16 Trips of 2016

I thought I dropped the ball when it came to travel over the past year. But after doing the near-mandatory end-of-year reflection that we should all do, I discovered that I did go on quite a few fun adventures. I may not have blogged about all these trips (hmm… maybe a New Year’s Resolution?), but I did spend the year doing other projects that cut into my time on this blog. I’m especially grateful that 2016 brought me a new car to take my adventures in, as well as a variety of jobs to keep them funded. So without further ado, here are 16 trips I took in 2016.

1. Festival of Trees

This is actually a nearby annual event held in Medford, Oregon, but something I never got to see before. I was hoping to go on some sort of Christmas trip this December, such as going to the coast to see the light displays, but I also wanted to use my funds to buy some nice Christmas gifts. I was pleased to find out that the Magdalene Home got tickets to the Festival of Trees’ Night of Giving, and especially pleased that it fell on a night that I worked! So I ended up getting to see some beautifully decorated trees and doing some fun Christmas activities… and getting paid to do it!

2. Wilderness Trails

I got to go to Wilderness Trails twice in 2016: Once for Valentine’s Day weekend, and again in October. (As you’ll see below, this is one of several trips I took more than once!) This was a mountain trip that I spent $0 to take. 2016 was definitely a year of budget travel for me, but no money doesn’t mean no fun! I went for free because I was volunteering as a leader for girls’ camps. We stayed in the lodge, played in the snow, and did fun camp-style activities. I was actually planning to go to Wilderness Trails for their open house today, but unfortunately I was struck with the flu a couple days ago and still need to recover from that. But with a work schedule change, I am planning to attend more camps next year!

3. WWII Valor in the Pacific Site

In Northern California (and I mean REALLY northern, so far north that Oregon is only a couple miles away) lies the remains of a Japanese segregation camp from WWII. The National Parks Service now hosts Camp Tulelake as well as a nearby museum. I went to the museum in August, and stopped by the camp in September. This WWII Valor in the Pacific site is also just down the road from one of my most-visited 2016 destinations…

4. Lava Beds National Monument

This spot has become my favorite getaway- I visited Lava Beds three times in the past year! The first was actually a spontaneous trip. My friend and I were planning a trip to the coast, but when I picked her up that morning, we changed our minds to take advantage of the free National Parks admission day. In fact, I went to quite a few National Parks Sites this year, and all of them were free either because I went on a fee-free day, or they were always free. I got more skilled at spelunking through the lava tubes with each subsequent trip. The second time I brought a helmet, and the third time, I attached a headlamp to that helmet. And although I visited during three different seasons, inside the caves, I enjoyed the same temperature year-round. I even got to spend the night at the campground on one of my visits, which was a good use of my new car and new hammock!

5. Table Rock

I didn’t get to hike up Table Rock as much as I would have like to in 2016, but perhaps that’s something I can change in 2017. But I do love living in an area where I can see this marvelous natural feat every day! The strenuous hike up is a good workout, and is rewarded by a bird’s eye valley view at the top!

6. Crater Lake National Park

I also got to visit this National Park three times in 2016, and each time was like visiting a new place! The only thing that was the same was the deep blue lake. During my visit in April, it was actively snowing. I only got to see the lake for a few minutes total because the fog kept it well-hidden. The second visit in August was completely clear. We drove around the lake and hiked some forest trails. The road around the lake closed up by November because the snow was back. Because the snow season just started, though, there was less of a pile-up. I also brought kids with me this time, so the highlight was playing in the winter wonderland.

7. Lassen National Volcanic Park and the Pacific Crest Trail

Thanks to the movie “Wild”, the popularity of the PCT has increased in the past couple years. I actually didn’t see this movie until just a couple of weeks ago when I borrowed it from the library, but I knew early in the year that 2016 was the year I wanted to hike part of the Pacific Crest Trail. (Just a day hike, though!) I assumed I would be hiking in Ashland, the closest PCT access point from my home. But as summer wore on, that didn’t happen. Finally, in late August, I took advantage of the National Parks Service’s 100 birthday and took a road trip to National Parks Sites with free admission that weekend. This was my first visit to Lassen National Volcanic Park, and I loved seeing the centerpiece volcano and the up-close volcanic activity. But the highlight was discovering that the PCT went through this park. Although it was a long hike just to get out to the PCT, I was glad to have that accomplished.

