Crater Lake

We stayed overnight in Crater Lake before heading to Washington. The view really was spectacular. It was originally a volcano that erupted & became a huge crater that filled with water over time. The water was so incredibly blue & beautiful. And while the view was incredible, that was pretty much all this park had to offer. We were grateful to only be there one night. During our time there, our toilet broke (and so did my spirit). There were bees & mosquitos everywhere! I think the highlight of this leg of the trip was Noah finding a tree trunk that resembled a bum. He & Ruby laughed & talked about it endlessly & were never in short supply of potty humor. So while it was nice to be able to cross Crater Lake off our list, I'm not sure we would ever have a desire to return. 

Lassen National Park

Lassen was definitely the most unexpected stop on our trip. We had really low expectations & had never even heard of it, but it was a halfway point, so we figured we'd stay a couple of nights. It's a volcanic national park & as we drove to see the volcano we were shocked to find snow! It was the kids' first time seeing snow & they were thrilled. We all got out of the car in our flip flops & played in it till we were too cold & then jumped back in the car. 

There were sulfur works at different spots throughout the park which was really interesting. Bubbling hot mud that smelled like rotten eggs. 

Another gem of a sign. 

Snow! At the bottom of a volcano! It was pretty amazing. 

The weather was beautiful while we were there! We hiked to a cold bubbling lake in a valley. Apparently, there are 3 ecosystems in Lassen which made for really diverse scenery. We went from a volcano & snow to pine trees, valleys, & streams. 

We went on a family canoe ride & the kids hated every second of it. We paid for an hour & while we had the most incredible view of the volcanoes, you would've thought we were torturing the children. They spent the whole time complaining & telling us to quit wobbling the canoe because they were going to fall in, etc. After about 30 minutes we made our way back to shore & the kids couldn't have been happier. You win some, you lose some. 

The kids were so fascinated by the bear boxes everywhere. When they learned how to open & close them they loved climbing inside. 

This lake was right by our campsite & the water was freezing, but Tyler & the kids got in. When I think of Lassen I think of white butterflies flying everywhere - I have never seen so many butterflies in my life. It was kind of magical. What wasn't magical was when our shower stopped draining & we couldn't use it anymore. And then we were off to our next stop - Crater Lake!

Redwoods

Next we headed to the Redwoods & drove in on the Avenue of the Giants. It was a beautiful drive & we arrived late that night once it was dark out. If ever you want to test the strength of your marriage, I would suggest parking an RV in the dark in a tiny spot. But, we made it! We spent 2 nights in the Redwoods & it was SO green! The kids were so excited when they woke up in the morning to go explore. Tyler took them out & Noah came back bursting with excitement wanting to show me everything he'd found. 

Our first day we went on a hike through Fern Canyon. It was exactly like the movie Fern Gully. Ferns everywhere & most of the hike was through water. I think this was the one hike that we had to keep up with the kids on - they were so excited about it. 

The warning signs in National Parks are awesome - this one was a favorite. 

Cutest face!!

The Redwood trees were amazing & the kids loved just exploring through the forest. It was unlike any other place in that it felt like we were in a whole different world. It felt a lot like Jurassic Park & definitely had the most isolated feeling of all the parks we visited. 

Green everything!

There were so many elk at our campground. I went to take a shower & as I walked back to our campsite there was an elk in the middle of the road (not the picture above). There were several people standing around taking videos & whispering. It was huge, & as I stood there watching it slowly forage through the leaves, I realized it wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. With visions of that yellow elk warning sign in my mind I walked down the narrow road past the elk, praying it wouldn't attack me. I'm sure there are a handful of people who have video of me walking past an elk - cold, wet hair, & a little sick of wild animals cramping my style. We spent 2 nights in the Redwoods & then made our way to Lassen National Park.