Fall 2015 - Day 23: Super 8 (Wilsonville, OR) - Pittlock Mansion (Portland, OR) - Eagle Creek Trailhead (Columbia Gorge) - Multnomah Falls (Columbia Gorge) - Days Inn (Seatac, WA)

Monday, Sept 28, 2015 - Starting from the Super 8 in Wilsonville, north for a quick coffee/visit with cousin Shelley, east to the Pittlock Mansion (Portland, OR), then east to the Eagle Creek Trailhead (Columbia Gorge), then back west to Multnomah Falls (Columbia Gorge), then west and north to the Days Inn in Seatac, WA:

301 actual miles; 4 hours 41 minutes driving (plus 2 hours 22 minutes hiking!)

We had a fun coffee/visit with cousin Shelley:

and her wonderful corgi Pixel


The Pittock Mansion is a lovely place:

with a GREAT VIEW of the city of Portland:


They have 14 paintings by Thomas Hill (there must be some sort of "Patron" connection!). Two untitled (signatures but no plaques) paintings are



and there was a wonderful sculpture, which I call "Checking For Blisters":


We then headed east on I-84, up the Columbia River to The Gorge:

on our way up we saw a bunch of windsurfers - Hi Platt and Nancy!

We got to the Eagle Creek Trailhead, and had a good hike up to Punchbowl Falls (also known as Punch Bowl Falls):


We saw salmon in the migrating in the creek:

(can you find the 3 in this picture?)

alltrails.com says "Spectacular path passing many waterfalls, winding through old-growth forests, and along the edges of cliffs."



and it is pretty cool once you get up to the Falls area:


There are actually 2 Falls - Lower Punchbowl:

and Upper Punchbowl


The views are resplendent:

hah - NEW WORD - "attractive and impressive through being richly colorful or sumptuous"

From the Parking Lot, up and back, we covered 6.12 miles:


On our way back west we saw the beautiful Horsetail Falls


and the very-impressive Multnomah Falls


Say goodbye to the Columbia River Gorge - west into Portland's rush-hour traffic, then north to Seatac (just south of Seattle). Thank You GOD for a Great Travel/Adventure Day!

Music today:

20 Years of Narada Piano (2001) cd 2

(because acoustic piano music seems very appropriate for this lush Northwest Rainforest region)

Dave Matthews Band - The Gorge (2004) live double album

(because we are in "The Gorge")

Pearl Jam - Ten (1991)

(because we are going up to Seattle)