Home Again

Well we made it home! The car was fixed on Saturday about noon. It was apparently some overheated wires and they just rebooted the system. So, Tim took the truck to get the nail in the tire fixed and we were on the road by 2:00. It is so great to be home!

Stranded!

Well... the kids had another first on this trip. Their first time riding in a tow truck. Yes, our truck broke down on the freeway and we are sitting in our trailer on a scary frontage road in Hersepia, California. Here's what happened. We were driving and the engine light went on. I read the manual and figured it was because we had low gas and that it would go off, it was not running weird or anything. Then an hour later the truck started running loud and Tim could not get it over 45mph so he pulled off to let the engine cool. While doing that he noticed a nail in the tire and proceeded to put the spare on but that didn't work, he couldnt get the lug nuts aligned. So... he put the nail tire back on and we just decided to drive away and see what happens. But we couldn't... the truck had no power. Tim said "I don't know what to do from here", and I said "We have AAA" and I looked over to the left and there was the AAA tow truck! Sent from God I think! He hooked us right up and towed the truck and trailer both to the closest auto repair. They don't open until tomorrow morning, so hence the reason we are camping on a frontage road tonight. So, that is how the kids had their first ride in a tow truck! Wow, so many firsts on this trip I just can't keep track...this one I think I will remember the most, however. I hope you all enjoy the comforts of your beds tonight...we were so close to being in ours!

National Park Trip 2011 Favorites

We have had a wonderful trip…it feels like we have been gone forever! But we are homesick…we miss our home, dog, church, family and friends. All good things must come to an end and we are left with a ton of memories…here are some of our favorites:

Daddy:

Favorite Campground: Fallen Leaf Campground- Lake Tahoe because the sites are spacious and it is lush and green.
Favorite Hike: Sentinel Dome hike in Yosemite near Glacier Point
Favorite Activity: Hanging out at the beach in Tahoe and relaxing
Favorite Memory: Mommy falling into him on the Sentinel Dome hike, spending time with sister and family in Yosemite.
Favorite National Park: Yosemite National Park

Mommy:

Favorite Campground: Fallen Leaf Campground- Lake Tahoe because there are hiking and biking from camp and there are tons of trees and meadows.
Favorite Hike: Tokapah Falls in Sequoia. Beautiful waterfall and a hike along the river. Loved seeing the marmots at the top.
Favorite Activity: Biking in Yosemite Valley, rafting in Yosemite and the beach in Tahoe.
Favorite Memory: Watching the bear and 2 cubs cross the river over a log in Sequoia, the beautiful bike trails in Yosemite, hearing my nephew Collin say "that's a mess!" when he looked at the forest from the tram, Leah being sworn in as "Lily" at Yosemite, watching my kids enjoy nature and play together.
Favorite National Park: Yosemite National Park

Noah:

Favorite Campground: Wawona campground at Yosemite because of the river.
Favorite Hike: Mirror Lake in Yosemite because we got to bike and hike.
Favorite Activity: Biking in Yosemite Valley, rafting in Yosemite, and the beach in Tahoe.
Favorite Memory: Spending time with my aunt, uncle and cousin Collin.
Favorite National Park: Yosemite National Park

Megan:

Favorite Campground: Wawona campground at Yosemite because we played in the river every day.
Favorite Hike: Sentinel Dome hike in Yosemite near Glacier Point.
Favorite Activity: Horseback riding in the meadow in Yosemite, rafting in Yosemite and the beach at Tahoe.
Favorite Memory: Swimming at Aunt Tammy's hotel pool with family, seeing Tahoe from the gondola ride.
Favorite National Park: Yosemite National Park

Leah:

Favorite Campground: Lodgepole campground at Sequoia National Park.
Favorite Hike: Tokapah Falls hike at Sequoia National Park.
Favorite Activity: Stagecoach ride in Yosemite, trampoline jumping in Tahoe, beach at Tahoe.

Favorite Memory: Watching bear cubs play in Sequoia, seeing fawn in Sequoia and seeing 2 fawns in Yosemite.
Favorite National Park: Sequoia National Park

Most memorable things are: Megan's 2 panic attacks over bears in Sequioa, seeing bear and 2 cubs cross river in Sequioa, Mom slipping and falling on Sentinel Dome hike at Yosemite, swimming in the hotel pool with the Varvell's, biking in Yosemite Valley, great camping neighbors at Sequioa and Yosemite, break down on drive home and camping on the side of the road, UNO every night, ice cream every day, kids imaginative play (baby Abby, stuffed animal tree), and countless hours of family time enjoying nature and God's creation!

