Coast Camping

Last week my parents took a much needed camping trip to the coast, the headed to a favorite spot of theirs, Ocean Cove.  They were in need of some fun and relaxation after dealing with some major water pipe issues.  It turns out it was even more needed because a few days after they came home they encountered another large water pipe issue...oh ranch life.

The girls and I drove over Friday morning to join them for a day at the coast.  It was a beautiful sunny day, but it was really windy.  Like you could hardly open the trailer door windy!  We didn't let a little wind stop us from having fun though.  My dad was kind enough to carry Eva around in the backpack on our hiking adventures, she loved being outside and didn't mind the wind.

We explored some trails along the bluffs by the campground.  We ventured out on the edge of the bluff but didn't last long, the wind was just too strong.  My cautious girl Allyson was really worried about us getting blown over, she kept telling my mom to be careful.

Allyson was much happier exploring in the coastal trees.  She loved playing on this "horse" branch she found.

Eva is always just happy to be included, love her nose wrinkle when she smiles.

Much to Allyson's delight we decided to do some Geocaching.  Last fall we camped in the State Park just a few miles north, I found a few geocaches close by that we didn't get to in October.  We headed across Hwy 1 to Stillwater Cove Regional Park, it turned out to be a great idea. 

It turns out the trails take you through an amazing Coastal Redwood Forest, I couldn't get over how beautiful everything was.  It was an entirely different world than at the Coastal Bluffs of the campground.  Best of all there wasn't any wind!  My pictures don't really do justice to the beauty, the shadowy forest made taking pictures difficult.

The trail we took was an interpretive trail and I am so glad we grabbed the trail guide to take along with us, we learned a lot about the trees and plants along the trail.

Our hike took us to a beautiful sunny meadow where the old Fort Ross School now resides.  This school was in use (at a different location) until 1970, it has made a total of 3 moves.  I find it so interesting when buildings are moved, one sign described how the school was taken apart and each board numbered to help with the rebuilding process. 

This was also the general area of our first geocache, unfortunately the GPS only worked while we were in the meadow, but it got us close enough to figure out where to find the cache on our own.

Ally selected a zombie as her treasure (this girl is full of surprises) and she played with that zombie the entire trip.

Eva was very tired at this point (she didn't nap on the drive over like I had planned) and decided to take her nap in the backpack.

As we headed back to the trail in the forest Ally discovered this creepy crawly.  I love that she isn't afraid of bugs, she is just really interested.  She thought it was a caterpillar, I don't know what it was but it was interesting.  

Eva woke up and joined in the fun.  She kept us moving along the trail, she would start crying if we stopped for more than a second.

Our second geocache was at the bottom of the canyon near the creek.  There weren't very many fun things for Ally to choose from but she still found a treasure she wanted.

It was a fun hike in a beautiful spot.  We headed back to camp for dinner, inside the trailer because the wind had not stopped.  After dinner Eva and I headed home leaving Ally with Grandma and Grandpa to camp for the night. Ally kept asking me when I was leaving, not because she was going to miss me, she could wait until I left!

Ally slept in her usual spot in the trailer and loved it.

The wind had died down enough for them to eat breakfast outside.  Don't you love the view from their camping spot?

Ally found some sand to play in, she was in heaven.  Zombie almost got left behind here, Ally had buried him in the sand and couldn't find him.  Thankfully Grandma was lucky enough to find him so he didn't have to be left behind.

Ally had so much fun, she came home properly worn out and dirty.  That is the way camping is supposed to be.  Now she can't wait until our family reunion in July for more camping.