The following day, July 4th, the 3 of us woke up early and walked 4.5 mile event with Tiger Lily's cousin Hannah, Merrick's cousins Becky and Heather (their husbands, Sonam and Carl ran the 10k), Heather and Carl's children Evie and Nate and Merrick's uncle Dennis. The weather was perfect and it was a great opportunity to catch up. We're looking forward to more family joining next year!
Later that day we went to Merrick's Uncle Marc, Aunt Pat, Shannon and Mike Burgess' wonderful country estate in Junction City for a fantastic BBQ! We were treated to Mike and Matthew's freshly caught BBQ'd Columbia River sturgeon. Wow! The kids got to play in the pool, run around in the sunshine and catch frogs. Thanks for the hospitality Burgess'!
After that Hannah and the 3 of us, Merrick's parents and sister Ginny headed to the Oregon coast. Merrick's parents and Ginny stayed at a hotel in Florence and we stayed in a really nice yurt on the Siltcoos river for the nights of the 4th and 5th. Merrick and Hannah caught the Florence fireworks display that night. We had planned to paddle from our yurt to the ocean (about 3 miles) but as you can see in the photos the portage around the dam was super sketchy and we decided that though we might get down we probably wouldn't get back up! So, we paddled back upstream to the lake and then opted for a beach hike in the afternoon. The next morning Merrick, Hannah, and Beth did a longer hike along the Siltcoos River, through the dunes and out to the beach. We saw a family of five otters, a giant water beetle, a tree frog, and lots of seals lounging on a sand bank in the surf! The weather couldn't have been nicer. It was our birthday present to Hannah who turned 13 July 9th! Happy Birthday Hannah!
On the 6th we said goodbye to the family and headed back towards Seattle taking the scenic route along the Oregon coast. We tent camped one night at Cape Lookout state park and had enough time to explore the surrounding area. Absolutely beautiful!
The Drive to Eugene, July 3rd.
13 pictures. Click the photo for a slideshow, here to see them all at once.
Tiger Lily chasing ducks at Lake Sacajawea park, Longview WA
Butte to Butte, July 4th.
14 pictures. Click the photo for a slideshow, here to see them all at once.
Burgess BBQ, July 4th
13 pictures. Click the photo below for a slideshow, here to see them all at once.
Florence and the Siltcoos River, Oregon Coast July 4th-6th
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Cape Lookout, Cape Meares and the trip back to Seattle
July 6th & 7th
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