Oregon!

A few hours after seeing Crater Lake we finally made it to our Airbnb outside of Portland. The kids loved it from the first moment we walked in because it’s a home that belongs to a family instead of just an Airbnb. It has been so nice to stay somewhere with all the cooking supplies and homey-ness of a real home (and the original 60s kitchen and huge windows don’t hurt). We have loved our month here (as I am writing this, we leave tomorrow) and have slowed down a lot - maybe too much, ha.

Our first full day here was Father’s Day. We attended church (the ward was so friendly!) and then walked around Oregon City and admired all the tall, green trees while it rained. It was quintessential Oregon.

Willamette Falls in the background. The largest falls in the northwestern US by volume with an interesting history, from being taken from native tribes (1855), to a hydro-electric generation facility (1889) to paper mills in more recent years.

This Airbnb has 2 pet cats! Else has been loving it.

Crater Lake

From Goldfield we drove through Reno and on into northeastern California. I’ve never been in that area before and couldn’t get over how beautiful the entire drive was. We spent the night in Alturas, CA and then went up to Crater Lake National Park the next morning. I’ve always wanted to go and even though the snow kept us from seeing the whole park, the view from Rim Village was gorgeous. We were able to drive a mile up the road to Discovery Point, but beyond that the roads (and visitor center) were closed.

That little island in the middle is called Wizard Island. The kids and I thought Dave made up the name (sounds like something he’d make up) but were all surprised to learn that that is indeed its real name.

It was a little chilly and we were a little grouchy but we’re glad we got to see it.

Car Forest

We left Flagstaff and headed north for our very last month-long stay before we wrapped up this epic trip. We stopped at the Car Forest of the Last Church in a tiny town called Goldfield, NV and enjoyed the huge open air art gallery/largest outdoor car exhibit in the country. It was unique in just the right way and of course we took about a million photos.

Walnut Canyon

It’s been several years since we’ve visited Walnut Canyon National Monument. The kids handled all those steps way better this time. The weather was beautiful and we thought the amazing canyon acoustics were pretty great.

Arizona: Friends, Kitties and Clay

We got to spend about a week in Arizona (a little time in both Prescott and Flagstaff) after our Utah trip. We all saw the dentist, saw various friends, rested up after all of our late reunion nights, and learned how to make teacups.

Lunch with friends!

Elsie took this picture of our friend’s kittens. My girls loved being around them.

Margot lost her second tooth!

Park with friends!

Another park with friends!

And friends showed us how to use power tools!

Wren found a big worm in the lake.

Aunt Julie taught all the kids how to make a teacup.

Everyone made unique and beautiful cups. We are excited to see how they turn out!