Silver Falls State Park

Warning: EXTREME picture overload!  I have problems!

Another adventure!  This weekend we went camping at Silver Falls State Park.  It started out as a bit of a disaster, but ended really well.  Jeremy was all set to take Friday off of work and we were planning on leaving Thursday afternoon.  He had a lot going on at work, so we changed our plans to leave Thursday evening.  Then it started raining... Before a couple days ago, it had hardly rained at all since we'd been here, and when it did, it was very light.  Well I packed up everything and picked up Jeremy and it was like a torrential downpour.  There were rivers running through the freeway and it was crazy.  So after driving for awhile and calling the campground and hearing it had been like that for several hours there, we turned around and went home. :(  We were so sad!  But it turned out to be a very good thing.  The boys handled it really well and we were able to get a decent night's sleep.

So Friday morning it was raining lightly, but we got packed up again and headed out around 9am.  We got there at 10:30am and it was only slightly drizzling.  Unfortunately we got to the campground though and discovered that it was not what we had hoped.  So many people recommended this place to us, but we're thinking maybe they were just recommending the state park, not the actual campground.  The facilities were great and everything, but the sites were teeny tiny and crammed together.  We got to our site and saw it was hardly more than a parking space and would in no way fit our big tent.  So luckily we were able to "upgrade" to an RV site for $5 because they had more space (which makes absolutely no sense, but whatever).  We still ended up putting our tent on the parking space, but at least we could fit it and a few chairs around the fire.  It was also a site right next to a nature trail, so it gave us the illusion of having a little more space (along with a lot of people walking by).  Not exactly ideal, but it worked.

And we certainly can't complain about the beautiful scenery!

Luckily that was the last of the disappointments though.  We set up our camp and got everything ready.  I had an idea to tie up our tarp to make a little rain shelter over our table, and of course Jeremy did it beautifully.  I told him he makes all my dreams come true. :)  I have lots of ideas and luckily he knows how to execute them, because I sure don't!  Haha.  What a pair we make.

Anyway, so we set up, had lunch, had Connor and Anna take a short nap and then went on the little nature trail in the campground.

 Giant ant hill:

 Red fungus:

That night we roasted hot dogs and marshmallows and enjoyed all the usual camping fun.  We talked to another camper who said it rained hard for 12 hours straight the night before we came, so I think it was a good idea we didn't go that night!  We actually didn't see any more rain the whole time we were there, so it was perfect.

 Fire-man Jeremy helping us stay warm!

 There isn't much left of this s'more, but let me tell you, it was amazing!  Ghiradelli dark chocolate squares - I highly recommend them. :)

The next morning we had some delicious breakfast burritos...

 I made them at home and then we just warmed them up over the fire.  We decided investing in a tent and sleeping bags and pads for the boys was enough to spend on camping equipment for one summer (yikes!), so cooking equipment will have to wait!

Then we headed out to do some hiking!  This was the real reason we wanted to go to this place.  Everyone said it was gorgeous and it certainly was!  There is a "Trail of Ten Falls" you can do that is 8.7 miles and takes you to 10 different waterfalls and you can walk behind 4 of them I think.  We obviously didn't do all that with our 3 kids, but we were able to do over 2 miles (and 2 waterfalls) and I was so proud of Eli and Connor!  We knew we'd make it to the first waterfall, but we weren't sure how they'd do all the way to the other one, but they were champions.  Eli walked the entire way and Jeremy only carried Connor on his shoulders for maybe a quarter of a mile.  They did awesome.

 On the path to the first waterfall.  This was a short hike, mostly paved, and after that it was dirt/rocks.

 South Falls - 177 ft. waterfall.

 You can see the fence of the trail that goes behind it:

 Behind the waterfall!  Eli was really scared at first, but once I explained to him that we're just going behind it, not in it, he was okay. :)

 And blue skies!!

 It's a waterfall, Mommy!

 It was so gorgeous!  Of course everything was just lush and green and beautiful.

 The key to our success with the kids - lots of breaks and lots of snacks! :)  Going at our own pace was nice.  Most of our hiking in the past has been at family reunions when we're trying to keep up with the big kids.  The boys did great when they weren't constantly being rushed, and we actually kept a pretty decent pace.  I also talked it up a lot beforehand - telling them we had to be brave and cheerful so it would be fun. (aka No whining!) Connor kept asking me all weekend, "Mommy, you going to be brave at the campsite?" Yep!

 Oooh, a tree stump to hide in!

 And a tree stump chair!

And here we are about to go down the 185 steps to Lower South Falls - a 93 ft waterfall.

 Lower South Falls:

 We were able to go behind this one too.

 You can see the railings of the steps we went down.  I'm also really glad we did the loop the way we did it and not the other way.  Stairs are much more fun to go down!  Of course we had to hike back up hill eventually, but it was a better design.

 Connor getting a ride:

 And Anna getting a change of scenery going on my back.  She loved it!  And then she fell asleep with her head flopped over.

 We did it!!!

Like I said, we were so proud of our boys.  That is definitely the longest they've ever hiked.  Jeremy was probably the most tired though, packing the backpack and Anna most of the way.  Thanks babe!  It took us about 2.5 hours and then we headed back to our camp to eat lunch and pack up!  It turned out to be a great trip.