Day two of our adventure begins! Portland is famous for their variety of eateries and we took full advantage of that fact. We started out the morning at Bushel & Peck, a quaint little bakeshop stuffed with tasty morsels and decorated with a cool collection of antiques.

I had a super yummy gluten-free quiche with a hot almond, chai tea latte.

We didn’t have time to dilly-dally so after almost inhaling the yumminess, we were off on our first adventure, the St. Johns Bridge. This is a steel suspension bridge that spans the Willamette River in Portland.

The forecast was for sun later in the day, but the morning fog lent a mystical setting to the Gothic Cathedral-like towers on the bridge.

I loved this moss covered railing edging the road as we walked the sidewalk towards the bridge.

From there, we went to my newly discovered favorite store in the Pacific Northwest – Next Adventure  This multileveled store was packed with gear and clothes for enjoying your time outdoors. They have it all:  clothing, ski boots, climbing equipment, kayaking, camping  and even dog gear featuring all the major brands. I was pleasantly surprised with their regular prices, but they had an excellent sale going on! Bingo! However, I always say, “why buy new, if gently used will do!”

In the basement, they have their “trade-in department.” This is where customers bring in their used clothing and equipment to trade-in for credit on something new. I knew I couldn’t get much as whatever I got had to fit in my backpack for my return flight home, but I ended up getting some almost new tennis shoes. I know I will be returning to this store in the future!

As we drove off, we turned the corner and I saw this! Isn’t it beautiful! (Except that we were driving and I had literally a second to turn on the camera – sorry for the blurry pic) I owned two VW campmobiles in my younger days. My first one was white with the whole top that raised up like this pink one. My next was a kelly green with the top that opened up on a slant. I saw one of those when we were out walking but my daughter wouldn’t let me take a picture. ;-(  Actually, I saw quite a few VW campmobiles as we were driving around Portland. Oh the memories…

By now the sun was shining and it was off to our afternoon of hiking and waterfall adventuring! We had five waterfalls on our agenda, in close proximity to each other, starting just outside of Portland following the Columbia River Gorge. On the drive there I saw Mt. Hood for the first time – spectacular! Unfortunately it was when we were on the I-84 so there was no real photo opportunity – another reason to return to Oregon in the near future!

At exit 28 we got on the Historic Highway of the Columbia Gorge, our main route to the waterfalls. This mossy tree-edged road was an emerald tunnel drawing us into one gorgeous waterfall after another.

All of the first three waterfalls were easily reached and had adequate parking. Our main focus was waterfall viewing so we didn’t take any extended hikes around the falls. With my self-imposed luggage limit of only a backpack this trip to the PNW, I was feeling very disappointed that I couldn’t bring my tripod for the waterfall shots. I know – next trip.

Latourella Falls was our first destination. This is the first one that you will come to as you head east from Portland. I promise – you won’t be disappointed. It plunges 224 feet over a huge rock wall of columnar basalt. There is a large patch of bright yellow on the rock-wall face to the right side of the waterfall. Upon further research, I found out that this is yellow lichen.

The falls were named after Joseph Latourella, an early settler who was the postmaster of the Rooster Rock Post Office. It was so pretty here and you could easily get to the bottom of the “plunge” for a photo op and get enveloped by  the waterfall mist.

It was so gorgeous with the colorful falling leaves dancing around us,  that we had to hike just a little bit longer before climbing back up the trail past the historic, old bridge.

Our next stop was Shepard’s Dell Falls. This fall was an easy, short, downward-sloped hike from the parking lot. The upper fall is 42 feet tall and the lower fall is 50 feet tall. This fall was named after a dairy farmer, George Shepperd who owned the land. He gave it to Portland as a memorial to his wife in 1915.

The moss-covered trail railing was beautiful and adds to the tranquil ambiance of the cascading waterfalls.

We were having a glorious time!!! Up next on our list of waterfalls was Bridal Veil Falls. Once we parked, I was sure that I saw the trail to the falls. Mistake – always go to the trailhead to be sure. Instead, we got on the trail to the scenic lookout, but it was a good mistake as the view was breathtaking of the Columbia River Gorge!

This is Sand Island.

This area is rich in history of the Native Americans,  Lewis & Clark,and  the early settlers. The Oregon State Parks purchased the land from different land owners from 1970-1984.

This is the view down onto I-84 – certainly not a boring drive! To the left  of the railroad are the Pillars of Hercules.  These basalt pillars are 120 feet high and were once used as a training site for mountain climbing.

Looking across the Columbia River to the north is the massive basalt cliff outcropping of Cape Horn, Washington. We finished the short scenic loop trail and crossed the parking area to the Bridal Veil Falls trailhead. This trail, although a little longer, was still a short, easy hike to the falls.

Two falls, an upper and lower,  actually make up Bridal Veil Falls.

Thick moss, kept moist from the waterfall’s mist,  blankets many of the trees surrounding the pool.

A babbling stream, over moss-covered rocks, beckons you to come closer to the falls.

Someone had built a small, rock cairn close to the brook’s edge.

A picturesque wooden bridge connects the path over the stream.

Next on the list was Wahkenna Falls. When we got to the parking area, it was completely full. Rather than wait for a spot to open up, we decided to go on to Multnomah Falls and stop afterwards at Wahkenna. Although we were warned by a sign on the interstate – Multnomah Falls Parking Lot – Full, we were determined to journey on. A parking place has to open up when someone leaves, right? About 300 other people had the same plan. With the road quite narrow and only one lane in each direction, we were at a standstill many times on our trek (not a journey for impatient people or anyone with road-rage tendencies as some people did not follow the wait-your-turn ettiquette when in the parking lot). I must say though, even with the traffic hassle, the waterfall was very worth the wait.

The falls are just steps past the Visitor Center directly across from the parking lot. The lower platform area is rather crowded, but everyone was patient (after all – they had just survived the parking space assault) waiting for their photo op with many volunteering to take stranger’s pictures.

The colorful fall leaves, adding splashes of vibrant color, were the perfect garnish on this exquisite scene.

With a combined total, the upper and lower cascading falls add up to almost 620 feet! It is the tallest waterfall in Oregon!

Steps, and a hard-surfaced trail switched back and forth to lead the way up the the bridge. According to Native American folklore, the falls were created for a young princess who wanted a private spot to bathe.

In September, 1995 a 400-ton boulder broke loose and fell into the upper cascade pool! The misty wind created by the plunging, roaring water was a little brisk, but refreshing while viewing the upper falls.

We still had to return to Wahkeena Falls so we had to tear ourselves away from the grandeur of these falls. Unfortunately, when we arrived at Wahkeena, the parking lot was still full. We will have to add that to our growing itinerary for the next Portland trip! We needed to begin our journey home soon, and we hadn’t eaten since breakfast, so it was time to find another tasty spot.

We felt like pizza and with my gluten intolerance, we found the answer at Hot Lips! I was able to get a gluten-free crust covered with cheese, chicken, bacon, olives and basil. I even found a new Kombucha drink to try! Carrie had a regular cheese and pepperoni pizza with breadsticks.

We still had one more mission to accomplish before leaving Portland and beginning our trek home. We needed to get dessert at Salt & Straw! We stopped and bought dry-ice to keep cold the two pints of ice cream that we were planning on taking home. Once there, we decided we had to have some to eat on the way, so we both ordered a carbon copy of our order from yesterday. Almost heaven…

Which waterfall did you like best? What are some of the prettiest waterfalls you have been to see?