Travel TO Vancouver---
We spent the weekend getting ready and loaded the van on Mon night. Our flight from Memphis was scheduled for takeoff at 740am. Here is Kraig the day we brought the luggage in from the storeroom.
He's ready to go....
Kraig did surprisingly well on the plane...much better than I expected him to. His ears only really bothered him on the descent into Portland as far as hurting. And every time we landed as the pressure changed, he would keep telling me to talk, because he couldn't hear me.
I love looking out the window from the plane...it amazes me the way the ground looks from so high up. The perfect squares and circles....like a patchwork quilt. And it sure doesn't look like that when you're on the ground.
I don't know what these were...odd looking.
And then the clouds...looks like snow or a huge soft pillow you could just jump on.
Vacation Day 1: Mt. Hood....
It is a activity type mountain, I guess you would say....ski resorts, snow activities, etc. This is from the drive up the mountain.
I loved this little waterfall...we were just driving and water is coming out the side of the mountain. Unreal!
The first town we came to was called Government Camp. There was snow everywhere....guess you know what everyone did!
We tried to go park near one of the resort area to play in the snow, but they were all full. So we pulled over on the side of the road....and had a snowball fight!
They all look like they're coming after me, huh?
We found another sno park that was also a rest area of sorts...there were restrooms and a small cafe kind of place where snow play equipment was rented. Chris and Christopher went tubing down the mountain.
We saw this on the drive down the mountain...it is what the sign says, "runaway truck ramp"..although I venture to guess runaway cars can use and have used it as well. There was a 6% downgrade...our ears were popping like we were on the plane again!
This is the mountain from a distance. Beautiful.....
Vacation Day 2: Mt. St. Helen's
On Thursday, we went to Mt. St. Helen's. It was very very interesting, beautiful and educational. We went to the visitor center first and watched a film about the months and days leading up to and the actual footage and interviews of the people and eruption.
Another random waterfall....
And the rocks weep....
The area affected by the blast and lava flow was made into a national park, and is protected. They have allowed the area to recover and regrow naturally. It is amazing to see areas that still look like it did shortly after the blast..trees still down on the side of the mountain.
This is one of the valleys created by the lava flow.....
If you look closely, the little dots are animals.....
Can you see them? They still look like ants, even with my camera zoomed...
They're ELK....huge herds of them.
Mom and Dad...
Dad, Christopher and Kraig...
Jenn and I....
And Mt. St. Helen's...the scooped out part on the left is where the initial eruption occurred....blew the whole side off.
Vacation Day 3: Forks, Washington (home of Twilight)
Forks is about 4 1/2 hours from Vancouver....we couldn't be this close and not go. It was a long drive, but beautiful, and well worth it.
All the way there and back were these huge areas of cleared trees....we past logging trucks all day long. It is actually kind of distrubing....the patches were all in various degrees of growth...some new, some not. And apparently they don't come pull the stumps...because there were some areas where the new trees had been planted and were growing around the stumps.
This is at one of the Indian Reservations we passed on the way to Forks. The lake is gorgeous.
The trees looked so odd to me....look at how the branches really only grow on the one side. They were like this all the way there....and it wasn't necessarily always the side of the tree facing the street that had no branches. Weird.
And.....four and half hours later (or so)...we are there!
This truck is parked outside of the Visitor Center.
The town has totally embraced the movie....they have adopted homes in town that most closely resemble the homes from the movie. This is Bella's house.
This is the Cullen's home. It is actually a bed and breakfast...they ask that visitors not come inside, but we can walk up on the porch and take pictures.
The hospital.....
Carlisle's license is actually on display at the visitor's center...along with his lab jacket.
City Hall, which serves as the police station.
The store where Bella works...I read somewhere that on occasion, Bella is paged overhead. Too funny.
This was a beach on the way to La Push...
It was a climb to get down there...one I didn't make. But Jenn, Kraig, Christopher and Chris did.
The closer we got to the beach, we started seeing these signs....crazy!
I did however walk through this to get to this beach....it wasn't quite as bad, probably because it gets used more. It is actually on La Push.
Kraig loved throwing rocks into the tide, and then running away from the water.
His shoeprint....
I think it's interesting that the sign says "Welcome Twilight Fans" ... as you are leaving town.
Vacation Day 4: Portland Temple, Multnomah Falls, Beach
This is the view from the highway....
Even the doors are beautiful to me....everything about the temple is just gorgeous.
The cornerstone....
They had the most impressive flowers, all along the paths surrounding the Temple.
Not quite sure what this is, other than the entrance...probably a good spot for taking large group photos as well.
There were two water ponds....this is the first one we saw and where we met up. We had taken two cars, and Jenn and Tim (drivers) let everyone out to go ahead and start enjoying the grounds while they looked for parking. The three Chris' got to the fountain just before we did....and it went off. We decided it was a triple Chris jinx...Chris (my husband), Christopher (my son), and Chris (Jenn's son).
But a few minutes later, it came back on...
The other pond is more of a reflection pool....there is a tile set in the corner for standing on, and if the photo taker squats or sits on the ground, you get the spires and Moroni in the shot. Awesome.
Next, was a trip to Multnomah Falls. I had seen them before in pics Jenn had sent me, but seeing them in person was amazing. I love waterfalls anyway....and they did not disappoint. It was also cool knowing they are in the Twilight movies.
This is the bridge we crossed going into Portland.
We had to walk under the street to get to the falls.....just a little unnerving....
This is the falls from the parking lot across the street...
This is the "river" for lack of a better word that comes off from the bottom of the falls..
And here they are....we walked up to the bridge in the center but not to the top. The path takes you to the top,but it is a loooooonnnnnnngggggg way up. And it was freaking cold!
The bottom half.....
The top half....
Looking over the bridge....
This was just some of the spray....notice the heavy duty wire mesh along the walk way....I presume to protect from falling rocks.
And this is all the guys (except my dad...he stayed in the car).
Kraig did not get enough of the beach at La Push yesterday, so Jenn promised to take him to one where he could play in the sand. This is a man made lake, primarily used for fishing events. But it has a small strip of 'beach'.
And ducks....
And Kraig had his beach sand to play in....
He buried his toes in the sand....for those of you who know Kraig (either personally or through my stories) know that this is HUGE. He does not like to be dirty. I will note that he did not sit in the sand...although he does now sit in it, it takes a few minutes before that happens. But I had to get a picture of his feet....
On Sunday, we went to church with Jenn, and then had a Twilight movie marathon.
On Monday, our final vacation day, we went bowling. Kraig loved it...and of course beat everyone!
We flew home on Tuesday, Mar 23. The highlight of that is when we got to Memphis. We were one of the last off the plane....as we passed the pilot, he asked if Kraig wanted to sit in the cockpit....he was a bit reluctant at first, but here he is. The pilot took the picture. Pretty cool.
It was busy busy, but oh so much fun. Can't wait to go back...Kraig says we have to go in the summer and stay for two weeks....hmmmmmm....
