Travels: 0 miles (1713 total miles)
Accommodations: Continued at the Thompson Family home
We woke up this morning and scurried out of bed to make it to breakfast by 7:30. It was raining and gray. We all sat down with the Thompson family for a hymn (which precede every breakfast and dinner) a big plate of eggs, sausage, potatoes, with cheese all cooked in a huge cast iron skillet. It was delicious!
After breakfast the 12 of us (one stayed behind) loaded into their 15 passenger van and headed to the Olympic National Forest via a tour through Joyce – past the beach, through some old WWII gun things, a stop at the General Store where we got Kenz a beanie made out of llama hair, and then up the mountain to Hurricane Ridge. It was a thick foggy drive up to the parking lot which was covered deep in snow. We took a misty, cool walk down a road surrounded by 2′-8′ tall snow walls and pine trees. The kids had fun throwing snow balls and tramping through the snow.
The way down the mountain was just as foggy. We drove through Port Angeles with their huge ships and back to the farm where we had homemade cottage cheese with peaches, fresh milk (raw of course), and bear salami for lunch. Mason and Marin are so exhausted they took a nap and Kenz played with their youngest son.
Dave: The Thompsons are an amazing group of people. Fred and Sharon cut the lumber for their home with an Alaskan Chainsaw from trees on their property. They split their own shingles from stumps aging hundreds of years. They cook good food on a wood burning stove. They milk their cows and make cheese and butter. They make their own bread. They home school with diligence and purpose. Their children do all the chores, and have the strength to climb a solid fifty feet up a rope as fast as I can climb a ladder. The kids are also business minded and very polite. The Thompsons are inspirations – every one of them. I hope I can enjoy as much success as they have.
Courtney: I too was inspired by the parenting of the Thompsons and the household they ran. Sweet thoughtful kids and parents to say the least. I got some tips on making sourdough bread from Joy, and some tips and information for homeschooling from Sharon. Observation of their home and these people prompted Dave and I to discuss how we can instill/allow for a joyful work ethic in our own children who don’t live on a farm and don’t have such a life-sustaining drive to their chores… food for thought. ..
Kids: Mackenzie, “I want a cow today. And I want to ride the horse again.”
Recall the drippy campground in the Hoh… in the morning, things looked surprisingly less suspicious and much more gorgeous. We went on a little nature hike and checked out the Hoh River, threw rocks in the river, walked through the drippy green plants that fill the rain forest there, and even saw some HUGE slugs slimily slugging their way along the leaves. After this wonderful breath of fresh air, we headed out through more green beauty.
So far, it hadn’t rained today which was quite miraculous considering our past week in Oregon. Almost to Port Angeles (our destination), we came across Crescent Lake. Crescent Lake is surrounded by towering pines that fill the high mountains – it is quite breathtaking and hard to explain. The lake itself was as smooth as glass and full to the brim. There were fog tipped mountains in front of us with snow tipped mountains towering over them. I can’t even begin to explain the grandeur of this scene.
Almost to Port Angeles, we turned and made our way to Thompson’s, friends of Dave’s uncle Sam, who have a 10 acre farm in the Port Angeles area that we are blessed to stay at for a couple days. Upon arrival we got a tour of their farm complete with horse rides for the kids, rope swing, chasing chickens, petting cows, the list goes on.
We got to drink some wonderful raw milk from their cows, and eat some homemade bread that was quite tasty. Sitting on a grassy hill we watched our three kids play with five of their eight kids while we visited. At 5:30, we all got to take our turn at milking the cows. It looks quite easy but is much more difficult than you would think.
Then we had a delicious dinner complete with homemade cheese.
oneself (not just food, but a house, too) from one’s own property.
At 3:20 we pulled out of Long Beach. We passed old barns in abandoned fields where grass grows up covering more than half of the building; a sign “Tutoring and Computer Repairs” with an arrow pointed up a wooded driveway, really? would you stop?; bays, rivers, and other such bodies of water, 
Mason and Marin have been sleeping in the car a lot. Mackenzie has been reading a lot and just finished Ralph and His Motorcycle. Dave stopped and got oysters. We stopped at a beautiful lake called Lake Quinault. The kids ran around on a big grassy area, jumped over a creek, 
Kenz fell into the creek, and then we explored a bit of the Quinault rain forest before hopping back on the 101 towards a campsite yet to be decided.
