From the Redwood Forest to the Oregon Caves

Maybe we didn't quite hit those locations in that order, it was more like, Oregon Caves to Battery Point Lighthouse to the Redwood Forest to the US 101, but that wouldn't quite fit the music of the song now would it? This post could also be titled-- "How many amazing activities can you pack into 24 hours" or "Why didn't I break this post down into more manageable parts?" I just really felt like the impact of our day would not be felt separate. Part of the beauty of this day was that it all happened in one magical 24 hour period. Up at 7 am and it is now past midnight and my boys are sleeping soundly and sweetly while I take the time to record our memories. (I am blaming any typos and run-on sentences, my speciality, on the late hour, the overload on my brain and the amount of actual recalling I need to do to knock this out!)

Yesterday on our very long, non-descript journey to Medford
/Ashland (which is actually a very cute town), our first overnight stop on our journey to California, we saw one of those brown recreation signs that said to exit at whatever exit for the Oregon Caves. I asked Bill, our chauffeur, what those were, and he said he had no idea. (Bill not knowing what something is is an event in and of itself. He is our own version of Wikipedia. We call him Billapedia.) We couldn't let there be a void in Billepedia's knowledge, and the drive was kind of getting boring, so I googled it and asked Bill if we should squeeze in a visit. We looked more carefully at what was actually up there at our hotel that night, and made an executive decision to wake up an hour earlier than planned, and head north to the caves, and then hit our Redwood hike in the afternoon, instead of the morning. The boys were not happy when the alarm went off early, but we promised it would be worth it, and crossed our fingers that we didn't lie to them.

After a 2 hour drive we got up to the cave. Breath-
takingly beautiful evergreens, a lodge and coffee shop straight from a 1950's postcard, and crystal clear water greeted us. We had no idea any of that would be there. We expected a "Timpanogas Caves" type operation. It was more like a cross between Carlsbad Caverns and Yellowstone. Our guide, whose name Romney thought was totally cool, Terah, had a wonderful dry sense of humor. We were worried at first that she was a "little slow", but it was just her wicked and dry sense of humor. Trying to catch her jokes (she obviously had given a lot of these little tours and was entertaining herself more than us) was part of the fun.

The cave itself was amazing. They didn't excavate the "roof" of the cave which meant lots of ducking and leaning and hoping you didn't hit your head in the dark of the cavern. Lots of "rooms" to visit with fascinating rocks and a chemistry lesson about how "acid" helped form the cave from the marble rock. The boys don't remember ever being in Cave of the Winds (actually it was only William with Bill) so this was their "first" time spelunking. The are big, BIG fans. They even posed for photos, of which only a couple were even partially acceptable, in every nook and cranny of that cave. 90 minutes later, I am lucky I got them to hold still at the exit for one last shot in the sunlight. (Hint: Iphone cameras not so great in the dark.)

After our hike through the cave, we were hungry and we didn't know if any tiny (still in) OR town could feed all of us and our interesting dietary choices. We decided the coffee shop at the cave was as good of a spot to try as any. We all found food, but more importantly we stepped into a time machine. This coffee shop has not been renovated since the 30's. How am I sure about this? They had photos out on the counter to peek at while you waited for your grub to arrive in front of you and the place looks exactly the same. Same barstools, same mirror, same counter, same wood paneled walls, perhaps even the same servers. (Ok, I concede, not the last part).

With our unplanned morning adventure successfully completed, we hit the road again, only to see a sign for the Battery Point lighthouse, and decided to take a tour. We arrived about 30 minutes late and also during high tide which makes the path to the lighthouse completely impassable. No problem. No tour, but the lighthouse was on and we got to play on the beach.

If it looks like I am holding onto Bill for dear life, I am not, I am holding on for body heat. It was chilly and we were a little wet from the cave. But I am also squeezing him tight to hold on to the perfect moment we were sharing staring into the water and watching our offspring play. 14 years later and I still feel butterflies like when we dated. Not bad! He feels the same way even though I wear that awful sweater/blanket that adds 50 lbs. (I swear I didn't eat THAT many Voodoo Donuts!) LIke I said it was really cold!

Even if we didn't get in to see the inside, I have a confession. That is the only lighthouse I have ever seen on and working. I have seen a lighthouse in North Carolina that I remember, but that is the only one that stayed in my memory (Not that that means that much, I have peculiarly selective gray matter) Again, many thanks to my boys for humoring me time and time again, by immediately posing upon me even making a pantomiming motion of taking a picture.

