Out of all the days, this one was least like the way I had planned it which made it one of my favorites. Pro-tip: Even if you're a type-A, planner, organized person, leave some room for surprises. It also turned out to be one of the most photogenic days. After a delicious breakfast in the sunroom at our host home, we headed off to Multonomah Falls. My parents had hiked here a year or two ago and told us that it was a 'must do' type of thing. There were a few options for the hike which consisted of: 1. See the falls (0.2 miles) 2. Hike to the bridge for a selfie (0.8 miles) 3. Hike to the top and feel good about yourself (2.5 miles) or 4. Hike around the falls and see everything else (5-6ish miles). We were looking for an actual hike, but our hips, thighs, calves, and gluteus maximuseseses were feeling like we had hiked up a mountain the day before (we had). Pro-tip: If you take this trip, maybe don't plan your two hikes on back to back days. Therefore, we decided to hike to the top of the falls and back down. Multonomah Falls is the second tallest waterfall in the United States (I think this is only counting year-round falls. You can check me on that.) The falls were absolutely gorgeous and so impressive. It's the type of thing that makes you look up and just shake your head because nothing that I could create could possibly look that good and this thing happened naturally (or with the Creator's help). The trail up to the top consisted of more switchbacks which helped loosen up our hips, thighs, calves, and gluteus maximuseses very quickly. We had arrived pretty early, so it wasn't too hot or too crowded.
 |
| View from the top of the falls |
So anyway, down the road we went. On the way there, we completed one of my family's road trip traditions. For a reason that's way to long explain right now, we have every traveler state three things that they like and three things that they dislike and compile a list. Most of them are supposed to be related to the trip or traveling. Here's our lists.
 |
| Caroline Likes: Donuts, AirBnb, and adventure. Dislikes: Hertz car rentals, traffic, and sore hips |
 |
| Rachel Likes: Mountains, blueberries, and cozy beds Dislikes: Staying a hotel that night instead of AirBnb, being tired, and hiking in the snow |
 |
| Nikki Likes: Moutains, water, and mountains and water together Dislikes: Thinking of dislikes, seeing a mountain that she can't summit, and mountain goat heads on the wall. |
Our expected drive was about 40 minutes. If you'll remember back to day #2, I had asked both Nikki and Rachel to come up with something that they wanted to do. Nikki had suggested a fish ladder, and I had basically told her that we couldn't. Pro-tip: Try not to be too controlling when planning a trip. On our way to Hood River, we saw a sign for Bonneville Dam and fish ladder. It was one of those should we? shouldn't we? things where we decided to swerve off the exit at the last minute. Turned out to be really cool! I got a stamp! Totally wasn't expecting that, but it was a stop on the Lewis and Clark historic trail. We learned about fish ladders and how the salmon swim upstream to spawn. They (don't have any clue who 'they' are) want to get an accurate count of salmon so there is literally a human being who volunteers for 8 hours a day to count how many fish swim by a window. There was also some history there about the building of the dam. And Nikki got to see fish. A random stop turned out to be a home run. Pro-tip: Making unplanned stops are sometimes the best memories. I also picked up a lesson from the docent at the visitor's center: "The salmon swim up the Colombia River from spending four years in the Pacific Ocean. They swim up the river and hit our concrete wall and they say, "Oh! Dam!"
Hood River was really cute, but not a lot to report. We ate from food carts which is apparently a necessity in Oregon. It was good. We walked around and had delicious ice cream. It was the kind of ice-cream-after-walking-around-in-90-degree-weather-in-an-unfamiliar-city-and-you're-really-thirsty-but-your-water-is-really-warm-kind of ice cream. Which is the best kind.
Our next stop the was the International Rose Test Garden- or the international roast garden if you're Nikki or Rachel. There are over 550 varieties of roses including many experimental types. Pro-tip: I have no pro advice here. I honestly don't know how a rose can be experimental. However, I think I would be incredibly good at coming up with new rose names: The Derrick, Rose to the Occasion, Rose upon Rows, etc. I have never been a huge fan of roses. I didn't think they really smelled that sweet and were too pricey for my taste. However, I was a big fan of this place. They really smelled wonderful. There was also a variety of smells- some were very flowery (no, duh!) while others smelled fruitier or more like a perfume. I am a jerk and forgot to ask the others which their favorite flower was. Mine was the first purple one pictured right below. Nikki has a great camera and took a bunch of pictures. Here's just a few.
 |
| They look like they're in time-out |
We didn't stay in an AirBnb that night. I had gotten a great deal on a Courtyard Marriott, so we ended up on the west side of Portland to get us close to the coast for day #5. We had pb&j in our hotel room with a little time that evening to watch some quality HGTV and to go to the pool/ hot tub. I think that night we were night owls. In bed by 9:30!
Breakdown of Day 4:
Best moment: Unexpected stamp! Not really, probably the 'wow' moment looking at the falls
Worst moment: Right before the first lick of ice cream
Bonding moment: Hot tub talks- sounds like a soap opera
Breakdown of Costs:
- Food Cart $7.50
- Ice Cream $2.50
- Parking in Hood River and Rose Garden $5
Thanks for sticking with me! Day 5 was the unanimously picked favorite, so stay tuned!
-C-
No comments:
Post a Comment