Fern Canyon —> Humbug Mountain State Park

May 11, 2019 Part 2

This morning we drove out to the Fern Canyon part of Prairie Creek State Park off of Davidson Road. This took about 35 minutes and involved driving over a stream. Many non-AWD vehicles did not attempt, abandoning their vehicles and proceeding on foot. It was good not to be in the low-riding Civic.

The hike along Fern Canyon was the single most incredible hike I’ve ever been on. The green colours were stunning. We cross-crossed the river, jumping from log to log or rock to rock many times. Eventually my shoes were soaked (due to age they have entry ports on the sides, aka rips) and I just walked the river directly. Eventually we reached a wooden staircase and decided that rather than climb up and leave the trail that way we’d retrace our footsteps and get to experience Fern Canyon a second time. Later in the parking lot a group of young men told me that they have a tradition of hiking to the steps and back just like we did.

We then walked over to the beach that was there. It was low-tide and and we walked more than 100m along the sand to reach the water. The afternoon was filled with jumping off sand hills, running up them, collecting rocks and watching some people really enjoy the fishing they were doing. Every fish they pulled out was as exciting as the last.

Back at our cabin Amy and I sat on an elk observing bench. Only there was no elk to observe; however there was the Redwoods. A road passes at the base of the redwoods and it really messes with your mind because the cars that pass by are so small compared to the height of the trees. It feels like an alien planet where trees are an order of magnitude taller.

Mary 15, 2019

Our last full day at Prairie Creek (Elk Prairie Campground) was Mothers’ Day. We relaxed in the morning and went hiking in the afternoon. We went on the Cathedral Trail and some other trails beside it. We saw BIG TREE. It was very funny that there was a nice metal sign with around 7 markers on it pointing in different directions to “Even Bigger Tree” or “Another Big Tree” beside BIG TREE. This is good lest someone says “I saw a tree just as big over there!”. By the way, around here is where the moon Endor was situated in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi. You could almost see and hear the Ewoks as you saunter along.

We also went to visit CORK SCREW TREE. We all loved the crazy variety of nature on this hike. There were also big yellow slugs called Banana Slugs that Miriam really liked.

The next morning we headed to Oregon to the Treehouse we’d be sleeping in at Out N’ About Treesort. This was a surprise for the kids. As we approached the destination there had been forest for hours and Lucy guessed “Are we going to sleep in a treehouse?”

The treehouse place was awesome. Our treehouse was called PLEASANTREE. It had 2 single bunks and a loft with a double bed. It also had a fridge and a sink, toilet and even a shower. We had to walk across two swaying bridges to get to it, which was a lot of fun. There was also a pulley and rope to hoist up luggage that Lucy and Miriam used to give their stuffies rides up and down on.

There’s a nice communal kitchen with outdoor BBQs and stove burners. We ate supper chatting to Laura and Chris who were other guests. Chris was Laura’s mom. Laura lives in Oregon now and Chris was visiting from Denver — sleeping in a treehouse was a bucket list thing for her. It was fun chatting with them.

Around the communal fire pit we chatted with other guests too. During all this time Lucy and Miriam (along with an assortment of other kids) were continually taking turns swinging on a Tarzan Rope.

The next day we headed north up the coast (~3 hrs) to Humbug Mountain Oregon State Park (great name). The place is not very busy with campers. The beach is a 5 minute walk away. We spent several hours there and we were the only people there which made it feel like our own private beach. It is beautiful.

Fern Canyon