Field Trip #2

Once we got back from our extended vacation and got ready for school to start and started school, I made a new resolution: we must enjoy this glorious weather while we can.  (Which means while it lasts.) 

Our primary method of enjoyment is going to be a field trip day each week until the good weather ends.

When I announced our plan for last Wednesday, it was met with moanings and groanings of all sorts.  No one wanted to go.  Everyone was tired of being in the car.  Couldn’t I go by myself???

But I persisted.  And I insisted.  In they went, and away we drove.

We stopped first to go to the bathroom.

At Multnomah Falls.

Now Multnomah Falls is the tallest waterfall in Oregon and as such is pretty famous.  Busloads of people speaking all sorts of different languages arrives all day long to look at the beautiful waterfall.

But not us, we were just there for the facilities.

I was a little concerned about the weather, since at noon it was still only about 60 degrees and breezy.  I had been watching the forecast all week and it had promised a beautiful day, but I was worried.   At Multnomah I was a bit afraid the girls would freeze to death, when it was discovered that both of them had come away without jackets.  (Oregon rule #1: always bring a jacket.)

After we left Multnomah the sky began to clear.

 

It was a very interesting combination of weather patterns in just a small area—sun, haze, clouds, we had it all. 

Fortunately for the jacketless girls it warmed up a few degrees by the time we got to our destination, Horsetail Falls.

The main waterfall is right beside the road,

but my plan was never to stop there. 

Instead we started hiking to see how many more waterfalls we could see in the time we had available.

By this point in the journey my previous cranky companions had disappeared and three delightful children had appeared in their places—running ahead, singing songs together, telling riddles, they had a great time.

The second waterfall, Ponytail Falls, was unsual.  Over time the water has eaten away at the earth behind the falls and now you can hike through a small cavern behind the waterfall.

If you’ve ever wondered what the world looks like from behind a waterfall, here you go.

Very lovely, actually.

We could see signs of fall all around us.

Every now and then (but not very often) there would be a break in the trees along the trail and we would see the most beautiful views.

Everything everywhere was covered in moss.

Our last stop before we ran out of time and had to turn back was in a gorge that was so narrow in some places you probably could have touched both walls.  We could see those places from where we were, but there was no way to get there from where we were.

There was a small waterfall above us,

with a sort of scary footbridge near it.

After we passed the footbridge I decided that we were out of time, so we turned around and headed back down.

 

On our way we decided to see if we could count the rings on a fallen tree.  We got to 60 before we gave up.

Our trip back home was uneventful.  Once again I enjoyed the views along the way.

Once again we were entertained by driving through the tunnel and seeing the houses & apartments just above.  We can’t help asking—do they hear all of the traffic?  Do they feel it at all?  Will we ever be so used to driving under houses that it’s boring to us??

Remember those cranky kids, the ones who hadn’t wanted to go?  Well those same kids can’t wait to go back.  They think we need to take Russ & Josh back with us because we had such an awesome time.  Well…the truth is, we probably won’t go back to that exact place, but that will be because there are so many other amazing places here we still haven’t seen.