August 8th: Columbia River Gorge
Our first stop was at the Vista House.
so true...
Instead of taking the interstate, we took the old scenic highway to a series of waterfalls.
Waterfall #1
The old bridges were very cool.
Waterfall #2
Waterfall #3
After dinner that night, we stopped at Powell's Books--the world's largest independent bookstore. This flagship store took up a square block and has over 1 million books!
August 9th: Happy Anniversary to us! Today we went on a (almost) 10-mile hike on the trail of ten waterfalls at Silver Falls State Park, about and hour south of Portland!! The waterfalls weren't nearly as strong as they are during other parts of the year, so we didn't rain coats on this trip. It's been called the "crown jewel of the Oregon State Parks system. Now we know why...
#1: South Falls
We walked behind this one.
the view from behind the waterfall
#2: Lower South Falls
We also got to walk behind this one...
#3: Lower North Falls
#4: Double Falls
#5: Drake Falls
#6: Middle North Falls
We stopped and ate lunch behind this waterfall!
#7: Twin Falls
This is the best picture I could get...
It was a gorgeous hike.
#8: North Falls
the view from behind North Falls
#9: Upper North Falls
Andy decided to take a swim.
hiking the Rim Trail back to the parking lot
#10: Winter Fall--We don't have pictures of this one because there was not water falling. I guess we'll have to go back in the spring...
dinner at Deschutes Brewery
August 10th: Wine Tasting Tour of Willamette Valley
VooDoo Donuts
August 11th: We rented bikes and explored the Saturday Market and Washington Park.
tennis courts near the Rose Garden at Washington Park
Rose Garden
That night, we biked to the Jack White concert. It was such a fun concert!
Thank you for such amazing adventures, Portland!
