Tepee Giveaway Winner!!!

Thanks to everyone who participated in this giveaway!

Indoor Tepee Giveaway!

Our blog has had a nice little rest and now we are slowly getting back into the swing of things. :)

Do you have younger children? Are you getting ready to learn about the history of Thanksgiving Day? Would you love it if your kids could have an indoor tepee to go along with your studies and give them some indoor fun during the rainy days? 

Well, we are excited to announce that Blue Lake Sports is giving away one (1) free indoor tepee!

This giveaway is sponsored by Blue Lake Sports!

Enter via the Rafflecopter below for a chance to win!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Camp Dakota

So Thanksgiving Day is getting closer and many homeschoolers are gearing up for studying about it! With the anticipation of this special holiday comes lots of rain and cold weather!

Depending on the type of adventure you are looking for to go along with your studies, you may enjoy camping out in a tee pee before the weather gets too terribly bad! Camp Dakota is just the place to go for bringing this part of history to life!

© LG 2012

© LG 2012

It's a bit rustic which kind of makes it more realistic. :)

Pea gravel flooring welcomes the adventurous type!

© LG 2012

If you have younger kids, they may enjoy the play structure (one of the many fun things Camp Dakota offers).

© LG 2012

 The play structure is conveniently located close to the tee pee.

You can learn more about Camp Dakota here!

Have fun!
Leave a comment about your experience here so others can benefit from it.

Drift Creek Falls

Have you ever noticed that little sign on your way to Lincoln City that says Drift Creek Falls? I can't count the number of times we saw that when traveling the route from HWY 22 to the beach. I can't even think of what caused us to look into it, but I'm sure glad we did!

This was one of the first surprises in store for us this day...

© LG 2012

Drift Creek Bridge is on the way to the falls (about 12 miles before the trail head). It has an inspirational history behind it and you may find it worth your time to take a quick stop on your way up to the falls.

Cedar Creek Grist Mill- {1840's to Civil War Era}

{In Washington}

On our way home, we stopped by the oldest building in Washington state which is 126 years old. It's still doing the work it was built to do!

A grist mill is a mill that grinds grain into flour. Cedar Creek Grist Mill is ran by volunteers and they give tours on the weekends. Although, if you'd like a special tour during the week you can call to schedule it in advance. We attempted to do that but 24 hour notice wasn't enough. So, I'm sorry we missed out on a tour this time around and also sorry I don't have photos of the inside to share with you at this time.

What's really neat is that it's a working museum. Volunteers show visitors the inside workings of this mill with the flavor of the 1876 era.

© LG 2012

Trail of Two Forests- Tree Casts!

{We ventured out to Washington for this one.}

What is it like to be in two different forests at one time? 

Amazing!

You see, one forest was consumed by lava flows from a Mt. St. Helens eruption from about 1900 years ago (not to be confused with the eruption in the 1980's). 

All that remains of the ancient forest trees are casts; imprints which whisper, "I was once here."

The vibrant, youthful forest beckons, "Come and play."
When accepting this invitation, we felt exuberance!

© L G 2012

This cast was created by a burning trunk in the cooling lava.

Ape Caves

"Ape Cave? What do you mean we are going into an... ape cave?" Wide eyes stared at us from our youngers as we got ready for our caving expedition.

We shared a bit of the legend surrounding the name of the caves just to stir up the imagination a little but then our oldest chimed in, "There can't really be any apes in there because this isn't their habitat..." and on he went to logically bring his younger siblings to order. After all, he didn't want scared siblings to stop us from caving.

Caving is an exciting experience (in our opinion) and it's a fascinating way to cover volcanoes and other geology related topics.

© LG 2012