Lake Granby Camping

Our first camping of the summer was WONDERFUL! We camped with friends on Lake Granby (Arapaho Campground, Moraine Loop, Sites 41&42....Though next time we’ll target site 31!).  We had beautiful views of the mountains, a short walk to the beach, and private camp sites.  
We played on the stand up paddle board (Sam and Jacob were the ultimate paddling duo) and Darin’s blow-up boat for hours (had we remembered swimming suits, we would have jumped off the big rock into the “refreshing” lake:-)

The boys spent hours atop this mountain overlooking our campsites.  (Our tent can be seen on the left, the Araneta’s camper is in the middle).  They named it Windy Hill.  Lynnette and I hiked up for a beautiful view of the sunset.

Sunset selfie!

We also hiked around Monarch Lake.  The 4 mile hike provided beautiful vistas and endless wild raspberries! We were hoping to see the moose, which had been spotted the day before, but there’s nothing quiet about this crew—they were scared off long before our arrival🤪

It felt wonderful to escape to the mountains for adventure and relaxation...and it was so good to catch up with these dear friends!

Our favorite place with our favorite Peeps

We’re packing ALL the fun into the last 3 weeks of summer❤️.  The boys had a sleepover with the Camaglias on Wednesday night, which we followed with a day of hiking at Lair of the Bear on Thursday.  Connor tagged along, we had the neighbor boys, and our good friends, the Jasperson’s.  Kristen and I managed to coralle all these boys:-)

After hiking to “the castle” on the creek side trail, we made our way to this old tree—perfect for climbing.  

These boys look tiny on this big log bench!

It was so fun to explore with friends new and old.  And SO great to have a bunch of worn out boys!!

Dead Sea Scrolls AMAZED us!

We joined throngs of others to see the Dead Sea Scrolls at the Denver Nature and History Museum.  The exhibit was packed, but our patience paid off.  We got to see the earliest known copies of Genesis, Isaiah, Hebrews and Psalms.  One of the Scrolls even contained some of Kenny’s AWANA verses from this last year.  

Tribal Adventure

After traveling the month of June, it felt so good to be back in the groove of Colorado summer with my tribe.  This group of ladies hiked Castlewood Canyon with our gaggle of 9 kids.  We parented and encouraged and laughed—summer won’t be getting the best of us!😜
And this is gaggle of kids had fun and maybe pushed the limits just a little!?

A trail of socks shoes and backpacks led to the water.  It was the perfect spot to cool off in the middle of the hike. 

We made it out of the canyon!  Wet, hungry, and filled with memories of a fun day together!😜

Over the River, Through the Redwoods to the Sweeney House We Go!

The morning started bright and early with a bunch of chipper travelers waiting to take on our last day’s drive!  Just minutes after leaving the hotel, we turned off for The Big Tree in Newton B. Drury State Park.  
It was wonderful to stroll through this beautiful forest and get the morning wiggles out!

We took the scenic route 254 (aka Avenue of the Giants), which runs through redwood groves parallel to Hwy 101.  It took us by all manner of tourist activities!  We tried to drive through the shrine tree, but the traffic jam to get in scared us away (but I ask you—would Clark Griswald have been scared off by a little line?😂)



We stopped for a picnic lunch and to run off some steam at Richardson Grove State Park.  This historic lodge was over 100 years old, and the redwoods surrounding it were growing into some of the posts!

It was my turn to drive after lunch, so there was no question that we were going to partake in the tourist trap that is the Chandlelier Drive-Thru Tree!  We happily handed over $10 and we’re giddy as we watched other cars brave the narrow passage (there was no way we were going to try with our rental car, a Chrysler minivan!  

We raced the rest of the way to Hotel Sweeney in Nicasio.  It felt good to be in a home surrounded by our people, a pool, and lizards (John’s favorite).  We walked down to Nicasio to have dinner at the bar and grill.  It was a beautiful night for the patio, and we wandered over to the village baseball diamond for one more inning before calling it a night.  

The morning would bring travel home and the rush of the real world.  While this vacation was a marathon of driving, it also provided an abundance of glorious scenery.  We were disconnected the the chaos of the world and imbedded in God’s glorious creation....from oceans to mountains, volcanoes to the world’s biggest trees.  Each was a gift that will knit us a little closer with family memories.  ❤️

Klamath, CA or Bust!

