Monday, October 14, 2013

Sauvie Island and Gorge: Sunny days with friends

On Sat we were on our own and it was the first sunny fall day.  My preschooler has been hard to motivate so I thought a hike involving a pumpkin farm might be just the thing!







We headed to a farm on Sauvie Island and spent some quality time playing in the hay.







Amy got a beautiful face painting as sister watched.  She enjoyed bouncing in the bounce house.







Then we went into the corn maze...Now if you must know my sense of direction has a reputation for being rather poor.  I figured Amy would help us find our way out!  We wandered for quite some time and eventually found the exit.







Leaving the farm we enjoyed the Portland Voodoo Doughnut truck and drove out to the hike out to Warrior Rock Lighthouse.







Mount Saint Helens across the river was beautiful, covered in fresh snow after our colder rainy week.







At Amy's request, we took the "low route" along the beach, climbing over muddy outcroppings.  Fortunately we were on top of one of these outcroppings when this huge barge came by and made an enormous wake that just barely missed us.







On the way back we enjoyed building and demolishing a sandcastle.







Baby Analise ate some dirt and all three of us were quite covered in mud.










The next day we picked up our friend, Celebrity, and headed up to show her the gorge.  We enjoyed the beauty of Multnohmah Falls first.







My mom had taken the train up to join the fun.







After our stop at Multnohmah Falls we met up with friends at Latourell Falls.  The kids immediately started rock climbing







We hiked past Latourell Falls and spent some time playing and visiting at Guy Talbot Park.







We stopped at Vista House to take in the river/ gorge view.







Baby Analise enjoyed some serious stair climbing at Vista House.







Next we headed up to the top of Larch Mountain to hike up Sherrard Point.  The panorama of mountains surrounding us was amazing.








Mount Saint Helens, Mount Rainier, Mount Adams, Mount Hood, and Mount Jefferson were all out in full glory!







My soul was fed by the community of friends and the amazement of these wonderful Columbia River spots.

Annual Falls Creek Falls Trip

 The weather is getting a little colder and rainier and the fall colors are amazing.  We headed to one of our favorite hikes in Washington, Falls Creek Falls.  (See our hike last Aug- http://mel-amyadventures.blogspot.com/2012/08/falls-creek-falls-always-favorite-of.html)








There were some pretty stellar mushrooms and Amy invented a "pictureka" game where we described the color shape and size.







We hiked along the creek, enjoying the yellow leaves and green moss.









We crossed over the unique little suspension bridge.







The light shining through these yellow leaves made them glimmer.








The green moss makes this old growth forest feel like a fairyland.








We enjoyed the sounds of the creek beside us.







We continued through the beautiful canopy of fall colors until we began to hear the waterfall.







We took a long stop to enjoy the beauty of Falls Creek Falls.







There were lots of people and dogs to share the view with us.







Baby Analise got some much needed wiggle time to explore the mossy rock.







 Amy got some highly valued rock climbing time as well.








After enjoying the waterfall we started heading back, but instead of just hiking the trail back, we decided to try to explore the top of the falls.








Amy made a valiant effort up a steep primitive trail.  We were told the top of the falls might take some bush wacking and Amy was complaining of being tired.  I needed to listen to my kiddo and head back down toward our car.









As we took a break to recharge we encouraged Baby Analise to take a few steps on the trail.  She enjoyed doing this holding Sarah and my hands but was not up for stepping out on her own yet.








By the time we arrived back at our car we were all pretty tired.  The extra climb in search of the top of the falls made this day into a little bit more of a much needed challenge.







This is certainly a favorite, especially in the fall.  We said one of Analise's favorite phrases, "Bye Bye" trail, "Bye Bye" waterfall.  See you next year.