Seaside is located along the 101, on the Oregon Coast. It is full of history, from Native American inhabitants to Lewis and Clark salt explorers to essential music tour stops for Glen Miller and Duke Ellington. Besides the practically empty beaches and river swan boat rentals, my favorite part is the art deco architecture. Seaside …
Haceta Sea Lighthouse is one of the most photographed lighthouses on the Oregon coast. It has been aiding sea folk since 1894. Its light shines 21 miles into the sea and is rated as the strongest lighthouse in Oregon. The assistant light keeper’s house was built a year before the lighthouse was first illuminated and …
Sea Lion Caves in Florence, Oregon is the largest sea cave in the United States, and the tenth longest sea cave in the world. Visitors have been observing sea lions at this location since 1932. Now travelers take an elevator 208 feet down into the cave but when it first opened they walked down a …
North Jetty Beach is located where the Siuslaw River enters the Pacific Ocean, part of the watershed directly north of the Umpqua River. Oregon beaches are so different than what we are accustomed to in Southern California. There is often a hike to get to the beach, there aren’t a lot of people around, there …
The Umpqua River is one of the Oregon Pacific coast’s main rivers. It is 111 miles long, so as we drive to Florence on Umpqua Highway, there are plenty of opportunities to take in its beauty. We could have spent hours here, days maybe, but you can’t stop forever when you are trying to get …
Since Oregon welcomed us we decided to get on its third longest river, the Rogue. The Rogue begins from a spring in Crater Lake National Park and meets its destiny mixing with the ocean’s water of Golds Beach. We booked a tour with Hellgate Jetboat Excursions (best decision of the trip) in the middle segment …
En route to Oregon along the 5 is the town Mt. Shasta. Within Mt. Shasta City Park is a spring known to be the tributary of the Upper Sacramento River. The water comes straight out of the rocks after traveling through underground lava tubes from Mt. Shasta (the stratovolcano, not the town). The water is …
We are visiting Lake Tahoe, the largest alpine lake in North America. On our first full day in Tahoe, we headed to Sand Harbor State Park, located on the northeastern side of Lake Tahoe. Lake Tahoe East Shore Trail starts/ends (depending on how you look at it) at Sand Harbor State Park. This trail is …
We came to Canyon Lake to witness a total solar eclipse but we only caught glimpses through the clouds. It was not the same. It got dark and the birds came out, but it was not awe inspiring like Idaho 2017. It was a fun family trip, but we need another attempt to see totality …
Gruene (prounounced ‘green’), full of music and history, is a highlight in Texas. German farmers first settled in this town in 1845. Gruene Hall, built in 1878, (and where we spent all of our time) is Texas’ oldest continually operating dance hall. It is a 6,000 square foot building, little of which has changed since …
San Antonio Missions National Historical Park is comprised of four of five San Antonio missions. It is the most complete group of Spanish Colonial mission complexes in the world, and it is the UNESCO only World Heritage Site in all of Texas. The oldest mission in the complex was built in 1690. All four are active …
The California State Mining and Mineral Museum has been in its current location in Mariposa since 1983. Before this, for over 100 years, the collection was housed in a building on the Embarcadero in San Francisco. There is no photography permitted inside the museum (for thievery reasons) so you have to go yourself to see …
620 foot Bridalveil Falls is impossible to miss as visitors enter Yosemite Valley. The path leads you right to the base, misting your face with pristine water. It is amazing to live in California, known for drought and lack of water, but to be surrounded by so much of it. Since Bridalveil Falls is fed …
Mariposa Grove is the largest giant sequoia grove in Yosemite National Park. Giant sequoias are the most massive trees by volume on our planet, so nothing to be missed. Starting in May there is a shuttle that takes visitors to the beginning of the grove, but in winter and spring, one has to walk 1.8 …
Being that this is our first time in Yosemite National Park, one of the most visited national parks in the United States, I was surprised by how concentrated the Yosemite icons, most are packed into one rather small, super majestic area. You can see a lot in a single day at Yosemite Valley, especially if …