Backpacking the Oregon Coast Trail

July 19, 2025 ~ Crystle ~ Leave a comment

Over the Fourth of July weekend, my family and I went on a short backpacking trip on the Oregon Coast Trail, starting in Downtown Seaside, and ending in Cannon Beach. We spend one night at a hiker camp, and another night at a campground close to town. Guided by the Far Out app, with the Oregon Coast Trail downloaded, we were able to see real-time availability of amenities, check for trail warnings, and plan our trip with precision. It also helped us to gauge the distances between to locations with altitude and distance calculated, making break planning a breeze. The Oregon Coast Trail spans the entire length of the state of Oregon, so we hope to use the map for southern segment exploration later.

This momentous hike marks our first family backpacking trip, and the kids crushed it! We covered 15 miles, and 2500’+ in elevation gain along the Coastal Trail where we took in the salty ocean air, and through the trees along the ridge line, caught glimpses of the famous Northern Oregon Coast rock formations. At times the trails were muddy and overgrown, but most of the route was clear and lined with ferns. And to our delight and disgust, we saw a few enormous banana slugs.

In the evening we were mostly left alone by the mosquitos (thanks, Sawyer Picaridin Insect Repellent Lotion), but the hiker huts were a rodent hot spot with lots of mice scurrying around all night. It was gross and unnerving, but ultimately we were also a little too tired to care. We would have pitched tents the first night but there were so many dead trees around the tent pads, and as we were plotting our evening, we heard a tree fall not too far from our camp site. On that windy night, the huts made more sense.

The incubation period of the bubonic plague has passed without infection, thankfully. As you can imagine an anxious person would, I read everything I could find about the plague in Oregon after we connected to a cell signal — it was a serious concern for us when we lived and camped in Arizona, but not so much in Oregon. A relief.

This stretch of coast line really is world class, I encourage anyone with the time and means to visit the area! The Coastal Highway 101 offers many of the same views from the road, with many small towns to stop and enjoy coffee, souvenirs, or fish and chips.

After we collected our car from Seaside (a short bus ride away from Cannon Beach) we followed the 101 to the Tillamook Cheese Factory and enjoyed some tasty samples while taking in a self-guided tour. We grabbed a meal from their food court and then meandered down the 101 back toward Eugene, stopping here and there to take in some sights and sounds. Upon returning to Eugene, we talked about how enjoyable it is to return from a camping trip to a neighborhood that looks only slightly different from the woods we visited, and appreciated once again the duty assignment we’ve been handed this time around. We love Oregon.

When in doubt, go to Arizona

July 7, 2023January 2, 2024 ~ Crystle ~ 2 Comments

I knew I missed Arizona, but I didn’t realize how much I missed Arizona. Our first stop after leaving the Phoenix airport was to head to Filibertos for a breakfast burrito, but forgetting their monstrous size was a wasteful, rookie mistake. Full, and tired from the early morning journey from Austin, we made the sluggish commute in an unfamiliar rental car through the desert, then ponderosa forest, enjoying the changing biodiversity en route to Flagstaff.

After moving to Texas almost three years ago our environment has been limited to humid hill country, with sprawling live oak trees and oppressive heat, lacking in the sharp peaks and valleys that we had grown accustomed to in Washington, Alaska, and Arizona. I’ve grown fond of my life in Texas, with friends and neighborhood familiarity, a good library job and routine, but I’m out of contact with the outdoors and it pains me. I feel unmoored. We try to get out of town to neighboring cities for concerts, festivals and outings, but overcompensating with cultural activities isn’t grounding in any meaningful way. So we’ve traveled further away to inspire awe.

While living in Texas we have had the privilege of visiting London, Dublin and New York City, and none of them, with all their treasures, heritage, and architectural mastery, have matched the natural beauty of Arizona. As much as I love a good museum in a major city, nothing beats gawking at a 1 mile-wide meteor crater with friends, or a gondola ride to the top of a mountain in Flagstaff with the sweet, excited children you’ve known since birth. A hot trek around Sedona for an aura reading with your best girls is sometimes exactly what is needed to achieve balance. Clutching selenite in a mineral shop to clear blocked energy sometimes works!!

Perhaps what I’ve been missing most are the deep connections we’ve built with dear friends over the years, connections that are severed when we receive orders. As a military spouse, I’ve quietly grieved the loss of roots and long-term community for nearly 12 years. I surrendered my stability to support a service member and the consequences of that decision continue to challenge my concept of place and belonging, and they’re beginning to do the same to my children. It can be very painful. But in a period of doubt and insecurity for us all, there is no better way to restore balance than to return to a place that brings joy, inspires awe, and fosters connection to dear friends. Even if just for a four-day. Thank you Arizona, and Austins!

The Pioneer Museum of Flagstaff, AZ

August 2, 2018August 2, 2018 ~ Crystle ~ 2 Comments

When we found out Margot’s first day of school was August 1st, we scrambled to scrape together a family vacation at the last minute. We like to keep our plans loose, avoiding reservations and expectations in order to flow with the weather, and our moods while traveling. It’s an art form, really.

Our plan was to take the pop-up camper out for almost a week; staying at Apache Lake near Phoenix, and camping and hiking in Sedona. Well, Apache Lake was sweltering. I went for a run at the Burnt Corral campground where we stayed at a shoreside site and the temperature held steady at 104 at 7pm. I got zero sleep that night, and felt like I was suffocating in 97 degree weather at midnight. The kids were fine, and Isaac seemed okay, but I definitely was going to have a bad time camping in weather like that; and if Mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy. I think that’s how the saying goes.

So north we traveled, hoping that the weather would cool the further we went toward Flagstaff. Sedona was still above 100, so we traveled onward to Flagstaff.

Camping at the county fairgrounds was wonderful. Quiet, cheap, centrally located. We had at least two activities a day that we achieved; visiting the Arboretum, a Mansion, trails in the mountains, kayaking at Lake Mary and — my favorite — checking out the Pioneer Museum!

The Pioneer Barn, separate from the main building, contains loads of artifacts of yesteryear – I especially enjoyed spotting a large floor loom. It was warped with a project on it. I wish I were able to identify all the features of various looms on the spot. I need to crack open a few more books and click around a few more websites before I can do that.

I’m still neck deep in Pioneer culture right now. As some of you may know, I tend to latch onto a topic and immerse myself in it for a year or so until my interests are swayed into another direction. We’re reading the Little House on the Prairie series and chipping away at lessons in the Playful Pioneers curriculum at the moment, so this museum was exactly the type of place we had to visit.

A lumber train staged in the front of the museum was open for us to trot through. From there we followed the foot path to a historic cabin. I love imagining how life would have been in the late 1800s. We went to the museum after a trail run, and I wasn’t feeling as hygienically civilized as I would like to be, so I think I had a pretty good idea of how it felt to live intimately with the seasons and the elements. That is certainly part of the joy to camping; reconnecting with nature and learning to appreciate the modern conveniences we all have. And resetting the internal clock to coincide with the natural circadian rhythm — totally necessary!

I will tell you the best part of the Pioneer Museum, by far. Their Children’s Room, full of wooden toys, period costumes, school desks and books.

We had to loop around to the Children’s room twice so the kids could continue to play with the Jacob’s ladders, hobby horses and oversized dollhouse. Engaging children in museum settings is difficult, so I commend the Historical Society of Arizona on curating such a magnetic place for kids to explore.

Among the many activities we did in Flagstaff, the Pioneer Museum was top of the list for me; although it was tough choice between trail running, s’mores making, and kayaking. I will definitely revisit this place, and I doubt I’ll have trouble dragging my family along again.