lunch with my parents, which worked out perfect, since they were the halfway mark for our (almost) 5 hour road trip!! Thanks for lunch Mom and Dad!!!
Entering Takilma, the two things we noticed (aside from the fact that it is way out in the middle of nowhere ---which brings up the fact that the owner of the treesort built his resort in this location because he felt it would be safe from a nuclear holocaust) the town is nearly destitute, many homes don't have electricity, are built of corrugated sheet metal and that we definitely entered the hippy era.
One of the many "interesting" homes on the way to the treesort.
My favorite photo of Takilma living. The people on the road are actually driving down the highway. The guy in front is on a little tiny motor bike, that has a rod attaching it to a wheelchair (in which there is a disabled man) and a friend riding on the back of the wheel chair. Who knew people were so creative out in the back woods country!
Our yurtree house!! (This fits our summer theme of "yurting our summer away")
View from the porch of our yurtree house!
The doors on the tree houses don't lock, so you hang this sign on your entryway. Everything they do at the treesort is based on trust and word of mouth. Including use of the laundry and activities you want to participate in (horseback riding, zip lining, tiling, massage, etc.)
Swiss Family Robinson treehouse!
Sarah on her way to the pool
Tyler, Tori and Ryley on the swing outside our yurt. The kids spent a lot of time visiting and hanging out on the swing.
The kids swimming on our first day at the "river fed" pool. Brrrrrrr!
Ryan (wonder what he was thinking about?)
Tyler
Brandon and Sarah heading up the trail to play on the zip line.
Tori and Ryan teaching Sarah to zip line!
Sometimes the best view is from the outside, looking in!
(Tyler and Ryley playing Checkers, Sarah on the queen sized bed, and Ryan up on the bunk bed. Tori and Brandon were out on the swing visiting.)
View of the campfire pit from 3 or 4 stories up in the air. 
Ryley several stories in the air walking across the bridge that leads to one of the tree houses.
Tyler and Tori using one of their favorite tree swings.
Rope swing off of the porch of the Swiss Family Robinson house that Sarah and Tori spent a ton of time on.
Ryan and Tori visiting the horses at around 6:30am Sunday morning.
Tyler taking in the view from our porch :)
Matt came for the weekend and the kids insisted he bring his swimsuit and join them in the pool. Matt was excited to find a University of Oregon "O" floating in the pool (aka a child's green inter tube)......Go Ducks!!!
Matt and Ryley, way up on the walkway in the sky!!
On Saturday morning Matt joined us at the treesort, and we headed out on our first adventure!! A visit to the redwoods in Crescent City, California!
Sarah and I hiking the trail to "Stout Grove"
The kids decided to climb this tree that was on the hill at a steep angle. Ryan broke his flip flops on the hike (nice shoe choice I might add...great parenting on my part...should have checked their feet before we headed out).
Sarah and Ryan hiding in one of the trees.
The size and bark on the trees were amazing.
At the end of the trail we came to a river that was crystal clear, so we took some time to hang out and explore!!
Ryley, Tori and Tyler on the boulder in the river
Brandon on the left, then Ryley, Tyler and Tori
Amazing how crystal clear the water was.
Ryan
Matt teaching the kids how to skip rocks all the way ACROSS the river!
My handsome hubby!! I'm so glad he came and joined us on this trip!!!
Back on the trail...this redwood tree fell over. Look at the size of the roots!! Ryan is 5 feet, 2 inches tall.
Tall tall trees, everywhere.....
More trees to play in
Measuring the tree Tishendorf style.....
We are going to have to have more kids.....we weren't able to measure all the way around the tree :)
Tyler and Ryley in one of the trees.
This tree makes Sarah look SO tiny.
After hiking we drove into Crescent City to explore the town. Photo above is of the lighthouse.
Playground we stopped at to attempt to have lunch. It was so windy everything blew off our table....full soda cans, plates, etc.
Matt hanging on the playground while the kids played for a while.
Heading back to Oregon, we stopped along the way to photograph the river.
Gorgeous view and crystal blue water.
Ryley and Sarah on the tour in Oregon Caves
A column in the cave....where a stalagtite and stalagmite joined together.
Sarah had to take a "stair test" (literally) before they allowed her to go on the tour. She was exactly 42" (which is the required height to go on the tour), and there are 512 steps in the tour. You actually enter the cave and travel UP inside the mountain. She was required to be able to climb all the stairs, steps without any assistance. She made it no problem!!!
Stalagtites and Stalagmites. They grow 1 centimeter ever 100 years. That tells you how old these are!!!
View of the stone in the cave ...they call this room "Paradise Lost"
Another view in Paradise Lost
Sarah took this photo of our tour guide :)
Wondering why Brandon was dressed so sharp???? It is 44 degrees in the cave and he wore a T-shirt and shorts. They loaned him this "jacket" to keep warm :)
After exiting the cave, we hiked to the top of Mount Elijah!!! Ryan, Brandon and Sarah at the top!!!
The view from the top of the mountain!!!!
On Sunday afternoon, Matt and Ryan headed back to Canby. Ryan has football evaluations all week that he couldn't (note here: refused to) miss. The remaining 5 kids and I left the treesort on Monday and headed to Newport, Oregon for a few days on the beach.
We left around 9am, stopped in Grants Pass for groceries and gas and were on the road at 10:45am headed north. The kids and I decided it would be fun to take a detour (note, extend the road trip) and tour our old home town Junction City, before traveling on to the coast. We stopped to see our old house, their old elementary school, and drive the main strip through town to see what changes we could find...many old businesses are gone and dealerships shut down. Economy definitely hit hard in that small town :( After a quick McDonalds stop we were back on the road and arrived at 3:15 at our destination. The kids did GREAT on the trip...not a single complaint and only a few "how much longers"!!!
Ryley and Tyler testing out the water in the ocean. I swore the ocean water was much warmer than the river fed pool water at the treesort. They still didn't get in to swim though.
Tori on the beach
Our little digger!!!
Brandon reading on the kindle as quickly as possible....the charger was at home in Canby and he was trying hard to finish the book he was reading!
Tyler making smores!! We were so happy to have our own personal campfire again!
Ryley came up with a theory that "there is a genetic link to marshmellow roasting...he has the gene....his siblings do not"!
On Tuesday, we headed to Devil's Punchbowl State Park during low tide to explore the tide pools! Above is a photo from the parking lot of "Devil's Punchbowl" during low tide. During high tide I am told it is completely filled with water and waves crash through it with a vengeance.
Ryley and Sarah heading down the trail to the beach/tide pools
A sea anenome we found in one of the tidepools
The first starfish we found
Seals resting on the rocks
There were TONS of seal pups out there.
The kids inside Devil's Punchbowl
A family of starfish
Another starfish we found.
In the afternoon we headed to Hatfield Marine Science Center
A huge Starfish and their resident octopus that was feasting on a crab.
Touch and feel exhibit at the center full of sea anenomes
Mr. Crab
When we arrived back at Beverly Beach State park (where we were yurting) we decided to go on a hike on their nature trail.
A squirrel at the yurt feeder
Hiking the trail
Another tree photo op....Brandon LOVES these :)
Much to Sarah's delight there was a playground at the end of the nature trail!
Hear no evil, See no evil, Speak no evil
It started to rain at 5pm (just as we were getting ready to make chicken burritos...go figure). I made a mad dash to get our campfire started before the rains came. Brandon apparently made a mad dash for the camera to photograph my excellent fire skills!!!
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1 comment:
WOW! What a fun trip! You guy's did a TON of stuff! Good memories
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