It finally feels like fall in Oregon, cold, rain and fog.

We’re currently parked in our new home park, Crown Point in  Corbett Oregon…

This is a very small park only about 25 spots and not all are full hook up. The only available spot was 110 and water only but in two days we can move to a full hookup. This particular spot is under the trees but most are side by side, on gravel.

The park is very quiet with a lot of full timers.

This park is very popular and busy, full a lot of the time, call ahead.  It’s very convenient to the Columbia River Highway. They have good laundry facilities, great wifi and  a lot of TV channels on antenna access. It’s very clean and the caretakers are exceptionally nice.

If you decide to stay here, do NOT take exit 22 to Corbett Hill. It’s very steep and very curvy, take exit 18 instead. The entrance to the park is right past the fire station, a small hidden road hard to see. There’s a great country market across the street, they sell most everything including fresh lunch and breakfast selections. I had a pulled pork sandwich which was delicious!

Before we arrived here, we stopped in a suburb of Portland to visit with our middle daughter, Laura and her husband, John. We spent two nights parked on the street across from their apartment and in front of an empty field where new houses are being built. Laura said her neighbors would not mind if we stayed over the weekend. It would have been fine but she lives in a very popular walking, biking area and on a Saturday night, every time someone walked by (at all hours), it sounded like they were right outside our window. Lots of noise.

The neighborhood is protesting against the home developer who is threatening to cut down some huge old trees.

John and Laura gave us a tour of the city and we ate our way through town. The most memorable for me was an ice cream place called Salt and Straw. They have unusual, fresh flavors. I had Olive Oil Ice Cream and Strawberry Balsamic Ice Cream. It was the best thing I’ve ever tasted and I don’t even like ice cream!

We left Laura’s early, so after getting settled in Corbett, we decided to go for a drive down the Columbia River Highway. It was foggy and rainy and we thought we might not be able to see much.  The first stop was very close to us, The Vista House. I thought the fog was a great opportunity to have some fun with photography.

The Vista house was built in 1917 as an observatory of the Columbia River for travelers and also as a memorial to pioneers. The inside is pretty with stained glass and downstairs is a nice gift shop, snack bar and photographic museum that tells about building the old Columbia River Highway.

There are incredible views from this location. I found it entertaining to try to catch a picture in between tufts of clouds.

 

As we continued to drive east on Old Highway 30,  the clouds began to lift and clear. These are views out the windshield as we drove.

There are at least 26 waterfalls along the Columbia River Gorge. Some can be seen from the road and some must be hiked to. The first waterfall we came to, visible from the road was Latourell falls. The falls plunge 224 feet over a massive wall of columnar basalt.

The view from the road was spectacular but there is a short hike down to the base of the falls. The path ends a little way back from the falls but there is another path and bridge at the base of the falls. People were standing right in front of the waterfall and having their clothes and hair blasted back by the force of the wind from the falling water. They were right at the bottom and not even getting very wet.

This is the path back up.

The next waterfall we stopped at was Bridal Veil Falls. To get to these falls it’s a hike a mile round trip down a steep, narrow, dirt path.

There’ s a beautiful bridge and viewing platform at the end.

The Path

The Falls

The Bridge

At the end of a little road spur near the falls you can see the remains of an old log flume and I understand there are the remains of a pump house but I don’t know where it is.

It was getting late but since it was still light, we decided to keep going to Multnomah Falls. It’s the most photographed falls and the most crowded with tourists. I was enchanted with the old lodge at the base of the falls and I wanted so badly to take a picture that would show off its charms but there are signs and banners everywhere and tons of people even this late in the day.

This was the best I could do.

We managed to find parking and joined the hordes jockeying for position to take pictures and hike to the top. I managed to take a couple of pictures but there were always people on the bridge.  The people aren’t too visible unless they’re wearing orange or pink.  Guess what? Every time I tried to take a picture there was a person up there wearing a bright orange coat and they wouldn’t move and it was getting pretty dark.

We were there late on a weekday in October I can only imagine what summer is like!

Multnomah Falls is the second largest, year round waterfall in the U.S. at 624 feet. This is the view from the bridge looking down at the walkway to the viewing area. There’s also a trail going all the way to the top of the falls but it was to late to try that.

We were pretty well chilled by the time we got back to the visitors center. They have a fudge, nut, coffee vendor, so we stopped for snacks. I got a nuclear hot, hot tea (it didn’t cool off until we got home) and some sugared pecans and cashews. A perfect fall treat! Jeff got a Pepsi and fudge. I’m not sure how he can eat that combination.

It was time to go home but as we came around the corner at Vista House, the sunset was painting the building with the most glorious light! Unfortunately we couldn’t park quick enough to catch the best light but I got a remainder of it.

THAT’S ALL… GOOD NIGHT!