taychellewis May 14, 2018
8 days
7 National Parks
57 miles walked
2,500 miles driven
After taking a break day yesterday for Mother’s Day and skyping little Blake, we went to our seventh and last park today: Channel Islands National Park. We had planned to go here on our last trip to California three years ago but never made it, so we were excited to mark it off the list this time!
Channel Islands National Park is made up of five islands that are off the coast of Los Angeles. We made our way up to Ventura, which is about an hour north of LA, to get on a ferry to take us to Santa Cruz Island. Santa Cruz is the largest of the Channel Islands at about 100 square miles. You can thank our boat captain for all of these fun facts – he was Australian, but very informative about this area!
Our boat ride took about an hour and we got to the island around 1pm. We didn’t have long, as our return boat left at 4:30pm, so we started hiking right away. (Right after we used the pit toilets, which are disgusting.) From Scorpoin Anchorage where we docked there are two main hikes on Santa Cruz, and we chose the shorter one to Potato Harbor and Cavern Point because we didn’t have time for a longer hike.
This park was so different than all of the others that we’ve been to. It was quiet, serene, very few visitors, relatively untouched, and absolutely gorgeous. It used to be a sheep farm before all of the livestock were removed to help encourage the growth of vegetation to prevent soil erosion. Although we only got to spend three hours there, we were so glad we made the effort!
Our hike rewarded us with views of meadows (I felt like either Heidi or Lassie were going to come running out at any moment), the ocean, and rolling hills. We also heard sea lions but couldn’t find them.
After our 2+ hour hike, we headed back to the boat, ready to rest and get home to Blake! On the ferry back, we saw a group of blue whales feeding, which is apparently somewhat rare. We also spotted dolphins and seals/sea lions/something along those lines. What a nature cruise!
We’ve enjoyed this trip so much. It’s been a blessing to be able to get away together and feel free again, and it showed us even more how much we love our life with Blake! Michelle’s parents have been awesome for keeping her for us, and we are so thankful.
Thanks for reading the blog this trip! We’ll see what plans we can come up with next…
