Back to Portland

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Today was mostly driving, with a little sightseeing thrown in. I hated to leave the coast, especially since Portland is under an excessive heat watch starting tomorrow, but I wanted to check out some things in and around Portland.

I left the very chilly coast and headed back the same route I had come in on. I really enjoyed driving along Highway 6 through the Tillamook Forest. The road is never very steep and it winds through the hills with green trees all around. I don't know the highest elevation in this area, but the one sign I saw said 1500 feet. It was still cool and cloudy through the forest and that made for a nice drive.

My first stop of the day was Oregon City, home to the terminus of the Oregon Trail. Now when I was a kid, we took a whole 10 day vacation to Nebraska to follow said trail so I couldn't not stop at this site. If you don't care about the Oregon Trail and this is not on your planned route, I would not make the detour. I made the loop around the south side of Portland to Oregon City. There is an interpretive center at the site that you can pay to go in, but the actual marker is in a garden and is free to visit. This is also an Oregon information center so I picked up a few maps and pamphlets as long as I was there.

I headed north and then east on I-84 to see if I could find a few waterfalls and see a little bit of the Columbia River Gorge area. There were no views of Mount Hood from where I was so hopefully it will be clear tomorrow for viewing. I got off the highway and drove along Highway 30, the historic Columbia River highway, to view the falls. The first one was Bridal Veil. This is a state park and there is no fee to visit. There is a small parking lot, which was getting quite full by the time I was heading back out.

There are two paths at this park, one to the falls and one that overlooks the gorge. I walked to the falls first. This path is mostly dirt and involves some climbing (mostly on the way back) and a few twists and turns. The actual waterfall is very beautiful and certainly looks like a veil. I would say the walk was worth it, but I was really getting tired of all the uphill climbing! The overlook path is paved and flat so much easier on the knees. You get some really great views of the river from here. If you don't have time to get far into the gorge area, like me, this is a good place to go. It's only a short drive east of Portland and easily accessible from the interstate.

The second park I visited was Wahkeena Falls. Parking here is along the road or in a small picnic area down the hill and there is no fee. Spots were again filling up quick and I grabbed the last one. Here I found yet another steep uphill climb along a paved path. I was rewarded at the top with a close up of the waterfall and a nice cool mist. The way down is all downhill, which was a relief. I was going to keep going to Multnomah Falls, but I heard someone say it was packed and there was no place to park. You can walk the half mile there, but I didn't want to have to deal with the crowd of people so I skipped it.

I could have kept driving further into the Gorge, but I was getting tired of driving around so I headed back towards Portland and the suburb of Beaverton. When I looked at hotels in Portland, I almost didn't think I would be able to stay anywhere close to the city. Prices here are much higher than I am willing to spend. So I decided to try Airbnb and see what I could find. I was lucky to find a cute place in Beaverton for under $60 a night! I wasn't able to check in until 5 so I stopped at the mall here to see the smaller branch of Powell's books (if this is a small one, I can't wait to see the big one!) and then found a nearby park to sit at for awhile. Luckily, I got a text from the owner of the place I'm staying that I could check in early! I was warmly greeted by Chompski, the family dog, and Uli, the lady of the house. She took me into the backyard to show me the cottage. They have a really nice yard! There is a greenhouse, treehouse, pool, patio and this small studio cottage. It has a little kitchen area, a sofa bed, a Murphy bed and a nice bathroom. I'm sure my three nights here will be very comfortable. Uli recommended a local pizza place, Mod, that I went to for dinner. You pick the size pizza you want and then whatever sauces and toppings you want, all for one price. They also have salads that work the same way. So I got the smallest pizza and salad with tons of toppings and they were both delicious!

Today it was only in the low 80s in the Portland area, but tomorrow is in the low to mid 90s. I'm still going to head into the city to check out some of the parks and Powell's. I'll save that for later in the day when I need to cool off. Luckily, there is a TriMet train stop close by so I don't have to drive into Portland. I'm looking forward to doing as much as I can tomorrow, despite the heat. Yesterday morning I was wearing gloves, tomorrow I'll be wearing shorts!

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