trailer up!

Ruby has been out about about this summer.  The kids have been enjoying the new camping sites and experiences that have decided to go on.  This last weekend it was out to the coast, south of Newport, Or.  to South Beach State Park.  

Newport, Oregon    2013

First off, when I booked the site~ it was the only site left.... and this campground was HUGE and apparently pretty popular.  After arriving, I now know why it is so popular.  This place is amazing!  Everything is accessible by bike.  Flat, easy going, family friendly bike riding.  Once your on the beach there is a jetty, that when timed right, you see starfish, sea urchin, and all sorts of water life.  The sea lions where starting to arrive~ so their barking can be heard at all hours.  Kites are flying.  Rocks and shells are picked up.  The water is very cold....and the wind is dry and warm.  Just the perfect spot.  Newport's Oregon Aquarium and the Marine Life Science Center are a 2 mile bike ride down a bike trail. You pass the Rouge Brewery, on the way, which is a perfect place to stop for lunch ( and a good beer!).  In the harbor area of town, over the beautiful bridge, you have all the little beach shops and a few surprises in this small main street.  And one must not forget to visit the lighthouses.  Really.... This area can entertain and keep you busy for a while.

  

on the beach together

 It looks like this was a winning trip for our camping adventures.

Care to join us next year?

taking Ruby out

photo credit and great info about LL Stub Stewart State Park at LittleBayRoot

The joys of having a tiny little trailer is~ you get to use it.
I love throwing in some things,
loading the kids up...
and setting out on an adventure for the night (or two).


Ruby doesn't care where we go~ just as long as we take her along.

This past Friday we did just that...
threw some things in,
and drove west.

on a walk together

Just 30 miles west of Portland, about a 40 minute drive... near a little town called Vernonia, is a brand new campground called LL Stub Stewart State Park.
This place was fabulous.
The views were remarkable.
Hiking/biking/horse trails everywhere.

O holding up the mountain ranges

it was a perfect place, nearby, for us to spend the night.
The boys loved riding their bikes all around, and there were kids playing til the sun went down.

a spontaneous, successfully short stay~cation.

From

This picture is from our camping trip on Labor day weekend.  We went with some great and fabulous friends~ and she took some great photos ( I have always loved her photos.... Can you tell, she reads my blog).   I will be sharing the photos when I get them....

 but this was her little teaser.... 

and my goodness....
Look at my cute family!
This one is a keeper (the friend and the photo~ insert smile here)
teehee!

a fairy forest

The boys have been in nature camp all week.... it has been nice to be able to have some time to myself.
But one day they came home with a fairy forest, and it made me want to visit them in nature camp.
look at how cute this is....

we are in our last week of fun, and making the most of it.
We are off tonight to live in the pioneer times at Champoeg Farmstead Days~ as we camp out over Labor day weekend.
Its a Blue Moon weekend.... and we are enjoying the lasts of summer!
Happy Weekendings!

Vacationing

Mirror Lake

 We were in Yosemite for 3 days... and as we were driving out towards Mammoth we thought "why didn't we stay longer?".  This trip was just a trial trip for us, in many senses of the word....
We wanted to help get Bjorn acclimated to a long camping trip, as well as the area.
We wanted to see how easy/hard to would be to tote Ruby around... this being her first long trip.
We really weren't sure about so much....

Merced River

learning to skip rocks

Half Dome 

hiking the rocks of Yosemite Falls

Deer~ up close... super close

Mirror Lake

El Capitan... and our Captain!

So,  being in Yosemite for 3 days.... we did some adventures... but.... 3 days is not enough time either.  I read that its good to go for a week, but, where we were staying (and how late we booked the trip), there were only 3 day chunks available.... in all honesty~ 5 days would have been good.... 7 would have been to long.
One thing is for sure... This was a fabulous trip~ and we can't wait to go back!


Tomorrow.... the tail end of our trip... Mammoth.

It's curtains... I tell you!

Finally!!!  I finished the curtains for the trailer.

It took me forever to get all the fabrics together and sewn.

doesn't she look pretty?!?!

now if only I could finished her cushion covers before we leave... although the sheet coverings are so trendy now a days...and easy to clean.
(its not gonna happen.)

but, at least, now, I have something to do when I get home ( like that is ever a problem).

Fort Stevens

pictures from our camping trip.
FORT STEVEN's Oregon Coast

This place, this weekend...
was fantastic!
Father's Day Weekend
July 15-17, 2011

cloudy and cold
still in swim suits

running up and down sand dunes

if I dig down...

I get what they call...

a sand beard!

A weekend... on wheels

RUBY, the kids... and smores are all packed....

and we are off to the coast.

Summer is here... and we are out campin'.

what are you doin'?

oh what a weekend

last weekend... that is!

    (sorry I have been gone all week.  Bjorn had an EEG, I have been in a Dr.'s circle of confusion, just a little consumed.... but the week is over, and I am still standing~ and standing stronger!)

so... Portland was all wet and cloudy.
but if you go out East....
it wasn't.

Just what my soul needed.
a little sunshine.
a roasted marshmallow.
a running river.
Dinner over coals (which is amazingly easy to do!)
and a few trails!

I think we are getting the hang of this camping thang.

fireside cooking

resting on a hike~ Odin decided to whittle a stick

love the sunshine

smores and friends

Mt. Hood

Rainbow Trout at Fish Hatchery

stinky. silly. FRIENDS!

Soon on the list~ YOSEMITE! yes, that is right, we just booked three days in Yosemite in July.  the little girl in me is antsy with excitement.... I have always wanted to visit this natural wonder.... and now, it's my time!

all hitched up

and ready to go.... explore nature.

::off for another RUBY good time::

ENJOY YOUR WEEKEND!

Her Maiden Voyage

 The later days of Spring Break we took Ruby out for her first camping trip.  An experience that was full of lessons learned, ideas of tweaking for next time... all in all, a good time.
We ventured out past The Dalles to a little fishing village where the Deschutes River and Columbia River meet (Deschutes River Recreation Park). It rained most of the time... (at times like cats and dogs!).. with a few moments of dry weather.  Just before we left we had a few hours of sunshine (which we reveled in!).

This spot was really a beautiful place. We had a river otter playing nearby, and birds were everywhere.  The boys rode bikes, fished and walked the trails.  Ruby fared well.... but the kids struggled sleeping together in such close quarters (one of our tweaking moments).  There is also a train that blows its horn, every hour or so.... well into the late hours of the night.... So everyone was not sleeping well.

 LOOK AT THESE SLEEPY EYES

EVEN CIDER WAS EXHAUSTED

Aside from the lack of sleep, we had a good time together.... and personally, I cant wait to take Ruby out again!  This next time... a little more prepared~ with a few practice camp outs in our driveway, so the boys can get use to sleeping in small quarters.

stick collecting.... boys!

attempting to bring home dinner

Smore-face

"some like them hot"

one of the rare moments Cider was dry

hiking the hillside

just amazing!