Channel Islands National Park: Santa Cruz Island

Channel Islands National Park: Santa Cruz Island

Finally made it to the 9th (in terms of my visits) National Park in California in November. Little guy was super excited to take a Boat to an Island (possibly because his hero is Moana…), and Santa Cruz seemed the most accessible for families and this time of year. We took the Island Packers excursion to Scorpion Ranch. Although the primary purpose of the trip is the crossing to the islands, they do stop if possible for wildlife, and we were rewarded for stopping a few minutes mid-trip to see two humpback whales surface near the boat. At Scorpion Ranch, we had a delicious picnic lunch I had ordered from Channel Island Provisioners (all packed up in re-useable/sustainable packaging and delivered to the dock in Ventura prior to our outing — a great option for traveling!). We immediately got to see the Channel Island Foxes, sadly because dumb people (like the kid old enough to know better at the table next to us) don’t heed the warnings about not feeding them, but they were still pretty cute if not totally wild. From Scorpion Ranch, we hiked the Cavern Point Loop up to the bluffs above the ranch, extending the hike a little by walking part of the way to Potato Harbor. The walk offered great views of the cliffs and caves down below as well as a few more whale sightings.

Crossing to/from Santa Cruz:

Channel Island Foxes:

Hiking Around Scorpion Ranch:

Passport Stamps:

Sun setting behind Santa Cruz Island from Santa Barbara:

Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area

Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area

Catching up on 2017 trips, we took another Southern California trip to Ventura right after Thanksgiving (and before the terrible fires that swept through the region in Dec). The primary purpose of the trip was to visit the Channel Islands, my last full-fledged National Park in CA, but we also did some hiking in the Santa Monica Mountains on a very warm (90 degree) November Day. We stopped in the Visitor’s Center at King Gilette Ranch, then headed to Paramount  Ranch to take a short hike starting from a fake Old West village (complete with mustachioed sheriff). It has been used as a set in several movies and TV shows, and did seem oddly familiar.

We also visited the Satwiwa Native American Cultural Center in the Rancho Sierra Vista area. The quarter mile from the parking lot to the center was all the hiking we did since little guy was on foot, but we observed the nice gardens and found a great view of the mountains from the replica of a Chumash home structure. Our toddler enjoyed exploring the kids exhibit inside the center (at his age, perhaps not so much for the historical/cultural significance as for being a table of things he’s allowed to touch…)

Cabrillo National Monument

Cabrillo National Monument

Just got back from a trip to San Diego and of course hit up Cabrillo National Monument while we were there. This site commemorates the first Spanish exploration of the Pacific Coast in 1542. There is a Visitor’s Center with a small interpretive exhibit, a statue of Juan Cabrillo, and an old lighthouse. We tried twice to hit up the tidepools (arriving just about low tide and an hour before the next day), but both times there were cars lined up the road waiting to park, so unfortunately missed it this time. Still was worth the stop to learn a bit of history and take in the views.

Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site

Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site

As an add on to our Great Smoky Mountains trip, we stopped in at Carl Sandburg’s estate in Flat Rock, NC before flying out of the Asheville airport (or not, as it were). The house itself was undergoing renovation, but probably all as well with the time we had and with a toddler. The estate itself was worth the stop even if we skimped on learning more about the famous author. From the parking lot, you walk around  a reflective lake toward the house at the top of the hill (more of a rugged climb than I anticipated when I opted to bring the stroller — we had sent the hiking carrier home with Dad). From there, little guy had fun spending time in the goat barn with some kitties and the descendants of Mrs. Sandburg’s goats. In the late summer, we watched goats frolicking in the field with the sun hitting the first of the falling leaves like flecks of gold ~ poetry!

Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Great Smoky Mountains National Park

By the time I found about about this year’s solar eclipse, sometime last February-ish, the entire state of Oregon appeared to be booked already, so I looked along the path of totality for other interesting spots. I never made it out to Great Smoky Mountains NP when I lived in North Carolina, so seemed like a good time to correct that!

We spent several nights near the park, the first few in Townsend, TN. This was a great location just outside the park near Cade’s Cove, a rural valley that preserves some of the park’s settlements. There wasn’t too much in the way of concessions in Townsend, but it was definitely more my speed than Gatlinburg, a bustling tourist town sort of like a boardwalk in the mountains. We spent a morning driving the Cade’s Cove Loop, and stopping to look at the historic structures & mills, etc.

Great Smoky Mountains turned out to be an awesome park to visit with a toddler, but really would be great for anyone. On the not-so-toddler-friendly end of the spectrum, you could hike the Appalachian Trail, but for the under-two crowd, there are numerous “quiet pathways” and nature trails that are shorter in distance that still let you get out of the car and into nature. You don’t have to go far to find rivers, waterfalls, fun insects, and rocks to put down your shirt.

