Joseph H. Stewart County Park

What a beautiful park! One of the 5 camp hosts said that this was Jackson County's crown jewel. There are 4 loops here and we were in site C-07. They blasted huge sprinklers to water all the nice grass and trees and yes Jordan went out there to get sprayed once. The bunnies spent a lot of time outside in their fence, while Michael worked close to them. Our RV backed up to the playground. The kids loved running over and playing all sorts of games with kids like hide-and-go-seek in the dark, an Indian game, a dragon game, Castle, groundies (whatever that is) and tag. They also loved jumping high when they grabbed a tree branch while jumping up and down. Their were also nice walking and biking trails. Asher and I scootered to the creek with a small waterfall. I did a wheelie and a jump for the first time! 

All of us went to Crater Lake National Park on Monday afternoon. It had just snowed two days before we got there and so only part of the scenic road was opened and all the trails were closed. The view of the lake in the crater was magnificent! Praise the Lord! We could easily see 6 miles across with ice patches here and there. The reflections in the water were beautiful. This is the clearest lake in the world. It is fed by snow and rain only. It is 1,943 ft feet and is the deepest in the US. We picked up Junior Ranger Books at the Rim Visitor Center. The kids played in the snow across the street while Michael and I walked on a snowy path and enjoy the wonderful views. I saw a Gray Jay take a piece of food near a woman picnicking on the wall and the bird carried it to a nearby tree. Eating on the wall in front of that amazing view looked like such a great idea! 

On the scenic drive, we stopped and checked out the crater with a great view of Wizard Island. This is actually a volcano inside a volcano! The kids saw two marmots under the trees and I was able to come over and see them too! After driving the rest of the open road, we settled on an overlook with plenty of snow for the kids to play. Caleb took real pinecones and put snow on them to make "snow cones." We had chili for dinner from the instant pot with Tillamook cheese and crackers. After I spilled a bit of chili in the car, the kids had to eat theirs outside. Even though I forgot to bring all the snow gear, they loved the snow, especially on a warm day. On our way home, we stopped at the Rogue River Viewpoint in Prospect. The water was really rough and roaring with so much of the snow melting.

    

On Tuesday, I started the kids on TypingClub.com to learn how to touch type. This should help us with our blogs. Asher started a Beast Academy math book. Jordan wanted to learn more gymnastics this summer. Because we are on the road and have no equipment or teachers, we watched a Youtube video on doing a perfect cartwheel. She did a bunch and improved! She also did a right-sided cartwheels for the first time and improved it in a short time. When she was cartwheeled out, Jordan and I went to the host to get firewood. He said to just check the sites for leftover and free wood. We found a bunch. Later, the host brought us more and we had enough for 2 fires. Jordan loved the firewood hunt and so did I. The kids made a campfire and roasted sausages over it. Later, we had s'mores. The boys and I went on a hike after dinner to "the point." It is a nice spot to view the lake. The kids played on the playground, with some not so nice kids. I had to tell one to not bring a lighter to the playground. 

Caleb had a lemonade sale on the back of the Jeep on Wednesday and Friday. He sold a total of $19 worth. One girl even used her tooth money to buy a lemonade. Caleb, is so kind and after learning that  he gave her a free lemonade later. It was supposed to be 99 degrees on Saturday when we left and Caleb was sad he couldn't stay and sell some more.

  

The kids and I headed back to Crater Lake on Thursday and we were prepared this time with snow bibs, boots and a sled. First, we had a picnic on the wall! That was lovely. I was able to see a Clark's Nutcracker multiple times! I have been wanting to see one for the last few national parks. Once we were done, the kids stood in line to get their badges. Then we went to find a great snow hill. We found one and the kids and I had a blast sledding! I went down 5 times and loved every moment. I used the 90 stairs and snow bench that Caleb constructed. He had fun making them. I was thankful to get to use them and keep my shoes dry! Asher's favorite way to go down the hill was penguin style, which is on his stomach, head first with no sled. He also liked rolling big and small snowballs down the hill. Jordan liked smashing them at the bottom. She went up and gleefully sledded down the most. Another group came over and went down too. One guy was from New Zealand. Another man had just turned 65. He went down, smashed the boys biggest snowball (wahoo) and kept going down a 6ft drop by the trees. He laughed and all of us did too! Before we left the national park, we tried going on a hike called Annie Creek Canyon Trail. Once we got to the creek, the trail was covered in snow. Caleb and Asher slipped down into the snow, the trail only got worse, so as soon as we could, we headed up the canyon and out of the snow. We continued the trail at the top and saw a waterfall, but we never found a really good view of the canyon.

It was great to use Caleb's 90 snow steps! 

Our hike on a snowy trail was very slippery!


The kids played with ice patches on our hike.


This canyon is what we were looking for on our hike. We found this pullout when we went exploring on our way out of the park.

I drove the kids to the county park's day-use area with a beach on Lost Creek Lake on Friday. Right when they got out there they noticed rocks floating - pumice! The kids made "Pumice Harbor" in the sand using rocks and wood pieces. Asher made Balancing Rock City. Caleb had his Floating Rock Island City. Jordan made a battleship repair station. They had a whole war once they were done. Jordan swam a bit even though it was chilly. They stopped shortly for a picnic with me. I loved talking with my mom and watching the osprey diving into the water to get fish. After the kids had their war, we went to the camp store to get ice-cream. Yes, we had a great week!