It almost didn’t happen. It wasn’t planned. It evolved organically without a definite plan over all 605 miles.

And it started with a missed connection. We were in Oregon for a week with GrandMama & GrandPapa, minding our own business, when the opportunity dropped in our laps. Karen was supposed to join us for the weekend to end the trip, and then we were going to get her home for work by Monday morning. But she missed her flight connection to Eugene (other options were unworkable), and we didn’t have to be back home at all. The next obligation was an event in Reno on Tuesday, and the obvious option became clear: Criss-cross Southern Oregon and Northern California on a rambling car trip between Roseburg and Tahoe. Voila!

Sunday: A Tale of Two Waterfalls: We started Sunday in Oregon

You’ll notice the waterfall above and the one below are not the same place. Clearwater Creek along Highway 138 and the North Umpqua River in Oregon gave us a short full waterfall that the girls got to see upclose (notice the picture on the right is actually a playable video) on our way to Crater Lake (recapped in the Oregon post). From there, we drove to Klamath Falls, crossing into California on US 97 through Dorris.

We took a slingshot ride around Mt. Shasta, catching Highway 89 south from I-5, toward Lassen Volcanic National Park.

Our day ended at the incredible waterfall over Burney Creek, just a few yards off of Highway 89 at the McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park. We drove in to the park on a lark, hoping it might be easy to see the Falls. And was it: The base of these incredible falls was less than five minutes walk from the parking lot! It was such a pleasant scene, that we had our picnic lunch near the campground and then visited the Britton Lake boat docks inside the park.

Thirty minutes after that, we were at Hat Creek, where we spent the night before the Lassen part of our adventure began. Overall, the first day took almost 8 hours to drive the 350 miles to the outskirts of Lassen:

View Larger Map

Confession: The day might have included a third waterfall, as I got sucked-in by the touristy-sounding city named “Klamath Falls” … but, alas there were no falls evident as we drove through.

Monday: Volcanoes, Lava Tubes, Canyons, Rivers, Railroads

Monday was another whirlwind of fun, with some extraordinary outdoor scenes. It began with a morning drive into Lassen Volcanic National Park. Although the park is still closed for the “winter,” the Visitor center was open, and we were able to get some great pictures of the tallest plug-dome volcano in the world.

After the outdoor discoveries, it was time for a little indoor exploration … underground! The Subway Lava Tube had been one of our destination ideas from the beginning of the trip, and it did not disappoint. The tube was formed thousands of years ago from volcanic lava flowing from Mt. Lassen and its predecessor. The entrance fed us into a completely dark (pitch black) cavern with cool temps and cool reflector-marked interpretive trail. Spaces inside included Lucifer’s Cul de Sac, The Sanctum, and some low spaces where headroom was at a premium.

The volcanic geology was especially cool for Jocelyn, because her sixth grade science curriculum included a lot about volcanoes. We talked a lot about plug-dome volcanoes, mudpots, and pyroclastic flows.

From Lassen, we had to drive around the closed stretch of road, through high alpine meadows and lots of cattle ranches. We got our last glimpse of Mt. Lassen form the shores of Lake Almanor, where we also crossed a PG&E hydroelectric dam before rejoining SR89. Our trip included a stretch through the scenic Feather River Canyon, with high canyon walls, crisscrossing railroad lines, and steep whitewater runs. We stopped in Quincy for lunch, and the girls were really struck by this huge Native American mural.

We continued following Highway 89 through Plumas and Sierra Counties, and eventually found our way back to the familiar in Truckee and at our cabin in Serene Lakes. But not before we all agreed the fun had been well worth the long drive.

View Larger Map

————-
And … BUGS! … not surprisingly, many bugs died to bring you this adventure. And, yes, we gave the Volvo a thorough cleaning after its 1300-mile odyssey.

You can also enjoy the trip by reliving my Twitter Feed for the month of June, beginning on June 12

What better way to shake-off the school year than to race out to vacation right of the gate!?!

That’s what we (or at least David & the Girls) did for the Summer of 2011. We hit the road on Monday for a trip to Southern Oregon to visit GrandMaMa & GrandPaPa in Roseburg. Of course, don’t let anyone fool you: The real stars of the visit were probably Maddie & Daisy, the adorable basset hounds who run the house.

