Oregon Coast

We spent a week on the Oregon Coast and were able to appreciate in a way that I never did living there.  Even though the weather wasn't perfect, we spent every day exploring a new area of the coast.  We didn't end up driving too far, but there are so many different beaches with rocks to collect, shells to find, trails to hike, and waves to jump.  Exploring the tide pools at Bob's Wayside was one of the biggest hits; the girls were so excited to find crabs, touch Sea Stars, and be sucked by Sea Anemones.  Every single adventure ended up with a soaked Indie and a bunch of sandy feet; most ended with happy exhausted girls.   

Idaho-ish

After Bear Lake, we followed Marie to Ontario for a few days.  She showed us a good time with a movie, splash pad, and fishing adventure.  We showed her lots of messes, but she loves us anyway.

Next up, we borrowed their bikes, drove the scenic route down through the middle of Idaho, and headed to the Hiawatha Trail outside of Couer d' Alene.  We spent the night in Wallace, Idaho and it was fun walking around their quaint little town, chatting with locals, and going to breakfast together before our big ride. 

We got to the Hiawatha Trail Head pretty early, but it took us a while to get everything unhooked, find all our gear, and get on our way.  The first part of the trail is a wet, dark 1.7 mile long tunnel and that's when the I began to understand that riding on a gravel road with a bike trailer carrying Cora and Indie might be a bit of a challenge.  We took it slow and enjoyed lots of breaks so the 17 mile trail took about 7 hours.  The last few miles were especially tough for Eden but we were all so proud of ourselves when we finished and truly enjoyed the $1 hot dogs at the end of the ride.    

That night, we met Marie and her friends at the Silverwood Springs "Campground" which is basically sleeping on the side of the interstate.  Scott had so graciously set up a tent with all the fixings for us and the girls had a fun time meeting new friends and running around.  We got to go to Silverwood Springs for 2 days where we rode all the rides, replaced meals with ice cream, and had a grand ol' time.

Potty stops in pretty places.

Field and fields of canola "make everything else look boring," according to Milan.

Family Pics

Late one evening, the girls were freshly showered and awake so we decided to take our chances with some family pictures up Paris Canyon.  Nobody was surprised since they know it's hard for me to be somewhere pretty without sneaking in a few pictures.  Indie really wanted to fall asleep so we sang the entire way and pumped her full of m&ms.  We stopped when I didn't think she could make it another mile and there were a TON of mosquitoes.  A normal mom might have been deterred by that, but we doused ourselves with DEET and my sister snapped a few pictures in 4 minutes, tops.  And now that we have these pictures, I don't regret it for a second!

Bear Lake

Most years, we get to enjoy Dave's Aunt Glenda's house in Bear Lake and it is always a highlight for my girls.  The house is just like she left it when she was raising her kids there so my girls love all the old toys and extra-stretchy trampoline in the front yard.  Of course, the lake is always a hit too.  

This year, we invited the Martins, Redds, and Torlands to join us throughout the long weekend so it was basically a party every day (especially for Eden and Cora who had lots of friends their age.)  To make our weekend complete, we hit up Zip's for shakes and did the Minetonka Cave Tour where I got to pack Indie up and down 444 stair to maximize my workout.    

After our long weekend, Dave headed back to Cheyenne, but the girls and I kept going west.  I figured that since we were going to be 1/4 of the way to the Oregon Coast, we might as well keep going.