We had a few missed opportunities ~ here was the best sighting of a black bear we had (he’s in there, I swear!) and the view from Clingman’s Dome on the day we tried to hike that:

 

But the highlight of the trip was getting to see the total eclipse in Bryson City, NC. Dad had to go home early, so little guy and I stayed on our own a few nights. We had a great time riding the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad, throwing rocks in rivers, and watching the eclipse! If/when I go back to the park, I would definitely make Bryson City my base if not camping inside the park – we stayed at a little inn with great hospitality (including the other guests!), and the town has restaurants and shops to serve the park crowds without being overwhelmingly touristy like some of the towns in TN. As for the eclipse, it was totally worth traveling alone with a toddler, even with the unplanned overnight in Asheville due to aircraft maintenance ~ it was an amazing sight!

Everglades National Park and Big Cypress National Preserve

Everglades National Park and Big Cypress National Preserve

Another one from the archives ~ two years ago this week, we made a drive-through visit of Everglades and Big Cypress en route from Miami to visit family in the Marco Island/Naples area on the gulf coast of Florida. While our visit was brief, it was, shall we say, one of our more memorable national park visits.

Being July in Florida, we were not keen to spend extended time outdoors, but we made a few stops as we drove across the state. It is not long before you start to catch glimpses of alligators in the waterways alongside the road ~ maybe you get used to that if you live in Florida, but pretty crazy in my opinion! We made sure to get an early start to catch a morning tram tour at the Shark Valley Visitor Center. While the trail can be walked or biked, the tram tour takes you a few miles in to an observation deck with greath views of the classic “prairie” landscape then loops back to the visitors center. This guided tour is a great way to cover some ground and get an interpretive view of the flora and fauna when you want to avoid the heat and alligators… or so we thought.

In addition to the stop at the observation deck, the tram also stopped along the path to allow us to get a closer look at the periphyton that forms the ground cover in this ecosystem [a complex mixture of algae, bacteria, microbes, and detritus that is attached to submerged surfaces ~ yes I had to just look that up]. Due to a late start to the rainy season, our guides suggested we could take a look at the canals that were dug in the area to form the elevated road. As our tour group gathered on the banks, we could see alligators 50-100 yards away in either direction. Suddenly, we heard a roar that sounded a bit like a freight train coming from behind us. As our group scattered in either direction, a 10-12 foot alligator came charging out of the bush snapping his jaws. I’m glad I was not in the back of the group closest to his original exit point, but even as we scattered, he couldn’t have been more than 4-5 feet away. Once there was a clear path to the water, the alligator went on his way, no longer feeling threatened. I was glad to have enough sense of self-preservation to wait until we were safe to try snapping photos. I think this was a bit of a closer call than the tour guides intended and definitely a reminder that even when utilizing he more developed features of the parks, you’re still in the wild. When we got back to the visitor center, we saw a few busloads of school-age children lined up for the next tour ~ pretty sure they didn’t get to make the same stop.

After that excitement, we continued through the Everglades and into Big Cypress National Preserve. We didn’t get off the main road, but did stop at Kirby Storter Roadside Park to do a quick walk along the boardwalks to check out the trees and spot a few woodpeckers. Once we hit the other side of the preserve and state, we stopped at the Gulf Coast Visitor Center of Everglades NP. Some nice coastal views, but really only an outpost for some of the park concessionaires offering boat tours.

And thus ended our short – but memorable – visit to these FL parks! I can’t wait to tell little guy how mommy had to fight off an alligator at 6 months pregnant – only a slight exaggeration.

Death Valley National Park

Death Valley National Park

As I’ve been working on planning little guy’s first camping trip, I’ve been remembering my adult self’s first camping trip in Dec 2012. I have fond memories of camping at Sunset Beach with my girl scout troop as a kid, but there was a pretty big gap thereafter in which the only time I spent in a tent ended in the receipt of Duke Basketball tickets. Of course, what better place to get your feet wet (figuratively) than Death Valley!? It takes about 8 hours to get to Death Valley from the Bay Area as you have to go down and around the Sierras, but the long drive even after leaving I-5 behind certainly makes you feel the remoteness. En route, we discovered the roadside town of Tehachapi, the “Land of Four Seasons” and your best (only?) bet to stop for food east of Bakersfield. The muted desert colors and expansive landscape were impressive from first approach into the valley.

We spent two nights camping at Furnace Creek Campground in the park. The campground was very nice, although since there are not really trees, there is not much privacy, which can be especially annoying when you’re surrounded by RVs in a little two-person tent (since then I always try to reserve tent-only or generator-free loops in campgrounds). Our first night went very well except that I had to pull a rogue camp chair out of the fire (and I was the one nervous about having a fire in the first place!). The second night the wind picked up even more, and I learned the lesson to always have a backup no-cook meal plan in case, for example, you can’t keep your camp stove lit long enough to boil water. We could hear the wind swirling around the valley all night long, and every so often, it would hit the tent and rattle it like it was a spaceship about to take off. Not the greatest night sleep, but kind of fun. For our third night, we stayed in the Panamint Springs Resort, a little off-the-grid motel with a decent beer selection near the edge of the park.

