Californ - I - A!!!

Made it to Cape Kiwanda where we actually saw a sandy beach! We walked up the sand dunes and saw a spectacular view that was well worth the climb.  Best part was sprinting down hill :-)

 

After a quick one day stop at Cape Kiwanda, we continued on our journey along the Oregon Coast where we saw breathtaking views of the Pacific Ocean. 

Eventually, we made down to the Redwood Forest near Crescent City and basically did some hiking in our van when we took the scenic routes through groves of old growth redwoods that were 1000-2000 years old.

wooooo!

Simon next to a big tree

Bo standing in front of a big tree

Chinook next to a big tree

Decided to do an overnight backpacking trip along the Redwood Creek Trail where we saw the tallest tree in the world named Hyperion at about 379 feet! While we were hiking, it was hard to believe that just yesterday we were running down the sand dunes along the Oregon Coast and now we were in the middle of the Redwood Forest. The camping spot was amazing where we got to fall asleep under the stars by the river.

Bo setting up camp

The backpacking trip was followed with an epic day that included a zipline tour through the redwood canopy, driving through beautiful California wine country, a fancy Italian lunch in Sonoma, classing it up with wine tasting at Domaine Carneros Winery in Napa Valley, and ended the night luxuriously with a sauna and hot tub sesh at Bo's aunt's house in Tiburon while looking at probably one of the best views in the San Francisco area.  It also was so refreshing to take a shower and sleep on a mattress for the first time in 10 days. 

Being fancy in Sonoma

Domaine Carneros Winery

Amazing view from Bo's aunt's house

We just spent two nights in San Francisco, caught up with some old friends, and had an hella good time (Bay Life)! Next up, Yosemite!

Movin Down the Coast

After finishing the hike from Ozette Triangle, we decided to chill at the Sol Duc Hotsprings mainly because James had never been to one in his life.  Despite the terrible smell and slimy water due to the sulfur emitted from the rock in that area, it was nice to relax in the pools and hot tubs.  It was also pretty amazing when we took a moment to look up and realize that we were in the middle of a forest sitting in a hot tub.

Got our tan on, then headed out to eat campground near the Hoh Rainforest.  

We did two short hikes through the Hoh Rainforest the next day, then rushed to Forks in order to get phone reception for Bo's two phone interviews.  

Of course, since we were in Forks we had to get a Twilight picture for the books:

We finished up our time in Forks and started to head down the Washington Coast to do some beach walking and rock skipping at Ruby Beach.

After about a week surrounded by nature, we headed to the big city of Portland for James's last night with.  We also caught up with Nick, Simon's good friend from high school who showed us an awesome time!  Checked out Deschutes Brewery, a couple bars, and of course ended the night at Portland's famous Voodoo Doughnuts.

There were some really really good cupcakes

Sadly, we said goodbye to James and Nick the next day.  Hopefully there will be someone else who will join us for our trip.  Now off to Cape Kiwanda where I hear you can do gainers on the sand dunes.  Maybe I'll finally learn how to do one ...

Post-breakdown to Ozette Triangle

We ended up totally lucking out with the van! After breaking down completely on the bridge, the tow truck brought us 40 miles to Port Angeles to a mechanic that he recommended. By 11am the next day, he was able to fix the alternator, and we were on our way again. What could have been a super long delay really only set us back a few hours.

We stuck to the original plan, and made it out to the coast to do a 2 day backpacking trip on the Ozette Triangle loop late Monday afternoon. It was a bit overcast, but the weather held and it made for really mystical scenery and view on the beach. 

James - "lets get in the yellow!"

Bro bonding time 

 Sandpoint Rocks

James and Simon creeping in the weeds

Found the heiroglyphs that Simon saw when he was a little kid doing this same hike

After all that happened on day 1, this ended up being an awesome first hike of the trip.  Best part was that Chinook started right back up when we got done :)

And the Adventures Begin

Day one was wild! We left right after the World Cup final, made it as far as the 76 gas station 3 blocks from my house, and then... the car wouldn't start. Ok, that's fine we thought, we were told the battery was almost bad, so we figured we would just replace it and be on our way. Our roommate Tyler jumped us at the gas station.

 

 So we barely made it to O'Reillys - we lost all electrical and power steering as we pulled into the parking lot. It died before we could even park. That probably should have been a warning, but we replaced the battery and pressed forward!

 

Made it to the hood canal floating bridge, and got stuck waiting for a boat to pass. While waiting for the bridge to lower, Bo says "wouldn't it be funny if couldn't start our car again?" 20 minutes later a police officer is pushing us off the bridge after a Good Samaritan was unable to jump us.

 
We got a free tow to port Angeles, where we are now waiting for the alternator to be fixed. Hopefully on our way soon!