Our Trip to the Gorge, 5.10.06

The Columbia Gorge is partly what sold us both on moving to Portland. John marks standing at an observation point overlooking the Columbia River, with a full view of much of the Gorge, as the defining moment in his decision to live in the Pacific Northwest. So, it is always special for us when we get to spend some time there, either hiking around one of the numerous, incredibly lovely waterfalls, or stopping to have lunch in lovely Hood River or at the Multnomah Falls Lodge. Today it was hiking around Horsetail Falls and Oneonta Gorge and Falls. Not a huge hike—only around a total of three miles. But some of those miles were up, up, up! And what sights we saw! We recorded a bit of it, but really, the views were too lovely and stunning to capture on a small, point-and-shoot digital camera.Still, we gave it a try! Here’s a shot of Horsetail Falls. It’s too large to fit into my very limited camera lens, so I stacked the pictures on top of each other to try to give the overall effect:




As we hiked up the trail towards the top of the falls, we were treated to this view we couldn’t pass up:



At the top of the falls, there is a smaller falls called Ponytail Falls. I think there’s a definite equine theme here. Quite lovely in the midst of all that green:



Once we reached Ponytail Falls, we spent some time behind it, delighting in the dark little cavern that we discovered there. No bats, but still, quite neat:



Here’s a couple of views of Ponytail Falls from behind:



Here is Alex on the way back down:



It was one of the most fun days we’ve had in a long while. I think John is enjoying his time off!! I know that I am! Thanks for enjoying our trip with us...