Summer Fun

One of the best parts of living in Portland is that there is so much to see and do. We being just a few minutes from the city center while also being so close to beautiful hiking areas and the breathtaking Oregon coast. We have decided to make the most of our simultaneous unemployment and school-free time and get to work on seeing and doing all the fun stuff we can before we have to go back to being responsible adults. So after another fruitless job interview we hopped in the car and cruised to the coast with Larry and Marilee. Our destination was Cannon Beach. It was beautiful! We love the little town with all of the great little shops and restaurants. We especially loved the Cannon Beach farmers market. They sold fresh home grown produce, and home made baked goods and all of our favorite things. We had a delicious lunch of fish and chips. Then we went to check out Haystack rock. Oregon is so beautiful! We just can't get enough of it.

The next stop on our unemployment party was to visit the Chinese Gardens in downtown Portland. Thanks to our wonderful new friends Brittany and Tim, we learned about a little thing called the "Cultural Pass of Adventure!" Sound fun? Well it is. Trust us. This is a little pass you check out from the library and it gets you into all sorts of cool places for free ninety free. Our favorite amount these days. So anyways- we went to the Chinese Gardens for FREE! Yay. It was very strange to be walking through the crazy busy streets of Portland and then step into this quiet little garden. Very enjoyable if we might say so ourselves.

TyTy's favorite part was the pretty vases we found in the room for quiet meditation (or something along those lines) and the little bonsai trees.

Megan preferred the water lillies...lame

By far the coolest thing we've done in our new Northwestern homeland is the hike we did in the remarkably beautiful Columbia River Gorge. While we are still paying the price for our 14 mile voyage, we are in total agreement that the lingering pain is well worth it. During the course of the hike you pass 6 waterfalls, cling to "safety" cables to avoid falling off the 3 foot wide trail to your death 200 feet below, and spend the entire time in the most lush and awe inspiring forest we have ever seen.

Here is Tyler before the exhaustion and cramps set in.

This part didn't even have the safety cables!!

There were little streams and babbling brooks galor.

100 foot Metlako falls was our first stop.

There were many times we wanted to get in the water and swim.

We took a short side trail to Punchbowl falls.

The waterfalls were great but the whole trail was beautiful.

Loowit falls marked the halfway point of our upstream journey.

Then it was time for lunch.

We continued for a couple more hours and just when we started get sore and wondering if the long haul was going to be worthwhile, all our doubts were quashed as we rounded the corner to see the magnificent 175 foot Tunnel falls.

Tunnel falls is so named for the 30 foot tunnel that explorers blasted out behind the falls when they discovered it in 1902.

On one side of the tunnel the trail continues on an incredibly narrow, wet, slippery, yet beautiful path. Megan nearly wet her pants as she pictured herself plunging to her death. Luckily Tyler was a bit more composed. Megan took this picture (below) of Tyler on the trail ahead from inside the tunnel.

We continued on the section of the hike known as "Vertigo Mile" for another half mile (again there were images of death running through one of our minds) until we came to the 200 foot tall Twister falls.

That white spot in the shadow is Tyler on the trail right before Twister falls.

After a Snickers and some grapes we called it day and turned back. 7 miles later we were back at the car; Tyler need hip replacement surgery and Megan had a blister on her heel the size of AA battery but we loved it and plan to do it again soon with family and/or friends (who ever visits first).