Columbia River Gorge
This is a repeat stop. It is only about half an hour (tops) outside of the Portland area and is really a must see if you are in the area. Hubby and I made a stop here back in October of 2011 (there is a previous blog entry on this if you go back through my entries...and I highly recommend you do that!). It is a place that is so beautiful and lush that we just had to take our son there to experience it.
Columbia River Gorge is in the Cascade mountains and there are "cascades" everywhere. The great part about this area is that the waterfalls are very close to the roadway so they are easily accessible. If you are more adventurous, you can take short hikes to additional areas to see them from different angles. However, if you never take a hike while you are there, you will still see some beautiful views!
When we went in October, we started our day very early...not thinking that a. it is dark in the morning in October and you can't see anything! and b. it is very foggy in this area in the mornings with all the precipitation! We ended up having to pull over and wait for it to get light and for the fog to lift so this time we started out a bit later in the morning. There was still a bit of fog when we arrived, but it quickly burned off and we were on our way. Tip: Do not go to the Gorge bright and early in the morning! You will see much more if you wait till at least mid-morning.
The Vista House
Our First Stop on the Historic Byway was the Vista House. This is one of the most photographed sites along the byway. It is a tribute to Oregon Pioneers as well as an observatory and restroom area.
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| The Vista House - Columbia River Gorge |
This area is located on a 733 foot cliff and overlooks a beautiful view of the Columbia River. It is definitely worth a stop.
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| View from the Vista House |
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| View from the Vista House |
Latourell Falls
This is a beautiful waterfall that we were able to see in October. However, they were doing some construction of buildings around the falls this summer and the view was pretty much blocked. There was also no parking available with the construction vehicles around so we weren't able to stop at this waterfall. It was a little disappointing but I'm sure the facilities will be nice once they are built. Latourell Falls is very close to the roadway and there is a very short hike that will take you near the base of the falls. Please look back at my blog from October to see photos and more information on this location.
Bridal Veil Falls
This is a beautiful waterfall along the byway. It takes a bit more effort to get to this one than some of the others but the effort is worth making. The trail is fairly easy on the way down. It's wide and cleared and and easy to follow. It is, however, a bit steep so while it is easy getting down to view the falls, it is tougher to climb on the way up. It is not impossible though and there are benches along the way where you can stop and catch your breath. The trip down and back took us approximately 30-45 minutes with picture taking and enjoying the scenery.
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| River (runoff) by Bridal Veil Falls |
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| Bridal Veil Falls |
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| Bridal Veil Falls |
Wahkeena Falls
This is another of the falls that is quite close to the roadway. We made about a 15 minute stop here. You could take longer if you choose to hike to some of the areas. There is a pathway which is well marked that will take you over to Multnomah Falls if you want to travel between the two.
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| Runoff from Wahkeena Falls |
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| Wahkeena Falls |
Multnomah Falls
The centerpiece of the byway. This is a beautiful waterfall and a definite must see! There is a parking area near the falls as well as a Visitor's Center, a Gift Shop, a cafe and a place to purchase coffee and fudge.
The walk to the viewing area is an easy one and there are plenty of places to take pictures.
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| Multnomah Falls - the Centerpiece of the Columbia River Gorge Scenic Byway |
Horsetail Falls
This is probably one of the smaller of the waterfalls but also one of the most accessible and interesting. You simply park and walk to the falls. It is easy to see if from the side of the roadway. There is a small walk down some stairs that will lead you right to the base of the falls. This is a great way to view the falls. My son had a wonderful time at this one simply because you could get so close to the waterfall itself.
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| Horsetail Falls from the side |
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| Horsetail Falls from the base |
A Change in Weather....A Change in Plans
After we left the Gorge area we headed back to the highway to start our trek back north to Seattle. Along the way our plans changed a bit as it went from a beautiful sunny morning to a very overcast and potentially wet afternoon. We were debating on whether to make a stop at Mount St. Helen's or at Mount Rainier National Park in the afternoon. Again, Hubby and I had visited both in a day on our previous trip. Although they are very close on a map, driving distances between the two places make it difficult to hit both in a day. We were leaning toward Mount Rainier but with the change in the weather and the overcast conditions we were pretty sure that seeing the mountain would not be in the cards. So....in a last minute decision we chose to go to Mount St. Helen's.
