Sweet Creek Falls- Paradise to make the long drive worthwhile

 Amy, Sarah, and I set out on a rather long day for an adventure.  Amy is always asking for "a long drive with a short hike" and today she get her wish. 










We headed down to Eugene and were fortunate to find an amazing coop to stop at then continued driving West toward Florence.  The Country Fair was happening, making traffic pretty bad along the highway toward the coast.  We took a less traffic "short cut" route and eventually ended up at the trailhead.










We stepped into this amazing, enchanted forest with old growth and nurse logs everywhere.  It was so green and amazing.  I fell in love with this forest.










We hiked along the creek and there were small waterfalls all along the way.  The water was so clear and amazing.  We decided hiking to the largest falls came first and swimming would come on the way back.










We enjoyed taking in each of the falls and spent a lot of time just enjoying the water and the forest, noticing nurse logs and mushrooms and climbing on mossy rocks.










After a very pleasant hike through the woods, we arrived at Sweet Creek Falls.  The lower falls was the perfect place for lunch and a swim.










I was the only one brave enough to dive.  Amy and Sarah just wanted to dabble.  It was COLD though and I did not have the stamina to swim out to the falls, just jump in and hurry back to shore.










Then I had to show off my 31 week pregnant belly- 7 months along, and feeling awesome, especially after the swim.  Though I'm sure the baby was thinking, "What is mom doing to me?"  Maybe she'll be a water baby like her sister.










We took time to check out the upper falls and then started the trek back.  On the way back we found another swimming hole which also doubled as a dabbling spot.  Sarah used it to get wet and Amy used it for sun bathing.










When we got back to the car we had found ourselves so consumed by the hike that the afternoon had flown by!  It was already early evening and we had plan to drive up the coast, so we continued our drive as planned.













We stopped at Devil's Punchbowl to enjoy the swirling ocean view.  It was nice to end our day at the coast after such a special time hiking in a beautiful place!

We stopped again for dinner, hot cocoa, and delicious pie at a nice little place in Depot Bay, dropped Sarah in Salem, and did not end up getting home to Beaverton until after 10pm, but what a gorgeous day- so worth all the driving!