Sightseeing at Home

We had some friends in town a few days ago (hi Sam, Anna, and David!) which as most Portlanders know is a great reason to head out into the Columbia Gorge to get another look at Multnomah Falls:

We took I-84 out of Portland and then exited to take the Old Highway 30 scenic route the rest of the way so we could drive slowly past a number of waterfalls, slot canyons, and viewpoints.

Here's the view from the Vista House, looking east:

Inside the Vista House:

I don't remember which waterfall this was:

My favorite spot out here is Oneonta Gorge: a moss-walled slot canyon where fairies and unicorns live. Later in the summer when it's warmer, you can hike (through water and over a big log jam that wasn't there the first time I came here, but has been the last several times…it's a fun climb-over) all the way to the Oneonta Falls (and if it's really warm, go swimming!). There's no real trail…the river is the trail, so warm weather (or really tall rubber boots) are recommended. We did see a few brave souls wading through in tennies and shorts and no shirts, however, so suit yourself.

Oneonta Gorge Tunnel:

Log jam in Oneonta Gorge:

For a whole lot more photos of this incredible place, check out this link. 

After exploring the waterfalls, we stopped at McMenamin's Edgefield to grab a bite and a beer cider (pomegranate cider…so summery!) The weather was gorgeous (as you may have noticed from the above photos) so we sat outside and soaked up the sun. 

On Saturday we all went to breakfast over on Mississippi Avenue…a new spot we hadn't tried before called Gravy. Delicious (especially the gravy!). Super fun weekend with super fun friends! 

Today we both did rowing workouts in the morning (because, gravy!), and then we headed out to Fisherman's Warehouse to pick up what I'm pretty sure is the Chuck Norris of coolers: the Yeti Tundra 50. We've been using a little Igloo that doesn't keep things cold (or ice ice) for very long, and when it rains, water gets inside. Then we switched to using our shiny metal Coleman that we use with the Airstream, but it's not all stainless steel so a couple of small spots on it are starting to rust. People talk about the Yeti like it's the holy grail of coolers, and so far, it seems to be. For a longer trip (like, Alaska) it's nice to have the extra space for produce and stuff when you need to stock up every couple of weeks. 

We're picking up our lithium batteries on Tuesday in Eugene at AM Solar and then will head up to the boat to install them on Wednesday. We've got several more projects we want to finish before heading to Alaska (batteries, removing the last of the carpet and replacing it with Amtico, making sure we have all the spare parts we need, fixing the shower want holder, and oh yeah…attaching our new ring buoy! 

This is much cuter than the blue throw cushion, for sure. 🙂