We had one more very full day ahead of us before getting ourselves up to Mount Rainier for three nights. While I've been busy having fun these last three days, I was also looking forward to settling in for a few days and catching my breath. We awoke close to the crack of dawn and packed up the car, had a little breakfast out of the ice chest and we were ready to go. We were heading a little north to Astoria and then due east to the Columbia River Gorge. I'd been wanting to visit the gorge for many many years, and now the day was finally here. Yay...let's go!
About two hours later, we found ourselves entering Troutdale, as you can see, it's the Gateway to The Gorge!
First we crossed Sandy River Bridge that leads to the Historic Columbia River Highway. I had to take a photo of it because it was a nice bridge, and besides, it had my name.
A cloudy day here at the gorge, but I wasn't complaining. Our first stop was at the Portland Women's Forum State Scenic Viewpoint (quite a mouthful), and Chanticleer Point. Pretty!
Next stop was Vista House and Crown Point Overlook. It was already starting to get crowded at this point. I was shocked I was able to get a photo of Vista House without a bunch of people all over. We strolled around here for awhile, climbed to the balcony in Vista House and then were ready to move on. Oh, I think the waterfalls start after this stop!
Our first hike of the day was to Latourell Falls. I thought this was one of the prettier falls along the gorge. Unfortunately, on the way down from this hike..actually it was on the pavement after the hike (go figure!), I took a nice hard fall myself. I stepped sideways on a pebble or something on that path and twisted all the way around and landed HARD on my butt. Ouch! I was pretty stunned and when these nice people came up and asked me if I was okay, do you know what I said to them??? "Am I okay?, what about my camera?!" They must have thought I was insane. Anyway, whoever you nice people were, I thank you now.
Next up was a hike to Bridal Veil Falls. This hike was beautiful. Lots of pretty streams with moss-covered rocks.
Bridal Veil Falls
The next falls was Wakeena Falls, which was also very beautiful There was a lot of spray coming off these falls, so I had to be quick with my camera! I actually ended up loving this point of view, below.
Next up was the most famous falls at the gorge...Multnomah Falls. I'd heard a lot about these falls and they definitely lived up to their name. My only other comment....crowded! Think almost Disneyland-like in some parts, only in a natural setting. I would like to come back here on another day....not the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend! In any case, they were stunning and we did make it up to the bridge in the photos below. We chose not to hike all the way to the top since we were on a pretty tight time schedule. Next time!
Our last stop was at Horsetail Falls. I think it was about 4 PM by this point. I would have loved to have gone further, but we had to double-back to Portland and head up to Mount Rainier before it got dark, and we had no idea what to expect weather-wise once we got up there.
A few hours later, around 7 PM, we found ourselves pulling into Mount Rainier National Park. I was very excited about Mount Rainier. I have come to realize that I have a very strong attachment to the mountains. I love the ocean, the desert, the jungle, the rain forest, etc., but I feel most at home and happy in the mountains. This is where I belong.
About 30 minutes after entering the park, the snow picked up and the visibility became iffy. We couldn't really see what was on the sides of the road, other than snow and haze. The snow started getting pretty heavy a few minutes later and it was getting dark. We passed the Paradise Visitor Center and ended up at the road closure pictured below. For a few minutes, we were rather concerned and at a loss as to what to do. We turned around, thinking we may have to drive all the way back out of the park and find somewhere else to stay, if the road to our hotel was closed off, but then, much to our relief, there is was, Paradise Lodge, right next to the visitor center partially covered in snow! Whew!
We were very happy to find the beautiful Paradise Lodge...especially with a big fire place lit in the lobby!
After we put all our luggage in our room (that had an amazing view of Mount Rainier, although at this point, we didn't know that), we headed down to the snack bar for a little dinner. That was about it for me and this day. Time for sleep, and thankfully, we didn't need to be up at the crack of dawn tomorrow.
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