So.....we are now at our Air BnB after the festival. Enjoying the quietness, the feeling of being clean, and the comfort of a soft bed. The Air BnB was located just outside of Portland. Technically in Washington just on the other side of the Columbia River.
If you are ever in the area I definitely recommend staying there. Its also very affordable.
Click the picture below to check availability and get in contact with Suzy.
When we left the next day Suzy said we could pick some of her berries to take with us. There were all types of berries and fruit growing around the house. Definitely the best fruit of the trip! We took some of each kind and headed out for a day filled with hiking and waterfalls.
Once you exit off of I-84 onto Historic Columbia River Highway you won't have any problem finding trails with waterfalls. Multnomah Falls was amazing even with it being so crowded. Its nice when nature puts you in such an awe that nothing else matters. During our trip the whole west coast was experiencing wild fires. Sadly this area was struck by wild fires just two weeks after our trip. While hiking back to the car we experienced a crazy synchronicity. Aimee found a pair of dreamcatcher glasses during the last day of the festival. She wore them in hopes someone would see them on her and come claim them. But no one claimed them. Fast forward two days later hiking on a trail 4 hours away from the festival. Our friend Brittany was wearing the glasses and a guy walked past her in the opposite direction. We were behind her and heard the guy as he passed us say "I know the girl that makes thos" . Aimee stopped, turned around and called out to the guy. Turns out he's friend with the girl that makes these. He let us know that she lost a bunch at the festival and she would love to have them back. He gave us her information and we were able to contact her and return them! :) Soooooo after hiking back to the car we headed south for 5 hours to spend a couple nights at Crater Lake. This was one of the most beautiful places we visited in my opinion. When we first reached the park we stopped at a pull off and viewed the lake.
The land out in the middle is called "Wizard Island". You can hike down to the shore line and take a ferry over to the island then finishing the hike at the highest point. The view was magnetic but we finally pulled away to look for camp. After some searching we found out there was nothing available in the park. We were able to talk to someone at the camp store that recommended a location just outside of the park. This turned out to be just what we preferred. A free, beautiful spot in the forest next to the river.
There was even a tree fallen across the swift moving river. Calling you to cross it.
That evening we cooked an amazing group meal, played games, and told favorite stories from the festival. The next day we planned to hike to the tallest point on the crater rim, Garfield Peak. The hike was perfect.
Just after we reached the top the visibility was gone due to a wild fire a couple miles away. Its crazy how fast the smoke rolls in. We hiked back down the mountain and to our vehicle. That night we stayed at the same campsite. It was nice not having to travel to a new place and everything already being set up. We moved on the next day to drop our friend Zac off at the airport in Medford, OR. We gave our love filled hugs and said our goodbyes.
After eating we headed south west towards the California coast. Our next destination was the Coastal Redwoods. Before reaching the redwoods we split the drive up and camped in Six Rivers National Forest. We found an awesome spot along side a creek. The lush green vegetation made it feel like a fairy world!
We played more games that night while sharing chocolate and some tasty beers. The next morning we reached Crescent Beach! We pulled into a little parking lot and ran down to the beach.
After spending an hour or so on the beach we headed further south down the coast. We made another stop where a fresh water river met the ocean. We made a cozy spot on the beach and ate lunch. You could hear a lot of sea lions in the distance. We found out from a kayaker that they were in mating season, which explains all the noise. A couple sea lions even poked there heads up right next to us.
The next morning we made breakfast and some of us took advantage of the campground showers. When we left we headed south for Thomas H. Kuchel Visitor Center. We spoke with a park ranger and reserved a backcountry site in the Tall Trees(old growth redwoods) section of the park. The hike to our site was magical!
We hiked a couple miles down into the forest. We left a grove coming out of the forest and crossed Redwood creek.
We checked the maps and this was the only route to take us through and it was closed. So then began the demoralizing 3 hour back track to the coast. Once to the coast we went south and tried a new route east. This tacked on 7 extra hours and we ended up driving through the night. Eventually we became zombies. The sun started to rise and we had reached Lake Tahoe!
We pulled into a parking a lot and walked down to a small bank on the lake. Our brains were fried from the all night drive but the view of the lake was therapeutic. We sat and decompressed for a bit then got back in our cars for a nap. For some reason we didn't take many more videos or pictures after this. You'll see in the video it ends here. But the trip continued on back to Denver. We split up from friends at Lake Tahoe and made the long drive all the way to Crystal Geyser just outside Arches National Park, Utah. Our next morning we made it back to our friends house in Denver. We thoroughly enjoyed a day of doing nothing. The next morning we took off on our last long drive back to Missouri. We made it back safely and added another successful cross country road trip to the books. These are the trips I live for! What are some of your favorite journey's you've taken? Any locations you highly recommend ? Please comment to help me plan another amazing adventure. :)
