We head back to Seattle first thing tomorrow morning. We all feel a combination of regret the trip is over and excitement to be going home. Ok…mostly excitement to be going home.

Florence was incredible! Great campsite and we all had a lot of fun running around the dunes.

Cannon beach has been a favorite location for us for years (site of our engagement) and is a welcome reminder that we are so very close to home.

See you all soon!

There are a few campgrounds in Humboldt Redwoods State Park that are close to the main road, but Albee Creek is not one of them. In order to get to this remote campground, you have to travel over a very narrow and poorly maintained road. The road is technically two ways, but that is not very accurate since we had to fold in our mirrors a few times.

But the payoff was worth it. Surrounded by towering redwoods and on the edge of a beautiful meadow, it is up there with Arches in terms of wow factor. We hiked and geocached in the morning and found a fishing hole to swim in for the afternoon. In order to get to the swimming hole we went down a road we had no business going down. We enjoyed the dropped jaws as we wedged Messi past a curve with only inches to spare (see the last pic below).

The stars here were the best so far as the foothills blocked the moonlight and we had cloudless sky all around us. Greta finally got to see some shooting stars and we stayed up late finding satellites and space junk.

The stretch from Big Sur to Monterey is one of the most ironically tranquil places on earth. The winds are fierce and the ocean is constantly crashing against jagged rocks, but somehow it creates a soothing atmosphere. It is also Hilary’s most favorite place and I think she would move here in a heartbeat.

We sipped coffee on the beach in Carmel as the kids played on the beach. Then it was off to Monterey for a decidedly less peaceful trip to the aquarium.

It was here that I managed to have my first fender bender with Messi. I dropped the kids off at  the aquarium and drove 1mi to the only RV accessible lot in town. There was one spot left with literally less than 6 inches of clearance on each side. I was so concerned with the sides that I did not check the rear view camera and backed the bike rack into a steel railing. When I got out to inspect the damage there was a crowd that had gathered to watch me park (awesome!).Thankfully the damage was minimal.

The aquarium was awesome. It is an interesting social experiment to be in a tourist destination filled with little kids at 5:00. Every kid starts breaking down at the exact same time. You can stand in one spot and see 4 different sets of parents holding a writhing/screaming/kicking/biting kid. It was encouraging to see our kids hold up and even have enough energy to get in a quick ocean swim before dinner.

Long drive today as we are heading 353 miles to Humboldt where the redwoods await…

Monument Valley was mostly a stopover destination, but a beautiful one at that. We arrived late afternoon and the kids had a chance to go for a quick swim. We were staying at one of the few full hook-up sites and I was looking forward to wifi and catching up on the blog. Alas a “dust storm” had taken out the wifi service and they did not seem very concerned about fixing it anytime soon.

We went on a tour of the valley with a Navajo guide named Harry. I did not realize when setting up the trip but Monument Valley is not a national park. It is owned by the Navajo people and what is crazy is that there are still a large number of people living in the valley. They live in between the towering formations in small homes with no running water or electricity and only accessible by a nearly impassible dirt road.

The kids had fun exploring canyons and running down a huge sand dune. Kellan somehow made it up to the top three times.

July 7 – Arches, UT – At Arches there wre crazy rocks! I saw lizards, doves and rabits. There wre mazes of rocks. There wre efen arches. Next we are going to the Grand Canyon.

I also got a new camra! And I took lots of cool picshures. And here thay are.

We had a wonderful stop in Estes Park with the grandparents. The kids got their Jr. Ranger badge for Rocky Mountain National Park and Hilary and I got a rare chance to play a round of golf together. I even managed to shoot my career low of 83.

It was a welcome break from Messi and a chance to sleep in a real bed for three whole nights and a chance to wake up to pressurized hot showers every morning. The kids had a great time playing with their cousins and watching 4^th of July fireworks. Greta managed to catch (and land) another trout.

Another unsolicited parenting tip – if you have a son who loves sparkly jewelry, don’t get him a $1.00 icy hot grill from a toy dispenser because you think it will make a funny picture. He may very well become extremely attached to it, to the point he can’t be without it.

When we left this morning, Grandma Smith had made each kid detailed travel packages filled with activities, craft projects, books and games. They actually managed to spend the time on the road today doing something other than staring at their iPads!

The hospitality of the Smiths was overly generous as usual and we are sad to leave. But the road (and more importantly our campsite itinerary) calls us and so we are off again.

So every national park we go to, the kids are able to become a Jr. Ranger and earn a badge by completing a few educational tasks relevant to the park (go on a hike, answer trivia, etc.). To say Kellan is really starting to get into this Jr. Ranger thing is a huge understatement.

We took a ranger guided hike at Dinosaur National Monument and Kellan stood next to the ranger facing the guests at every stop. At Grand Teton National Park, he took a pledge that included something about picking up trash that others leave behind in order to protect the park. So now every time Kellan sees trash he collects it. This is usually great except when we stop at a scenic point and he runs into the bushes and brings back used oil containers.

Dinosaur was incredibly cool by the way. Originally it was just a stop along the way to break up the long traverse through the Rockies. But the campsite was beautiful (and only $12/night) and the museum was awe inspiring. The area was a river bend billions of years ago and it collected dinosaur carcasses that washed down the river. So dinosaur bones are literally piled on top of each other.  They left many of the bones intact and built an enclosure around them so you can see them unexcavated.

Leaving Stagecoach State Park now and heading to Estes Park.

I rarely give parenting tips, but if you have little kids and are like us, bribery (and sometimes threats) is used frequently. We took the kids to the gift shop when we arrived at Yellowstone and had them pick out a gift to be given to them at the end of the time in the park IF they are good. We definitely got the most out of that $6 collapsible camping cup that Kellan picked out. I highly recommend this approach.

The park has been an amazing experience. It has rained way more than usual so the entire area is green and lush. The wildlife viewing has been spectacular. We saw tons of bison (one a little too close), deer, elk, pronghorn and a grizzly bear (from a far).

The kids really embraced the experience and managed to get their first Jr. Ranger badge. The highlight for Kellan was flirting with a cowgirl on one night and a pretty blonde park ranger the next day. Unclear if he was attracted to them or wanted to be them.

We also had a chance to hike through forests, bike through thermal features and fish in beautiful winding rivers. The pictures do not do the park justice as it is probably the most scenic and exciting area I have ever been to.

Off to Grand Teton in the morning…

Everyone is beat after 12 hours in the RV today as we made our way to Yellowstone. Absolutely gorgeous drive, but not short. Both kids now have colds but rallied during the long day and Kellan only hit Greta in the face one time!

As we arrived at our campsite, we spotted two bison in a meadow. A welcome reward for our effort.

Here are some pics from Glacier: