Day 6: We had a beautiful drive out to the Pacific by way of Mount Rainier and Mount St. Helens. We met up with my sister, Erin and her husband, John and most importantly, their new baby boy, Clyde! Clyde was born this spring and this was the first chance we've had to meet him. We decided to meet up and spend the night in the beach town of Long Beach, WA, where Erin and John got married 2 years ago. It was such a special and fitting place to meet Clyde for the first time.
Day 7: We spent an awesome day in Long Beach enjoying the beach, riding bikes, shopping and relaxing. Clyde was an amazing camper! The Telford family headed back to Portland where we met up with them after enjoying the arcade and the go-cart track.
Day 8: It was really great to have a day off of the road and to get to spend some time in the super fun city of Portland. We were able to have breakfast with Eric Gale, Erin Donald and their lovely girls and then spent the rest of the day running around the city with Erin, John and Clyde. We shopped for VHS tapes and took the boys to a vintage arcade. John took us to Mount Tabor Park near their house and took all the boys down the trails on a homemade soapbox racer he built. Thor now says he's moving to Portland!
Day 9: Refreshed after a few days off the road, we loaded back into the RV with clean clothes and a fresh load of groceries and headed off towards Crater Lake. We made a stop at the Huckleberry Inn, recommended by Erin, which is up on the side of Mount Hood for one of the best breakfasts we've ever had. It's in a funky ski town called Government Camp. It was a nice break on the way up to see Timberline Lodge, made famous by the movie, The Shining. The views on the way up were incredible and we were definitely driving through Big Foot country!
We got to Crater Lake National Park in the mid-afternoon and our first view of the lake was on the west side of Rim Drive which takes you all the way around the lake. The park rangers talked about all the different reactions people have upon seeing the lake for the first time. Ray and I just burst out laughing and yelled, "What?!?" There is really nothing to prepare you for just how large and deep and blue and wild this place is. Crater is the deepest lake in the country and is almost 2,000 ft deep. It is inside of a collapsed volcano and is entirely fed by rain and snow. The lack of rivers and streams heading into the lake keeps it almost entirely free of pollutants and is responsible for the amazing blue color. Pictures do not do this place justice and we were thrilled to be able to spend the night and the next morning exploring the park.
Day 10: We were not eager to leave Crater Lake, so we decided to check out the Pinnacles Trail. It was a neat hike along a group of volcanic rock formations. After a hike and lunch in the RV, we started to head east and enjoyed an amazing drive into the Oregon Outback. We literally drove for hours without passing another car or sign of humans. We crossed the desert border into Nevada and spent the night in one of the few towns in that part of the country, Winnemuccca, NV.
Day 11: Happy Fourth of July! We spent Independence Day driving through the desert of Nevada into Utah. The Bonneville Salt Flats are located just over the border. Ray really wanted to stop and although I didn't understand why when he first suggested it, I do now! Ray did a little RV off-roading on the Salt Flats and then asked if anyone else wanted to drive. The boy's jaws dropped. Ray gave each kid a quick lesson and let them drive the RV through the desert. What a way to celebrate our freedom! After the Salt Flats, we drove through Salt Lake City and camped on the shores of the Great Salt Lake in Antelope Island State Park. We took a dip in the lake to experience the buoyancy, but the lake is so salty and stinky, that we didn't stay in long. There was a lot of wildlife in the park and Ray took advantage of the natural resources to build a fire out of fuel he collected. There was a huge storm that night after we went to sleep and it was a restless night that left us happy to put Utah behind us.
Day 12: Continuing east, we had a long day of driving from Salt Lake City to Cheyenne, WY where were we stopped for a steak and a trail ride at a bison ranch. We continued into Western Nebraska before stopping for the night, getting excited about seeing the rest of the Paulson clan in Lincoln the next day.
Day 13: Before seeing the family in Lincoln, we took a little detour up to Alliance, NE to see Carhenge. Well worth the extra miles! We passed Chimney rock, which apparently, is really important to people from Nebraska. I have to admit, Western Nebraska was much prettier than I expected. We spent the night at Grampa Ray's house where he hosted a big barbecue with lots of family and friends. Shawn was even in town from Kalispell so we saw him twice in two weeks, which has to be some kind of record. All but one of the grandchildren were together, which was cause for a paparazzi-style photo shoot. I am waiting to get copies of those pictures and will add them in soon. It was great to see Ray's parents and spend time in Nebraska, but I think after such a long trip, we were all ready to head north, back to Minneapolis.
Day 14: Lincoln to Minneapolis - Home Sweet Home!
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