Lake Tahoe- Day 3- July 21st

This is our last day at Lake Tahoe. Unfortunately, we had to move campsites since we could only find a spot with 2 nights instead of 3 so most of our morning was taken up by packing up and moving. We could literally see our new site in the next loop over so it was not that big of a deal. After we finished that up we headed up to Heavenly Valley which is Tahoe's ski mountain. We took the Gondola ride up to the top of the mountain. They had a gorgeous observation deck where you could literally see the entire lake and everything below. After the Gondola ride we shopped around the village as they had some great shops. The kids wanted to do this jumpee bouncing trampoline thing so they did that. Then it was back to camp. We hung out a bit and then went back to Fallen Leaf Lake at our campground. We headed back for dinner, smores, UNO and packing up. We will be leaving early tomorrow for a long 14 hour drive. We will miss Tahoe!

Lake Tahoe – Day 2- July 20th

Today was all about the beach! We headed off early to Pope Beach which is close to our campground. It was our first close glimpse of Tahoe and seeing it up close is gorgeous! The water is crystal blue and the pine trees are almost to the shoreline but there are still sandy beaches. It is safe for the kids too since there are no currents or waves…well small waves from the boats. So, we parked our stuff and there we stayed for 5 hours (I literally had to drag the girls out of the water when it was time to leave!). It was a wonderfully warm day, about 78 degrees and sunny. We were the first ones on the beach but it got crowded quickly. The kids floated around in their inner tubes, built sand castles and buried each other. We had our picnic lunch and just enjoyed the relaxation. After the beach, we came back to camp and went on a bike ride…they have great bike paths here. We went to Camp Richardson which is a big hotel and campground. We stopped in the general store and then went to get ice cream at this great old fashioned ice cream parlor. It was so good! I am so done with ice cream though, we have had enough to last us the rest of the summer and all of next summer too! We also took a walk back on the beach and checked out the marina and all of the private homes on the water…dreaming of one day having a Tahoe summer home! Then it was back to camp for dinner and a movie in the trailer. The sun took it all out of us so we stayed inside tonight. Tahoe is gorgeous and we love it here!

Lake Tahoe- Day 1- July 19th

Today we made about a 5 hour drive to Lake Tahoe. We stopped on the side of the road to catch up with the Renwick's who were leaving Tahoe. That was fun to swap some stories and see everyone. Then it was back on the road. We stopped at Safeway in Tahoe and did our shopping. We got a peak of Lake Tahoe and it looks gorgeous! First things first though, getting to that campground. The campground is called Fallen Leaf Lake Campground and it is about 2 miles from Lake Tahoe. It is a beautiful campground, full of trees and meadows. The spaces are nicely spread apart. And it has a hike leaving from the campground. Noah and I immediately took a hike from our campground to the Tahoe visitor's center and got some information. Then we took a short hike to the Fallen Leaf Lake. Actually we rode our bikes. The loops are paved so it is nice for riding. The kids all got to go fishing so they were excited. It is a beautiful lake with snow on the mountains surrounding it! We came back to camp for dinner and we treated ourselves… we had steak, mashed potatoes and salad. It was so great! We look forward to spending time here!

Yosemite National Park- Day 7- July 18th

Today is our last day and we decided to go back to the valley. We drove down there and got on our bikes and took the amazing bike path again. We stopped at Yosemite Village in their visitor's center. We watched a movie about Yosemite and looked around at their exhibits. After that it was back on our bikes and we rode to Curry Village where they rent rafts to float down the river. So off we went on our raft! It was a great float down the beautiful Merced River with amazing views of the valley and all of the waterfalls. It took us a little over 1 hour to get to the stopping point. Then we had our picnic lunch and then back on our bikes to Yosemite lodge. There we had some ice cream and then drove back to our campsite. On our drive home I saw a couple of coyotes. That was the first time seeing that animal on this trip. We went right to the river at our camp and swam around. Today was the warmest day yet. Probably hit 80 degrees. After that it was dinner. We had some new neighbors move in with 2 boys Noah's age and a teenage girl so Noah played baseball for hours with the boys. The teenage girl made some bracelets with my girls too. They were a really nice family…they love National Parks too…they were doing 16 parks in 35 days and basically living out of their van. Very ambitious! But we had a lot to talk about with all of the different parks we have been to and comparing notes. We leave early tomorrow for Tahoe but we will miss Yosemite!