The Gifford Family

Fishing

Aaron got his first fly fishing pole for Father's Day. Since then we have been to about ten different spots and gotten skunked. It's much harder than it looks. Not to mention that there aren't a million salmon just begging to get caught like Alaska. These fish are picky. Aaron got the hang of it pretty quick after watching a ton of YouTube university on what to do. Finally at WhiskeyTown we struck gold. Aaron caught some trout and a whole bunch of sun fish. With some instruction, he helped me catch my first little sun fish too. It's been tons of fun.

Crystal Creek Falls

Crystal Creek Falls

The next hike on our list was Crystal Creek. Aaron fished the lower Falls and I hiked up to the Upper. The trail was pretty steep, so we didn't want to take Grace up there if it wasn't awesome. Aaron caught a half dozen little trout and then he let me try. Fly fishing isn't as easy as it looks, but I caught my own little guys without any of Aaron's help. I think we have the hang of it.

The Upper Falls

The Upper Falls were awesome. It was about 15 ft tall and came into a huge pool that also had fish in it. I could see them from where I hiked above them. It could be a good cliff jumping spot if the water was deep enough.

Redwood National Park

The next day we drove twenty minutes to the Redwood National Park visitor center. We collected our magnet, a sequoia seedling, and some of their coins for LuAnn. I'm glad we had cash because the power was out. Aaron smirked a little and said that's what they get for trying solar power in a place that never sees the sun. We drove to the Lady Bird Johnson trail, and left our poor puppies in the car. The Redwoods were amazing! The fog made everything feel very surreal, and the rain made the colors vibrant on the ground and black and white in the sky. We cranked our necks all the way back, and couldn't see the tops of some of them. Some of the redwoods there are over 350ft high and over 2,000 years old. The forest seemed to absorb all sound and there was a reverence that I've only felt inside of the temple. It was an incredible experience.