Last day at work!!!

Wow I can't believe the day came and it was time for my last day at work! I love my office so much they surprised me with a going away cake and ice cream party! They are totally the best and I am going to miss them all dearly!!!! 

Hot Air Balloons!!!

Once again the Reno sky filled with color as the Great Reno Balloon Races ascended over our city. Mom was able to come up this year and enjoy it with me for the first time! We made it in time for Dawn Patrol and saw 6 balloons light up before the sun came up then lift of and twinkle in the dark sky.  

We waited until the sun woke up and watched as the field around us transformed into a magical wondrous world of color shifting as the balloons inflated. Gotham came also and he got cold just before dawn and for the first time in his life willingly cuddled with me! It was an amazing moment! 

This is always my favorite event in Reno! 

Camping Road Trip!

For our last camping trip of the summer Mom and I decided we needed to get out of the 106° heat and head up north and explore Oregon. We planed out our trip and booked the campsites where we were going to stay. With our menu set and bags packed we loaded up the car. Of course Gotham came with us so he had a small spot in the back to curl up in for the drive ahead. Our first stop was the Jedediah Smith Camp Ground in the Redwood National Forest near Crescent City. This camp ground was amazing!!! It was nestled in the heart of the redwoods and backed up to the Smith River. Mom and I were in awe as we craned our necks to see the tops of the trees that surrounded us.

That first night we had gnocchi and read our books until it was too dark to see. The next day we went to Lady Bird Johnson Grove for a hike. On the way there we saw a huge herd of elk. I don’t know if you knew this or not but elk are HUGE! There antlers are massive! We saw 2 males putting their antlers together over a patch of grass while the rest of the herd rested in the shade nearby.

After that detour we made it to the grove and started our hike through the massive trees. Every ware we looked was spectacular scenery! Massive trees towering over the earth, tiny delicate flowers and ferns that covered the ground with misty fog that crept in and out as we went along. Some of the trees were 15-20 feet in diameter and some were bigger than that! God’s creation is absolutely incredible! Learning about the trees and how special they are made us more in awe of how God created them to survive some of the harshest and delicate weather environments. We also stopped at a few beaches to walk along the shore. Mom was in search of driftwood for her garden. Side note you can take 50 lbs of drift wood per person per day from the beaches.

Once we were back at out camp we decided to check out some of the trails nearby. We walked down to the Smith River and wadded in to see how cold it was. Much to our surprise it was warm! We quickly decided to change into our swim suites and go for a swim in the river before dinner. The water was so warm and clean. There was a section that was deep enough so we couldn’t touch and we started swimming downstream there. Mom didn’t think the river was moving as fast and hard as it was and by the time we turned around to swim back we were surprised at how much effort it took to go forward and not just stay still. We were pretty tired once we got back to the shore and decided to sit on the bank and watch the sun set into the trees. Dinner that night was taco salad yummmm. The next morning we packed up and were off to our next camp spot in Oregon.

We drove up Highway 101 following the coast. That morning it was pretty foggy but you could still see the beautiful rocky shore line. About half way to the camp site we stopped at a delicious restaurant called the Barnacle Bistro. We had delicious Fish and Chips and then walked over to a little shop and got some jam for French toast the next morning. On our way we stopped at the Coquille River Light House. They directed us to Face Rock Creamery for delicious Ice cream. Wow, were they right! We got to taste a bunch of different cheeses and then our child’s scoop of ice cream was massive and delicious!

 We drove up to Sunset Bay Campground which is directly across from Sunset Bay and there is luscious green foliage surrounding each camp site. The fog settled in that night and we had Sausage and green beans for dinner. We had a fire that night so once it was too dark to read we hung out by the fire until it died out. Our French toast for breakfast was amazing with the delicious jam we bought the day before. After breakfast we drove to a nearby state park that was beautiful gardens. Full of roses and many different kinds of flowers, there was even a Japanese pond. The fog hadn’t lifted and everything was very wet including our shoes. We drove a little further to an outlook and saw tones of seals playing on the rocks and in the waves. Just past there was a great place to go tide pooling. We hiked down a steep cliff on to a secluded beach that was teaming with life. We hung out there for a little while and decided to head back to camp and start dinner. With a good fire going we nestled our potatoes in the coals to bake. This was by far one of the best dinners we had! We gave in and bought marshmallows to roast and chocolate for desert. In the morning we packed up again and headed out to go to our final destination, Silver Falls State Park.

A few miles out of the camp as we were driving a massive spider ( half dollar size) crawled on to Mom’s. We completely freaked out! Screaming just shy from full on panic I quickly told mom to roll down her window and flick it off. Success! We continued up Highway 101 to Newport and stopped at the Umpqua River Light house and the Yaquina Head Light House for a tour.

We also made a stop at Rogue Brewery and got Beer. We got Drew Beard Beer, Mom got Chocolate Beer and I got citrus cucumber soda! So delicious!

From Newport we headed East to Salem. Side note there are so many Dairy Queens in Oregon. Once in Salem we went into the Silver Falls state park and made our camp. Dinner that night was Vegetable ground chicken “spaghetti”. When we booked this camp site they didn’t have one site for both nights so we had to book 2 sites and move. Our 2^nd camp site was so nice! We had tones of room there were more trees and we didn’t have annoying neighbors.

Once we got camp moved we took off for the Trail of 10 Waterfalls hike! 5.5 miles later we saw 8 of the 10 waterfalls and they were beautiful! We got to walk behind many of them which was incredible!

We were thoroughly exhausted by the time we got back to camp and ready for a shower and dinner. We got our fire going early and had taco salad again for dinner. Then desert was marshmallows and I got the brilliant idea to stick a hunk of the chocolate in the marshmallow and roast it. OMG greatest idea ever! Until your perfectly roasted marshmallow with dark chocolate FALLS OFF the stick!

We finally made it to our last morning. We packed up camp and made it fit back in the car along with the drift wood mom had to have. Side note you can take 50 lbs of drift wood per person per day from the beaches. We were ready for our 10 hour drive home. We stopped for lunch at the Rogue creamery and had delicious bread and cheese!

We finally made it home and all the driving was totally worth it! It was so fun to get totally away for a week with nothing better to do than hike and read books until bed time. I can’t wait until next year to do it again!