 

8. Sundial Bridge

After visiting relatives in Northern California, I made sure to stop in two places that I always try to visit when driving through California: Corning’s The Olive Pit, and Redding. I like Redding because of its iconic Sundial Bridge. (It’s also home to Bethel Church, which I’ve never been to but think I should go sometime in 2017!) It was just after nightfall by the time I got there, which rendered the sundial pretty useless, but it was beautifully lit up. I accidentally visited the Sundial Bridge later that month. I didn’t expect my route home from Lassen to go through Redding, but when my GPS took me there anyway, I decided to stop by. Since it was earlier in the evening, this time I got to see more of Turtle Bay Exploration Park.

9. Rosie the Riveter

To be honest, I didn’t know this place in Riverside, California existed until shortly before I left on this trip. I still didn’t even know what to expect until I showed up. But since I was trying to collect as many National Park Site passport stamps as I could in 2016, I decided to stop by. It’s unusual to drive up to an industrial center to visit a National Park Site! But this is one of the locations that so many “Rosies” of WWII worked. They even had some real-life “Rosies” there the day I visited!

10. San Francisco

This was my “big” destination of the year! San Francisco is one of the closest major cities to my home, yet I had never been there before (unless you count a layover in the airport and seeing the tiny Golden Gate Bridge from my airplane window). I rode the cable car, saw the houses from Full House and Mrs. Doubtfire, walked around the piers and Fisherman’s Wharf, drove and biked across the Golden Gate Bridge, went to the Walt Disney Family Museum, and visited all of the National Parks Sites!

11. Point Reyes National Seashore

My summer beach trip ended up being the chilliest trip of the whole year! I’m glad I decided to spend a night here before heading into San Francisco, even though I never knew this giant seashore existed before planning my city trip. I drove out to the famous Point Reyes lighthouse, stayed in the hostel, and walked barefoot in the sand.

12. Avenue of the Giants

This was another close-to-home destination I had never experienced before! The night before, I drove south through Redwoods National Park, and stopped at Trees of Mystery to see their Paul Bunyan and Babe statues. (I didn’t actually tour the Trees of Mystery, but for Christmas I got my entire family tickets to this attraction, so that’s something that will definitely be done in 2017!) Then I spent the night in my car at a casino parking lot that offered free camping. That allowed me a full day to leisurely drive through the Avenue of the Giants and stop at each kitschy tourist trap. I drove through tree trunks, sat in the living room of a house made of one giant log, and even enjoyed the natural aspects of redwoods with a free tour at Humboldt State Park.

13. Southern California

With most of my relatives living in Southern California, I’m actually kind of surprised that I only ended up there once in 2016. But my cousin did have a beautiful wedding in Dana Point, followed by a fun reception in Newport Beach. My mom flew down early to help my grandma pack and prepare to move later in the year, but since my dad and I only drove down there on an extended weekend, we unfortunately didn’t have much time to enjoy the area, not even this gorgeous beach that we could see from the wedding locale. Still a very worthwhile trip!

14. Golden Ghost Town

There were a couple of weeks when I went to training classes in Grants Pass. I tried to take advantage of the longer commute by exploring the area around it. I visited a few historical places, the highlight being the ghost town of Golden, Oregon. The buildings are adorable, the historical markers are informative, and the surrounding area is beautiful and full of God’s creation!

15. Wildlife Safari

Last Christmas, I got my sister two tickets to Wildlife Safari in Winston, Oregon. In March, she decided to use them for a sister outing. It was a little scary to see giant beaks near my new car! It’s been years since I last went to Wildlife Safari, and this was the first time I could remember when we were allowed to open the windows and interact with most of the animals. Of course we enjoyed plenty of other things on this daycation!

16. Gold Beach

February doesn’t sound like a good time of year to go to the Oregon coast, but Gold Beach has a good way to bring tourists in. Each year from February through April, volunteers hide glass floats along the coastline for a treasure hunt. If you find one, you get to keep it! It was a new experience for both me and the friend I took, but I think it’s something I’ll be doing for years to come.

There were more adventures that 2016 involved, like seeing Franklin Graham in Salem, hiking to the Bigfoot Trap, Cipher Hunting, several trips to Jacksonville and Ashland, and perhaps a few trips that have currently slipped my memory. To get more ideas for past and future adventures, be sure to follow me on Instagram!

If you liked this post, check out the one I wrote exactly one year ago.