Spokane August 7-19

We have so many favorite things to do in Spokane in the summertime. Every day we have an adventure and every day we enjoy being together. Here are the highlights:

Bumpers Fun Center is a fairly recent discovery. There are arcade games that spit out tickets according to scores. Anna wins enough tickets to exchange for a purple cuddly bear and gives her extras to Sean who exchanges the lot for a blue "emergency" light. Should be fun in his room at night. We ride the bumper cars (Nana too), and play miniature golf.

Tickets Galore

Bumper Cars

Serious Golf

Riverfront Park is an annual favorite. We buy day passes and spend.....the day. The ferris wheel is  really fun and Sean catches the gold ring on the carousel. It's good for one free ride, however, it will expire before he returns to Spokane. Still, he gets the glory! The IMAX movie features a polar bear mama and her twin cubs and teaches us about the effects of global warming. Sean and Anna rotate among their best-loved rides. We want to ride the gondola over the falls, but it is closed for the afternoon because of the high temperatures. Next time!


We shop at different places on different days. At Wonders of the World Sean selects a dragon statuette, Anna a heart shaped prism. Target is our spot to shop for school supplies, and Freddies is just for fun. We also visit Nordstrom where Sean very thoughtfully selects two pairs of school shoes.

Sean and Brokaw take in two Spokane Indian's baseball games. They have so much fun at the first one, they decide to go back for the second. While the guys are at the game, Nana and Anna have their nails done.  During that second game they spend some time at Build-a-Bear where Rocky the Bear is born. Anna creates her and advises Nana on the building of a second bear for Claire's first birthday.

We see the latest Diary of a Wimpy Kid movie and put in our order for the next book in the series which will be published in November.

Sean starts a collection of quarters from each of the 50 states. We order key chains of his favorite cars to deck out his school backpack.

We have a tea party on the lawn. Sean cooks up a special dessert. There is swimming and of course, Froyo!!

Yummy!

Rapunzel Drops In

Tea Par-tay

Rocky the Bear

Simply Amazing

The Astounding Triple Pickle

Key Chain Collection

Two of TWMPP

Nana's heart breaks when she has to say good-bye. Love you! Miss You! Come back again soon.

Beacon Rock to Spokane August 6

A long day of driving on the schedule today. But we are mentally prepared. The self-proclaimed "genius of the GPS", (you know who you are), is primed to alert us to any and all McDonald's on our route, (and does so very efficiently). The driver will need caffeine and the passengers may need Oreo Blizzards.

We decide to drive on the Oregon side of the Columbia River. It's a freeway, as opposed to a two lane, who knows what we might have to follow for miles, kind of road. With that decision made, we make a return trip over the Bridge of The Gods. The view is still spectacular and we all declare that we are big fans of this particular bridge.

There are no stops of interest today, so we pass the time with chit-chat and naps. We also give some awards:  Brokaw is decreed to be the best barbecue cook, Anna is bestowed with the clean cabin award, Sean has earned the distinction of trailer assistant extraordinaire, Nana is the gold-star trip planner.

Having patted each other on the back we discuss our favorite trailer parks. Coming in last by unanimous vote is the Sea Ranch in Cannon Beach, mainly because the people were rude. Now, there's a life lesson. We all like Beacon Rock State Park, but decide not to put it in the ratings because it was a way station on the route home, not one of our "destinations". Turtle Rock comes in fourth, Benbow third, Sea and Sand places second and Honeyman State Park is awarded first place. Oh those dunes!

We also make a list of how we will spend our 8 days in Spokane. It's quite comprehensive and arranged in order of importance. We agree to put it into action after spending one day on grocery shopping, trailer unloading, and unwinding.

We're all happy to see Riegel Court. Very happy. The kids run in to see what's new and different. We bring in the necessities from the trailer and leave the rest for tomorrow.

Cannon Beach to Beacon Rock August 5

We have fond memories of Cannon Beach and Haystack Rock from a family trip we took in 2007.

We rise early so Brokaw can drop us off at the beach. He will ready the trailer while we explore the beach at low tide. Haystack Rock has beautifully intricate tide pools and when the tide goes out so much is revealed. The shade is pulled up and we get to peer and touch (ever so respectfully). And then the tide comes in, the shade goes down, and if you hadn't borne witness you'd never believe what's under that water.

Adorables

The Haystack Rock Awareness Program provides volunteers who stroll the beach and point out various sea creatures and answer questions. They provide equipment like telescopes and magnifying glasses for better views. One large boulder holds dozens of different critters in a rainbow of colors and a kaleidoscope of shapes and textures. . .barnacles, starfish, mussels, anemones, sea slugs, tube worms, and more. Fascinating and engrossing. Hard to leave.

