Last week our family embarked on a camping adventure along with our good family friends for most of the trip.

It was so nice to slow down, be in nature and see some new places that we haven’t been before.  We made it the entire 10-day trip without a single electronic break (i.e. no TV, movies, video games!)  I think Last Child in the Woods author, Richard Louv, would have been proud!

We rented a Westfalia from California Campers just south of San Francisco and then started to make our way north from there.

Our first stop was at Lake Siskiyou at the town of Mount Shasta.  What an amazing place!  We had perfect weather and the perfect campsite where the girls could run off and have “adventures” in the woods behind our campsite without us parents feeling stressed about them getting lost or into traffic or trouble.

One of my very favorite things in Mt. Shasta was the park where the headwaters of the Sacramento River are located.  The water literally appears out of the ground and is so pristine that you can fill your water bottles with no hesitation.  Lily asked each day to go fill her bottle.  And we did.

Bryan and I had a nice respite on the Lake with Mt. Shasta in the background. So majestic. So healing.   The snow looked so good we actually went and did some summer sledding!

The next leg of the journey brought us to Ashland, OR.  We only stayed one night so didn’t make it to the Shakespeare Festival but we really enjoyed the beautiful city park and a lovely dinner at the river.

Coming through the Redwoods to get to the Northern CA coast was amazing.  I always like to hold on to the base of those trees and send my prayers up to the heavens. The dads and daughters had a nice moment at the edge of the roots of a fallen giant.

Our final night together at the State Park in Navarro was really special.  The girls were so into their imaginary play by that point that I doubt we could have coerced them to watch a movie.  Who wants to sit and stare at a screen when there are trees to climb and stuffed foxes to balance on your head?!

Bryan and Lily and I had a few more stops. The lovely (and chilly!) Mendocino.  The crazy hot Calistoga (thank God Bothe-Napa Valley State had a swimming pool filled with the area's natural spring water!)  And then back home.

It was 1,700 miles all in all.  We were unanimous that we would do a trip just like it again in a heartbeat.  I think this will go down in the books as a family favorite trip.

What are some of your favorite trips?

Stay Playful,

Karen