Our 4th of July Celebration

Before you look any further, 10 months ago - on our first full timing travel day - I placed my camera in an overhead cupboard for safety purposes. It got thrown around. The lens is wobbly and doesn't work quite right. Michael looked at these and said we need to get my lens fixed or buy a new one.....Hmmm...but these are the photos I have - so I will share them! 

The boys survived the night on the beach. I may join them next time - I sort of like my quiet nights in the Caboose.  They showed up bright and early and we had a camping breakfast. Our tradition is "Breakfast for Dinner" on Saturday night, one was very surprised to have breakfast in the morning. Keep em guessing! 

When we have visitors we MUST walk down to Stout Grove - which we did. I was so happy. We haven't done that since we arrived to help Mom G - and it was nice to just relax in the midst of all this beautiful creation. 

Do you wonder WHAT he is doing? Using his handy-dandy flashlight to check for spiders for Arielle.

So I could take THIS photo. 

Arielle & Cory - 5 1/2 months until the wedding

 Michael is a wealth of information on Redwoods. I think we'll make a video with just Redwood facts.  It'll preach.  He was THERE shortly after many of these trees fell in a windfall 40 years ago. The kids were  an attentive audience - and I'm counting it as science and genealogy.

Alex, Cory, Arielle, Stacia, Nolan

 A helpful hiker took a photo of all of us! 

Alex, Cory, Arielle, Nolan, Stacia, De'Etta & Michael

We've been bringing Gherkins to this tree for a photo for 31 years. LOL Even though they keep growing - the tree is STILL BIG! 

Stacia, Nolan, Alex, Arielle, Cory

We finished our walk around noon. I drove back across the river to make lunch/dinner. They swam, and Michael visited with Mom G and helped her get ready.

Our youngest two - Alex and Stacia - their friendship reminds me of Josiah and Krista

 All the trimmings - grilled steak and veggie patties, melon, baked potatoes, corn on the cob, homemade biscuits, beans, salad and FAMILY.  I'm getting more confidence at pulling off meals in my tiny kitchen.  We didn't all fit around the table so us "three adults" sat off to the side. 

CoRielle left after lunch for their four hour drive back to Oregon. It was a quick visit - but it picked up our spirits. Mom G was happy to see Arielle and meet Cory too.

Visitors are welcome. You may have to sleep in a tent - but we can keep you busy while you're here...

Last, and maybe least, we started a Courageous Joy You Tube channel today.  We're trying our hand at video blogging. It's a fun way the whole family can get involved. Some days a quick video blog is more practical than editing photos and organizing thoughts. OBVIOUSLY, we don't organize our thoughts too carefully in the videos....and we have a lot to learn....BUT we are having fun and so we'll keep making them. LOL  We love to share the things we see.



The big question we have on our minds tonight is - will our sleepy park go back to normal or is THIS the kick off to the summer season? Every space is full.

Happy 4th of July

Are they not the cutest? 

CoRielle Are Here

After church, lunch, and our visit to Brother Jonathan Point...this happened. 

Repair on Mom G's car

 CoRielle arrived. They are down for the evening and day tomorrow. We enjoyed dinner and then headed over to Mom G's.  The guys decided to initiate Cory into an old family tradition - sleeping on the beach. Michael did this a lot while growing up here. We girls opted for warm and soft beds in the Caboose.

A site was selected, rocks were cleared and driftwood was gathered.  

Next up was a visit with Mom G. 

Mom, Arielle, Cory

Stacia, Cory, Arielle - Arrow and Nina

Smith River at Sunset

 Of COURSE we stayed for s'mores before heading back to the park. 

CoRielle, Nolan, Michael, Stacia, Alex

It's a blessing to have the kids make the drive for a quick visit. We'll pack in as much as we can.

Brother Jonathan Point

JaRissa have been taking quick video clips of places they are going and things they are doing in Alaska. They have been such fun for us to watch, that we decided to try our own. I had thought we'd need to wait until we have a Go Pro - but we made it work without it - once we figured out not to put the selfie-stick over the volume button. LOL

Below - a quick visit to Brother Jonathan Point in Crescent City, CA. We'll mostly share these on our Courageous Joy Facebook page.

We've been thinking of starting a YouTube channel for quite some time....It seems to do that we'd need to do more professional videos, and learn to edit, and learn how You Tube works....so we've done nothing.

A still shot that will print - though it's a bit odd. ::snort:: 

Monkeying Around in Eureka, CA

 We have been trying to visit John and Mary K (Michael's sister) since he retired. We kept getting diverted by health, family or VA . TODAY - Nolan woke up ill, but the rest of us drove over the Redwood Hwy, down Hwy 101 to Eureka, for the long awaited visit.

We chatted a bit at their home.

Mary K showed us where she goes to work on her art. She's had a couple of shows in Eureka lately.

Our next stop was the Clarke Memorial Museum. The customer service was awesome. They saw us looking at the steps and came out to show us a side entrance with a ramp. They were great at answering our questions.

John (our BIL), Mary (Michael's sister), Stacia, Michael & Alex

I had hoped to find information on the Carson Mansion. It turns out it's owned by an exclusive, private club and not open to the public.....but sometimes they open for tours one weekend in December. We'll have to keep our ears and eyes open.

A memorial to WW2 Chaplain Pearson

 It was lunch time when we left the museum. We opted for a picnic in  Sequoia Park. 

The next natural stop was the Sequoia ZOO! Stacia hadn't been to an American zoo since she was old enough to remember. This is a smallish zoo - but very easy to do and we loved it. Stacia's favorites were the monkeys. 

Via Google Images

Do you see Stacia below? She's inside a tube in the middle of an aquarium. VERY COOL - and slightly freaky. 

Eagles Nest 

Scarlet Ibis

Blonde Crested Spider

Aunt Mary and Stacia

Crested Screamers - the one in the foreground appears
to be threatening the one with the eggs

 John said he wanted a photo with me in it - and so Michael took one 

F - John
B - Stacia, Mary, Me

 We FINALLY found our retirement flamingos. . . not in FL like we'd hoped. . . but we found them.

Daniel - a HUGE cow temporarily lives at the zoo. He is 6 foot 4 inches! His owners are looking for a new home for him. They raised him on a bottle. They SERIOUSLY are checking and it appears this cow may break a few records. 

Via Google Images

It was a great day. We didn't stay for Arts Alive, as we needed to drive the couple of hours back, have dinner and prepare for an early Sunday morning.....and CoRielle are coming to town to see us.

Yuuki in the Spotlight

Such a pretty dog! Note she is ON their futon.

The cushions stacked in the closets are their futons. Yuuki's personality shines through in this video - she is NOT going to do what Nolan asks.

Choosing Joy!
©2013 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

The Redwood Highway

Our current home is in a park directly off  US Hwy 199 - the Redwood Highway.  It's a beautiful stretch of road. When I say Mom G lives 13 miles from town - it's 13 of the windiest, curviest, most beautiful miles in America. ::snort::

I struggle with motion sickness. I made myself sick the first time I drove it. ::snort::

I'm getting used to finding tourists in the middle of the road as one comes around a tight curve....

I'm learning to deal with the odd combination of locals who zip around the curves at 55 mph and the tourists who slow down to 15 mph to take the curves.

Semis, trailers, giant Class A's, bicyclists....it makes for an interesting drive. This is NOT a curvy spot....but note the bicycle club leading the pack. LOL