Beach Friend

We walk from the beach into the town of Cannon Beach to meet Brokaw. We make a stop at the bakery for lunchtime treats and to purchase some shells for souvenirs.

We turn away from the coast and head inland towards another favorite place from our trip in 2007, Multnomah Falls. The parking area is clogged. The slots reserved for RVs are filled with double parked cars, rightfully infuriating our chauffeur.  Nana, Sean and Anna jump out of the truck and take the hike to what a two-year-old Anna once called "the waterfall and the bridge". It's crowded, but still remarkably gorgeous. A natural phenomenon  with a 500+ drop. The forest service has set up an informational kiosk were we can stroke a fox pelt, handle the skull of a bear and admire a set of antlers.

The Bridge

The Waterfall and the Bridge

Foxy Fascination

Down the road apiece is the Bonneville Fish Hatchery where rainbow trout, salmon and sturgeon await. The rainbow trout are not raised here, but are kept in ponds for visitors to view and enjoy. We buy food pellets and toss them to the fish. The reaction is swift and thrilling as the fish rise in a singular rush towards the bait. We repeat the process until we run out of quarters for the pellet machine. (All of the money collected is used for upkeep of these lovely grounds).

Feeding the Rainbows

There is a window providing underwater views of the sturgeon pond. This pond is where Herman lives. Herman the Sturgeon is 10 feet long, weighs 400 pounds and is as old as Nana. (impressive)  We watch him and his cronies from below the waterline and then from above, looking down into the pool from the viewing platform.

Herman

Underwater View

We cross the Columbia River on the Bridge of the Gods. The views up and down river are fabulous. We are all entranced.
This is our last night on the road. Our campsite is in Beacon Rock State Park, (the rock was named by Lewis and Clark). It's Sunday night and there is only one other camper. We kick back and enjoy the late afternoon and evening. Brokaw makes a campfire with the assistance of our Daisy graduate. Sean flies his propeller purchased at the Tillamook Air Museum in the grassy tract near the trailer. We lay out our seashells to admire and make a few trades. There are marshmallows after dinner....(the whole bag??) and tall tales before bed. We fall asleep listening to the trains roll along the river, happy, knowing we'll soon be "home", and a little melancholy knowing our adventure is ending.

Camp Director

Shell Selection

Ms Brownie

Kicking Back

Depoe Bay to Cannon Beach August 4

We start out with good intentions of a morning hike to Munson Creek Falls just south of Tillamook and are disappointed to find a sign at the turn off stating: "No trailer turnaround". We have no other choice but to get back on the highway and continue to our next stop. Boo Hoo.

The Tillamook Air Museum is nothing much compared to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum which the kids have recently visited, BUT today is our lucky day because the air museum is hosting a vintage car show. Brokaw and Sean are instantly drawn in. Anna and Nana are good sports and there is a gift shop.

All of these vehicles, (planes, helicopters, and cars) are housed in an enormous hangar. We investigate them all. Sean chooses his favorite, a snazzy bright blue Corvette. Good taste, young man!

Cars in the Hangar

Checking Out the Red One

Sean's Favorite

And Airplanes Too

It is sweltering today. Upper 90's or more. We stop at the Farmer's Market in Tillamook looking for something fresh in the vegetable department. Nice little walk-around but so hot and nothing too enticing. We do purchase a Marion berry tart for dessert later. We don't know it at the time, but when Anna climbs back into the truck, (that's one small step for man, one giant leap for a small girl), she leaves a flip flop in the gutter. This will result in a concentrated and protracted search of the trunk cab over the course of the evening. No luck.

Our plan is to stop next at the Tillamook Cheese Factory. Everyone else has the same plan. The parking lot is brim-full of vehicles parked head to head like sardines in a can. We find a spot to leave the Airstream; then endure the hot sun and the blistering blacktop as we make our way to the air conditioned cheese complex. All the people from all those vehicles are forming lines for ice cream cones, because this place not only produces cheese it generates ice cream. We take a moment or two to observe the packaging of what looks like blocks of cheddar. We walk through the exhibits and then do what everyone else is doing. Brokaw finds the shortest line and we order up big scoops of our favorite flavors. They are generous. Just the right amount of refreshment to get us back to the truck and contentedly on our way again.

Moooo

Tillamook Express

Cheese in Progress

Cannon Beach and the Pacific Ocean cool us down. Brokaw and the kids take a beach walk while Nana organizes dinner. Safely in camp for the night. . .this will be our last night in Oregon.