Falling down..........

Saturday morning I thought I had awakened in a different geographical location......it was COLD!!!  The 7am temperature was just under 60 degrees, and it was heavily overcast.....no wait...it was RAINING!!!    Wow, what a change in weather overnight....I even had to put on my hooded sweatshirt while I was outside getting ready for our day of site seeing.  

Our plan for this Saturday was to head south and then west on I-84 to the Historic Columbia River Highway which includes Vista House (shown above), and many, many water falls.  The climb after leaving I-84 was a 10% grade, but very scenic in the T-Bird.  We arrived first at Vista House, which was built on Crown Point to give visitors a grand view of the Columbia River gorge going north and south.

At Vista House looking south

The sky was still a little overcast at Vista House, and you can see that behind us.  Our next stop along the route was Bridal Veil Falls, which are quite amazing all by themselves, but certainly not the most famous along this route.  The hike in is about 3/4 of a mile, and is steep in sections, but very walkable. There were people of all different descriptions making the hike...I think a number were not prepared for some of the difficulty, which is not really disclosed on the sign at the beginning of the trail.

 Bridal Veil Falls

The parking lots at the first two attractions were not that full compared to the third attraction on this route, Multnomah Falls, which looked like Disneyland the first day after school is out.  We ended up having to park 1/2 mile up the road at the parking lot for Wahkeenah Falls, and then hike on a trail beside the very narrow, pedestrian unfriendly highway, back to Multnomah, but it was worth it, even if we had to share the view with a 1,000 other interested folks.  I have seen pictures of these falls, but they do not really do it justice, and my photos are no exception.  The colors are not as sharp as I wish they were due to the still heavy overcast, but in person they were spectacular.  I actually walked up to the bridge in this photo and took a few pictures, but they were not as good as the ones I took from below.

 World Famous Multnomah Falls

However, this is my favorite!

Wahkeenah Falls

There were at least 2 more falls that we could have visited, but the crowds were beginning to get to us so we continued our drive on the Old Highway and eventually found ourselves eastbound on I-84 again.  LTE was driving so I got on my 'Droid and looked up brew pubs in the nearby area and found Walking Man Brewing in Stevenson, WA just about 8 miles away. This worked out well because we were going to get off in Cascade Locks anyway to see the "Bridge of the Gods".....why do they charge a $1 toll both directions on this bridge.....hmmmm?  

Walking Man Brewing did not really have any view, BUT their outdoor dining area has a very, very nice ambiance.  We both zeroed in on their "Black Cherry Stout", and at 7.2% alchohol, it was a very "yummy" beer.  Not to be out done, the food was also 5 stars....I had the Blackened Steelhead Fish Tacos, which were amazing!  I savored every single bite.  Along with the tacos came a pile of kettle chips and the most amazing salsa and guacamole dip!!

There it is!  Black Cherry Stout.

Got a kick out of this sign in the restroom....LOL!

On our way back to the Interstate we stopped to take some pictures of the bridge, and of the massive Columbia River looking north and south.  There were not pedestrian walkways on the bride, so you had to pick your spot, run out on to the bridge and get your photos, and and jump on the curb to avoid being run down.

 Looking south...

And, of course, looking north...

After our bridge adventure we jumped on I-84 and headed "home" again.  It was still cool, and partly overcast when we arrived home so I decided to continue working an electrical issue I am having with the right rear turn signal.  For some reason it has ceased working.  After a while I was able to isolate it as a bad relay.

Here is the culprit!

After consulting with my Newell buddies on line we determined this particular relay is no longer made, but we were able to find a comparable replacement at Napa, and Autozone, so tomorrow at some point I will run over there and pick up one and make the repair.

We shared a very nice supper with our hosts, Lee and Patty Lisman, and then watched a very interesting movie based on the Gospel of John.  Basically it was the Gospel of John acted out, and was very well done.

That was our Saturday....thanks for stopping by!