Joshua Tree National Park, located in Southern California near Palm Springs, is a park named after a tree that has a very “Dr. Seuss” kind of appearance. These trees are mostly found, however, in the Mojave Desert portion of the park. Though you’ll also find them growing next to a saguaro cactus in the Sonoran Desert in Arizona or mixed with pines in the San Bernadino Mountains.
…more
We love sand! It’s fun to play with and to walk on too. We like going to the beach where we can make sand castles and write in the sand, only to see it washed clean when the first wave rolls into shore. But sometimes . . .
…more
That song has been going around in my mind for some time, even now, nearly a week after we left. Undoubtedly our time in San Jose was a big highlight of our trip—visiting Daniel and Dia in their home for the first time, going on delightful outings with them, going to church with them (three times!), getting to know the sunny cities in the San Francisco Bay area, and especially seeing how God even worked through the auto accident our first day there as part of the “good times,” memories that will be with us forever. We are truly grateful for every day that we were in the Bay area.
…more
The ranger at one of the lighthouses we visited in California said “Everyone should drive Highway One at least once in their lives, and that’s enough.” We had already experienced enough of that challenging road to understand what he meant!
…more
When we thought that we had pretty much covered the Redwoods, we found that we had really only begun. The Redwoods to the south of the national park were actually bigger than the ones we encountered in the Redwood National Park. We discovered that Humboldt State Park would treat our eyes to even bigger trees than we had previously seen.
…more
Bonnie and I have heard from “our youth up” about the Redwood trees and how big they grow. They actually are taller than the giant Sequoya trees but they are only half the diameter at the base. Nevertheless, they are giants created by an even bigger God who delights in amazing His people.
…more
The California Costal Redwoods are gigantic trees that cannot easily be conveyed with still pictures or even with videos.
…more
While exploring the Oregon coast, we made it a goal to visit all nine of the historic lighthouses on the Oregon coast—and we did it!
…more
They kept calling my name. But even when I responded, they wouldn't quit calling me!
…more
We were taking a little hike to see the Octopus Tree. We didn’t really know what to expect and were anxious to get a glimpse of this wonder of God’s creation. When the tree came into view we were quite surprised by the shape and size of the tree. But that wasn’t the only thing that was a surprise to us that day.
…more
It’s not often that Flat meets someone like himself: a “travel buddy.” But in Astoria, Oregon, Flat did just that.
…more
While we were at Fort Langley, two of the docents sang this song for us. Nette said this was one of the songs that was sung during the gold rush period. It struck a chord with us.
…more
Did you ever lose track of where you were and what day is was? Trips like this can make that happen! Friday, August 30, we left Victoria (the capital of British Columbia, which is on Vancouver Island, confusing matters) by ferry from Swartz Bay, and crossed over to Vancouver (city) via the port at Tsuwassen, south of the city, arriving at my brother Jon’s home in south Vancouver in the early afternoon.
…more
When would a 39-room castle seem to be small?
…more
On our last day with Steve and Marie, we took both their minivan and our van across Puget Sound to Seattle on the Kingston to Edmonds ferry. Then we left our van at Trader Joe’s in Lynnwood and all rode in their car down to Seattle, which was a good idea, since our van would not fit in the parking garages downtown.
…more