Columbia River Gorge–Waterfalls

We had absolutely beautiful weather while we were on the coast – and we had been concerned about rain this time of year – although it was only in the low 60s, we had full sun most days and it was really pleasant!

On Thursday, we moved north and inland, to an RV Park just east of Portland.  It’s a huge park, and beautiful, with lots of amenities.  The temperature increased as we moved inland, too . . . enough that we’ll probably even make use of the pool once or twice!

 

 

As we drove toward the park, we could see Mt. Hood in the distance,

and we’re right at the western end of the Historic Columbia River Highway. 

On Friday afternoon, we decided to take a drive along the historic highway to see some waterfalls.  Our first stop was Vista House – it’s a historic rest stop built in 1917.

It’s a really beautiful building – especially for a rest stop!

We went up on the upper level for a fantastic view of the Columbia River Gorge,

and the Columbia River, looking back toward Portland.

The Columbia River Highway climbs from the freeway along the river, up to the top of the Gorge, through woods that look like rainforests; and every time you get out of the car you can hear running water!

We saw several waterfalls,    

 

 

 

and lots of wildflowers as we walked along the trails at each waterfall.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m not sure what this orange flower is, but there were several of them along one trail and I thought they were so pretty!  The flower droops down, with the petals folded back toward the stem, and I had to hold my camera under it to get a good picture!

 

 

 

 

 

 

There have been several rock slides along the River Gorge – one back in February that took out a section of the interstate, and one just yesterday that buried a section of the historic highway.

After parking the car at one of the waterfalls, we noticed the logs perched above it, and hoped they didn’t come crashing down on the car!

 

Our last stop of the day was at Multnomah Falls.  This is the tallest of the falls along the gorge, and also the most crowded.

 

 

 

The view from the lowest overlook (more of an underlook, I guess!).

This is like a 2-tiered waterfall . . . the upper falls cascade onto a large shelf in the rock wall ( a little below the bridge), and then continue to flow over its edge to create the lower falls.

We decided to walk up the trail and check out the view from the bridge.  Part of the way up, we had a really good view of the lower falls.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We continued up, and soon we reached the bridge (there’s Bryce, getting a picture of the bridge with his phone!).

From the bridge, we had a really nice view of the upper falls,

 

and I just had to make the boys pose for me in front of the falls!!

We could have continued along the trail to the top of the falls, but it was getting late and we wanted to get back for dinner.

I got one nice shot of the Washington side of the Gorge on our way back down!

Back at the camper, we grilled some steaks and potatoes, and ate outside (first time we’ve done that in quite a while!).  It was a beautiful evening, and Tom & I soaked in the hot tub while the boys played basketball.  Tomorrow afternoon I think we’ll check out the pool!