At 8:17 it was still light out, and we were still driving. We had salami, cheese, crackers, blueberries, and carrots in the car for dinner. At 8:51pm we stopped at a beach in Washington to potentially camp but nothing was available. We continued on our way through the dark cascading trees that almost touched across the highway and ended up staying in the Hoh Ox Bone River Campground in the Hoh Rain Forest for the night. 
We pulled in at 9:30 when it was finally completely dark. I was pretty nervous about staying in this dark, drippy, deserted campground and had difficulty falling asleep {Note: It did rain all night}.
After church, we went to brunch at the 
threw Balsa wood airplanes off the top – Dave had a great flight. From the column you could see out across Young’s Bay, the Columbia River, and out to Saddle Mountain – green, water, trees! On the way back to Gearhardt, we went to South Jetty at the inlet to
the Columbia River – much like South Jetty in Ventura, but a bigger inlet and more powerful ocean (and white sharks!). I went to shopping with Cathy, Camille, and Sean at Fred Meyers – a big everything store in Warrenton. After shopping, we got dinner ready and enjoyed another meal with the Wallaces and some of their 
friends. After dinner, Camille and I looked through some old pictures which were HILARIOUS to say the least! Got to love those old elementary and middle school pictures! I’m going to have to dig some more out when I get back to Ventura.
After breakfast, we piled into cars and spent the morning and afternoon exploring the area. We went into downtown Seaside and walked around. On the way out Camille’s car got a flat and we headed off to get it repaired. The kids got popcorn while we waited – a fun tire place. After getting the tire fixed we went to Cannon Beach and saw Haystack Rock and walked around their ritzy, touristy, and cute
yard. After dinner, Camille and Jeremy (her husband) and Dave and I went to McMinemans to hang out – it was nice to have some adult time :).
ch you could tell had a great creative vibe. Then, back to the RV park to pack up and head to the coast. It was a beautiful drive – lots of trees and rivers (a theme in Oregon, in no small part due to the seemingly constant rain). We noticed large patches of what looked like clear cuts – some trees were 
removed and some were just lying there. Come to find out that there were 120 mph winds that knocked down these patches and wiped out power and road access to the coast and in the Seaside area for 4-7 days.
e had a nice evening catching up with an old friend, Lauren, eating in a house, and taking showers. We are staying here for a few days.
rain showers and we all got showers or baths. We fished for a bit on the McKenzie and then ran errands which was a wild goose chase as we traversed the confusing roads/bridges/highways – Chevy for seatbelt extenders, Trader Joe’s (groceries are cheaper than back home), Home Depot, REI, Goodwill for some books for Kenz and a rain jacket.
as Dave fished with the kids and Marin attempted to throw rocks into the river was a highlight for me today. As was another dinner with Chris and Kristin at their cute house in downtown Eugene. It was so good to reconnect with old friends!
May 27, 2010
Travels: Port Angeles, WA to Ellensburg, WA – 206 miles (1919 total miles)
Accommodations: Youngquist Family home
We changed directions; having decided that we want to see Montana, Wyoming, etc in the sunshine and a particularly late winter has left rain in the forecast for at least the next week. So we decided to head for warmer climes – Utah, 1050 miles in 3 days to my grandparents in Manila, UT. My mom is flying out Sat – Tuesday, and then we’re headed for Colorado. After Colorado we plan to come back through Utah to see the parks – this is just a quick dip to see the family.
We’ve been incredibly blessed to have absolutely random people inserted into our trip. The Thompsons are long time friends of Dave’s uncle, Sam’s, but we had no plan of stopping there until Sam called Dave about a week ago and suggested stopping by. Tonight we are spending the night in Ellensburg, WA, at the Youngquist Family’s. Young-who you ask? My long time friend Camille is married to Jeremy Youngquist who we just met Saturday, and he suggested we stop by his brother Chad’s home on our journey. So here we are.
Mason: “I had fun playing with Jake, and I love Jake. I had fun playing in the playhouse and milking the cow.”
Mackenzie: “I liked milking the cows, playing with Jake and going in the tree house.”
Marin: “Bye, bye Sharon” “Bye, bye Joy.” (giggle, giggle) “Celeste”– as she climbs around the tree trunk of the tree house.
Mackenzie: “You toot really loud!”
Mason: “I was tooting super long.”
Dave: “Why do boys do this?”
Mackenzie: “Those are Christmas trees.”
Mason: “Those are Christmas trees, but they aren’t decorated.”
Marin: “Decorated.”
And so the conversation goes…