Columbia River Gorge. Day 33

You know you are "tripping" when you wake up and you don't know what it looks like outside or where you really are, not even the name of the town you are in...
I woke up this morning after 3 days of not running and a difficult evening and said, I need to run.  It doesn't matter where I run, I need to run.

So I set off.  I ran along a frontage road for awhile, me and the big semi trucks.  But then I saw a sign for Troutdale downtown.  I headed to downtown and was so blessed by this sweet little main street.  I passed by this store with doors open and inside a lit Christmas tree surrounded by the most beautiful furnishings and décor.  Ahhh, after a night at Motel 6, it was like seeing a piece of heaven.

We stopped at McDonalds for quick and easy and Deveraux asked, "Are the people who work at night nocturnal?"

On our way to the waterfalls, I asked Drew if I could stop back at the store I found to get my coffee (they also had a coffee shop in the front).  It was a treat for Deveraux and I to walk around basking in the loveliness, it truly felt like a gift from God. 

Beauty is like that.  It can be an amazing waterfall or a lovely store filled with beautiful things that leaves you inspired and transported to feelings of home.  Now a store can also leave one a feeling of discontentment or want for more.  Today, I just felt blessed to walk amongst it all.

We hit the Columbia River George scenic trail.

 

Not having read anything, I didn't know what to expect. 

Our first stop, pretty but very foggy, the view looked to be incredible. 

We tried to read behind locked doors the information of where we were, so far

with the fog, rain, and closed building, I was not sure what kind of  day we were in for and again trying to get bearings of where we were and what we would see.....

...well, those waterfalls...they did not disappoint!

 

The first falls on the historic scenic trail.

You could get right up to the waterfall, I was standing so near

that without knowing it, the mist got my pants soaked! 

This also marks the last picture on my camera, as my

battery died, so I mostly used Andrew's I phone camera.

Bridal Veil Falls was our next waterfall stop.

"A tiered waterfall with two drops, the upper between 60 and 100 tall,

the lower from 40 to 60 feet in height."

I love fallen leaves on a path.

Wahkeena Falls

Amazingly beautiful!

The kiddos and I decided to walk to the next falls and

Andrew went back to get the car to drive and meet us.

We set off and came to a part on the trail that said it was

closed to the next falls we were trying to get to.  I had to decide at that moment,

 go for it, try another trail that was heading up, or go back the way we came to a

trail I knew would most likely get us there.  With papa's adventure on the

trail still fresh and not wanting to worry Andrew, we walked

fast with Bobo on my back to the trail back at the beginning.  I saw our

van on the road heading back to us, luckily Andrew had the window

rolled down so I could yell down to him.  We had a good walk

the three of us and we were so blessed when we rounded the corner

and saw this wonderful "out of a storybook sight...."

A stone building with a fire...sure to bring something hot to drink!

That is Dev and I on the bridge. 

Multnomah falls, this is about the halfway point.

 

Tallest in North America after Yosemite Falls, 620-foot Multnomah

A little known fact I did not know...deer loose their antlers

every year and grow them back, am I the only one who

did not know this?  We continue to learn all sorts of things

on this trip!

 

 

When we got to the falls, Bobo said,

"I am cold, I need some desert!"  I hear you Bobo!

 

Three out of four of us had our pants off drying in the car heater

by the time we reached this visitor center.  We had such fun exploring

the waterfalls, but it was a bit cold!

Deveraux has taken to signing in on the guests books at the

 different museums we travel to... 

A joke has been that we have not seen any salmon. 

We saw a salmon!  They are a big deal in these parts,

their history with the Indians and currently with the fishermen

and their history in the area.  There is care taken in preserving them and they

 have built fish ladders here and in this glass they even count them

 to turn in numbers so the fishing is regulated.

Bobo took a pic of our friendly guide who taught

us all about how electirity is powered by water.

Here we are in the place where electricity happens.

Under the cement floor are great big turbines that

are being moved by water, transferred to magnets

which are covered by copper, then it transfers outside

to all the wires and then sent to homes around Portland.

That is the "laywoman's explanation."