Day 10 started with much of the same as the previous few days....driving across the somewhat hilly desert, however once we got into Oregon, it started becoming a bit more like what we're used to in Illinois....fields....except out here they are fields of hay and trees (that's wierd, seeing a field of trees).
Eventually, however, we met up with the Columbia River. At first it looked like a pretty standard wide river to us, but then the sides of the river valley became steeper and more rocky, and eventually we got to the Columbia River Scenic Area. Along the way we saw, and drove over the Bridge of the Gods...impressive name...not so impressive bridge. I think Burlington, IA and Alton, IL have nicer looking bridges, but...it got us to Washington.
Once we were in Washington, we drove back up the river a little to avoid the $1.00 toll charge for the bridge. On the way, there were a few areas that the road couldn't go around, so we went through some small tunnels. We eventually got back up to another bridge...turns out it was a $.75 toll...so we went about 25 miles out of our way to save a quarter...oh well, it was pretty.
The other good thing is that from Washington, we could look south and see a decent view of Mt. Hood.
Finally, we arrived in the waterfall area...it was a whole different world. There were waterfalls nearly every mile or so, and the whole area had a rainforesty feel to it. Much more humid than what we had been in over the last week or so (which really felt nice) and it was cool. The drive was along the Historic Columbia River Highway...the old road along the river. It's now highway 30...or 35...or both, I'm not exactly sure.
Anyway, to the waterfalls. The first one you come to heading west is Horsetail Falls, a medium sized waterfall that kinda bounces off a rock and sprays out, like a horse's tail.
Next we stopped at the trailhead for Oneonta Falls. I saw the creek that runs from it, but the falls were a ways back, so I didn't go back to see them.
The next one was the most famous one...Multnomah Falls. It's pretty darn tall, I must say. I think it's the tallest, or second tallest falls of it's type (two-tiered) in the country. Either way, it's nice. I took quite a few photos of this one, here's some of them: top of the falls, bottom part of the falls, the lower part of the falls with a slow shutter (the water is blurred, it's on purpose), Sarah sitting at the falls, Sarah looking at the falls (and me attempting to be artistic).
Next was Wahkeena Falls. The lower part is a steepish creek running over a lot of rocks, but pretty nonetheless. There is a trail that goes up to a footbridge near the top of the falls where I took this photo.
The next falls were Shepherd's Dell falls, a smaller set of falls that were set back a little bit. Sarah took my photo in front of these falls so you can get an idea of scale...that will be important later. Also, the view from the falls back at the bridge for the highway over the creek is just as impressive as the falls. Just so you all know, all of the bridges and railings are in the old stone style...mostly because they are old stone...with moss and stuff on them...mostly put up in the 1910's and 1920's.
The next falls were Bridal Veil Falls....like Oneonta Falls, it was kinda a hike to get there, and I didn't have my hiking shoes, so we had to skip this one.
The final falls were, for me, by far the most impressive...even more than Multnomah Falls. This was Latourell Falls, a pretty straightforward waterfall, off a cliff and straight down into a pool. One of the amazing parts of this is that the rock has come away behind the falls, exposing a very impressive display of columnar basalt (formed when cooling rock cools slowly and essentially forms crystallized 5 and 6 sided columns). Along the sides, collapsed rock and dirt have formed steep hills on either side that were covered with wildflowers. All of this is great and all, but for me, the sheer size was awe inspiring. Remember the earlier post about scale (size of Scott vs size of falls). Well, here's me next to the pool under Latourell Falls....let that sink in a bit. Each of those columns of basalt above me are nearly the size of me. That green and yellow stuff on the rocks are moss and other humidity-loving plant material by the way. I sat and stared at these falls for a good 10 minutes, then went and got Sarah to come down and see it. It was a little walk back to see it, but for this...it was worth it. If we have time, we may stop by again on our way back through.
Ok, so now back to the rest of our journey. After the falls are a series of switchbacks in the road (readers who are Watsons and just got back from Colorado should be familiar with these) that climb up about 600 feet to the top of the nearby cliffs. At the top is an old style rest stop called the Vista House at Crown Point. The house itself is pretty cool, but the view is amazing. You can see for miles up and down the Columbia River, including into the eastern Portland suburbs about 10 miles away. Luckily we made it to the top just in time to see the sunset over the Columbia River. Since I had the tripod out for the sunset photos, I made a point of taking our photos facing west towards the sunset and Portland, and east, back towards the way we came from.
After sunset, we drove the last 20 miles into Portland and to our hotel, arriving at about 9:30 local time (that's 11:30 back home in Illinois, luckily we feel like we're on Mountain Time from Colorado, so it's only an hour off for us). Tomorrow, it's off to the ocean. Sarah's never seen the Pacific...technically I have, but it was just when flying into San Diego's airport, then driving away, so I saw it, but didn't really get to do anything there. Tomorrow we'll drive along the coast for a while and see what we can see. You should be able to see the photos here tomorrow (Tuesday) night...which could be late, remember, we're on Pacific time now.
G'nite.
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