I did it! Last volume. You're welcome. Mt. Rainier, the Columbia River Gorge, and Portland all rolled into one. Here we go!
I think Mt. Rainier Day was the family favorite! We did the Skyline Loop Trail...in the reverse way that most people do it. That was L's brainchild and I was so thankful that we did it that way. Again we got an early start and I was thankful to be off the mountain as the crowds were picking up. It was about a 4.5/5 hour hike and I loved every minute of it. Luke's favorite hike "by far" he said. Mt. Rainier is a gorgeous volcano and we were so very very fortunate with the weather. We go to see four other volcanoes from our hike too. So cool! I have been to Rainier before but never this entrance. It was awesome!
In case we don't do Christmas cards this year...here ya go! :-) We met some fantastic people along all of the trails that we wandered and the lady that took this picture was 70 years old and a beautiful soul. She has made it to the top of Rainier more than once in her "climbing days" and was just full of stories and memories. We were chatting with Luke about how just by being in these places and on the trails with these people that we already have something in common with them, even though they are strangers, a love of the outdoors! A cool feeling.
Luke's idea. LOTS of snow!
He LOVED it!!
No words
I'm not kidding, nearly a 1/3 of our hike was in the snow. Hilarious. We all fell plenty of times.
Almost to the top of the snow hill!
Mt. St. Helens
Thanks to L for this gem!
As always, finding the most precarious perch to sit on. (another trail lunch was consumed here). Adrenaline junkie. It really was a beautiful hike through all aspects of the mountain and we got to see dozens of climbers heading out from base camp to summit Mt. Rainier. How awesome!
We headed further east in the park for a quick hike to a box canyon. I am standing on a bridge looking 100/150feet down into the canyon. Such a cool landform, incredibly smooth sides just straight up and down.
On to a hike to the Grove of the Patriarchs. After crossing the "one person at a time" suspension bridge we just had to stop for more rock skipping! A favorite pastime. :-)
Amazing!!
Perspective
It weebled and wobbled and added some excitement to our trip.
On to the Columbia River Gorge. A new place for Luke and I. We traveled on the Historic Columbia River Gorge Highway and stopped along the way to hike to lots and lots of waterfalls. Most can be seen from the road (and were full of people and no parking spaces) but we found our way to some off the beaten track waterfalls.
Ready to go!
Horsetail falls
We got to hike underneath that!
See? How cool!
We had a fabulous lunch in Cascade Locks, Oregon. If you have read Wild you have heard of it. We ate at a place directly on the river that had three choices. Salmon, Halibut, or Cod. Boom. The people who worked there caught it that morning. L and I had salmon. Luke had halibut. Best fish ever! Followed by Huckleberry ice cream for this guy! Hiking makes you hungry.
On to the Bonneville Salmon Hatchery, Dam and Locks. What an amazing place!!! I highly recommend checking it out if you are ever in that part of the country. We easily spent 4 hours here. The hatchery is a working hatchery but is open to the public to see the fry and to learn about the salmon raising process. So cool! This is a picture of Herman the Sturgeon. Sturgeon also live and spawn in these waters.
A salmon ladder. Again, how these fish do this is astounding to me!
The salmon ladder from the outside. The salmon weren't running the day we were there but another type of fish was...I need to ask L what it was.
A lamprey. So weird. Which made it Luke's favorite, of course. He was given a pin by the volunteer worker with pretty much this same image on it. He put it on his school backpack. I should be ready to answer questions once he takes it to school. Ha! Anyway, there was a great exhibit about how the lamprey is perceived as a pest but in reality it was very important to the natives diet and lifestyle. Luke called it "the underdog fish"
On to Portland, Oregon. A great city. Their slogan is "Keep Portland Weird". It definitely has a different vibe but I just loved all the bicycles and green spaces and the laid back attitude. Lots of breweries and food trucks. We had a great day!
My one "must do" of the trip was to visit Powell Books, the flagship store. It is the largest new and used bookstore in the world! It takes up an entire city block and has multiple floors, the sections are color coded and it is a booklover's dream! I could have stayed all day! In fact, Luke chose two chapter books. He got within 10 pages of finishing the first because I was wandering around for so long. It was awesome and I would love to go back!!
On to the Japanese Gardens. Both L and Luke wore pedometers while we were on our trip and of the 9 days there was only one where we walked less than 10 miles! Urban hiking is no joke! This place was so cool. It really is an oasis and you almost forget that there is a city beyond its borders. Very tranquil and very well taken care of. Such a cool experience!
The view of Portland and Mt. Hood from just outside the Japanese garden.
On the way to the Japanese Gardens you pass through an International Rose Test Garden. It is exactly what it sounds like...growing and testing different types of roses and hybrids. It was huge! There were hundreds of types of roses and we have about 30 rose pictures but this one will have to do. It was beautiful and colorful and we wandered the rows of roses. :-)
This photo is out of order. This is where we started our day in Portland. Voodoo donuts. Famous for its crazy and slightly inappropriate donut flavors. Seriously, dozens of random flavors but Team Tully kept it pretty simple. I had a butterfinger donut, L had some sort of chocolate donut, and Luke went for the gross and totally kid approved bubblegum donut!
Post lunch (fish again!) attempt at helping to "Keep Portland Weird"
We had an awesome day and it was a great way to round out our trip.
We stopped at food trucks (I had Egyptian, L and Luke had Asian) on our way back to the hotel on the train and this kid couldn't finish his. So he boxed it up and brought it back. Nothing like an 8 year old eating left over Asian food truck food in a hotel bed. What a life!!!!
Meanwhile.....
We are SO grateful to Ima and Shesh for watching and taking such good care of Jasper. I'm not sure he wanted to leave!
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