Victoria

Sunday morning we took the ferry over to Vancouver Island, and enjoyed walking around Victoria, British Columbia. 

We walked up to Chinatown, browsing through stores and taking photos with various painted bears. We also enjoyed a nice lunch.

After checking out their capitol building, we returned to Port Angeles.  Our final day was spent driving from there home to Bend.

Olympic Peninsula RV Trip

On the last day of August, we set out on another RV trip, this time with another family. We drove northwest from Bend to Seaside, where we enjoyed the beach.

The next day we stopped at Fort Clatsop, part of the Lewis & Clark National Historic Park. We learned about Lewis & Clark's expedition and toured the recreated fort, and the kids earned Junior Ranger badges.

In the afternoon we checked out Astoria, including climbing up the Astoria Column.

There were great views of the Columbia River from the top of the column. We then headed north into Washington, and stopped for the night near Aberdeen.

On Saturday we continued north to Olympic National Park. We played at the beach a bit, then drove up to the Hoh Rain Forest visitor center, where the kids earned Junior Ranger badges. We then continued to a campground outside Port Angeles.

Girl Scouts

Jennifer continues to travel with the Girl Scouts. Earlier this month, her troop spent a weekend at the Kahneeta resort in Warm Springs.

She spent last week at Camp Cleawox near Florence.

She loved riding the horses at camp. She has also taken riding lessons from a friend who lives west of Bend.

Mystery Trip

On Thursday, we took some of the girls of Bethel 11 on a trip in the RV. Our first stop was Crater Lake.  

From there we headed south to the Oregon Vortex, a "House of Mystery". Odd angles create an illusion of objects seemingly rolling uphill, or making the apparent relative height of two people vary, depending on where each stands.

We then turned north to the Grants Pass Lodge, where Susan had arranged for the girls to stay the night. Bryan and I slept in the RV. 

Friday we drove home, and today the girls initiated Jenn into the Bethel. Afterwards they had a pool party.

More Scouting

The kids continue to be active in Scouting. Bryan spent last week at Camp Makualla on Crescent Lake south of Bend.

Meanwhile Jennifer was rewarded for being the top Girl Scout cookie seller in her Council with a lunch at the Pine Tavern downtown.

But they keep active other ways as well. This week they attended a sports day camp.

Washington National Parks Part 3

 

Wednesday we drove south to Clarkston, then turned east and drove into Idaho to visit the Nez Perce National Historical Park and learn a little about the Nez Perce tribe and life under the Indian Agency.

After the kids earned their Junior Ranger badges we headed back east to Lewiston, and spent the night at the Hells Gate State Park campground next to the Snake River.

 

From there we continued southwest to Bend, stopping at the Whitman Mission National Historic Site to earn one more badge. The kids learned about the Whitmans, their role in establishing the Oregon Trail, and how they were killed by an angry native tribe.

Washington National Parks Part 2

Sunday morning, we turned east and entered North Cascades National Park, where the kids completed Junior Ranger programs for the park as well as Ross Lake National Recreation Area. We then continued east to the town of Twisp, where we camped for the night.

Yesterday morning we continued east, stopping at the visitor center at the Grand Coulee Dam.

In the afternoon we visited Fort Spokane, part of the Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area. We stopped for the night outside Spokane, and were able to see Independence Day fireworks from our campground.