OUR FAMILY ADVENTURE

We did another 6 mile hike that took us past numerous waterfalls starting at the famous Multnomah Waterfalls and ending at Wahkeena Waterfalls.  Those are the only two names I remember of any of the waterfalls not because there were so many of them but honestly because I couldn’t pronounce any of them.

I can say that this hike was breathtaking and that is an understatement.  If you can think back to your childhood imagination and go to that imaginary world we all made up and played in then you will know what this hike was like.  It was literally stepping into a different world where you are certain elves and fairies and pixies exist.  (although in my imaginary world as a child I didn’t have elves but if I wasn’t so taken with G.I. Joe burning Barbie I might’ve had fairies but alas Barbie burning was way more exciting even in a beautiful pixie world)

Multnomah Falls reputation did not disappoint.  The falls are magnificent in size and about as graceful and glamorous as a waterfall can get.  Multnomah Falls is the tallest of all the waterfalls in the area being approximately a 620ft drop of the combined falls that make up Multnomah.  We have since learned that the Columbia River Gorge contains more waterfalls in one area than anywhere else in the world.  Although Multnomah Falls is beautiful there are many waterfalls in the area that are a must see.  Each waterfall almost has its own personality and takes you to a peaceful, inspiring spot in your mind.

The area is exceptionally green everywhere you look, with moss seemingly flowing off the trees as if they were waterfalls of their own.  There is every shade of green ever imagined.  You can’t help but look all around you spinning in circles when you walk just to see if you are really there or if perhaps you are dreaming the world up.

There are pine trees so tall you can look up and watch them dancing in the wind which you don’t feel on the ground due to all the trees and bushes at our level.  It is almost frightening to watch as the trees sway in the wind so far back and forth you are positive one will break and fall.  It was just as beautiful as it was frightening.

We had a great time hiking and checking everything out.  We took a lot of pictures as you can see below!!  Enjoy the pictures!!

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We have settled into a new campground in Oregon called Ainsworth State Campground which is a beautifully forested campground covered in wild blackberries which happen to be plump, juicy and ripe!! YAY! 

We did have a little mishap just before we left Phillips Lake, OR.  Just as we had everything packed and we were ready to go we went to put the slide out in. However when we hit the button…NOTHING.  There was no sound, no nothing. UH-OH.  So Honey goes to check it out and yep there was a problem.  There’s a pin that holds the roller thing in the track thing (is that specific?  LOL) which popped out of the hole thing!!  So Honey being as handy as he is quickly figured out the problem and how to fix it.  He remained calm and carried about his job of fixing the slide out all while the neighbors were sitting at the next campground staring.  So he ended up jacking up the slide out, popped the pin in, let the jack down and slid the slide out in! YAY!!! From there we were on our way towards the Columbia Gorge River!

After an uneventful 5 hour drive we make it to camp.  By the way for most of the drive we had the pleasure of the Columbia River as a view.  The river is huge, giant and I’ve never seen such a big river.  It was like watching a really long lake that never ends……really cool!

We easily find a spot in the camp and are in awe with the beauty of the forest.  Our first full day we decide to take a hike to go see 3 of the waterfalls in the area.  The trail from camp is just a few feet from our spot.  So we load our camelbaks with water, snacks, first aid kit and camera and head out.

I don’t think I have ever seen such a beautiful place.  The trail was wide and canopied by green leafed trees that put a persistent smile on your face and makes you feel like there is nothing else in the world but happiness.  The feeling you get walking in the forest is one of motivation and a feeling of truly being able to accomplish whatever it is you need to in life.  I don’t know if it’s the peaceful feeling you get being in the forest or if perhaps it’s an overload of green (coming from the desert this could happen to the best of us! hahaha lol) or even a sugar overload from all the wild berries but I do like it!! 

On our hike we came across actually 4 waterfalls even though we called it the 3 falls hike.   We hit Ponytail Fall first which was awesome shooting out of the mountain while walking under/behind it on the trail. Then we his Oneonta Falls which was beautiful falling into a little pool of water in its own little canyon. Next we hit Triple Falls which as you can guess has 3 falls in one! LOL Triple Falls has a wooden bridge that crosses the river so we hung out there for a bit checking out all the mini falls and clear pools of water. The last fall was Horsetail Falls which is quite a large waterfall in height and falls down again to its own pool of water right along the highway. 

With all the water flowing in these forests it’s no wonder it is so green.  We ended up doing a 7 mile hike in total which was a pretty decent hike considering we had a short-legged 8-year-old with us.  JoeJoe enjoyed himself and couldn’t believe there are such places in the world.  Of course being in the green green forest made him happy but not quite as happy as the “candy island” he made up in his mind and spent a half hour telling us about.  kids and candy!! LOL

Below are the pictures of the hike!

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Well we crossed another border.  We made it to Oregon from Idaho.  We had a great drive. Chris found wild fruit trees on the way and was soooo excited to stop and pick the fruit. He found apples, plums, cherries and pears.  LOL. While him and JoeJoe enjoyed the fantastic fresh fruit I enjoyed my bag of cheetos which were very fresh by Cheetos standards. LOL  How am I supposed to eat fruit when I have yummy powder cheese mudded up on my fingers?!

We made our way to Sumpter, OR which has been really nice.  There’s another town that’s a bit bigger (Baker City) which had real grocery stores.  I was so excited to actually hit a Safeway and pay reasonable prices.  Most stores we end up at are places that go to a walmart a few hours away and buy groceries to sell in their stores at ridiculous prices. LOL So I went to town and stocked up!!

We’ve finally gotten into a routine with school.  It took JoeJoe a bit to get it through his head that he had to do school before anything else.  He now is on his way to learning and kind of enjoying it.  At least he finishes his school work by noon (most days) LOL.  He finally got past asking “why do I have to learn this? when am I ever going to use this? Tell me again why I have to learn about Rome and Rennaissance?”  LOL well to that last question I didn’t have an answer but the old stand by “because the school says so” works well with him.    He is finally understanding the benefits to him by doing online school and I believe it has finally hit him that he can be done with school by lunch and have the entire day to hang out!! woooohoooo because I didn’t think we’d survive if he continued to take all day to complete his assignments because of arguing! YIKES! Parenting is rough!  LOL

Below are the latest pictures!

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