The Herb Family: Oregon Trip- Part One- (Nebraska, Wyoming & Oregon)

The day after getting back from Mountain Home for the Drake Family Reunion, we left again for our summer trip to Oregon. We decided to take our time on our drive over and stopped in Omaha, NE to tour the church site, Winter Quarters.
We've been working hard to teach our kids the history of our church and this is one history site we had never been to. We were all excited to stop and learn about the early saints and their faithful trek to Utah.

The visitor's center had a fun little play area and the kids loved it.

Then we took a tour of the visitors center. Before our visit I had texted my Aunt Susan because her and her hubby had served a mission at Winter Quarters and she knew all the things to see and do.

We were blessed to find out that one of our ancestors is buried there and hers is the last surviving gravestone. Her name was Amy Porter and she was a mother and wife. She died during the time the saints were taking shelter at Winter Quarters and was buried there.

The sister missionaries that gave us a tour were awesome. They made the history come alive and the kids loved it.

This little activity was Benson's favorite.

The sister missionary had Benson put some felt cow patties under the wheels of the hard cart to show how much harder it was to pull when the ground wasn't smooth.

We had a great time learning and playing at the Visitors center.

After leaving we drove over to the little Winter Quarters temple. It made my heart so happy to think of all the work happening in that temple. I like to think that many of the pioneers had their work done there.

Then we drove on to Wyoming. We stopped at Fort Cody just because its a funny roadside attraction.

We learned about Buffalo Bill and his life. Buffalo Bill Cody was a soldier, bison hunter and a showman. He started performing in shows that displayed cowboy themes and episodes from the frontier and Indian Wars.

The kids loved the miniature show display.

Every half hour the little show were turn on and start moving around. These mini figurines depicted the show that use to take place at Fort Cody.

That night we stayed in Wyoming and then we hit the road again the next day.

We drove again until we reached "Independence Rock"

This huge rock has a really cool history. The early Pioneers knew that if they reached this huge rock by the fourth of July or "Independence Day" then they would most likely reach their destination before the winter snow storms hit.
We hiked up it and enjoyed the amazing view.

The early pioneers passed this rock on their journey west. When they reached his trail marker they would carve their names into the rock to mark their journey. This was also a way to tell those who traveled behind who had survived that far in the journey. For this reason, Independence Rock was also known as Register Rock.

This was a pretty cool stop and we all enjoyed getting to stretch our legs.

These cool trail markers show the path of those who followed the Oregon trail. Other pioneers headed to California for the gold rush and the early pioneers headed to Utah on this same trail.

From there we drove about 20 minutes to Martin's Cove, WY. This is another unique church history site. The kids loved learning about life here and the missionaries serving there made it so interesting.

Tucker took Benson on a little ride and Benson loved it.

These are names of pioneers that passed through Martin's' cove, including those in the Martin and Willie Hand cart company.

We watched a cool movie about the rescue team that found the saints at Martin's cove and the supplies they brought. We learned about the ill fated handcart teams and their terrible losses.
Its a sad history of faith and heartbreak.

From there we drove to our sweet friend's house, the Mattsons.
It had been a couple years since we saw them and it was so fun to catch up and hang out.

That night we were able to stay at Heather's Grandma's house, which they were fixing up to rent as an airbnb. It's a super cute old house that has lots of charm and it was perfect.
We were grateful for the place to stay.

The next day we went to Grand Teton National Park with the Mattsons.
We went boating and fishing with them and it was so fun.
The drive to the park was so beautiful. It was one of my favorite places on our trip.

The park was gorgeous.

Tanner had the best time fishing with his Dad and Michael.

I couldn't get over the view and the fact that we were fishing on a lake surrounded by snow covered mountains. It made for breathtaking views!

These cuties loved sitting on the front of the boat while we boated around.

Eventually we stopped for lunch. Michael grilled us hot dogs and burgers.
Everyone loved their lunches and the kids had fun jumping off the back of the boat and swimming.

I couldn't believe the kids wanted to swim. The water was freezing but they loved it.

I really couldn't get over the view and had to get one group picture of us at Jackson Lake.

We had a great time boating around and it made for the perfect summer day with friends.

Of course we had to stop in Jackson Hole to see the massive antler arch.
It's a classic Jackson Hole attraction.

Then we drove back to the Mattson's house. We ate dinner, dessert and the kids played the rest of the night. We stayed late into the night, talking and laughing.

Bailey loved all their dogs and constantly had a dog near her.

The Mattsons are sweet friends that we have known for our entire relationship.
Even when we were only dating, we would hang out with Michael and Heather.
We are lucky to have such great friends.

We stayed one more night at the cute house that belonged to Heather's Grandma.

The next morning we woke up early and drove the 12 hours to Oregon.
We were so happy to finally be there but we had made the most of our trip there and it was fun.

The kids were thrilled to see their cousins and as soon as we pulled up the cousins came over so we could all be together.

The next day all the fun began in earnest.

We played during the day and then went to see the next "Indiana Jones" movie. Stephanie and I took the kids by ourselves and they all seemed to enjoy it.

The next day we also took the kids to the county fair.
We were able to get a good deal on wristbands and the kids were able to ride all the rides they wanted all day long.

This ride was so hilarious to watch.
It would speed around going in a forward direction but in a circle. It went pretty fast.
Then it slowed down and stopped and when you thought it was over it started going backwards.

Benson didn't love forwards because he got smushed but when the direction reversed, he couldn't stop laughing.

The kids had the best time running around together, riding everything more than once. It was hot but they didn't seem to care.

Eventually Mimi, Grandpa and Chris met us at the fairgrounds. They brought pizzas for dinner and we had a little picnic.

Then we went back inside and watched the rodeo.
This is always entertaining and everyone enjoyed it.

Then the kids rode a few more rides and then we got some snacks and settled in to watch the Clint Black concert. Stephanie and I stayed with the kids for a little while and then we took them all home.
Chris, Phillip and Deveney stayed for the whole concert and had a great time together.

The next day Stephanie and I took the kids to the Brownsville River.
We've been here before and the kids always enjoy it.
The river is slow moving and it's not real wide so it's perfect for the kids.
Most of the river is shallow enough for the kids to play but there are parts that are deep so the kids can snorkel.

Stephanie and I even floated around while the kids played.

Then we went back to Stephanie's for dinner and the kids roasted smores and played outside until it got dark.

The next morning we took a trip to the Oregon coast.

This little day trip is always a highlight of our visit and this time was no different.

We arrived just in time for an early lunch and went straight to "The Chowder Bowl" in Newport to eat lunch.
We all ordered the delicious chowder and we all devoured it.

Then we drove over to our favorite little cove at Agate Beach.
It's this perfect little alcove where the wind doesn't blow and it has really cool tide pools.

We had so much fun playing.

Tucker found so many little crabs. He really wanted to bring one home but I was able to talk him out of it.

We build a fire at the beach (one of my favorite things) and grilled hot dogs.
One of these years we are going to go clamming and then do a clam bake. But that year was not this year, so we settled for hot dogs.