Summer is coming up & as soon as school’s out, we’ll head out on our next family adventure. We’ve done the research, mapped our route, & booked campgrounds. We’ll be heading out to the Pacific Northwest on an estimated 3,500 mile road trip, driving along the coast from the Olympic Peninsula in Washington down to the Redwoods in California, camping & visiting with friends along the way, hitting 8 states, 3 National Parks (Olympic, Redwoods, & Crater Lake), & several state parks.
Tirzah: I credit my uncle, my dad’s brother, for stirring my love & wanderlust for the great North American outdoors which, for me, began as a small child growing up in a little farming community in the heart of Africa. My uncle’s family would take long road trips in the summer, visiting & camping in national parks across the U.S. throughout the years his children, my cousins, were growing up. He was faithful to send me postcards from each of the places they visited, until I had amassed a collection of around 400. My favorites I stuck on my closet door. I’d lie on my bed gazing at these majestic places thousands & thousands of miles away in another hemisphere … Moab, Zion National Park, Glacier National Park, the Oregon coast, the Redwoods. I’d find them in an atlas & daydream of the day I’d see them in person, never thinking I’d not see them one day. For me, it was always a matter of when, not if.
Slowly, but surely, seeing these places in person are becoming a reality & now I have a family who shares this love & appreciation for seeing & experiencing our beautiful world.
Our Roadtrip Map
Click on upper left icon to see each day’s route
I am most excited about finally getting to see the stately & majestic towering Redwoods, a sight I’ve wanted to see my entire life. I know that standing in the presence of these ancient giants will be a holy & emotional experience. I’m also excited to see the rocky sentinels looming out of the ocean dotting the storm-lashed coastline, the driftwood scattered across the beaches, & hopefully some of that moody & foggy PNW weather.
Troy: My whole life, I have been looking forward to getting out to the Northwest and to Oregon specifically as it was my birthplace. My parents lived in Jacksonville, OR in the mid-70’s, and we moved away when I was only 2 weeks old and I’ve not had an opportunity to return to Oregon until now.
Oregon and the whole PNW area looks to be such a lush and uniquely beautiful region, and now that I’m an outdoor Photography nerd, a family adventure was definitely in the planning works for a while. My hope is that we get to visit some amazing locations when the weather is photo-dramatic. Another passion of mine is capturing the milky-way galaxy at night over an epic landscape. These locations along the coast seem to be fitting for a wonderful plan and should put us in front of some amazing beaches and falls. In photography, it’s often hit and miss with the time of day, light, and weather. But creativity and perseverance as a photographer always trump these environmental challenges. Most of all, I hope this adventure will allow our whole family to once-again bond together and just have a great time exploring and witnessing God’s amazing works of natural art.
For our kids, it’s definitely the beach.
Safe travels Warwick family, so excited for you all. Happy road trippin’!!