Mount St. Helen's
When the two of us had gone in October we found the area to be very interesting as you can see the scars of the eruption decades after it happened. We were a bit disappointed in this location though because, again thinking we were getting a head start, we headed there early in the morning. It is another place that is overcast and foggy in the mornings. In fact it was so bad that we weren't able to even see Mt. St. Helen's at all and to top it off, we were there before the Visitor's Center opened so we weren't even able to see anything there. So going back to this spot was almost like going for the first time.
We were hopeful that since we would be hitting this area during the early afternoon, it would be much clearer than our last trip. Well.....yes and no. As we started up the highway, it kept getting cloudier and cloudier. The clouds hung so low that the valleys were pretty much obscured in some parts. We did make it to the Visitor's Center and had a very enjoyable experience there. My son loved the hands on things at the Visitor's Center as well as the movies about the eruption and the area's subsequent recovery.
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| Mount St. Helen's partially obscured by clouds |
We went into the first movie, watched it and they opened a curtain at the end to reveal the mountain. This is what we saw.
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| Mount St. Helen's with cloud cover |
We were so excited that we were even able to see this much of it!! We decided that the first movie was so interesting that we would head back in for the second one. There are two different movies and they alternate showings. We sat through the second movie, they lifted the curtain and THE WHOLE THING WAS GONE!
Seriously......there wasn't even a glimpse of the mountain.....it was completely behind the clouds. It also decided to start to pour at that moment and the entire trip back to the main highway was made through low clouds and heavy rains.
You just can't predict what the weather is going to do in this area and what kind of views you might actually get to see. If you want to take a chance on getting to see the mountain, it is definitely worth it. It's an interesting drive. The Visitor's Center is very interesting. The Mountain is an awesome sight if you can catch a glimpse of it but it is equally possible that you will drive down the roadway and never see a thing!
Back to Tukwila and the Homewood Suites
Well here we were....heading back to the sight of our previous meltdown....The Homewood Suites Tukwila. We were still wondering how this was going to be after our last stay but were hopeful that things would be different. We hadn't heard a thing from the customer service rep from Homewood Suites regarding our previous sty so we really weren't sure what to expect. This time we did not travel on any unmarked bike paths. We did not have a smoking room when we had booked a non-smoking room and the room was SO much larger. Same thing....one bedroom king suite....as the previous one but this one was definitely much larger. It was also NOT next to the train tracks. This was a good start. I once again tweeted that we were back and relieved that it was much better, despite not having received a response from Homewood Suites. Well.....almost immediately I received a response and they reassigned our case to another representative who immediately responded and gave us 30,000 hilton points as well as an apology for our prior stay. They still missed the point...which was why did they give away our original room when we are at the highest level of their loyalty program....but it did help to know that we could enjoy a free night somewhere else for the inconvenience. By the way, we never did see or hear from the General Manager of the property itself. Just a bit troubling.
We checked into our hotel room and had enough time to change for our 8 PM dinner reservation at the Ruth's Chris Steakhouse in Downtown Seattle.
Ruth's Chris Seattle - Downtown Location
So if you know my family at all, you know we LOVE Ruth's Chris Steakhouses. It has become an obsession of ours since they closed the one in Cleveland near us, to make reservations at at least one Ruth's Chris on our vacation if they have a location nearby! We had saved this stop as our last on this trip and were really looking forward to a great steak and some wonderful cheesecake! This location did not disappoint. It was a little different because it was located inside of the Hyatt in downtown Seattle. You had to valet park and head into the hotel for the restaurant. Once you made it inside it was a wonderful location with wonderful service and wonderful food! They Hyatt looked beautiful too and really upscale restrooms! If the rest of the hotel was a nice as the restrooms in the lobby, this would be a great place to stay!
After a terrific meal, we headed out to take a look around town at Seattle at night, of course lost our way a bit with some street closures but managed to find the Space Needle! We headed back to our hotel for a good night's sleep and another exciting day touring Seattle when we awoke!