After a fairly simple run straight up I-5, we arrived for dinner on Monday, and the began in earnest on Tuesday with a visit to the Douglas County Museum of Natural History, followed by a visit to the N. Umpqua Fish Ladder that allows safe passage for fish around the dam at Winchester. That afternoon, the girls started on an art project, following in GrandMaMa’s footsteps painting designer leaf casts.

Yep: those are Giraffes and Tigers. … oh, and Jocelyn and Felicia in the side-view mirrors!

Wednesday was just another day at Wildlife Safari in nearby Winston, one of our grandparents’ favorite places to take out-of-towners. It was Jocelyn’s second visit, but Felicia’s first. They were both very excited to see the wild animals up close, and to feed the giraffes later in the afternoon.

Thursday’s adventure was a bit further afield — and quite a bit wetter.

We never got a really warm summer day during our visit, but we ventured to Grants Pass on Thursday for a Jetboat ride down the Rouge River to Hellgate Canyon. These boats raced west out of Grants Pass along the Rogue upstream to the canyon and then dinner at the OK Corral Dining Hall. The views along the river were fantastic, featuring numerous scenic canyons and lots of wildlife, especially Bald Eagles, ospreys and blue herons. The boats included a bit of fun, too … and the picture on the right attests to the waves we created as the boats did 360-degree spins in the water.

Friday: Karen Arrives! A trip to Elkton and the historically-recreated Fort Umpqua preceded David’s jaunt to Eugene to pick-up Mommy from the airport. Karen had spent the week working in Austin, and was eager to join us for the last two days of our trip.

Friday (updated): A trip to Elkton and the historically-recreated Fort Umpqua preceded pizza dinner and a hasty reconfiguration of the weekend’s activities after Karen missed her flight connection through Las Vegas.

Saturday: Susan Creek Falls with the Puppies!

Although the weekend didn’t include Karen, it did feature a ton of Oregon Waterfalls. Saturday’s walk was a mild hike into the Susan Creek watershed and the beautiful Susan Creek Waterfall. The trail was nice and easy, allowing Daisy & Maddie (and GrandPaPa) fairly easy access to the fun. Along our path, we talked about the incredible variety of plants and lush green hillsides.

That night, we had our first clear sky, and took the opportunity to a bit of star-gazing.

Sunday: Clearwater Creek and Crater Lake: Gateway to more adventure!

Our tour of Oregon scenics byways and rivers ran one last day on Sunday, with trip along the N Umpqua River all the way to famous Crater Lake. We made stops along the way at Clearwater Creek and Diamond Lake, before cresting the rim to see the famous lake. It was a little cold — and fairly windy — but at least we have photographic proof of David’s participation in the trip.

After a nice lunch at Crater Lake Lodge, we left for home. … Sort of …

[To be Continued ...]

————-

You can also enjoy the trip by reliving my Twitter Feed for the month of June, beginning on June 6

A welcome surprise, of course …

The dust has yet to settle on Jocelyn’s robotics season – The season which was supposed to end today with the regional qualifying tournament at NASA Ames Research Center. But it didn’t end.

The Apparators Robotics team was one of the top-nine teams at today’s tournament, and moves one to the regional tournament later in December. The team was also second overall in Project Presentation for their “SkyLanes” transportation alternative for getting students to school.

Since it’s Thanksgiving, let’s say we are all thankful that the team gets to keep practicing. Thankful … and surprised! Let’s just say no one was expecting the season to stretch beyond this weekend — least of all the team members and their coach! Although their robot didn’t accomplish much, the team parlayed strong presentation scores and planning into a strong finish. No one saw that coming.

——

You can also re-live portions of the tournament, as Twittered.

In an odd convergence of traditions, maybe I should have given Jocelyn one of Felicia’s birthday books this year, instead of the traditional stuffed plush toy I usually give her on her special day.

This is the year that Jocelyn truly became a reader. A Voracious Reader. There were times that we had to pry books out of her hands in order to move on to the next activity, including sports, dance, homework, travel, and even sleep. And this was never more true than the five-week period this summer during which she read the last four Harry Potter books.

