Richardson's Grove: Garberville, CA

We arrived at our campsite in Richardson's Grove, a California State Park and the home of my fondest childhood memories.

There was a steep little hill off to the side of our site. The kids climbed up and found a cave tree! They had fun climbing up the hill and exploring together.

Here is our camp site nestled amongst the Redwoods.

We have never been tent camping as a family. I was so excited to show the kids where my parents brought my sisters and I every summer.

Maddie enjoying the campfire.

Max with the only food he ever eats...Pringles.

They loved the mini camp chairs my parents brought.

We went on Ranger-led nature hikes in the mornings. The first ended at the Dawn Redwood. The Dawn Redwood is an unusual type of redwood that is native to China and is deciduous, so it loses its needles. It is also quite a bit shorter than the other 2 types of Redwoods.

We also learned about "Widow Makers." Widow Makers are tree tops that have fallen off from such a great height and at such speeds that they spear down into the earth below. You don't want to be under one of these. Many are still alive and continue to grow like this.

The kids enjoyed the "Sensing Sasquatch" hike. We saw another huge Widow Maker along the way.

As kids we would spend a lot of the day at the Eel River on our blow-up rafts and getting up the nerve to jump off the cliffs.

We took Maddie and Max down to our old swimming hole. It is perfect because there are shallow places and deep swimming spots. There are little rapids that can carry you or you-on-a-raft down stream a little ways. The only thing missing was the old tree bridges. I used to love the trees that were cut right in half and laid across the river to be used to cross to the other side.

The kids swam, hiked on the river banks, and skipped rocks. Next time we'll bring some inner tubes or rafts for more fun.

Another family tradition we had was going to Campfire every night. Just as night is falling, everyone gathers together for a Ranger presentation and a little bit of singing. We always watched to see if we could spot any bats flying above us.

I think they were a bigger deal when I was a kid. More people. More singing. But it was still nice and fun.

The kids got to come up and help lead an insect song.

We had the best week here at Richardson's Grove. The kids enjoyed it as much as I thought they would. They want to come back next year! We had a lot of adventures this week that I'll post next...like Junior Rangers and the other fun spots we hiked or drove to!