Acton, California - Part 2

We packed so much fun into our time in Acton, California...that it needed two separate blog posts! Check out more of our California adventures!

The rock formations were formed by the rapid erosion during uplift about 25 million years ago and were later exposed due to activity at the San Andreas Fault!  The park is named after a famous bandit, Tiburcio Vasquez, who hid out here and evaded capture!  It is also a very popular filming area!  The Flintstones Movie, Planet of the Apes, and Star Trek was filmed here (along with numerous other movies, tv shoes and music videos!)  It was cool to visit and climb around these ancient rock formations!

A bit of a glare...but it gives you an idea of some of the other productions filmed here!

Climbing....climbing...climbing!

Do you see Bodie tring to get to the top?

King of the Mountain

It really was spectacular there...Looks like a different planet!  I guess that's why it's such a popular movie/tv/music video location!

We were excited to visit Venice Beach.  Bryan and I had been before, but we couldn't wait to take the boys!

Brotherly love!

The freaks do not even wait to come out at night :-)

Toes in the Pacific Ocean

Lots of cool things to see here at Venice Beach!

We stood and watched these skaters do their magic for a long while!  Great music and tricks makes for great entertainment!

We left feeling upbeat and inspired!

We now have skaters in the family!  Here they are with their authentic Venice Beach skateboards!

Aaron getting the feel of the wheels under his feet!

We were told that almost every town has a skate park.  We found one in Palmdale and spent a Sunday afternoon lounging under a tree while our boys got their skate on! 

Aaron is so brave!  There he goes!

Here comes Braden!  Look at him move!

Back at the campground...More panning for gold!

Aaron helped get the material to pan and his job was "supervisor"

Bored?  Not Aaron!  He decided to create a costume out of boxes!

The boys thoroughly enjoyed their time with friends in Acton.  These four loved to play board games.  Scrabble and Apples to Apples were two of their favorites  (Note:  See that chicken patty in front of Aaron?   It was in Acton that we decided to give up chicken patties cold turkey and we haven't looked back!  Only real chicken for our boy now!) 

It was a big joke that I had a mind block against how to pronounce BUTTE.  I just couldn't remember and it drove us all crazy!

Here we are checking out the BUTTE :-)

Beautiful Joshua Trees

Another hiking opportunity!  Bring it on!

All Smiles!

The teenager wasn't feeling so ambitious...he just wanted to get the hike over with...so he lead our pack!

We happily followed!

Made it to the top!  

Check out the mountains in the background....Loved this campground! 

It was close to Easter, so we did some Candy Science Experiments with the candy we had on hand.  Who knew Peeps could be so much fun!

Using our favorite scientific exploration tool....Uncle Ben's magnifying glass!  

We held a Peep Jousting Match using micro waves!

We ate pretty well in Acton.  We had a favorite little country store that we frequented and we were always eating something yummy!  Here is Bryan's California Chicken with bacon, Munster Cheese and Avocado.   

The cobb salad I made for our dinner with the Burrell Family!  I wish I took a picture of the dessert they brought (It was cannoli from the Original Acton Market and it was out of this world!  

We went out to dinner one night with our friends...Outback did not disappoint!  I was too busy eating to document the fun, but here the boys are before dinner with their buddies!  

A little late night Easter egg dying..

Never too old for an Easter egg hunt!

So much fun!!!!!!!

We had a blast and made so many wonderful memories in Acton!  Can't wait to see where the road leads us...