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We loved California so much we decided to stick around a little longer! Lake Tahoe was on our must see list so we decided that it would be the perfect spot to spend my birthday, and it was! Having a summer birthday and growing up in Texas I found it very strange to be celebrating while wearing sweaters in the mountains instead of bikinis at the lake. Lake Tahoe is unlike any lake that I had ever seen, to see the tall pine trees right next to water was a surprise.
It was the first time I had ever seen pine cones in the beach.



We got the pleasure of riding a couple of horses through the woods and getting a different perspective of our surroundings. The ranch had over 60 horses and I think we got the only hungry ones, we kept getting into trouble when they would stay behind and eat flowers. My horse was part quarter horse & part thoroughbred (quaterbred)so she liked to run! There were a few times that I second guessed my decision to opt out on the helmet. Chad kept looking back at me just shaking his head and laughing, after all we are from Texas we should be good at this!

We loved the Mariposa grove in Yosemite so much that we couldn't pass up going to the National Redwood forest; it is in the very northwest corner of California just 10 miles south of Oregon. The redwood trees get almost as big as some of the sequoia trees in the mariposa grove but they are taller and more abundant. The trees were bigger than our car!
We stayed at a park on the beach that was less than 5 miles from this enormous forest so we found a great trail of the beaten path that we visited almost every day. We would just park the car & wonder around the trails in awe of the backdrop & of course look for critters.

We should have been careful what we wished for though. The three of us (Lucas too) went hiking and to appease our curiosity went down to a near by creek & in the middle of our peaceful discovery Chad says to me in a very steady serious voice “grab your dog- and walk away slowly”. I was so stunned by his abrupt demeanor that I scooped little Lucas boy under my arm & bolted practically straight uphill to the nearest road. Once we caught our breath & got up the hill Chad informed me that within 20 yards from us stood a mountain lion scoping us out. Chad just so happen to be looking into a void of trees above the creek & saw two huge golden eyes staring back at him. He was eyeing Lucas like he was some kind of marshmallow dessert I am sure. Needless to say as much as he likes to go everywhere that was Lucas’s last hiking trip of the beaten path!
It was so nice to park Humpy Dumpty less than 50 feet from the beach, we really enjoyed just cooking out & relaxing as we watched the boats come into the harbor and listened to the ocean. Then when we got sleepy we could just take a short walk home. We sat at a cozy restaurant for lunch and watched the sea lions flop around the docks and enjoyed one of our new favorite dishes; clam chowder and naturally fish and chips mate! You know what they say, “when in Rome…..




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As much as we didn’t want to say good bye to California we left out of Crescent City and ended up in various short stays in Oregon and Washington including Mount St. Helen. The mountain as it stands now is a result of the 1980 eruption that wiped out entire cities amongst miles and miles of natural wilderness.The eruption blew off over 2,000 feet of mountainside!



Even today the evidence of Mother Nature’s damage is still apparent. The logs that lay on the ground are forever as the eye can see, but what I loved about this spot was all of the new growth. Various pine trees were replanted just a few years after the devastation all by HAND. The community came together and had to plant them one by one. It was crucial that the seedlings be buried a certain distance beneath all the volcanic ash and this could not be done by massive amounts of machine. Since all of the trees were planted at the same time it was neat to look at a forest where all the trees were pretty much the same age and size. The trees were a parfect highlight to the ups and downs to the mountains. We spent a whole day going to museums, observatories dedicated to the victims and learning about the unity of the town that came together to give back to nature.



After a long day we had a classic camping meal of hot dogs and smores! Yummy!

Onward to Canada!!
here is the link to many more pictures!
http://tamispictures28.shutterfly.com/