Summer trip

We returned about a week ago from our epic, 6 week summer trip. This was the second year in a row that we were able to explore the country for a long stretch in the summer - what a blessing!

This year the primary motivation for heading to California was so that Tatiana could do some research - paint analysis, specifically - at the Getty Institute in LA. But since we had the time, we camped all the way out and back, and I backpacked for 5 days with Mike too.

The route this time was along the I-40 corridor - we had travelled along I-70 and 80 last year, so this was a chance to see some new things. We mostly focused on National Parks and other NPS sites (historic sites and monuments, mostly) in New Mexico and Arizona. We visited 35 NPS sites, including 6 national parks. I have been keeping track, and this brings my total NPS sites visited up to 310 - about 79% of the total. The sites I have not been to are primarily in the extreme southwest, the northwest, and outside the contiguous 48 states.

Calista has a national parks passport, and has been collecting stamps. She also earned numerous junior ranger badges in the various parks.

The backpacking trip was a highlight. We started at Seiad Valley, along the Klamath River, hiking north on the Pacific Crest Trail. We had started south from the same spot last year. This time we only had 5 days, but we covered roughly 80 miles, finished at Green Springs Summit, east of Ashland, Oregon. We encountered large piles of snow above 7000 feet along some of the ridges, making the hike quite a challenge. But there were few other hikers around and the views were outstanding, making it a memorable hike.

Other highlights included a weekend trip to Santa Cruz Island, part of Channel Islands National Park. We camped overnight and hiked along a bluff overlooking the ocean - the photo at the top of the post is from Santa Cruz. Staying at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, exploring Zion National Park, and seeing two ancient volcanoes (Sunset Crater and Capulin) were also high points.

The other images in this post are of me and Calista at the top of Mt. Magazine - the highest point in Arkansas - and of Calista getting sworn in for her junior ranger badge at Fort Union National Historic Site.

Here is a link to my summer trip report, which has more details about what we did each day and where we camped. There are also links to lots of photos!!