She’d read the first three books in parentally-enforced yearly intervals (she had inhaled the third book in 2008). She began reading the fourth installment on June 14, and finished the seventh book on July 22, even re-reading many of them again afterward. And of course, the big Eleventh Birthday Party over the weekend only reinforced the point.

So, back to the traditional gift. … Actually, two traditions collide in this photo taken the day of her party … She’s crashing through the traditional Birthday Curtain (silver and black this year) while holding Dumbledore’s pet Phoenix named ‘Fawkes‘ on her arm.

Just eleven years ago Karen was dreading that our five-days-past-her-due-date baby might be born on Halloween. To be honest, I was secretly hoping for an excuse to throw an annual costume birthday party.

Well, Jocelyn went on to be another three days late, but it took me eleven full years to get my Halloween Costume Birthday Party. And furthermore, I had no idea that Harry Potter would play a role in my grand plan.

For Halloween this year, we hosted a massive overnight slumber party — complete with trick-or-treating! Jocelyn invited eight friends, plus Kiana, Felicia. We had ghosts, goblins, friends, a blue candy monster, … and Hermione Granger herself, too!

The party primarily followed a Harry Potter theme, wonderfully constructed by Karen to include classes of the various Hogwarts subjects, including Potions, Divination, the Care of Magical Creatures, and Muggle Studies (the aforementioned trick-or-treating Halloween night).

Karen didn’t design a specific Defense Against the Dark Arts curriculum, but maybe we could have used one to ward off the ill effects of the time change associated with the end of Daylight Savings Time. Sunday ended with cake for breakfast and gift-opening, and everyone had a great time!

Happy Halloween!

Here are the California Cousins showing off their 2009 Halloween costumes, with Felicia and Kiana sporting different versions of witches, and that’s Jocelyn in the middle with her self-designed “Blue Candy Monster,” once again beautifully rendered by Karen.

For additional detail, Halloween festivities were lightly-Twittered during Friday’s school parades and again on Saturday.

Good thing we had our cousins with us!

During our excursion to the seasonally-shrinking Lake van Norden this past weekend, Jocelyn lost her hat to the howling winds that are common in the afternoons on Donner Summit.

We had finished exploring ‘Pride Rock‘ with Camden & Brayden, and also discovered lots of grasshoppers and tiny frogs — including an awesome display of a tiny snake devouring a little frog whole. We had reached the shores of Lake van Norden, and were about to head home … when the winds grabbed Jocelyn’s hat and threw it into one of the fingers of the lake.

Our adventurers were not deterred by the winds — or by the strong gooey mud that almost claimed one of Felicia’s keen sandals along with Grandee’s right leg. They quickly waded into the lake and recovered the hat!

We had lots of other adventures this weeknd, too … including a swim in Lake Dulzura, some boulder hopping along Old Donner Pass Road, and some seriously burned grilled cheese sandwiches. Most of it was captured on the M-K LifeStream in case you missed it.

Sure, Kiana’s seventh birthday was actually in May … but when you give an “experience” for her birthday gift, the fun naturally stretches beyond the actual day. and month.

For Part One of the promise gift, we took Kiana to Great America on Thursday for a full day of thrill rides and fun. She was a little nervous about some of the spinnie rides and the roller coasters.

But she soon got over her fears, and had a great time, as seen here on the Taxi Jam kiddie roller coaster in GA’s KidZville. She also rode Psycho Mouse, the Runaway Reptar, and even the Demon (which I may have ridden back when the park first opened when i was eight or so).

Today wasn’t much fun (previously on Twitter).

After our family’s philosophical conversations and practical efforts to defeat Proposition 8 last November, it was disappointing to see the California Supreme Court affirm this blatant form of discrimination.

But Enough! Now we’re called to action … beginning with a “Day of Decision” rally that started at Plaza de Cesar Chavez and ended with a march and rally at San Jose City Hall.

So the girls participated in their first protest rally. Actually, to be honest, it was probably the first protest rally for any of us – yeah, shame on us.

The girls were more spectators than participants, but it still remains nearly impossible to explain to them why anyone would vote to prevent a loving couple from getting married, regardless of their genders. They don’t understand, and neither do we.