For hiking, we hit up a few trails, including hiking the Golden Canyon to Gower Gulch loop with the add on loop to visit Zabriskie Point. I didn’t actually realize you could drive all the way to the point by tour bus, but I like to think the view is nicer when you get there on your own two feet! This loop was a really great way to see some of the cool layered rock formations, and I learned what a gulch is! [a narrow V-shaped canyon containing a small stream or rock fall] For another hike, we explored Titus Canyon by hiking in from the valley side. It is popular to drive through the slot canyon from the Nevada side. Clearly not everyone headed the advice that a high clearance vehicle was recommended, but we didn’t want to risk it with my Ford Focus — plus it’s fun to hike!

Of course we visited some of Death Valley’s famous sights, including Badwater Basin, the lowest point in the United States at over 300 feet below sea level. The Badwater salt flats were a dramatic landscape, further highlighted by late-afternoon shadows. We also drove up to Scotty’s Castle, a fun piece of desert history and 20s architecture. If I recall, Death Valley Scotty conned rich New Yorkers, who basically went with it and established an elaborate desert retreat.

As usual, I’d love to spend more time in Death Valley National Park ~ maybe I’ll have to start planning for the next superbloom! I’m super curious to visit Racetrack Playa to see the “mysterious” moving rocks (yes, I know they confirmed the way the rocks move, but it doesn’t diminish the sense of intrigue regarding self-moving rocks).

In spite of a few slight mishaps, this was definitely a great re-introduction to camping for me. Here’s hoping for similar luck first time camping as a family with a toddler!

 

Olympic National Park

The past few days, various apps have been reminding me of our trip to Olympic National Park exactly 4 years ago. This 2-day whirlwind tour of the park was definitely full of highlights and in spite of the short time, may still be one of my favorite National Park visits. I will certainly want to return to this park sometime.

To start our tour, we took the ferry from Seattle and spent our first night in the delightful town of Sequim (pronounced “squim”) — in a B&B where all the rooms are refurbished train cabooses! After an excellent breakfast in the dining car, we checked out the lavender capital of the world before heading through Port Angeles and to our first stop in the park, Hurricane Ridge.

The winding road up to hurricane ridge brings you to one of the more dramatically placed visitor’s centers you will ever see. There are great views of the Olympic Mtn range and a number of hikes that start from the area. At the advice of a ranger, we took the Hurricane Hill trail to try to spot some Olympic marmots, which can only be found in this area. Even in late June, we had to crunch through some snow and experienced springlike weather on one side of the ridge, and foggy mist on the other. For a while, I was afraid we might just miss the marmots, but eventually, we found them! I admit, I was a little obsessed with the marmots.

After the hike we took a driving tour, stopping at Lake Crescent, the beach (because who doesn’t want to hike through snow and sand on the same day!), and ending up at the Lake Quinault Lodge. I think when we originally stayed there, I thought it fit my criteria for historic inns: “If it was good enough for Teddy, it’s good enough for us”, but I now find out it was President Franklin Roosevelt who had visited.

The next morning, we took a walk through the Quinault Rain Forest, which is partly in the National Park and partly National Forest. Whichever part we were in, we saw lots of banana slugs (though they are not as banana-y as the ones at home) and a pileated woodpecker along with plenty of other flora and fauna.

San Juan Island National Historic Park

I realized I never posted Park #7 from 2016, a visit to San Juan Island National Historic Park on San Juan Island in WA last Sept. This was the final unique park I visited in 2016, but if I count repeat visits to Golden Gate National Recreation Area and NPS-affiliated sites (such as the Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience in Seattle where we saw a temporary Bruce Lee exhibit on this same trip), I think I could claim to have met my goal of 12 parks last year 🙂

After visiting some friends in the Seattle area and visiting the local volcanoes, we hopped a ferry to the San Juan Islands. The ferry rides alone provided awesome scenery, and we arrived in Friday Harbor on a picturesque day — and were greeted by a friendly harbor seal, who I suspect makes a regular appearance near the fish market.

The historic park commemorates a mid 19th century stand-off between British and American garrisons on the island involving the matter of a pig. The two sections of the park encompass the English Camp on the north end of the island, and the American Camp further South. We first stopped at the English Camp on a drizzly afternoon. We walked up the officer’s hill, checked out the recreated English garden, and watched some more adventurous hikers head off around the point.

We next drove down to American Camp, of course spotting a bald eagle along the way. Spent some time checking out a red fox foraging on the side of the road as well. Our little dude fell asleep in the car and it was still raining, so I popped into the visitor center to get my passport cancellations and watch the video about the incident of the pig. We decided to come back the next day to explore the rolling hillsides and reconstructed camp, a lovely walk with some great views.

I had read that nearby Salt Point State Park is a good place to spot orcas from shore, so we decide​d to head there before returning to American Camp. We noticed a few cars stopped at a pullout on our way into the park, and sure enough, there were several orcas active in the water, just offshore, close enough that we could hear the snorts and splashes as the surfaced! Don’t tell little guy, who slept through the whole thing.

Orca!

After that, it was appropriately time to hop the ferry to Orcas Island, where we made a brief stop in Moran State Park, before heading back to the mainland. We had great views of Mt. Baker from the ferry.

This site had several passport stamps, including some bonus stamps which are cool except when you’re rapidly using up all the extra space in your passport book!