When we arrived in Oregon a few days ago, we found out that they were in the midst of a heat wave. In fact, they are having record high temps over here. We were told to be prepared for BIG crowds at the state parks and rivers. We decided our best bet for seeing the Columbia River Gorge sights was to leave early and try to avoid the crowds.
The kids were not thrilled to be up and out of camp at 8:30 am, especially since it was still pretty cold out. First stop was Oneonta Gorge. We knew that this place would be packed in a few hours, so we decided to hit it very first--before the hordes arrived.
When we started out, we weren't sure what to expect. We'd done
The Narrows last year, so we weren't too concerned about difficulty, but the water here was much colder. The canyon was beautiful, and the water was shallow, though, so everyone was happy.
Gradually, though, the water began getting deeper and deeper. Within a few minutes, the water was chest deep. Rylee happily jumped in and waded through with her pack above her head. Tatum took a little more convincing. Connor, however, was not a happy camper.
We all made it through the deep sections of the river, though, and the payoff was the magnificent Oneonta Falls. They really were spectacular.
Justin was even brave enough to go for a swim at the base of the falls. He's crazy!
Then we hiked back out the way we came, much to Connor's dismay. He attempted every other possible way around the deep parts, but ended up getting quite wet anyway.
There was a massive buildup of fallen logs at the entrance to the gorge, which proved quite slick on the way back now that we were all soaking wet.
But we all made it back to the car in one piece, and the kids wrapped up in some packing blankets. As we were leaving, the crowds started to filter in. We were glad we made it in early. We headed up the road a mile or so to visit Multnomah Falls next.
It was about 10 am by this point, and Multnomah Falls was packed. Parking was scarce, and the trail to the falls was like standing in line for a Disneyland ride. We snapped our requisite picture of the falls and went back to camp for showers and lunch.
After cleaning up, we headed into Portland. Connor has a friend, Hunter, who he met through an online game he plays. Hunter lives in Portland, and we've been trying to arrange a meeting so they could actually see each other in person. We had a few hours to kill before we met up with Hunter, so we hit a shopping mall and Voodoo Doughnuts.
Voodoo Doughnuts are a must when you are in Portland. I'd heard about them all the way back in Arizona, so I knew we had to try them. When we got there, the line was out the door. They were worth the wait though. Yum!
After our doughnut run, we met up with Hunter at Waffle Window, where we had some amazing waffles for dinner. Then Hunter took us to Salt & Straw for AWESOME homemade ice cream--probably the best we've ever had. It was a late night--almost 10 pm--when we finally said goodbye to Hunter. It stays light here until well after 9 pm, so we didn't realize how late we'd stayed out. We had a great time, though. Tomorrow, we pack up and head to Seattle. Justin has to be back at work, so he'll be working remotely part of the time and out of the GoDaddy Seattle office part of the time. We'll check in once we make it to Washington!
And if you are on Instagram, we're posting pictures more frequently. It's easier to find cell service than WIFI, so check there for the latest pictures. Our user name is
therichardsonkids.
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