Coos Bay Camping Trip

MY NOTES

Stats:
3 nights stayed in Roseburg
3 nights at Sunset State Park

5 miles family-hiked
too many photos- 321 to be exact
Greatest Adventure: Picnic with Family and "the beach" (according to Nate)
Coolest finds: Spider's Nest and Daddy Long Legs, Huge pool of urchins and Jellyfish in Tidepool (No spidy photos for you K)
Traditions: S'mores, tossing pine cones in fire.
Lesson Learned: Take a crockpot camping! It was wonderful to have the meal mostly done after all that play!
Ambitions: This was our first attempt at a 'life on the road' trip. Ralph worked his normal hours (he telecommutes and can do so at the local library or coffee house with wi fi) and the boys and I pressed on with school. Our days were minimal, math and language arts out of text and much literature about the ocean, coast, tides, sea critters. We also got a National Geographic coastal field guide from the library here and this was a huge asset. As we poked around in tidepools Joe would read to us all, teaching about limpets, urchins and sea stars. Invaluable. The hikes provided lots of conversation about the plants and trees in the temprate rainforest. We've been talking about habitat so this was a fun part of our discussion. The high desert is so completely different.

We finally made it to the beach! Group hug!!

We finally made it to the beach. Naptime.
Our first hike out to Shore Park & Gardens
Elijah Jonathan=Peach
Tree climber Joe
Nate too!

First Tide Pools, ahh heaven for little boys a captive sea window for little eyes.
Underwater pool
Early Morning Tide Pool explorers
I never get tired of those sticky anenomes. When you touch them they 'grab' your finger. Eli showed us that if you squeeze a closed one it squirts like a sprinkler.
Sea Star
Joey's find; sea star complete with rocky bottom
Tide pools below the cliffs. It was beautiful!
Turning around to the other side of the cliffs, I was amazed at the rock walls. I love the Oregon Coast. It's all so unique.
Back at Sunset Beach. Diggin' boys never tire...until it's called 'work.'
Nathan back at the campsite... Eli has dubbed them "smarshmallows" and it stuck...no pun intended.
A new day hike, complete with millipede (thanks to the identification by our insect pro, Makita) :)


More to come....