Summer Exploration: Brazil boys spend summer days far away

Our adventure began on the 28th of May, when we took the Amtrak train out of Devils Lake N.D., for an approximate 28 hour train ride to Portland, Ore. There we were picked up by Grandpa and Auntie Shana for a three hour car ride to Great Wolf Lodge in Grand Mound, Wash.

Great Wolf Lodge was a birthday treat from Auntie Shana, and boy was it fun. We spent two days on the water slide, in the arcade and doing quests. The water park was most likely the biggest attraction. Our favorite slide was called the Howling Tornado, which started out with a stretch of calm waters and then took a two story drop in to a basin with water jets that were push us from side to side. We exited with eyes bulging, thinking "let's do that again!"

At the arcade we stayed up until midnight playing games. When we went to bed, we were asleep before our heads hit the pillow. The quests had us running from one side of the building to another on all five floors, which really tired us out. I think that made Grandpa, Auntie Shana and Mom all very happy.

We said goodbye to Mom in Portland, and as she got back on the train to North Dakota, we headed south to the town of Coquille, Ore., where our grandparents have lived for more than 20 years. It's a small town, but not as small as New Rockford. They do have a swimming pool in town. That is where we took our swimming lessons.

From Coquille, the ocean is only a half an hour away. This made it easy for us to get out for clamming, crabbing and surf fishing. For clamming, we would walk out to the bay at low tide with shovels, buckets and tall waterproof boots. The hardest part might be walking along the mud flats without falling down.

We walked along the wet sands looking for small air holes in the sand. That is the sign of a good clam hole. When we would see that, we would dig and dig fast for the clams. This year was Oakley's first time digging his own limit of clams, and he was pretty pleased with himself. When the three of us got our limit of 20 clams each, we'd head back to Grandma and Grandpa's house and look forward to a nice plate of clam linguine for dinner.

Seafood isn't the only good food we look forward to while in Oregon. During the middle of June, we went to a u-pick blueberry farm and picked 70 pounds of huge and delicious berries within just a couple hours. We were lucky they did not weigh us before and after. Or else we might have had to pay a few extra dollars!

We also went high into the mountains of northern California, where our Great Uncle Steve lives in a place called Big Flat, which is not flat at all. Big Flat is another name for the Trinity Mountain Range, where Mount Eddy is the highest point at 9,037 feet.

We stayed a week with Uncle Steve, and he is a real-deal mountain man. His cabin has no electricity or running water. We camped there for six nights and never got bored.

Uncle Steve taught us a lot, like how to build a fire without matches, throw knives and tomahawks, and construct shelters out of tree limbs and needles. During the heat of the day, we'd go swimming in an ice cold waters of Teddy's Creek. The water was crystal clear.

Before dark, we spent time playing cribbage. The one thing we had to do every day and night was keep our camp clean of any food or garbage to keep from luring in the bears, because they would really make a mess of things.

We always know our time in Oregon is coming to a close at the end of July when Jackson's birthday arrives. This year we celebrated by going bowling. Jackson bowled his high game score of 175. At the arcade, we played air hockey until shoulders hurt and our fingers were smashed. There is just one adventure left to take before we return home to New Rockford-- go to the tide pools and see the coastal marine life.

These trips we take, to visit our family and explore the wonders of the Pacific Northwest, have become something we look forward to every year. When it's time to leave, we always look back and notice how it seems that we just arrived yesterday.  

It's hard to leave Grandma, Grandpa, Auntie Shana and Great Uncle Steve, but still, there's nothing quite like home-- with Mom, Dad and some wonderful North Dakota friends. See you soon!