Multnomah Falls

I woke around 7:30am PST this morning but took my time preparing for exercises and daily run. There was no need to rush. After some coffee, meditation, and journaling I readied for a run. Despite ski weary legs, I still pushed myself to complete a six mile run along the river. I was back at Glenn’s by 10:05am. Everyone was up soon after my return. Our plans for the day included a trip through the Columbia River Gorge with our ultimate destination being Multnomah Falls. As we made final preparations, brother Tommy decided to stay back and spend some time alone. He’s been to Multnomah Falls several times prior and hadn’t really done the alone time thing yet. Glenn, Mindy, and I were on our way sometime around noon. Again, we stopped at the Farmer’s Market for a bite to eat. We patronized the same stand, Mel’s Fish & Chips, that we had stopped at on Saturday. Soon we were on our way east through the gorge. Our first stop was Vista House, which is aptly named. It sits atop a small mountain peak overlooking the vast gorge area where you can see for literally miles and miles. After some pics we continued on to Multnomah Falls. Along our way, we saw many smaller falls, and almost all were at least partially frozen sporting stunningly beautiful ice sculptures because of the recent and rare cold snap. Finally ,we arrived at Multnomah. The place was packed with tourists taking in the beautiful falls and decorated in an icy veil. Words simply can no do it justice but hopefully some of my pics can. We first hiked to overlook bridge, then on up to the top of the falls which is 620’ vertical drop but a 1 mile hike up a paved trail through the forest. The views are very similar to those found at Old Man’s Cave here in Ohio. The view from the very top of the falls was a knee knockingly beautiful. After we descended we spent a little time in the gift shop then headed for home. Alone the way we were able to see many other similar falls alone the gorge. All were attractive and sites to behold. We were back at Glenn’s by 4:00pm. We spent the next 1.5 hours relaxing a little, and then packing for our trip home. When through, we readied for our last night out on the town, which would include a trip to Northwest Portland and a visit to one of my favorite watering holes, The Blue Moon Café. And in case you were wondering, it’s another McMenamin’s pub. I have loved that venue for years. They have a large circular shaped table with a fireplace smack dab in the center that makes for a cozy gathering place with family and friends. Once there we ordered beers, wine and food. Mindy and I had only one drink each because we’d be getting up somewhere around 3:30am for our flight home. And know one wants to be ill when flying across the country! We were back at Glenn’s by 8:30am. We readied a few other things for the early morning rise hen went to bed. We were asleep by 9:30pm.