Day 6 of our big roadtrip and the shine had started to wear off!  Darin was in the mood to “get there!” I made the case that HE was the one who wanted to do this roadtrip and interesting stops along the way are part of it!  I won and we turned off to take in the sights and history of Cape Blanco Lighthouse & historic Hughes House.

It was great to learn how the light operates and the job of operating it!  Three families ran the lighthouse and lived on the peninsula—IN THE SAME HOUSE!?  I guess the view would be soothing and offset the chaos of 16 children!?

The Hughes House was really interesting too.  Patrick Hughes was an Irish immigrant who tamed the timber to create pastures and a dairy herd.  He became rich shipping his diary products down the coast to San Francisco.  He and his wife built the house as a retirement home, complete with a cooking island in the kitchen, running hot water, and a bathroom attached to the first floor master bedroom.  Built in the late 1800’s it was way ahead of its time:-) 

The tours were nice, but we had an itch for some beach time.  We drove and analyzed and drove some more, landing on Whaleshead Beach, OR.  We walked, played, collected rocks, and found this great cave!

The town of Klamath (our stop for the night) looked sparse on the map, so we opted to have dinner in Crescent City.  The Chart Room was a charming, blue collar restaurant sitting right on the harbor.  We enjoyed watching seals, surfers and fisherman as we waited for our table.  And the food was well worth the wait!  Kenny turned into a clam chowder lover this trip—ordering a cup anytime it was on the menu.  (Seattle’s Pike’s Market won for best chowder).  

Paul Bunyon!  Just outside of Klamath, CA.  We screeched the car to a stop and kicked the boys out to run some obnoxious energy off around these statues.  It also amused us by being a stop the Griswold’s would have made (and our trip definitely felt like a sequel to the movie “Vacation”.

Turns out this extra dinner stop was the right call.  Klamath was a sleepy town on the Yurok Indian Reservation.  Our Holiday Inn Express was the lodging option for the town casino.  We swam, slept, and moved on!

Navigating the Oregon Coast

After a day off from driving it was time to load ‘em up and move ‘em out!  The day’s drive would take us down the Washington and Oregon coasts on Hwy 101 to Newport, OR.  

Traveling with a van load of boys is no picnic, but at least bathroom breaks are easy!  We also discovered, in addition to complimentary gas pumping, that Oregon also offers a plethora of coffee huts (imagine drive up stands dotting parking lots in every town).  

Does anyone love GOONIES as much as me?  The town of Astoria looked familiar on approach and the name rang a bell.....I confirmed via Google that it was, in fact, the town where the movie was filmed.  Aaaahhhhhh!!!!!  We drove through the town and I managed not to throw myself out of the vehicle for love of the place.  

We stopped at Cannon Beach just outside of town.  Recognize this rock?  It’s the beach from the end of the movie when the kids and parents are reunited. 

John was more interested in the beach wildlife.  Sand crabs were everywhere and John managed to catch one!

After a picnic and play on the beach it was back in the van for more winding roads and breathtaking views. It was a day filled with surprises—and the next was happening upon the creamery that makes our favorite cheese and ice cream!  Tillamook offered a great factory tour complete with cheese sampling, store, and ice cream stand.  The pressure of picking a flavor of ice cream was overwhelming, and I grew more nervous as we approached the front of the line.  I settled on mocha almond fudge, which did not disappoint (first world problems, I know😬). 

The factory tour started with a section on the dairy cows that provide milk for the Tillamook products.  All the milk is produced in Tillamook County, Oregon. 

They showed a new device (a cow Fitbit) used by farmers to track a cow’s daily activity.  They also featured an automated scratching machine and padded barn stalls (Big eye roll from this Iowa girl!). “Cow comfort” became a running joke as we passed cow-filled pastures for the rest of the afternoon 😂.

We arrived in Newport, OR and our Best Western hotel on the beach. The pool was great fun and the beach filled with dunes.  We were tired of the car, so opted for dinner at the hotel restaurant.  The deck and view of the ocean were fabulous!  Darin and the boys had a wrestling match on the beach after dinner.  They arrived back at the room with sand in every nook and cranny.  Even a shower didn’t do the trick and the morning revealed beds full of sand 😳.

