Day 17, dark

I was starting to get worried as we drove past many of the Oregon State Parks with “No Vacancy” signs out. Highway 101, the Oregon Coast road, seems to have a state park every five miles, and most of them fill quickly. Thankfully, we made it to Honeyman in time to get a tent spot. Within an hour, the campground was full. Whew! I cooked dinner while Jeff set up the tent, and we were all cleaned up by 6:30. Most other nights we’ve not been set up until 10:30 or later, so it was nice to not have to rush.

The dunes are awesome. I know I need to find a new word, but they really are. There’s a lake in the middle, and when it’s hot outside, you can grab a snow coaster and ride it down the hill, through the sand, right into the lake. It’s a little chilly for that today, though.

The kids found a hole that someone had started, and Jaden & Jeff enlarged it. When it was big enough for all of the kids to fit in, we got a quick picture, and then we started walking. Jeff found a snow coaster that someone had left behind, so Drew & Jace took it and hiked about ten minutes away until they found a steep hill. I mean really steep, like a 75 or 80 degree slope. In order to climb it, they had to almost crawl. Jeff and I finally made it up the hill (boy, what a workout that was!), and we each slid down on one of the sleds. I managed to make it back up so I could run down the hill. I can almost still feel the sense of weightlessness, almost like flying, when you leap off the edge of a hill and you don’t come down until you land four feet out and ten feet further down than you were before. We played on the hill for about an hour, but we could have spent all day there and not gotten bored. I tell you, tonight those kids are going to sleep like the dead. Aspen climbed the hill four or five times on her own, the older kids climbed back up at least ten times, and even Levi made it up probably three times.

It took us about twenty minutes to make it back to the car, and after we all brushed off, we headed back to the campsite for Jiffy Pop popcorn and hot chocolate. It started drizzling while we were eating, turned into real rain (albeit light), and it’s still quite drippy outside. I hope we can stay dry! I am typing this in the van in the dark, since all of the kids and Jeff are already in the tent asleep and I don’t want to get the computer wet. I’m half tempted, though, to find a sweater and just sleep in the car, since I know for sure that I won't get wet in here. My sleeping bag is warmer, though, and Jeff would most likely notice I was gone, so maybe not.

Total miles today: 77.