Normal Family of 4 - 39 days MO, KS, OK, NM, CO, UT, NV, OR, CA, WA. + AZ and TX

[sean257]

Continuing north after a couple of nights in Yachats we stopped to see Newport, and Yaquina Head Lighthouse

For the next couple of nights we stayed in an Airbnb near Arch Cape at Falcon Cove. The kids quickly named it death beach, due to the gloomy sky combined with the grey and black rocks, hardly any sand at high tide, lots of crab bones, and a mostly eaten seal at the far end of the beach.

At low tide, with some blue sky it was an awesome beach, full of tide pools, crabs, starfish, sand dollars and a lot of other tide pool sea life.

It was also one of the first places we could make a fire.

On our way towards Packwood WA, and Mt. Rainier, we stopped at Cape Disappointment and had disappointment from not being able to go take a picture of the Goonies house lol

 

[sean257]

At Rainier we hiked up ~1,800 ft. and the kids played in the snow. We also checked out the Grove of the Patriarchs, where the kids found a fallen tree that doubled as a slide.

Another good lunch spot.

The kids played in the Mud Fork of the Cowlitz River. They reported that the mud felt amazing.

Our final destination was Anacortes, WA to stay with our old neighbors from IL. It was awesome and we did not want to leave.

After 3 great nights with our old neighbors we had to head down to Seatac to catch a flight home. I figured if we drove, I'd want to see so much that it would take another 40 days to drive.
So with great sadness, we left Jethro at a mini storage, and flew back to St. Louis

 

[sean257]

I hope you enjoyed the photos, and that they may inspire you to go explore. Even if you have kids, don't want to camp, and don't have a dedicated expedition rig, you can get out there and see a lot of things!

Thanks for looking, and thank you for all of your trip reports that inspired us to try something different than most.

 

[Crza]

Such a great essay. Thanks for sharing and inspiring.

 

[Wilbah]

Thanks for posting this. And so great for the kids to see it from the ground. So many just fly here or there they have no idea what a lot of the country looks like. Well done!

 

[CA Expat]

Thank you so much for this, the whole family really appreciated it and are inspired by it!

 

[sean257]

Thank you! I'd love to do a trip on dirt bikes when the kids are older. Hopefully they'll want to do that kind of stuff when they are old enough to have some independence. If I'm really lucky, they take me on an adventure someday...

 

[yoggie]

Amazing trip and a great report, thank you!

 

[MLu]

Those are some excellent photos, especially from the beaches and the coast.

 

[sean257]

Thank you. Jethro was sold last month and was shipped off to the east coast for new adventures.

Slowly but surely I’m adding stories to my website about the trip. Check it out. Normal Fam

 

[mccustomize]

Amazing trip report, going to plan something very similar for next summer for our kids and us! Thanks for the inspiration.

 

[DetroitDarin]

That's beautiful and wonderful all in one. Thank you!!

 

[iannamanda]

Inspiration!!, Thank you for sharing. The sights are awesome.

 

[sean257]

Now that it is cold here, I am in the process of making a couple of videos with some music.

 

[sean257]

Here is part II. Not much off roading to see...

Road Trip II