After stoping to pick a hike with a Ranger's help at the teeny tiny visitor center (odd for a park this size, maybe there is a bigger one at a different location) we made it to mile post 16, the unmarked trail head of our Damnation Trail. With a name like "Damnation Trail", one might not expect much, especially when the trail head is completely devoid of any sign of humankind other than a couple of cars parked off the side of the road, but we knew better. We wanted a trail with old growth trees, a bit of a workout, and ocean views. Damnation did not disappoint. In fact if this is where you end up when you are "Damned" count me in! (I'll start work on that project tomorrow.)

We past trees with trunks the size of SUV's (or bigger), and tops that disappeared into the mist, not to be seen again. It was a 4.4 mile hike round trip. Not too long, but it was the only trail marked as "strenuous" on the trail list. It was 1100 feet down (no problem) and 1100 feet back up (kids acted like it was no problem) and 3 hours long. We crossed a couple of charming bridges over Damnation Creek only to find. . .


This rocky private beach. The only ones brave/
stupid enough to try this hike at 4 pm, we had the beach all to ourselves when we got there at 5:30. We stayed. We snacked. We skipped stones. We marveled at seeing the very spot that the creek met the ocean.


We hunted for sea creatures in the tide pools, and found a hermit crab, snails and some long empty clam shells and seaweed of some variety. Took about a bazillion (that is a number isn't it?) photos and climbed on the rocks.


The boys amazed us once again with how strong of hikers they have become. After making it back to the car in under 3 hours even stopping and climbing on trees on the way down and playing on the beach mid-way, Bill and I told them they were inspiring us. Romney almost broke out in tears and said "Really, but Mommy you are the one who inspires me." And then I was misty, too. Taking them out on my walks has paid off in all kinds of ways for the whole family.


With almost all of our Redwood Forest wish-list boxes ticked. We found our last one on the way south to check into the hotel, a drive through tree. I have always wanted to participate in this kitschy, tree destroying ritual. I am weird like that. I jumped out to take a photo of the car going through the first time only because Bill promised, he would circle around and do it again with me inside (no crowds!).


Thank goodness I was out of the car to help Bill squeeze our Tribeca complete with our 4 bikes hanging off the back through the tiny whole in the tree. Only my tire touched the side of the tree and only the rubber, so all was good and we were all very excited that all 4 of the bikes would still be accompanying us on the rest of our trip. I did get my ride inside the car for a second pass through the tree, all bike were fine and I enjoyed hanging out of the sunroof squealing with childlike joy while touching the top of the tunnel and the sides of the tree. (Yup, I totally really did that. Surprised? I didn't think so!)


Still slowly making our way to the hotel, we had to stop at the "Trees of Mystery". It was closed, so no tram ride. However that was a bonus, NO CROWDS and as much time taking pictures of Paul Bunyan and Babe his Big Blue Ox. (Who my kids knew who he was for this Paul Bunyan sighting. Thank you, Portland Weird.)


Our final stop was this bridge over the Klamath river. We could see a few people had parked and were looking over the bridge. We normally aren't lemmings, but this time we were. We had no idea what they were doing, but hey a good view is a good view, so we stopped. We took photos with the bear statues that guard the bridge and starting walking out to the center of the river. As we were walking a woman stopped us and asked us if the whale was still there. Umm. . . say what? A WHALE! In the Klamath river. Did I even dare hope? We said we hadn't heard about a whale, and kept walking eyes a kimbo looking for anything whale-like. Bill wins the first spotting prize when he noticed the flow of the river looked little "off" in one spot. A strange heart like pattern that didn't match up with the rest of the currant. Then we all saw it all at once. . .

A definite spouting of water. I didn't even know it, but I broke out running to make sure I saw this beautiful gray whale cetacean. I was worried he/she would be gone by the time we got close. I didn't need to worry. This happy little actor/ess was happy swimming in circles, showing off for the small, but appreciative crowd. It must have found a nice warm spot in the water, and was in perfect view from the bridge. After googling info on the whale in the river, I found it is a mama whale who along with her calf, has been in the river, right under the bridge for a month now. The calf has gone back to sea, but the mama won't be goaded along. She seems content where she is.

So apparently my worry of missing it, was unfounded. She was staying in the same place for as long as we wanted to watch. I am not sure I would ever get sick of watching this magnificent creature, but I do get cold. So we stayed as long as all of us could handle the cold (we were still wet from our hike through the clouds in the forest), and made our way exhilarated and stunned back to the car to drive the rest of the way to our hotel in McKinnleyville, CA. Never in a million years would I have put, "See a whale close up in a river" on my Redwoods wish-list. Who knew it would ever be a possibility. I am not sure how often something like that happens here, but it has never happened to me. The boys were blown away by it's majesty. Even they could tell they had just witnessed something very, very special. After spending our entire amazing day enjoying the spectacular beauty of nature, from the caves to the trees, to the fog and mist, to the beaches to the rivers to the wildlife we are all feeling very small and very lucky. One of the best days of our entire family life.