April Trip - Umpqua National Forest

Unlike February and March, April was very eventful! The highlight was a 10 day trip that Brodie and I planned last minute. We have been on several trips together, but we hadn't planned a trip for just the two of us since our honeymoon.

Ever since Brodie started school at UWS we haven't had a spring break together. What typically happens is Brodie has two weeks off between quarters and then after his break ends, my one week spring break begins. 

This year, however, was different. We had one week off at the same time! The only problem was we didn't know about our aligned breaks until a month beforehand. So we quickly threw together a spontaneous trip. Flights were too expensive, so we picked a drive-able destination. We planned a road trip down to Los Angeles so we could take a 3 day cruise to Mexico. Because of the long drive, we decided to take our time and make several stops along the way. 

Our first stop was Umpqua National Forest in Oregon. We left Friday night after school for the first 5 hour leg of our trip. We were hoping to leave at 5pm and get to the campground around 930pm. But we didn't get out of the house until about 8pm, which meant we didn't pull into the campground until midnight. . . and it was closed! This was a free campground, so we didn't lose any money, but it meant that we had to find somewhere else to sleep.

Luckily we planned on sleeping in the back of our car anyway, so we found a quiet spot along the road and made it our campground for the evening. Not part of the plan, but it sure made us feel adventurous!

our view in the morning when we woke up

In the morning, we visited the Umpqua hot springs. It was a about a mile hike up, which then led to about 6 different hot pots warmed natural hot spring water. We left early, at 7am, in order to get there before the crowds. We read reviews online and learned it was a rather popular spot and to get there early. Especially before the "clothing optional" crowds arrived! 

the tiered hot springs overlooked the river - gorgeous view!

tired, but excited to have the place to ourselves!

Afterwards we drove to Toketee Falls, also part of the Umpqua National Forest. We weren't sure what to expect, but it was an amazing hike! The hike takes you to a look out point, and then from there we ducked a fence line to get down to the base of the falls. 

There wasn't a trail down to the foot of the falls. . . we had to scramble down some rocks and drop through a few holes. Brodie is always up for adventure!

all the work was worth the view! 

We left the national forest in the afternoon to drive to San Jose and stay with my grandparents. We got there in time just for dinner and really appreciated sleeping in a real bed that night!