The near perfect weather we’ve had on the west coast for our trip home hit a bit of a bump Wednesday morning as we were getting ready to pull out of Waldport, OR. It was a bit foggy with just a slight drizzle as we turned onto Hwy. 101 heading north to Newport and the turnoff to Corvallis and then Portland.
Heading out of Waldport in a light drizzle Wednesday morning
We figured we might be in for a wet day but leaving Corvallis and hooking up with the I-5 the closer we got to Portland the more the skies cleared. We took the I-205 bypass to I-84 where we turned east to Fairhaven and a beautiful little RV Resort, the Portland Fairhaven, that we found last year while visiting here. It’s very close to both Multnomah Falls and the Bonneville Dam.
The spectacular Multnomah Falls on the Columbia River Gorge
We were all setup and unhitched by 1:30 yesterday and, as luck would have it, the skies cleared and we had more blue skies than grey. We weren’t too sure how long it was going to last so we hopped back in the truck and headed east for the 20 minute trip to Multnomah Falls.
Even on a mid-week day in April there were lots of visitors when we arrived at the falls. There’s lots of free parking available though so that was no problem. With Molly and Rylie in tow, we took a paved trail that wound up a few hundred feet to Benson Bridge which spans the falls at the first tier’s misty base. What a spectacular sight and the sound was deafening as the water cascaded over the rocks.
The ‘Video Clip’ version of Multnomah Falls
| The ‘Still’ version of Multnomah Falls |
Standing on the bridge we had a perfect view of the top tier waterfall’s full 542-foot height and a great vantage point looking down over the second tier's 69-foot drop.
Just to prove I was actually there yesterday!
Even though it wasn’t raining we still got pretty wet as the spray from the waterfalls soaks you if you get anywhere near the Benson Bridge. It makes it pretty hard to get good photos as the lens on my camera was wet the whole time I was taking pics!
The lower 69 ft. high tier of Multnomah Falls
It’s possible to follow the trail for a little over a mile and climb right to the top of the falls. We weren’t up for that kind of hike as it’s a pretty steep grind from what we could tell. Besides, we were running out of time and there was one more interesting place to visit!
The Columbia River boiling through the Bonneville Dam
That place was the Bonneville Dam just a few miles east of Multnomah Falls. Driving into the Bonneville Dam complex we encountered a gatehouse where an armed guard came out to greet us. He asked if we had any guns in the truck and we told him no. Then he asked to look in the back seat and all he got was a good growl from Molly and Rylie. He waved us through.
We got to drive right up alongside the power plant
Once we cleared the gatehouse, I found it quite amazing that we were able to drive right over part of the dam and right alongside the entire power plant. There were guys working on the dam but no one paid any attention to us. I had expected a bit tighter security.
Once past the power plant we had an unobstructed view
There is a little park with a place for parking so we were able to walk up to a point and get a real good closeup of the water boiling through the gates of the dam. Wow! Is that ever an impressive sight to see and to hear. There was no fence to protect us from the raging currents so we stayed well away from the edge.
After touring around the Bonneville Dam it was time to head back to our rig and prepare for the final leg of this year’s snowbird vacation that actually began last year on Dec. 29, 2012 to be exact. We’re heading for Port Angeles first thing tomorrow morning to catch the 2pm ferry to Victoria. It’s a 90 minute sailing so with all going well we should be home in Cowichan Bay by 5pm!
Paulette’s ‘art shot photo’ of a shell at Marina Dunes Beach!
Thanks to everyone for tagging along on our trip home from Desert Hot Springs, Paulette, the muttzo’s and I have enjoyed all of your comments and having you along for the ride!!
Have a great Thursday, and thanks again for visiting!
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