The most beautiful place...

One of the reason's we picked this Ranch to stay at is because it is very close to one of the 8th largest waterfalls in the USA. DH had seen it on a program on TV and has always wanted to go there. And I was a little...eh...about it. I mean, waterfalls are pretty and all, but just not driving 4 hours worth of pretty. I pictured vacation a little more beachy, tropical drinks kind of trip then hiking to a waterfall.

So Saturday morning we set out to see this waterfall. And when you pull into the parking lot of this State Park, you walk about 10 steps and this is what you see:

Vista Point at trail head.
Halfway down trail another vista point to pose for pics...notice the RED cast?

Yea...breath taking view! There is a vista point at the top of the trail, and then for those more adventurous types, there is a trail that takes you literally to the bottom of the giant Waterfall and ends at the pools of water. It was a pretty decent hike down, but going UP was another story! Holy Cow. As we descended on the trail, you could feel the temperature dropping the closer to the falls we got. By the time we reached the bottom, it was 20 degrees cooler then at the top...which happened to be 100 that day. And the spray coming off, was heavenly!

DH at the bottom of the waterfalls...the water was so blue!

DH and I decided that spot right there was where we were going to build our retirement home and live forever. Staring at the sight each day, no need for air conditioning, no need for entertainment. Just open a window and stare.

There were a few brave souls who jumped into the pool of water but it was ICY and they didn't last long. The kids were pretty Ho-Hum about it. Didn't really get the importance of seeing it.

The pools of water at the bottom...look at the colors!

I explained to Austin that it was important to Daddy and I that the kids get to see these State and National monuments and parks before they are all gone. We have such beauty right here in our own country. But with budgets, economy, political leaders, state vs. feds, they will all be lost for our children's children. Funds will be cut, parks will be closed, upkeep for safety will be gone. We wanted them to see it to tell their kids about them. Just in case they are gone.

Amazed at how water just came out of the solid rock for mini waterfalls!

I highly recommend that you explore your local or semi-local state parks. You just might find something as beautiful as this Gem...

XOXO

P.S. Happy 15th Wedding Anniversary DH! I ♥ you!

Are you ready for more...

So after our Beach and Redwood excursion, we jumped back into the car and headed for the hills...for the Ranch we would be staying at. They have these cute little cabins you stay in, with a main lodge you go to for all your meals (They cooked for us family style meals) and there is a Pool Table, Karaoke, Swimming Pool, Ping Pong, Tether ball, movie rentals and a sitting area there for entertainment.

Austin catching his first fish there.
Dad helping to get it off the hook...kinda hard with a cast on your arm.

Right outside our cabin was the Catch-n-Release Fish Pond with a waterfall that sounded so pretty. So each day the kids would run out and fish. They pretty much caught one every time they cast. LOL - which they didn't realize it was stocked for that...they just thought they were really good fisherman.

See that fin on the top? It is S.H.A.R.P.
Our Cabin with a full sitting porch by the pond.

My favorite was just a few steps from our front porch was a hammock in the trees. I nestled into it our last night there and sat for an hour listening to...NOTHING! Absolute NOTHING! It was so nice. To hear the breeze in the trees, waterfall going, birds chirping. There were NO cars whizzing by, no horns blaring, no sirens whirring, no telephones ringing, no tv's going (favorite part was no TV reception!) and no video games playing. The kids had to entertain themselves. Invent games. Fish. Swim. Back to nature.

Emily walking to the main lodge for lunch.

Checking out the pool and trying to decide whether to go in...

This place was pretty expensive. Not sure we would ever stay there again. But for this time, right now in our lives, it was exactly what we needed. Oh...and did I tell you the best part??? A huge family reunion of 30 people checked out the day before we got there, and we were the only ones on the whole ranch!!!! We had the place to ourselves! So it was extra quiet!

XOXO

Trip and more Trip...

So Friday we got up after the Car Sickness bout, and drove to the "Tree's of Mystery" in the Redwoods National Forest. It was important for me to take my kids before it was gone (it's been around 50 years already, but the owner is in her 90's now) because my parents took us kids there when we were little. We have pictures of us in front of the Paul Bunyan Statues when we were little, and now I have pics of my kids there. Memories...

That's Austin standing at the foot so you can see how TALL Paul Bunyan is!

Paul Bunyan's Big Blue OX.

So Emily was pretty freaked out at first with all the trees and Redwood Trees are 150-200 feet tall, so it's pretty shaded and eerie at the forest floor. But eventually we had a good time. There are trees shaped into different things, but they are shaped naturally how they grew. They are amazing trees. One tree had fallen over 20 years ago, and a bunch more trees started growing out of the dead log laying on its side. And one big one grew out of it's root and grew up and over the log. It was pretty cool. And 100 feet up new trees would grow off of tree limbs of existing trees. It was amazing.

Can you see the new trees growing off limbs? And look at all those fern's! This was a zoomed in pic of about 150ft up!
This is the Brother Tree...Can you see how HUGE around it is! This tree was 210 ft tall! Yikes...

The Famous "Cathedral Tree" where many people have been married is there, and the Brotherly Tree. There was a Candelabra tree but several of the trees fell over.

Some Lumberjacks handy work on a log....all the carvings were from downed trees.

The Trees Of Mystery is a trail you take that has narrated story boxes along the way that you push to hear stories of Paul Bunyan and how he came to be. Myth or fact...it was fun for the kids to see the story unfold in front of us by log carvings that lumberjacks did.

Midway through the trail, there is a Gondola ride you take to the top of the mountain to a Vista Point. It is called the Sky Trail because it is a Treetop ride above these Giant Trees. It was so cool...but scary that we were so high up a side of a mountain. Here's a pic on our way up looking down the mountain through the fog. DH saw a Black Bear from his gondola taking a snooze.

It was a very neat experience. One Austin will remember and appreciate, but not sure how much Emily absorbed of it. At least we'll have pics to share!

XOXO

P.S. Austin is in all the pics and not Emily because she would run screaming every time I tried to get one of her, little brat! LOL

We're back...

Did you miss us? ;o)

Well...the trip started off not so good. In fact...it plain ole' stank. Literally. Emily got car sick on the mountain roads and puked in the car several different times, and we had to stop and keep cleaning the car and her out. There was also road construction for about 25 miles of the mountain highway we were on, and we had to keep stopping and just park the car and wait for 30 minute increments before moving again. That happened about 4 times each way. Ugh...So we made our first destination pretty late(2+ hours late)to get to the sight seeing we had planned. So we hung out at the hotel doing laundry and swimming, letting her tummy settle down. DH ran to the store to get car cleaner and scrubbed seats to get smell out. Yuck.

Emily on the beach not feeling so well after being car sick...

By late afternoon, we hit the road in search of the beach and found this killer sandy beach and played! Emily still wasn't 100% so Austin and I played for her. We built a moat around our volcano we built. And then Austin buried my legs and left me to the rising currant. So this momma took things into her own hands and CHASED said little boy down and dragged him into the ocean with me, cast and all! LOL - He was so shocked! The water was SO COLD, but refreshing. Never mess with a momma, we will always win! Austin let his guard down and we had a pretty good time together while daddy and Emily sat in the car cuz her tummy was still not 100%. Poor thing...

Austin building the moat...

Austin and I building our Volcano and Moat...

I will recap each leg of our trip a little a day and share our adventures...there are many! ;o)
XOXO

Weekend Funnies!

Musclehead Scared of Mouse @ Yahoo! Video

Enjoy!