Broyles

Todd and I decided to take “one last trip” before Konor comes in August. We debated on several places before we chose to go back to Portland. Portland is a great city – great shopping, good food, cooler weather for my hot pregnant self – and we enjoyed our time there in October. We picked a long weekend, booked a hotel downtown and we were set. We visited Powell’s Books (a bookstore that spans a whole city block) which is full of new and used books – a reader’s paradise. Of course we had to go to Chipotle – the best burrito place ever – a couple of times, Voodoo Donuts, and Nordstrom Rack. I even talked Todd into talking me to Tiffany’s. What could be better? I know! Leaving Tiffany’s with a little blue box – which I did. Yep, Todd totally surprised me when he bought the ring I’ve had my eye on for some time now. What a guy.

Our big discovery and adventure this trip was the waterfalls. We had seen Multnomah Falls from I-84 our first visit to Portland and made a mental note to check it out sometime. Well, we did. Just outside of the city, off of the Interstate runs Columbia River Gorge Scenic Highway. The strip of road stretches parallel to the freeway and has to be one of the prettiest drives in the Northwest. On both sides of the highway is lush, green foliage, combined with native flowers, and beautiful waterfalls. Multnomah Falls is the second tallest year-round waterfall in the nation, dropping 620 feet. We hiked halfway up to a bridge that passes in front of the falling water. The sound of the crashing water was loud enough you had to raise your voice to talk and you could feel the mist of the water as it sprayed up from the force of the fall. The temperature dropped dramatically the closer you got.


Further down the road is Horsetail Falls. We hiked up a very steep trail to the top of the fall. I had to stop several times to catch my breath – my lung capacity is certainly not what it used to be before I was toting around a watermelon. During one such stop, Todd found a tree with the center carved out and waited patiently. (I had to get the picture.) As we weaved back and forth on the switchbacks up you could look down and see a tiny dot that was the car. The really cool part about this particular waterfall is you can walk underneath it! It was amazing!! The trail continues on but we'll have to save that for another day - one where Todd can carry Konor.


We also stopped at the Vista House at Crown Point. The Vista House was build in 1916 and serves as the symbol for the Columbia River Gorge. It has recently been restored - the marble and stained glass are beautiful. The basement contains a neat gift and coffee shop. The views from Crown Point were breathtaking. A nice volunteer gave us a map showing all the falls and recommended his favorite stops along the way.