Saturday morning, we woke up and headed out into this:
Until we got here:
And this was the view from there:
Breathtaking!
The 2nd tallest year round waterfall in the U.S. (behind Yosemite, I learned) at 160 feet.
It drops between 75 gallons to 7500 gallons per second! It is heaviest in Winter and Spring, so we got a pretty good show. It it so much louder than you would ever imagine (when you are on the bridge).
And so, we headed up the steep path, until we reached that little itty bitty bridge you see above.
More on that bridge later.
The boys loving the spray coming off of the waterfall. Henry loves waterfalls lately. Though, when he thinks waterfall, he thinks Jamison Square, not Multnomah Falls. Friday, we told Henry we were going to see a waterfall the next morning. So naturally, when he woke up Saturday morning, the first thing out of his mouth was "we going to see a waterfall today? Is there sharks in the waterfall?" Sharks are everywhere for 3 year olds. Including, but not limited to, the bathtub, your drinking cup, the pool and mostly on the family room floor, so unless you are wearing your pretend scuba suit, you cannot walk on the carpet.
It was such a beautiful scene. It smelled even better than it looks. Think wet earth/mushrooms/poop....but in a good/earthy way! I guess we city slickers don't smell the "outdoors" like this very often - it was really refreshing.
So, lets try to get a picture of both of you sitting side-by-side!!!
Ready? Hey boys! Look at mommy!!
Yea Charlie. No, Henry, over here!! Yoo-Hoo!!!
This sucks....later mom, I'm outa here.
And THEN, we headed up the steep switchback path to the bridge.
Which way Henry???
Oh. That way.
And there they are. My boys trekking through nature.
It was much steeper than it appears in these pics....but Henry wasn't phased one bit. He was always 100 yards ahead of us on the next switch back.
Whats takin' so long guys???
So 1/2 way up, we took a breather and another attempt at a picture. They are sitting on top of a huge downed log and Henry had huge eyes because he was scared. Charlie isn't phased by anything. At All.
The water drops on these leaves looked like silver. They were amazing - nice picture Nathan!
I think we are on the bridge here. Though, I don't remember anything from those few minutes since I completely spazzed out. The rails on the 1916 concrete bridge were wide enough for Charlie to step right through. Even though Nathan was holding Charlie tight, I just kept seeing him fall through (it was really, really high!). I don't know what came over me, but I had to get the kids off of the bridge. Sorry Nate!
I LOVE this picture of my handsome guys!
Another favorite nature art picture courtesy of Nate! It was one trunk that spilt into 3 very tall moss covered trees. So pretty!
On the way home, we stopped along the Columbia River for a picnic and romping around.
Our picnic site was very, very bare. Just a table in very rough terrain. As we left our picnic, we drove by Blue Lake and saw BEAUTIFUL picnic grounds/play grounds along a groomed lake.
Bummer. Though, now that we know where it is, we plan to head back there very soon!
Right Henry? Right mom.
Happy Birthday Daddy! We love you so much!!!
Love, B, Henry & Charlie