Smitten with Seattle

A day strolling around Seattle was just what the doctor ordered and a great way to spend the 4th of July.  The boys were thrilled with our hotel (Residence Inn Union Lake).  It had a pool with water toys, rec room, and an unbelievable continental breakfast. We had a lazy morning while Darin ran to the airport to pick up Grandma Bolthouse.  
Our first stop was the Space Needle!  The views were spectacular and we were thankful for a clear morning.  

Pugent Sound with the mountains of Olympia National Park in the distance.



The kids loved this playground right outside the space needle.  We  could have spent the entire day exploring this park.

A virtual reality experience bungee jumping off of the Space Needle was part of our ticket.  Our family’s virtual reality officienado couldn’t pass that up!

We strolled  to the next park attraction—the Chihuly Glass Blowing Gallery & Gardens.  Pictures don’t begin to do these pieces justice.  

Every piece is hand blown and then assembled into sculptures.


All too soon it was time to move on.....next stop....Pike’s Market!   We had lunch at a seafood restaurant overlooking the water and then strolled through the market. I fell in love and longed for more time to peruse the stalls.  I had to settle for homemade fruit rolls and chocolate noodles.

Jacob with the market’s mascot.

We found ice cream and an arcade on the piers below the market and then made our way back to the hotel to rest, swim, and watch the fireworks (Darin scored an awesome suite with a balcony overlooking the lake—we didn’t even have to leave our room to watch the fireworks!).  

Seattle had a rich, diverse culture with people from all walks of life.  There was a large homeless population.  One homeless man asked Kenny (who was wearing a stars & stripes hat) if he wanted to trade hats.  Another man, who was begging, screamed “POISON!” when I gave him a granola bar.  The boys eyes nearly popped out, but it created great opportunities to talk about how much we have, and the people around us who need our help.  After all, God created and loves us all, so we need to love each other!

Circling the Big O (Olympia National Park)

Olympia National Park is amazing in the different temporal zones it offers.  Pacific beaches, rain forest, and high mountain peaks.  We drove the perimeter of the park and sampled two of the three temperate zones.  

We wove our way through thick forest for 2.5 hours, driving from Olympia to Ruby Beach.  I was a grouchy zombie due to lack of sleep the night before (the hotel was situated next to a freeway, which created the effect of semi trucks driving through our room😫).  This spectacular beach cured my bad attitude.  Beautiful piles of driftwood greeted us as we walked out onto the enormous beach. 
Low tide was the perfect time to explore.  We crossed a driftwood bridge and made our way to islands of rock stranded in the sand by the retreated waters. 



Islands weren’t the only thing stranded—jellyfish, sea anemones, and star fish were all left exposed...and provided us the perfect classroom for a marine biology lesson.  






John exploring every nook and cranny in search of shells!

Quick sand! 

This tranquil spot was just what we needed to refocus on our blessings and prepare us for another long car ride.....on to the mountains!

We worked our way from Ruby Beach north around the park to the town of Port Angeles, where we refueled with lunch before climbing from sea level to 5000 feet for a hike on Hurricane Trail.  
We were relieved to find the trail had been closed for repairs, but work had stopped for the day, which allowed us to do the hike—-all by ourselves!  This is the most popular trail in the area, which made the lack of other hikers that much sweeter. 

We were far from alone!  Songbirds, deer, gophers, and ground squirrels kept us company thought out the 3 mile hike.  

The ridge provided views of the Straight of San Fuco to the west and the Olympia mountains on the east.  

Jacob struggled with exhaustion on the way up—and laid down on the trail a couple of times.  It wasn’t a record-setting hike, but we made it to the top!

Gummy bear trading at the top!  Swapping for their favorite colors.  

We made our way back down to the car and pointed the minivan to Seattle. The drive took us through the vacation villages across Pugent Sound from Seattle.  Google maps tried to take us on two different ferries, but the wait time forced us into driving around on land.  We made it to our Seattle hotel by 10:30 after eating sandwiches and apples in the car.  To say we were road weary is an understatement.  We created such scene in the lobby that people cleared a path and spoke words of encouragement.  The days are long, but the years are short—and I know that in a blink, we’ll be the ones smiling knowingly at a younger generation braving the highs and lows of a good old fashioned roadtrip.